Mauk wants people to remember the soldiers

 

TRACI M. BLACK, 573-783-3366, Oct 26, 2015

 

     Steve Mauk served in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1970 in the rank of Petty Officer 3rd class with the title Boatswain’s Mate, or as many know it “Bo’sun Mate”, in the U.S. Navy. Mauk was a river patrol boat captain on a LCPL (Landing Craft Personnel Light) with the River Security Division. The unit was attached to two U.S. Naval bases in Cua Viet, which was just a few miles from the DMZ (demilitarized zone), from 1967 to 1970. His unit patrolled the rivers of Vietnam mainly at night looking for members of the North Vietnamese Army. 

 

     "We were called night "jaegers", this is the German word for hunters,” he said. “We had to keep the river from being mined by NVA “zappers”. Keeping the rivers clear of interference and hazards was vital. During the war the rivers were used by the U.S. military like highways for supplies and transportation. During that time, it took eight logistical troops to support one combat troop, according to Mauk. There weren’t that many troops that went on foot into the jungle

 

     Mauk received the highest marks possible on his evaluation from his Lt. Commander in 1969. He worked to keep his patrol boat up to the highest Navy standards. River boat captain Mauk kept his unit trained on the latest combat river warfare procedures. The letter that Mauk received from his commanding officer stated, "3rd Class Bo’sun Mate, Steven Mauk, willingly accepts additional duties regardless of the situation, which makes him an asset to the division." 

 

     Mauk and the men he served with built up a strong bond that comes from knowing that one life depends on another. He served two successive tours of duty in Vietnam with the first being one year and the second being 18 months.  “The hardest thing I had to do was leave," he said. “I felt like I was abandoning my fellow service members.”

 

     Steve’s unit had to face many weather conditions including the monsoon season. And during the dry season troops had to frequently push the boats off of sand bars and pull leeches off of their skin and clothing. The temperatures were very high during the dry times. Another huge factor that troops had to contend with were the mosquitoes.The conditions were almost terrible, at best,” he said.

        

    Steve describes the years that he spent there as a constant up and down. There were weeks of boredom with long lonely nights. Sometimes the nights would suddenly turn into chaos with enemy gunfire raining down around their camps. The fighting was quick and vicious,” he said. There was a fear among us that if we were killed would anybody really give a s--t,” Steve said. “Many of us were away from home for the first time and several were just kids."

 

    “What I want to talk about is those service members who gave their lives to save the lives of others," he said. “On those boats there were many that made sacrifices for others. Many troops suffered losses. I lost a personal friend, Gary Graves from Bonne Terre. We were very close and I am still suffering from that loss. His name is on the wall (in Farmington).”

 

    He still worries that no one remembers these things and the sacrifice of lives. When we came home nobody cared," he said. "Nobody (Vietnam veterans) wanted to come home to demonstrators. Some of us felt ill will toward the draft dodgers, because we felt they were cowards. It took years to adjust back to being home. (The) training gives a you a sense of superiority. Fighting in combat gives you a sense of higher respect for yourself.”

 

    Steve remembers how he and the friends would read one another’s letters from home and if someone got a care package they would share it with each other. “My dad sent a tape of him, my uncle Billy, and Denny when they went coon hunting," Mauk said. "It was when Billy’s son Denny was little. My friend Larry Williams and I listened to it a lot. Larry and I finally wore the tape out.

 

    "You lose guys,” Steve said solemnly. “You hear about the wounded and wonder if they’re still alive. You wonder how their families are doing.” Steve injured his knee and was sent for treatment to a U.S. Naval hospital ship anchored in Da Nang harbor. He spent 21 days there before being put back into the conflict on full duty. He witnessed so many horrors on that ship and explained that it was worse than the actual war in some ways. There were men with burns, arms missing, legs missing. He listened to one sergeant yelling for his wife throughout the night and he didn’t make it past the next day.

 

    “One of my proudest moments was when I got off of the hospital ship and my patrol boat squadron came to get me,” he said. “The people, doctors, and nurses were out on the deck giving me a send-off.” “There was one patient out there that day with no leg and one arm cheering us on and he said ‘Go get ‘em guys,'" Steve reminisced. “That was one I will always remember.”

 

    "I volunteered for it and have pride in being with such an elite group, but I am still suffering from the losses," he said. “The losses we (Vietnam veterans) suffered over there, people have forgotten." He wonders at times if the price and the blood loss helped to pay the price for someone else’s wealth. For example, to help pay for the American aircraft manufacturing and sales industries, oil industry, and other industries.

 

    "I want the citizens of our country to remember the individual troops,” Mauk stressed. “Remember the regular service men that were fighting and dying, not necessarily the generals and officers.”

 

    Steve is a graduate of the Flat River High School class of 1965 in the town where he grew up. He is an active member of the VFW Post # 5896 in Farmington and serves his fellow veterans as head of the building and grounds crew.

 

Traci M. Black is a reporter for the Democrat News and can be reached at 573-783-3366 or at tblack@democratnewsonline.com.