Cpl. Esteban Valenzuela, USMC, Vietnam

Esteban Valenzuela was a talented high school football player and could have continued playing in college. Instead, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1966, while he was still in high school. Several months later, he was in Vietnam on a tour lasting well over a year and took part of some of the intense fighting connected with the enemy’s Tet Offensive in early 1968.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Valenzuela takes us into Marine Corps boot camp and how he saw the benefits of that and other training once he was in Vietnam. You’ll also hear how he rose in rank and responsibility during his time in Vietnam.

But Valenzuela also describes the heat of intense combat during the Tet Offensive, how losses mounted even though the U.S. successfully repelled the attacks, how Valenzuela lost one of his best friends, and how he responded in that moment.

Valenzuela also explains how a return to Vietnam in 2025 helped to heal some very old wounds.

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Veterans Chronicles