Vietnam Veteran Escapes Near Death, Wonders "why me?"

While attending Madison West High School, he attended the prom with his girlfriend Marla. Not only was she crowned prom queen, but she also became his bride and they’ve been married for 47 years.

“We started dating in our junior year and went to prom together. We were very much into each other. We continued dating through my service and we got married in 1976”

Foseid enlisted in the Marines during his junior year in high school and he left for boot camp in 1967. He was an M-60 gunner and his secondary MOS was recon. He arrived in Vietnam with 200 other marines shortly after the Tet Offensive, which is when North Vietnam launched an attack during a cease fire.

“I met a fellow Marine who had been there for over a year and he asked me what unit I was chosen for. When I told him, he looked at me in a serious look and said ‘Son, write home as soon as you can. All 200 men you are replacing have likely be killed or wounded.’ It turns out they nicknamed our Battalion the Horizontal unit because the only way you get out of there is on a stretcher. Dead, wounded or very sick.”

Foseid spent his first six months occupying a fox hole in the Khe Sanh Mountains.

“I was one of the few Marines that fought in the bush the whole time. I was never on a base. I still vividly remember the heat and humidity was blistering and the flies and mosquitos were everywhere. Constantly on your face, your neck, your hands and arms. It was just so uncomfortable.”

His battalion assisted a South Vietnamese unit that was surrounded and taking fire. He quickly discovered a South Vietnamese soldier who had been shot in the leg and went to his assistance.

“As I approached him, a shot rang out and I was shot in the chest by a sniper. I picked up the South Vietnamese soldier and dragged him to a 4-foot wall surrounding the pagoda. The bullet that hit me actually hit a magazine of bullets I had draped across my chest. It entered at the bottom left corner of the magazine of bullets cutting all of them in half and stopped at the last bullet right before entering the bottom of my chin. A millionth of an inch above or below the spot-weld seam and it would have passed right through my heart. You absolutely cannot get any luckier than this. I still have the bullet and the shells.”

Foseid suffered a broken rib but it didn’t take long to return to battle. Shortly after returning to the field, their battalion was involved in a friendly fire incident that killed 23 and wounded 12, but their nightmare wasn’t over.

“After med-evacing the dead and wounded, we continued with our push through the jungle and it wasn’t long before we came upon a division of North Vietnamese who opened fire on us. We quickly suffered another 11 killed and 37 wounded before we were able to take control of the perimeter. We dug our fox holes and stayed up all night on guard. When we advanced on their camp the next morning we realized they had pulled out during the night and headed further north into the jungle. Again, I was really lucky.”

Foseid’s next near death scare came when a helicopter delivering supplies crashed while attempting to land on top of the hill they were occupying. Foseid managed to jump into a fox hole just in time.

“One of the helicopter blades hit and tore the lower part of my jungle utility as I dove in and barely missed cutting me in half. My buddy, Speedy, wasn’t as lucky that time. It was very traumatic and I really thought I was going to lose it.”

Despite the casualties, his battalion continued to rescue 60 Marines that were surrounded.

“While taking fire, I dove into a bomb crater to seek cover. I went to peek over the side and I came face-to-face with a North Vietnamese - he shot me in the helmet and knocked it off. Again, somehow, I was unharmed. He threw a grenade at me that rolled into the fox hole and blew up a few feet from my head. I got shrapnel in the back of my head, but I fired in his direction and luckily managed to hit him.”

After so many near death experiences, it was ultimately malaria that sent him home. In the process of treatment, he lost almost 100 pounds and suffered a heart attack. Foseid was only 19 years old.

“My heart stopped and I died. I saw the bright light and everything. It was like a subway tunnel, dark on one side and blinding light on the other side. As bright as it was, it was very comforting. They were able to revive me.”

Foseid returned home where he attended Madison Area Technical College.

“I got straight A’s there and I was accepted into the University of Wisconsin School of Business. But during my senior year, I was working on our family farm and there was an explosion from a burn pit. It got me good. I spent a month in the hospital and it took over a year to recover.”

Foseid ultimately received his disability rating and began seeking care at the VA where he has been a patient for over 35 years. During that time, he has had his thumb joint replaced, his ankle replaced and he still receives ongoing care to treat ulcers.

“The VA hospital has been fabulous to me. They just care so much and they go out of their way to care for you. Even if it’s just a conversation. There’s a reason they were named the number one hospital for patient experience in the VA. ”

After all he had been through in his military career, which included two purple hearts, Foseid questioned why he was able to return home while so many others were less fortunate.

“I don’t know what I had to come back for. I never did anything heroic. But my daughter called me on Veterans day and she said, ‘Dad, you came back to have us’.”

Foseid still resides in Madison with his wife. They have two daughters and five granddaughters...they have become his new mission.

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