“Vietnam was 365 days of fear, interrupted by moments of stark terror.”
-Dan Houmes, 1st Cav, Vietnam, 69-70
In January of 1969, 22-year-old Dan Houmes was drafted into the U.S. Army, even though he had plans to avoid it.
By the summer of that year, Dan was deployed to Vietnam and assigned to the First Cav. He would spend his one year tour of duty riding in helicopters with the men of Company B, nicknamed "Pigiron", to find and fight an enemy hidden in the jungle.
LFTJ is a podcast series about Dan's story, his story of life not going the way he wanted it to go, and the lessons of faith he learned in combat in the jungles of Vietnam. Dan's story is told by him and his son, John Houmes.
LISTEN
LFTJ is a story told over seven episodes.
WATCH
The full LFTJ podcast is only available in audio. The shorts/reels show selected visual highlights of the story.
Lt. Robert Leisy with Dan in the fall of 1969.
Lt. Leisy would be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions on December 2nd, 1969.
Dan (center) with members of Bravo Company - nicknamed Pigiron, including Bill Nichols (far left) and Bernie Ballargeon (far right). Many men in Pigiron were 18 and 19 years old.