STEVEN OLSEN: SPEAKING TO CHILDREN STEVE OLSEN  Letter to the town of Martinez, CA 9/18/67 It's kind of hard to explain my reasons for staying in Vietnam, but I will try to explain them to you. I hope you can understand the reasons for this war a little better. First off, I will give you a little history about Vietnam, then the principle involved, and the human part of it. First off, China ruled over Vietnam and the surrounding countries for over a thousand years before they were finally driven out. China did little or nothing for this country or its people. She took everything and gave nothing. Then after a period of about 40 years, France took over and ruled for around 150 years. France took everything and put very little back into the country. Ho Chi Minh and his guerillas (the Viet Minh) finally defeated the French in the north. The Geneva Convention set up a demilitarized zone giving Ho Chi Minh the north part of Vietnam and the French the south. Ho Chi Minh was a hero because he defeated the French. He became an outright Communist and most of his followers stayed with him, because his government was better than the French government. After a couple of years, France pulled out of Vietnam. The South wanted free elections and a democratic form of government. But Ho Chi Minh had a dream of uniting North and South together again, only under his rule and his form of government---communism. The man who defeated China was able to keep the whole country together and he was a war hero as well as a political hero. Ho Chi Minh wanted to do the same. When the South Vietnamese tried to organize their government, Ho Chi Minh sent his Viet Minh into the south to terrorize the people, tax them, kill off the political leaders, etc. They became known as the Viet Cong, what is now called the hard core on our radio and TV newscasts. They began forcing the farmers and their older sons to fight in the N.V.A. (The North Vietnamese Army). If the men refused to fight, their families were butchered before their eyes----everything they owned (which wasn't much) was destroyed, and if they still refused they were killed and left as a warning to the other farmers. Finally the Viet Cong became so strong that the South Vietnamese government could not possibly hope to win. They asked us for assistance from the United States government. We sent supplies and advisors at first, and as things got worse we finally sent troops. Since then we have cut the Viet Cong to ribbons. The North Vietnamese had to send division after division south to keep the Viet Cong from losing, but we have been cutting them up too. Yet the war goes on. The North Vietnam Army has Red Chinese advisors working with them. We know this for sure, because several have been killed in battle from the Mekong Delta to the D.M.Z. The Viet Cong are still strong, but not as they used to be. I have seen this country from Quang Ni (30 miles south of Chu Lai) to the D.M.Z. I've seen small toeholds become huge bases. Areas of land that you traveled through, praying all the time and hoping this wasn't your last run, have become peaceful and free of the Viet Cong. I've been on operations where we have defeated the Viet Cong and driven them away. Yet, some of the villagers will hide from us, because they were told by Viet Cong, that American Marines ate children, raped women and killed all the men. I've seen these same villages turn friendly toward us and the village starting to prosper again. We set up laundry businesses with the village, we sent doctors and corpsmen in to help the sick, we set up better sanitation facilities, and we built schools and churches. These people can't believe it is really happening. For centuries all foreigners took everything from the South Vietnamese---never giving anything in return. Then we came. We give them everything to start building with, we open jobs up for them. This program (CAG-combined action group) has many faults, but it is the best we can do under the circumstances. Many think we are suckers, an easy touch, but most really appreciate what we are doing. There are some hard feelings between the South Vietnamese and we Americans. Some guys who hate this place do nothing but cause trouble with the people. But still they understand and we try harder to make up for the wrongs others do. As long as the South wants freedom and the Communists keep trying to deny them this right, we will stay and help the country. I'd much rather fight to stop communism in Vietnam than wait until it has spread so much that we have to fight an open war against it in our own country. I don't completely agree with the way we are fighting this war, but I wholeheartedly agree in the principles involved. I will continue to do my share as long as possible. I have already signed my second 6 months extension papers. I will get 30 days leave for doing so, and I'm going to take it in December so I can be home for Christmas. After the holidays are over, I will be proud and honored to come to Martinez to visit with you. I hope what I have written about Vietnam will give you a better understanding of why this war is being fought by the United States Armed Forces. Right now I am sitting on Hill 63, which is 25 miles south of DaNang. You've probably heard of the fighting going on out there. The 5th Marines are fighting two divisions of North Vietnamese. Right now there is an air strike going on about a mile from here. Those fly boys are really pouring it on. The Marines out here are badly outnumbered, but jets and artillery make the difference. Our battalion runs ammunition convoys down here every day or two. We send one company at a time so every 3 or 4 days I'm down here. Yesterday on the way back to our battalion area, I saw an excellent example of what we are fighting for. There is a certain village on the road that held their elections when the rest of the country did; they also refused to pay anymore taxes to the Viet Cong. The night of 9/16/67, the Viet Cong mortared and rocketed their village. About a third of the village was destroyed and several innocent people killed and wounded. Yet these people still will not bow down to the Viet Cong. They want their freedom no matter what the price will be. Sincerely, Steve Olsen

Steve Olsen did, in fact, go home for Christmas and kept his promise to visit the town of Martinez. Here is an article reporting his visit. Written by Diane Wettstein, Public Affairs Office A MIRACLE IN DONG PHOUK Because Martinez Cared I went to a banquet several Saturdays ago. It wasn't the usual food and talk; this meeting was one that showed the devotion of a whole city to a cause. Over a year ago the city of Martinez adopted the First Motor Battalion USMC in Vietnam. Letters have been mailed from both sides of the Pacific; packages, and pictures, too. Valentine cards, made with loving care by Martinez 3rd graders went to leathernecks in Vietnam. Rewards are being reaped on both sides of the Pacific, too, not only by the people directly involved, but also by a whole Vietnamese village. The banquet gathering was expressly for announcing the winner of the First Motors Battalion "Sweetheart" Contest. While the suspense was mounting, a rather flat package was delivered. First one picture came out, then another. The pictures (made from black and white prints sent from Martinez) had been tinted by a Vietnamese, who had guessed the proper coloring to perfection. The first two were the contest runners-up. Then the third picture was taken from the package and Bonnie Ballard was announced as the 1968 Sweetheart of the First Motors Battalion. For the second year, the men of the Battalion had selected their Sweetheart from the ten or so pictures sent to them. At this night's meeting, the girls were beautiful, the military escorts handsome, but one young man in particular, Cpl Steven Olsen, stole the show. The Corporal is a 21-month veteran of Vietnam, who, since the banquet, has left for another six months in Vietnam. He isn't the flamboyant hero type; more like the kid next door. This young man charmed and impressed the audience of 80 people from 17 to 70 plus years like no one I've seen in a long time. Cpl Olsen would fit into any average community and would be a welcome addition. But, for now, he's found himself another place, a small Vietnamese village, where he feels needed and wanted. The First Motors Battalion adopted a small village not too far from their encampment. The citizens of Dong Phouk needed everything, clothing, clean water, medical help, but most of all, hope. We were told by the corporal how the First Motors assisted with the building of a well and a schoolhouse (theirs was bombed out six years before); about providing medical service 2 or 3 times a week as they could, and how the people at first resisted the MedCap help. But also how they came to depend on the Americans. Now there are several interested Vietnamese, who are training with the MedCap personnel to learn what they can to help their own people. Cpl Olsen told us of a particular friend of his, age 11, who had one shirt with no buttons, no left sleeve, and it had an enormous rip from one shoulder to the ragged hem. The trousers were in like condition and the shoes were non-existent. Then there came to the village of Dong Phouk a virtual miracle. They learned that somewhere across the Pacific there was a town with an unpronounceable name with people in it that cared, not only for themselves and their families, but for the Vietnamese people too. Martinez had begun to mobilize. For the Martinez citizens, gathering the clothing to send to Dong Phouk was a labor of love, as was the packing for shipment. Then came another obstaclethe money for postage. This is where the Marines on the American side of the ocean came to the rescue. Sgt Major Jim Cornelius and Sgt Earl Sutton canvassed the local Marine barracks and raised $75 toward the purchase of stamps to get the packages on their way. The clothing arrived, and Cpl Olsen's little Vietnamese friend now had two shirts, whole shirts with buttons, and pants with no holes. Soap, toothbrushes, and even a few little toys. Dong Phouk is now rich..almost. The current project is a market place for the village where the people who have goods to trade can do so out of the weather. A bridge across a rice paddy, a new schoolhouse, a clean well, and hope for a three-walled market place. Such small things to us. Such a miracle to Dong Phouk! In addition to Diane's story. While visiting in the town of Martinez, Steve Olsen visited the school that had gathered and sent items to the Vietnamese village. There he talked at 6 assemblies, to approx 1500 students. Not only were the children impressed, but the teachers also. One teacher responded that this was the best assembly they had ever had. He told a different version of the war from what they usually heard on the evening newscasts. Another person's response was, "Steve came into our lives by a letter several months ago.. now he came permanently into our hearts. Cpl. Steven Wayne Olsen was killed in action, May 23, 1968. He was buried on June 12, 1968 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California. These letters and Steven's story were submitted by Park and Claudia Myers.  Park served with Steven in the Delta CAP units in Vietnam.

STEVEN OLSEN VISITING SCHOOL CHILDREN WHEN HE WAS HOME ON LEAVE, CHRISTMAS 1967.

PARK FINDING STEVEN'S NAME ON THE VIETNAM VETERANS WALL

PARK VISITING STEVEN OLSEN'S FATHER, 'SMOKEY', FALL OF 2001.