WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) – For much of his childhood, Jerry Bartlett’s world stretched only a few miles beyond the dirt roads of South Dakota’s Black Hills near Mount Rushmore. He was a farm boy with an eighth-grade education who spent his days wandering hillsides searching for abandoned gold mines.
Then he joined the Navy.
“After joining the Navy, I learned very quickly that the world is a very big place,” Bartlett said.
That world soon became war.
Bartlett helped land some of the first combat Marines in Da Nang during the early years of the Vietnam War. Later, serving as an air controller in the Gulf of Tonkin, he coordinated rescue missions for downed American pilots.
“As soon as the pilot got shot down or ejected in North Vietnam, I launched my helo and would pull them out,” he said.
Bartlett would eventually become the Navy’s first enlisted instructor at Top Gun, a role he still speaks about with pride. But decades after his service ended, one moment from Vietnam continues to follow him home.
“I left a pilot standing in North Vietnam because he couldn’t prove to me that he was American,” Bartlett said.
He said enemy fighters had begun disguising themselves in American uniforms to lure rescue crews into ambushes. Forced to make a split-second decision, Bartlett left.
For years afterward, he wondered whether he had abandoned an American serviceman.
“If he was an American pilot, did he have a wife? Did he have a family?” Bartlett said.
The unanswered questions turned into nightmares, sleepless nights, and eventually a diagnosis of PTSD. But like many veterans, Bartlett said asking for help never came naturally.
“Absolutely yes. I don’t go to doctors,” Bartlett said.
For years, Bartlett avoided seeking support, not because he believed he didn’t need it, but because he assumed someone else probably needed it more.
That hesitation is something Catholic Charities says many veterans across North Texas experience. The organization works to remind veterans they do not have to reach a crisis point before asking questions, seeking guidance, or looking for support.
“The very first day I went in and talked to them, I realized they informed me of things that I hadn’t even thought about,” Bartlett said.
After leaving the military, Bartlett spent more than two decades driving trucks cross-country, avoiding offices, coworkers, and conversations about what he carried home from Vietnam. He said one meeting with Catholic Charities changed that.
“It’s a can-do attitude, and if they don’t have the answers, they’ll find it,” Barlett said.
Catholic Charities says many of the veterans they meet are not in immediate crisis. Instead, they are overwhelmed, unsure where to begin, or uncertain whether they qualify for benefits or services. The organization helps veterans across North Texas navigate VA benefits, healthcare, transportation assistance, and long-term support, often beginning with a single conversation.
Bartlett said those conversations helped him better understand the physical and emotional toll of his military service, including possible health conditions connected to Agent Orange exposure.
“I basically made a bet there was nothing wrong with me,” Bartlett said. “And I found out I was 198% wrong.”
Now, instead of isolating himself, Bartlett volunteers and encourages other veterans to take the same first step he once resisted.
“I know there’s other veterans out there that have issues that they’re afraid to talk about,” he said.
Catholic Charities hopes stories like Bartlett’s will help rebuild trust, connection, and stability for veterans and their families, not just through short-term assistance, but through long-term support and community.
After decades of silence, Bartlett said he has finally learned something the military never taught him, strength is not pretending everything is fine. Sometimes strength is simply walking through the door and admitting you are not.
“You never know until you do it,” Bartlett said. “That’s basically the way I look at life.”
This story is the first installment in “North Texas Veterans, Presented by Catholic Charities,” a series highlighting local veterans navigating life after service and the resources available to help them move forward.
Copyright 2026 KAUZ. All rights reserved.