Ronald Byklum

He was drafted November 19th, 1965. “We had two weeks to get things in order back home and then we had to head to Fargo,” he says. “I had a nervous feeling,” he replied when asked what was going through his mind.

In Fargo, the men were sworn into the military and put on a bus headed to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where they cut off everyone’s hair, gave them shots and passed out their uniforms. The group was then transported to Fort Hood, Texas, where the 8 weeks of Basic Training began. 

Once Ronnie had completed Basic Training, he was able to come home for a couple of weeks before he was expected to report for Advanced Training at Fort Meade, Maryland. “They call it an MO and assign you to an area; I was assigned to the artillery,” Ronnie offered. The artillery is a branch of the military that uses large-caliber guns. 

In Advanced Training for another 8 weeks, Ronnie was part of the 11th Armored Calvary Division. He spent his time between Camp Pickett, Virginia, and Fort Meade, Maryland – each base offering a specific set of skills. He was able to come home for another couple of weeks, before heading back to Fort Meade for more training and preparations to ship out for Vietnam.

By this time, it was the fall of 1966. All of the tanks, trucks and personnel carriers went on a ship about 30 days prior to the men leaving. Ronnie’s division got on a ship in Oakland, California, called the USS Upshur. They were on the ship for about 25 days before arriving in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.

“We got there at night. Off in the distance, toward the land, you could see tracer bullets flying through the air. I remember thinking, ‘what are we getting into.’ I honestly don’t know if that was set up for us to look at or if it was real,” said Ronnie. “It sure made you realize where you were, though.”

The 11th Armored Calvary Division was a complete new division moving into Vietnam. There was no other base camps available for the division so they had to build their own. The organization of about 1500 people was placed at Bien Hoa for a couple weeks, before moving east about 50 miles to start their own base camp in the brush. Being a complete unit with trucks, cats, gun, etc., the men started building wood structures with canvas tents over them and establishing the camp that was called Xuan Loc Base Camp. 

“Our main job was to protect the ones building,” Ronnie said. “We were the mobilized guys with the big guns. We would park at the base and shoot missiles out for miles towards the enemy.” Ronnie also remembers setting up barb wire to make a safe perimeter around the camp, which was mortared once. Although no one lost their lives from that attack, there were numerous injuries. 

Once the camp was built and more established, Ronnie’s group was sent on missions outside of camp. Of those missions, one included the infamous Operation Junction City, which is portrayed on the big screen when it was made into a movie in 2005. 

According to online research, Operation Junction City was an 82 day military operation conducted by United States and South Vietnam in an attempt to flush out the VietCong headquarters, sending them to retreat against a prepared “anvil” of pre-positioned forces. The intention was to locate the elusive “headquarters” believed to be almost a “mini-Pentagon,” complete with typists, file cabinets and staff workers possibly guarded by layers of bureaucracy. In truth, after the end of the war, the actual headquarters was revealed by VC archives to be a small and mobile group of people, often sheltering in ad hoc facilities. 

“Being a part of that mission really sticks in my mind,” said Ronnie. “I haven’t seen the movie and I don’t plan to either,” he adds. He recalls a lot of land mines in the area, though. One truck, only a couple of spots in front of him, was hit. He says they would all set up camp out in the woods and dig foxholes where they could sleep and seek shelter from incoming mortars.

When asked if he sustained any injuries in the war, Ronnie laughed and said he only received one that was self-inflicted. “We were sleeping under our canvas right off the big gun. It was the middle of the night and we received a shooting mission. The guys didn’t wake everyone up so two of us were still sleeping. The gun shot right over us and, to this day, my ears still ring,” he said.

Another memorable moment in Vietnam was when Ronnie, by chance, ran into his friend from back home. He was out on a mission in the rubber plantation and noticed a guy looking at him. “I was in the chow line and this guy kept staring at me. Later, I went to wash my utensils and he was still staring at me. Here it was my friend, Keith Wikstrom, from Grygla! I didn’t know he’d be there and I sure didn’t expect to see him,” Ronnie smiled. The two friends were able to talk for a bit, but it wasn’t long before they had to move along.

Ronald Byklum was in Vietnam from October 1966 to September 1967. Expecting to serve 1 year, the men were able to go home after 11 months. New troops were sent in to replace the men. After they provided those new troops with sufficient training, the men were able to fly back to Oakland, California from Saigon, Vietnam. “We got offered money to go back, but I declined,” says Ronnie. Once they were back on US land, the men had to go through a discharge process in California. “They call it debriefing. They tell us all the things we shouldn’t say about the war and then they give you some papers and make you an offer to go back,” Ronnie said.

From California, Ronnie flew to Minneapolis and spent a few days with his cousin, Wally Byklum. “We talked about a few things – things I had missed…things about the war,” Ronnie recalled. Then it was homeward bound.

By this time, it was fall of 1967. “I got trapped by Nancy a couple of years later,” he laughed. Ronald and Nancy were married in 1969 and had three children: Sheila, Deanna and Karla. Ronnie went on to work construction for a few years. He bought the family farm and says he was all over the place! “I had some cattle and small grain; I worked at Land O’ Lakes; I drove truck for Polaris; I was all over!

Ronnie is a lifetime member of the Grygla VFW Post 3858, joining in 1970. The post is actually in the process of dissolving due to lack of memberships, but the current members can transfer their membership to another area post. 

He is also a charter member of the American Legion Post 162, helping to start the post 33 years ago!

When asked how the service and his experience has shaped his life today, Ronald says, “Although it was scary, it was a good thing. You are forced to grow up fast. I honestly believe that a lot of 19 year olds need to go into the service for that same experience. It just teaches you so much respect.”