Army veteran earned 2 Purple Hearts in Vietnam
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NAME: Robert Anderson
AGE: 79
RESIDENCE: Salem
SERVICE BRANCH: Army
MILITARY HONORS: 2 Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star
OCCUPATION: Retired, but former tool and die operator, bar owner and auto salesman
FAMILY: Wife, Sondra Anderson; and son, Robyn Anderson
SALEM -- Growing up in rural Columbiana County, Robert Anderson never imagined the path his life would take -- from a small farmhouse in Ohio to the battlefields of Vietnam, where he earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star before returning home to build a family and career.
Born in 1947 in Moultrie, Ohio, Anderson entered the world in a farmhouse kitchen, delivered by a midwife. When he was 1, his family moved to Dungannon, where they lived in a four-room house without running water or indoor plumbing. Over the next several years, the home was expanded to accommodate Anderson, his four siblings and his parents.
Anderson attended United Local Schools, graduating in 1964. Like many young people in rural Ohio, he spent his youth working for local farmers. After graduation, he worked a variety of part-time jobs before making a decision that would shape the rest of his life.
In October 1965, with the Vietnam War escalating, Anderson enlisted in the U.S. Army.
"The war was heating up in Vietnam, and I wanted to be part of it," he said.
His recruiter suggested he volunteer for airborne training and Anderson eagerly accepted.
After induction in Pittsburgh, he completed basic training and advanced infantry training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. He then attended Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he spent five weeks learning parachute operations.
Training progressed from 12-foot platforms to 40-foot towers and eventually 250-foot towers before Anderson made his first parachute jumps.
"I've told the story many times that the first five times I ever flew in an airplane, I never got to experience a landing," he said with a laugh.
After earning his airborne wings, Anderson returned home on leave before departing for Vietnam.
Following a 22-hour journey that included several layovers, Anderson arrived near Saigon and was placed in a replacement depot where soldiers were assigned to units needing personnel. He was disappointed when he and his best friend, Dennis Higgins of New Jersey, were assigned to the 25th Infantry Division rather than an airborne unit.
Stationed at Cu Chi, headquarters of the 25th Infantry Division, Anderson soon joined the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment in the field.
His first night with the unit offered an early lesson about life in a combat zone.
While eating C-rations in a rice paddy, the unit began taking sniper fire from a nearby tree line.
"My first instinct was to get behind the dike and stay low in the mud," Anderson recalled. "Much to my surprise, Dennis and I were the only two ducking."
Veteran soldiers assured the newcomers that the sniper fired at them nearly every night and rarely hit anything.
"That's the way my two years there began," Anderson said.
Over the next 16 months, Anderson participated in combat operations throughout South Vietnam, including missions in the notorious Iron Triangle region.
He survived countless firefights and enemy attacks, suffering wounds on two separate occasions. In February 1967, he was injured during a mortar attack, and in May 1967 he was wounded again by shrapnel. Neither injury was life-threatening, but both earned him Purple Hearts.
For his service, Anderson also received the Bronze Star.
He spent 16 months in the field as an infantryman before transitioning to an instructor role, teaching newly arrived soldiers jungle survival techniques during his final eight months in Vietnam.
Anderson left Vietnam on July 4, 1968, and was assigned to the famed 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He completed his military service there and was honorably discharged in December 1968 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Just two months later, in February 1969, he married his wife, Sondra. The couple recently celebrated 57 years together.
After spending a year in Pittsburgh, they returned to Salem, where they made their home and raised their family.
Anderson worked as a tool and die maker for 17 years before opening a bar and restaurant in Lisbon called the Night Court. After five years in business, he sold the establishment and began a career in automobile sales with Wally Armour in Alliance, retiring in 2009.
One of Anderson's proudest accomplishments is his son, Robyn, who graduated from West Point in 1995 and served a five-year military commitment with the same unit his father once served in Vietnam -- the 25th Infantry Division.
Today, Anderson remains in contact with two Army friends he met more than 60 years ago: Tom Leslie of Wampum, Pa., and Dennis Higgins of Toms River, New Jersey.
Reflecting on his military service, Anderson says the Army taught him lessons that lasted a lifetime.
"Looking back, I believe the Army taught me how to deal with the ups and downs of life," he said.
Like many Vietnam veterans, Anderson remembers returning home to a country divided by war and says veterans were not always welcomed warmly. Yet he harbors no bitterness.
"I have no regrets, and I am extremely proud of my service,” he said. "I would do it all again."