ROCKPORT, Texas \u2014 Arthur Lee Mann does not call himself a hero.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was doing my job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For decades, that was all he would say.<\/p>\n
Now, the Vietnam War veteran is opening up about the ambush that nearly killed him and his crew, and the actions that earned him one of the military\u2019s highest honors.<\/p>\n
Born Jan. 23, 1945, in Belleville, Illinois, Lee grew up in poverty, working long hours from a young age to help support his family. He enlisted in the Navy in 1963 after high school, calling it \u201cthe best thing that ever happened\u201d to him.<\/p>\n
It took him far from home, and into war.<\/p>\n
Rockport veteran breaks silence on Vietnam ambush that earned Silver Star<\/p>\n
Mann served aboard an assault support patrol boat with the Mobile Riverine Force, working as both an engineer and a .30-caliber machine gunner, often exposed in open fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the time, they found us first,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we always shot our way out and got back.\u201d<\/p>\n
On May 8, 1968, during a mission along the Song Ba Lai River, his boat (ASPB 91-3) moved toward a landing area when a large Viet Cong force opened fire from the shoreline.<\/p>\n
Rockets. Recoilless rifles. Automatic weapons.<\/p>\n
The first volley hit hard. The blast knocked Mann off his feet and hurled him more than 10 feet across the boat. Shrapnel tore into his arms, leg and hand. The attack disabled the vessel\u2019s radios and controls, sending it crashing directly onto the beach in front of enemy positions.<\/p>\n
Still wounded, Mann got up.<\/p>\n
He fought his way through the wreckage to the control area, where the crew was dazed and injured. He helped the coxswain regain control, offering direction and encouragement as the boat remained pinned under heavy fire.<\/p>\n
Then he saw his captain. The officer lay gravely wounded on the exposed bow. Ignoring the gunfire, and his own injuries, Mann ran forward into the open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ran out there and grabbed him,\u201d Mann recalled. \u201cAnd I carried him back in.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pulled the captain to safety, administered first aid, then returned to the fight, picking up a rifle and grenade launcher to lay down covering fire as another boat moved in to help.<\/p>\n
His actions helped suppress enemy fire long enough for the damaged vessel to be towed out of the ambush.<\/p>\n
Lee was wounded again in the process, the second time that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s hard to talk about,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cBut thank God we all survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
For his actions, Lee received the Silver Star, awarded for \u201cconspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action.\u201d He also earned three Purple Heart medals.<\/p>\n
But when he came home, there was no ceremony waiting.<\/p>\n
\u201cBad,\u201d he said of the reception many Vietnam veterans faced. \u201cThey were throwing stuff at us and spitting at us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only his parents greeted him when he returned to Illinois.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the only homecoming I had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For years, Lee kept his experiences to himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey tried to ask me about it, and I said, \u2018You don\u2019t want to know,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Over time, with encouragement from his wife and fellow veterans, he began to talk, though the memories remain close.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have nightmares,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of what I did, but at the same time, I\u2019m not proud of killing people.\u201d<\/p>\n
After more than 22 years in the Navy, Mann built a civilian career using the technical skills he learned in service, working in power plants and later with the University of Texas system.<\/p>\n
Now living in Rockport, he spends his time fishing, hunting and gardening, staying active despite lasting injuries.<\/p>\n
These days, he says, the reception is different.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time they see me, somebody says, \u2018Thank you for your service,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI think people are trying to make up for what we didn\u2019t get.\u201d<\/p>\n
His message is simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s have peace,\u201d he said. \u201cHuman life is precious.\u201d<\/p>\n
And for those who serve:<\/p>\n
\u201cJust treat them with respect,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t ask for it, but they deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n
More Veterans In Focus stories are available here,<\/a> along with resources<\/a> for local veterans. <\/p>\n Contact Veterans In Focus reporter Michelle Hofmann at michelle.lorenzo@kristv.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ROCKPORT, Texas \u2014 Arthur Lee Mann does not call himself a hero. \u201cI was doing my job,\u201d he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156,2672,47130,1913,12100,27412],"class_list":["post-280945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news","tag-military","tag-stories","tag-veterans","tag-vietnam","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}