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Hanford Insider: Echoes of Courage - Vietnam Veterans Finally Welcomed Home!

• Rob Bentley

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"They deserve some recognition." These simple yet profound words from Navy veteran John Kuykendall capture the essence of Hanford's upcoming Echoes of Courage celebration honoring Vietnam veterans 50 years after the war's end.

The weight of unspoken history fills our latest episode as we sit down with two local heroes who served during one of America's most controversial conflicts. Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Bill Zumwalt shares his experiences patrolling the dangerous "Rocket Belt" around Da Nang, while Navy veteran John Kuykendall recounts commanding the first ship-to-shore missiles ever fired in naval combat history during Operation Linebacker.

What makes these conversations particularly poignant is the shared experience of returning home to a nation that wasn't ready to honor their sacrifice. "When I came back home, I basically was told not to tell anyone I was a veteran," Zumwalt reveals. Kuykendall adds that after witnessing "people spitting on you in the airport," he avoided veteran organizations for decades until moving to Hanford, a community he describes as "so unique and so pro-veteran it changed my life."

This Saturday's parade and ceremony represent a long-overdue welcome home. The event begins at 10am with a parade from Douty and 8th Streets to the Civic Center Park, followed by an 11am ceremony featuring food trucks, a beer garden, and a car show. For veterans who were drafted or volunteered, who came home wounded physically or carrying invisible scars, this community recognition offers a healing moment five decades in the making.

Beyond veteran stories, we cover local news including updates from the Hanford City Council, community calendar events through early May, and a complete high school sports report covering baseball and softball action. We're also collecting teacher appreciation shout-outs for our special May 5th show – record yours at hanfordinsider.com or call 559-424-3345.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the most comprehensive community calendar available, and if you appreciate our local coverage, support us at buymeacoffee.com/HanfordInsider. These stories of service and sacrifice deserve to be heard – join us in honoring those who answered their country's call.

You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
Thank you for supporting the show!

Speaker 1:

On this episode of the Hanford Insider we get a chance to visit with Vietnam veterans Bill Zumwalt and John Kuykendall as Hanford prepares for Saturday's Echoes of Courage parade and ceremony in the Civic Park. You'll get an update of Hanford news and the community calendar then. Later I'll be back with your sports report. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday April 21st.

Speaker 2:

This is the Hanford Insider Podcast, where we dive into what makes our community tick, from local stories and hidden gems to conversations with people shaping our neighborhood. We're here to celebrate, explore and connect. I'm your host, rob Bentley. Whether you're new to Hanford or a longtime local, this is your source for everything happening in our town, from events and news news to unique conversations with people who make Hanford such a unique community. I hope you enjoy the format.

Speaker 2:

Let's take a look at this week's community news. The Hanford City Council met last Tuesday evening. They had an extended conversation about streetlight requirements in the new Live Oak subdivision in southwest Hanford. It's a complicated issue and the council decided they needed more time to study what the builder's intentions are. So the item will be brought back to the agenda at the next meeting. They also discussed the condition of the building on the northeast corner of Dowdy and 6th. The building is becoming unsafe and the owner has not presented any plan to sell, remodel or demolish it. So city staff is investigating next steps, including potential demolition.

Speaker 2:

In community news this week we were saddened to hear that Emily Carpenter, our reigning Miss Kings County, passed away. As you might remember, she had suffered from several bouts of cancer. She even started her own non-profit, golden Positivity, to help families who are suffering of cancer. She even started her own non-profit, golden Positivity, to help families who are suffering from cancer. It was great to see the community rally around her during her final days. Her non-profit will continue to bless families for many years. In lighter community news, it was great to see Monroe Elementary School celebrate their National Blue Ribbon School Award and Kings River Hardwick being recognized as a California Distinguished School for 2025.

Speaker 2:

We have some great schools in town. May is Teacher Appreciation Month and I'd like to have a special show on May 5th featuring shout-outs to our favorite educators. Here's how to record yours Go to hanfordinsidercom and click on the microphone icon at the bottom of the page to record your message. That's all you have to do. If you want to just call me and leave a voicemail, that works as well. You can call 559-424-3345. Once again, that phone number is 559-424-3345. The shout outs will be aired on our special show on May 5th. Thanks for participating in this recognition to our outstanding educators, past and present.

Speaker 2:

Let's take a look at this week's community calendar. At the food truck takeover in the Civic Park this Wednesday, april 23rd, the lineup includes Golden Lupia Warriors and Elvis Bistro. The trucks are open from 11 to 2 each Wednesday in the beautiful Hanford Civic Auditorium Park. Open from 11 to 2 each Wednesday in the beautiful Hanford Civic Auditorium Park. The Woodstacker Square Dance Club is holding a special 70th anniversary party night this Friday night at the Square Eights Hall at 7 pm. Groovy attire is encouraged. The special guest caller will be Dan Norby. Kings County Special Olympics is holding a carnival at the Longfield Center on Saturday, april 26th from 10 am to 3 pm.

Speaker 2:

And the first week of May is certainly going to be full of activities. Main Street Hanford kicks off the 2025 season of Thursday Night Marketplace on Thursday May 1st. On next week's show we'll have Jim Castleman give us a preview. On Saturday, may 3rd, the 5th Annual Downtown Hanford Cinco de Mayo Festival will be held on 7th Street from 5 pm to 9 pm. There'll be Mexican Folklorical Dancers, a Kids Zone, craft Vendors Dancing, a Beer Garden and Food Trucks. The event is sponsored by the Patty Dance Studio, hop Forge Brewing and UCP of Hanford. The King's Art Center is holding their Taco Fiesta for adults on Sunday, may 4th, from 4 to 7. Visit kingsartcenterorg for details and tickets If you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out. Let's work together. Send your information to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive community calendar available.

Speaker 2:

Well, this Saturday, april 26th, is the Echoes of Courage celebration, which will be held marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The parade will begin at 10 am. The route will start at Dowdy and 8th Streets, near the Carnegie Museum, head south on Dowdy to 7th, west on 7th to Irwin Street and north on Irwin Street to the Civic Center Park. Those coming are encouraged to wave their flags and cheer on our Vietnam veterans as they pass by. At 11, there'll be a ceremony in the park, as well as food trucks, a beer garden and a car show.

Speaker 2:

As part of the salute to our Vietnam veterans, I've invited two of our local heroes to join me on the show. It's great to have on the show Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Bill Zumwalt. Many of you probably remember Bill for his 35 years with the County Public Works Department, serving as director of that department for 16 years before his retirement in 2009. So, bill, while you were a student at Fresno State, I understand you enrolled in an officer program for those interested in military service. What was that program like?

Speaker 3:

Well, that's a program put on by the Marine Corps where they come down and they sign you up and you go into the reserves and during the summer between classes I went to OCS Officer of Canada School back in Quantico, virginia, and then, upon completing OCS, went back to school, finished my degree and then I was commissioned upon graduation and then went active duty about a month after I graduated.

Speaker 2:

So when you did go to active duty as a second lieutenant, what did that look like?

Speaker 3:

Well, all Marine officers, newly minted second lieutenants, go to what's called the basic schools, the Marine Corps' basic infantry officer school, where we spent 21 weeks learning how to be a platoon leader. All Marines at that time went through and learned how to become a leader of a Marine rifle platoon and then from there we were sent out to our next duty station where we actually would be put into a command. Those of us who went infantry which is what I did go straight to some infantry unit somewhere, go straight to some infantry unit somewhere. Others who go to schools like communications or tanks, armor or flight school, that sort of stuff, they go off to those schools out of the basic school.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and then when I got out of the basic school, I was originally had orders to Vietnam, but this was in early 1970 and the Marines were getting out of Vietnam at the time, and so I was sent to Camp Pendleton with what's called the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. It's a brigade of basically two regiments that are supposed to be ready to be sent to any hotspot in the world within 48 hours of notification, and I spent about six months five months at Camp Pendleton, then got my order.

Speaker 2:

So when you got your orders to serve in Vietnam, what were some of the assignments you had while serving?

Speaker 3:

When I left the US I went to Da Nang in Vietnam by way of Okinawa for processing and I got into Da Nang and I was assigned to the 1st Battalion, the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and our job out there at the time was basically pacification, did some patrolling in what's called the Rocket Belt and did some patrolling in what's called the Rocket Belt, an area around Da Nang where the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong would fire off rockets at the Da Nang area, mainly for harassment and see if they could damage equipment and stuff.

Speaker 3:

And our job was to go out and try and find these guys and put a stop to it. Well, it's a big area and not many of us and we would be out patrolling. We'd see where a rocket had been launched, so we'd go over there. Well, the Vietnamese Viet Cong would be long gone by the time we got there and the idea was that we were out there. They knew we were out there and it made them think twice before they tried too much of that stuff. It made me a defensive activity. So basically patrolling and looking for the bad guys.

Speaker 2:

So this event on Saturday is going to be pretty special and there's a lot of people that are expected to attend. Why do you feel like events like these are so important?

Speaker 3:

It's long overdue, I guess. When I came back home, I basically was told not to tell anyone I was a veteran. Attitudes have changed considerably since then, so I'm happy to participate now that we seem to be a little bit more appreciated.

Speaker 2:

Bill, I want to thank you for your service and I'd like to thank you for coming on the show and I look forward to seeing you Saturday at the event.

Speaker 3:

Okay, we'd be happy to see you there.

Speaker 2:

Also joining me on the show today is Navy veteran John Kuykendall. Welcome to the show, john. Thanks so much, john. This show is a special tribute to the Vietnam War veterans and we have the parade and ceremony coming up this Saturday and we're featuring some of our veterans and some of their stories. So I thought maybe we'd start just by talking a little bit about your background and how you got involved in the service.

Speaker 4:

Great. Thanks a lot, rob. I was about to graduate from college at the University of Colorado in 1969, and my wife and I my future wife decided we would get married three months before graduation. Because in 69, the draft was at the peak and everybody was getting drafted and I figured we would just go along with the flow. Well, sure enough, we get married. She gets pregnant on the honeymoon. Graduation time comes. We know there'll be a baby coming along towards the end of the year.

Speaker 4:

So I interviewed on campus with IBM Corporation. They offered me my dream job in Denver where I wanted to be marketing the huge computer units that would fill an entire room. So that looked great and I interviewed with them a couple of times. They said we want you. But I said I got to go register for the draft to see what they have to say. Well, they had a wife and child deferment at the time and so they said John, don't worry about a thing, so off I go sign with IBM, buy all these clothes and everything. Sure enough. Three months into, IBM draft notice that ran out of other people to draft and in I go.

Speaker 4:

I talked to my father. He'd been in the Navy in World War II and he had found my mother, this beautiful Australian girl, down in Australia during World War II. So I'm half Australian Army and half from US Navy. Anyway, he said, go in the Navy. You don't want to be in the Army, everybody's getting killed over there now, which they were. And so I went into the Navy and because they were all full of officer billets, I had to go in as an enlisted guy, which was very helpful. What I did was I ended up in boot camp. We uprooted ourselves. Carolyn went to live with her mom till the baby came and all that stuff Got out of boot camp, realized that I really needed to go to OCS, went to OCS top of my class and it worked out very well.

Speaker 4:

And then I was assigned to a ship out of Long Beach. It worked out very well, and then I was assigned to a ship out of Long Beach and that is really where it hit the road, because that ship was destined to go off in the next couple of months to Vietnam for about a two-year stint, and that was really the highlight of what we did. Yeah, so here I am. Carolyn has just had the second baby and two weeks after the second baby is born. I leave her alone and go off to Vietnam, unknown prospects, unknown amount of time, unknown to what we're going to be doing.

Speaker 4:

So I was on a destroyer which has about 300 men and 10 officers, two big guns, five inch 38 gun mounts two guns each, and missiles to take out the radars who were protected outside Hanoi and by Russian radars that ran those anti-aircraft guns Anyway. So I got to wear many hats during my time on the Hollister. I was nominally the supply officer, which meant I was responsible for all the repair parts and the food and taking care of the crew and paying the crew and everything else, managing the ship's budget for 300 men. And on top of that I had very little experience but luckily I had a lot of really good petty officers underneath me. So we get into combat.

Speaker 4:

This was early or late June of 72. And the first time we're in combat, our gunnery officer, this sharp young guy from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, has a nervous breakdown, has to be helicoptered off the ship. There's nobody left in the pipeline to fill that hole and here we are looking at a whole big deployment. So the captain comes to me and says John, you look like a smart guy, you're going to be the gunnery officer for the rest of the deployment. What a shock, yeah. Anyway, we fired 40,000 rounds of cannon fire in that time that we were in Vietnam. 40,000 rounds. Every one of those rounds is fired when you're standing outside and the ear protection wasn't very good at that time, which explains my hearing loss. I can imagine that.

Speaker 4:

Plus, what we really did that got a lot of attention from the Navy was we fired the first ship-to-shore missiles in combat in naval history. Our Shrike missiles, which had been on the fighter jets like the ones at Lemoore, they found out were completely adaptable to take out the Russian radars that were running the anti-aircraft guns over Hanoi. This was Operation Linebacker, when the B-52 waves were coming over Hanoi and they were shooting them down. The first day of the campaign they shot down three B-52s. Wow, horrible losses. So sure enough they tapped us to do that and we fired them and it worked and it took care of the threat, I think the whole six or seven weeks of the rest of the campaign they only got three more. So that was exciting.

Speaker 4:

Then we did some side trips into Haiphong Harbor where everything was being offloaded by the Chinese and the Russians, so there'd be ammunition and fuel for the North Vietnamese Army. And then we were in what was called the biggest destroyer action of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Hanmei Island. After we mined Haiphong Harbor, they had to offload all those ships out of these little islands off the coast of North Vietnam, and Hanmei Island was one of them. It was like the guns of Navarone. They had all these big gun emplacements. They'd been there for years, all protected, and our job was to take those out and take out those ships that were offloading all that ammunition and stuff. So we did it. I think we took 500 rounds of enemy shells that night holes in the smokestacks. You could just hear it pinging against the hull of the ship, but we didn't get sunk or anything. Anyway, it was about enough excitement for a lifetime, I bet.

Speaker 2:

I bet so with your experience in Vietnam and I know that there's so many people that didn't come back, but for those that did come back there was that you were almost told to keep a lid on it and not talk about your service, and what kind of experience do you have with that?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you asked me that question because by the end of Vietnam and realizing that the whole country was against it, american politicians had just run it for 10 years plus as a disaster that killed thousands, 58,000 people in Vietnam needlessly. And having been there on the ground and seen it, when you come back and everybody's spitting on you in the airport and stuff like that, so you don't even want to get involved I wouldn't join the American Legion. Veterans of foreign wars, disabled American veterans, any of that stuff, I didn't want anything to do with it. It was only when I moved to Hanford 11 years ago that I really reconnected with the veteran community and this town is so unique and so pro-veteran it changed my life.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure, and that's a great segue into this Saturday's event. It gives the citizens of Hanford, who there seems to be a resurgence in patriotism and honoring our veterans and with the 50th anniversary celebration of the end of the Vietnam War, we have a chance to honor our veterans. And what would you say to somebody who may not be as familiar with what happened? Or maybe give them the opportunity to come out and support these vets. Thank you.

Speaker 4:

Rob, I think it's very important that people understand a lot of people who are over there and a lot of people who lost their lives did not volunteer to go. There was a draft on there was a lot of stuff. Not volunteer to go there was a draft on there was a lot of stuff. There was definitely a feeling that people who didn't have the money or the connections or were the right color, you know, ended up getting killed over there and there were a lot of disheartening things about it. But what I would stress to them was all of us who went over and all of us who saw that stuff and all of us who came back and all of the other people who enlisted or got drafted risked their lives one way or the other potentially, but didn't have to go over. They deserve some recognition and I've had a very nice career after this and it's not something that colored my life. That I realized at the time, but it stays with you forever.

Speaker 2:

No, that's great. Well, thank you for joining us, Sean.

Speaker 4:

It's a pleasure, thank you.

Speaker 2:

And now it's time for Hanford Insider. Sports with.

Speaker 4:

Eric Bentley.

Speaker 1:

Last week was a busy week for all the high school baseball and softball teams, taking on some quality competition in tournament play. And we'll start with baseball, where Sierra Pacific got their Easter classic off to an exciting start, trailing Clovis North 3-1, heading into the final inning. Start Trailing Clovis North 3-1 heading into the final inning. The Golden Bears plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Broncos in walk-off fashion 4-3, with Christian Flores going 3-4 at the plate and Caleb Kuhlein pitching all seven striking out five. The Golden Bears also picked up an 18-2 run rule victory over Sunnyside on Tuesday as eight different batters tallied RBIs in the win, with Harrison Todd leading the way, knocking in four. Davis High and Clovis High were able to get the better of the Golden Bears in their other two tournament games to go 2-2 on the week At 14-6 overall and 3-1 in league play. Sierra Pacific returns to league action this week for a series with Emanuel Hanford. West Baseball was not able to pick up any wins in their four Easter Classic games, falling in three close ones to Highland, bullard and Chowchilla, before suffering defeat to Red Bluff in run-rule fashion At 2-2 in league play. The Huskies will see Reed Lee for a two-game league series this week and Hanford High Baseball also couldn't find a win last week in their four Easter Classic games, falling in a close one 5-4 to Clovis West, before being shut out by Placer Washington, union and Frontier. The Bullpups sit at 5-3 in conference and will look to get back on track this week as they take on Lemoore in a two-game series.

Speaker 1:

On to softball, where Sierra Pacific went 2-2 in their four games at the Tiger Softball Classic in Woodlake, taking down Chavez 8-3 and Summit Charter Academy 12-0, before falling to Avenal and Woodlake At 11-9 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Golden Bears will take on Hanford West in non-league action on Tuesday before hosting Exeter on Friday. Hanford High softball went winless in their tournament action, falling to Clovis West, pioneer Valley and Bullard but grinding with Clovis North to a 2-2 tie. The Bullpups will look to pick up their first league win of the season this week as they host Mission Oak on Wednesday and travel to Lemoore on Friday and Hanford West softball fell to Buchanan, clovis East, clovis North and Highland in their four Easter Classic matchups last week. This week the 13-6 overall Huskies will take on Sierra Pacific Tuesday in non-league play before looking to keep their perfect 4-0 league record alive on the road at Reedley on Friday.

Speaker 1:

As always, we like to cover as many local sports as we can, so if you have a score report, a story idea or a team update, please let us know. At hanfordinsider at gmailcom, I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

Speaker 2:

That's all the time we have for this week's show. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffeecom slash Hanford Insider to make a donation. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop by my website at hanfordinsidercom to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. I also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media or, like most of my listeners, just telling a friend For more information about the show. You can find this podcast on Facebook, instagram, threads X and YouTube at Hanford Insider. And don't forget, if you have a show idea, be sure to email me at hanfordinsider at gmailcom and I'll look into it. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.

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Rob Bentley

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