(NEXSTAR) — Army veteran Jan Pitman recently made an emotional journey to Vietnam, marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. It was a trip he’d thought about for decades—one he never imagined would happen.
“I’m glad I came. I’ve been wanting to do this for over 50 years,” Pitman said.
Pitman left Vietnam after his tour of duty in 1969. “I was an artillery officer, basically a forward observer,” he said. “I turned 21 over here. I was commissioned when I was 20 years old. They needed officers.”
Pitman narrowly survived death twice during his time in Vietnam. The first was when his vehicle ran over a landmine. “Now they call them IEDs. It was a 155 round, it was about 96 pounds of metal and high explosive,” he said. “As I hit it, I hit the round first and about a chance of about 10 billion to one of that not going off. So pretty lucky.”
The second time came when a helicopter he was in lost power. “Yeah, we went down hard,” Pitman said.
The war continues to take its toll on Jan. He still struggles with the lasting effects of Agent Orange exposure.
“I’ve got diabetes, they say that’s part of it. I got neuropathy in both legs. I can’t feel my— I haven’t felt my legs from the knees down in 20 years.”
Returning to the place that changed everything about his life decades ago hit hard.
“It’s been kind of emotional at times. Excuse me,” he said.
But a high note came when Pitman and other veterans finally had the opportunity to face their enemy.
“We are in Tay Ninh. This young lady was designated the No. 1 sniper in the Viet Cong and I think she was 16 years old,” said fellow veteran Bob Monette. “We’ve had different feelings about coming to this restaurant, you know, but hey, the war is over so it’s all good.”
“Yes, we are friends,” Pitman said after they embraced. “Never thought I’d be getting a hug from a VC lieutenant. Ever. We just… we both did our jobs. That’s all.”
“That really surprised me, that I’d actually sit down with somebody who, you know, was our enemy,” said another veteran.
“It’s over. Get over it. They did what they thought was right. We did what we thought was right,” said another.