Vietnam veteran speaks to students

The SGA and the Army ROTC sponsored the "We Were Soldiers" leadership symposium Thursday, featuring retired Col. Greg "Matt" Dillon who spoke about his experiences in Vietnam.

Almost 200 people attended the event to see his presentation after the tornado warnings for the Tuscaloosa area had passed.

Dillon, originally from New York, attended the University on a track scholarship and graduated in 1956. He was also a member of the "A" club for varsity athletes at the University.

He served in the Vietnam War as an operations officer, planning missions for the first battalion/seventh cavalry regiment under the Lt. Col. Hal Moore, who is now retired. Dillon is most famous for operating the Battle of Ia Drang, Vietnam, in November 1965.

He started his presentation by showing a TLC special documentary that explored the events leading up to the Battle of Ia Drang.

After the documentary, Dillon showed clips from the movie "We Were Soldiers" in which Mel Gibson, as Lt. Col. Hal Moore, says to his unit before battle, "We are now moving into the valley of the shadow of death."

In the movie, Gibson told his soldiers they should not care about the color of the man in front of them because everyone is equal during battle. He also tells his soldiers that he will be the first to step on the field and the last to step off once he has recovered his men "with the help of God."

Dillon talked about the military significance of this scene.

"When you are a platoon leader, you cannot go back and help a fallen soldier," Dillon said. "Because if you do, you are ultimately leaving 40 or more other soldiers behind with out a leader."

The next scenes from "We Were Soldiers" showed the men fighting in the violent battles of Vietnam. The scenes portray the last three days of fighting in Vietnam.

Maj. Dan Clark, professor of military sciences, said the movie can be difficult for some to watch.

Dillon spoke about important tips a soldier has to keep in mind when in combat.

"First take care of the ordered mission, and second take care of your troops by making them do the things that allow them to survive," he said. "Fatigue is the biggest enemy because you take your chances when you're tired."

Dillon said ammunition and water are key to have at all times, especially water because the human body can go three days without eating but it shuts down without water.

Dillon said their artillery is what saved them in combat.

"If we did not have our artillery and our Air Force, I would not be here today," he said.

At the end of the presentation, Clark presented Dillon with a Commander's Coin, which features the University on one side and the ROTC on the other side. He also gave him a copy of the novel "Bear's Boys" by Eli Gold, which had been autographed by multiple UA football players.

To close the presentation, SGA Vice President for Academic Affairs Matt Wisda read Dillon the resolution passed by the Senate on Oct. 4, which recognized Dillon as a "true American hero."