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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MARCH 24. 2022
Vietnam War and Afghanistan War vets become friends
National Vietnam
Veterans Day,
March 29
By Mark Millican
Contributing Writer
Just two months after
being seriously wounded
during a firefight in
Afghanistan, Corporal Wes
Farron had orders cut from
the Army to leave Brooks
Army Hospital in San Anto
nio, Texas and report for duty
in Fort Riley, Kansas - by
driving in a blizzard.
Back in Jasper Farron's fa-
ther-in-law, Dave Lovem,
mentioned his plight to Bob
Reitz, a career Army officer,
while they were attending
Jasper United Methodist
Church.
‘‘He was going to drive
from Texas to Kansas with
his wife and a 10-month old
kid in a blizzard, and he
couldn't even stand up
straight,” Reitz said of Far
ron's condition, which in
cluded damage to several
internal organs due to a
sniper's bullet. “So I told
Dave, let me look into that...
I called the hospital (in
Texas) and said, 'Let me
speak to the first military guy
in charge of Wes Farron.'
(They said) 'Who's this?' I
said, 'It's Colonel Reitz, don't
take too much time!' That's
the way I was talking. Any
way, this sergeant comes on
(the phone) and I said, 'I un
derstand Wes has got orders
to Kansas in a snowstorm,
and that's ridiculous! This
ain't gonna happen! OK? So
here's what you're going to
do - you're going to give him
a 30-day delay in route, and
send him to Atlanta. When
his leave's up, you can send
him back to Riley.'”
Reitz, a Talking Rock res
ident, didn't tell the sergeant
he was a retired colonel who
left the Army in 1989. But
the ploy worked, and Farron
got the leave time.
Farron - himself a sniper
with the 1st Infantry Divi
sion, 1st Brigade, 2nd Ar
mored of the 34th Regiment
- was wounded on October
10, 2011 near Kandahar.
“We had gone in to take
this Taliban stronghold,” he
said. “I'd just lost two of my
best buddies, they both got
killed in that same area. So
we were pushing in there to
get rid of them. We'd fight for
a couple of days, stack dead
bodies, get out and go to the
next one. That's how we
rolled for three or four
weeks.”
F arron took two rounds to
the chest during an engage
ment.
“It was pretty bad, and the
weirdest thing was it wasn't
even the worst firefight - it
was nothing,” he said. “I
mean, it was a big firefight,
but I've been in eight-hour,
10-hour long gunfights.”
Farron, 32, was unable to
be med-evacked immediately
because his unit was in a fire
fight for the compound
where they were holed up.
The area was too 'hot' and
medical helicopters, which
were not allowed to have
weapons, couldn't get gun-
ship support.
“There's no way they can
get a vehicle convoy out
there, there's IEDs (impro
vised explosive devices)
everywhere, there's just no
way,” he said. “I was con
scious the whole time, be
cause everybody else was at
their positions fighting. (The
medic) would just kind of
slap me every time I was
about to drift off. I said, 'Why
are you trying to keep me
alive? I'm dying anyway, so
let me hurry up and do it.' Be
cause I was miserable. I think
the thing that really saved my
life was because (the medic)
was cool and calm and col
lected. We'd been in so much
fighting, had so many
wounded - over 250
wounded and 33 dead in a
nine-month deployment -
he'd got some experience.”
An hour later, Farron 'flat-
lined' (died) twice in the hel
icopter, but was brought back
to life by CPR. During one
attempt, his sternum was bro
ken.
“Fifty-seven minutes I
laid there until they picked
me up,” he said. “I put (my
survival) to God and my
medic, I guess.”
His wife, Melanie, hadn't
heard from him in three
weeks, but she was notified
immediately of his condition,
including being in a coma for
15 days.
“I don't think they found
out everything that was
wrong with me for two or
three days,” he said. “They
had to keep going back inside
because my liver was hit, my
kidney, my lung, my di
aphragm, my bowel duct; I
had three shattered ribs and
my esophagus was hit. One
bullet did all that. The second
bullet went through my
medic's hand and tumbled
into my armpit when they
were loading me into the bird
(helicopter). If it hadn't went
through his hand first ... the
round I got in my armpit
looks like an AK round (AK-
47 Russian assault rifle) be
cause it's sideways. I've had
18 surgeries since then.”
'Meant the
world to me'
Reitz, 72, served two
tours in Vietnam, first as a
senior advisor to the 35th
Ranger Battalion, then as an
S-2 and eventually S-3 intel
ligence officer with the First
Cavalry Division, First
Brigade at Fire Base David in
Cambodia. During the Tet
Offensive, he was attached to
the 5th Ranger Group while
they were fighting in Saigon
and elsewhere. After Viet
nam, he trained officers.
“When I taught at Fort
Leavenworth (Kansas) I told
the lieutenant colonels, 'You
don't have a job unless you
take care of your enlisted
men, because they are the salt
of the earth,'” he said.
“You've got to train them
hard, and then fight hard.
That philosophy worked for
me.”
Farron attempted to re-en-
list in the Army to help train
snipers, but the idea was
nixed because more wound
damage was discovered. He
got training to work as a fire
fighter and paramedic, and
also became certified as a hy
perbaric oxygen chamber
technician. He is now in the
poultry business. Farron and
Reitz met at church in around
Christmas of 2011, just be
fore Farron had to have an
other surgery.
“He amazes me,” Reitz
said. “He was hurting but still
willing to follow orders and
drive from Texas to Kansas
in a snowstorm. He was in
jured so bad Wounded War
riors built him a home to live
in.”
Farron noted of Reitz,
“Everybody knows him -
he's networked. Anytime I've
needed something, he's there,
he knows what to do.
“He's still a pain, though,”
Reitz smiled and jabbed at
Farron as they sat under a
picnic shelter at River Park in
Ellijay.
“We have a beer or go out
and shoot stuff,” Farron said
of their time together. “We
don't really get emotional.
There's certain things I have
to live with. When the doc
tors repaired me they told me
I'd get 10 years out of my
right kidney where I got hit
before they'd have to pull it
(and replace it). But I'm
going on 12 years now with
it.”
He also has internal tract
issues from the bullet that
causes nausea and makes him
throw up six times a day. He
said churchgoers at Jasper
Methodist have been very
supportive.
“They have been amaz
ing,” he said. “And when
Melanie was sick recently,
they were the same way, just
jumped right in there. It did
n't hurt that I married into a
good family.”
What about buddying up
with a crusty Army officer 40
years his senior?
“Bob has meant the world
to me because he's been able
to bridge gaps, within the
church community and the
military,” he replied. “Truly,
he's been a mentor, because
when you get out (of the mil
itary) you're kinda just on
your own. He's helped me in
the VA (Veterans Administra
tion) system too because I
didn't know how any of that
worked.”
Reitz, a 1961 graduate of
Virginia Military Institute,
has worked with the Ameri
can Legion, Veterans of For
eign Wars and Purple Heart
Society, helping dozens and
dozens of veterans on issues
such as health care, home
lessness and drug addiction.
“As an officer in the
Army, I realized early on that
I didn't have a job unless I
had enlisted personnel. My
job was to take care of the
troops and recognize them.
That's why I do what I do,”
Reitz explained. “I didn't
necessarily do the work, I
just knew the people who
could get it accomplished.
When I found out about Wes,
I realized there were a lot of
people who had been
wounded in Brooks Army
Hospital, and (their staff) had
to deal with all of them and
Wes was just another one.”
Reitz was awarded a Sil
ver Star, three Bronze Stars
and a Purple Heart during his
two tours of Vietnam. In six
years of Army service, Far
ron received a Purple Heart
and was awarded a Bronze
Star, three Army Commenda
tion medals, a Combat In
fantry Badge and Expert
Rifleman Badge.
Bob Reitz, left, and Wes Farron are both combat veter
ans and got to know each other after Wes was seriously
wounded in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
(Photo by Mark Millican)
Army sniper Wes Farron is pictured getting in some
range time during his six years in the Army. He was
wounded severely in Afghanistan and now lives with his
family near Talking Rock. (Contributedphoto)
Capt. Bob Reitz carrying wounded South Vietnamese
Ranger. (Contributed photo)
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