‘I will always remember them,’ local Vietnam veteran honors 22 lost friends ahead of Memorial Day
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - James Leysen, whose friends call him Jim, is now in his eighties, but at one point he was a 19-year-old on his way to Vietnam.
“I went to Vietnam in 1968,” said Leysen. “I was fortunate in a way that I went to Vietnam with a group of guys who trained together in Hawaii and then went to Vietnam together.”
Leysen says he loved getting to know his brothers in arms, but the realities of war were obvious once he and his friends deployed.
As a radio operator during the war, Leysen recalls a day he lost eight of his friends to one land mine.
“We got there; we were the only two guys alive. Out there, everybody was dead,” said Leysen.
Over the course of his time in Vietnam, Leysen lost 22 of his friends, which is why he set up a memorial in his front yard.
What started 15 years ago with just a pair of boots, a gun and a helmet has grown into a strong reminder of those lost.
“Those crosses out front have the names of those 22 guys on it because I can’t let them go. They were my friends. I remember them and I will always remember them,” shared Leysen.
For the Army veteran, nearly sixty years removed from his time at war, he has not forgotten his friends’ sacrifices, and he doesn’t think you should either this Memorial Day.
“It’s not just a day that we go to the beach and swim and have a beer and a good time. We have got to remember the guys that died for us,” explained Leysen.
Leysen says he has no issue with people enjoying the holiday or having fun, as long as they remember.
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