Nunez Honors St. Bernard Veterans at History Lecture Series

A special edition of Nunez Community College’s History Lecture Series welcomed four Vietnam Veterans from St. Bernard Parish to the stage and closed with a patriotic light show on Veterans Day.

Fireworks, bald eagles and American flags lit up the outer walls of the Nunez Auditorium and the Arts, Science and Technology Building as guests reflected on the testimonies they had just heard from Hilton Preau, Cal Kingsmill, Theodore Guerin and Henry Catania, all members of the Greater St. Bernard Chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America. All four were involved in combat during the Vietnam War, Preau with the Army 101st Airborne, Kingsmill with the Army 36th Engineer Battalion of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, Guerin with the Army 82nd Airborne, and Catania in the Navy aboard the USS Collett.

Dr. Tina Tinney, Nunez Chancellor, opened the program with a short explanation of why Nunez opted for a “living history” for its November History Lecture, rather than its typical centuries-deep retrospective.

“Veterans Day is not just a tradition. It really is an essential part of making sure that we translate to future generations the value of history,” she said.

Preau offered perspective on the scope of fighting in Vietnam with his opening remarks, stating that U.S. soldiers in Vietnam served on average 200 more duty days per year than U.S. soldiers fighting in World War II. He added that the practice of fighting on the front lines of battle also evolved due to the introduction of helicopters into heavy service.

“[Helicopters] picked us up three or four times a day. Wherever there was conflict, that’s where we went,” said Preau. “They’d pick us up and drop us where the heat was.”

Guerin described how the constant need for fresh infantry soldiers essentially negated any specialized training a soldier received before arriving in country.

“They told me I was going to climb telephone poles and change wires. That’s what I went to school for,” he said. “And when I got [to Vietnam] they told me ‘forget everything you learned’ and I went straight to infantry.”

Catania, who served on a battleship, recalled how the ship shelled the coastline unceasingly in support of ground troops.

“One time we couldn’t walk on deck, they had so much brass. That’s how much we shot,” he said.

Kingsmill described the experience of returning home after serving in Vietnam and feeling out of place in the community where he grew up.

“I started isolating myself and I couldn’t relate to people,” he said. “My family is still back in ‘Nam.”

Kingsmill would eventually begin to heal through art therapy, which provided an outlet for him to express his emotions.

The visiting veterans graciously answered questions from the audience before St. Bernard Parish Historian William de Marigny Hyland offered closing remarks and directed the audience outside to watch the light show.

Honoring Our Veterans is available to view now on the Nunez Community College YouTube channel.