It was the 1960s. Peter Bie had just graduated from high school in Juneau, Alaska, and moved to Anchorage for his dream job as a radio announcer. But months later, his life was about to change forever. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and the 18-year-old received his draft notice.
"It was Thanksgiving week of 1966, and I spent the next couple of weeks trying to figure out through a local Army recruiter in Anchorage what I wanted to do," said Bie. "I wanted to continue working in radio and television. He told me the radio and TV school was all filled up, but he did have openings in the journalism school. So, I was actually going from being a draftee to enlisting for three years."
Bie went through basic training and the Army’s journalism school to become a military public information officer. He was given options as to where he would be deployed.
"The first five choices were anywhere from West Point to the Presidio in San Francisco. As a so-called budding journalist, I chose Vietnam. I was assigned to a public information office operating out of Long Binh, a massive base about 20 miles from Saigon." said Bie.
While it seemed like a post far from the front lines, the front lines came to him and he saw combat for the first time.
"We went through the Tet Offensive in late January of 1968. The base I was stationed at came under heavy attack. We had to fight back," said Bie. "Our lives had gone from being military journalists to turning into combat correspondents."
When his tour was up Bie decided to reenlist. But this time, he ended up doing something much different. He flew combat missions in a helicopter.
"Being young and being dumb, I ended up in the First Cav (the 1st Cavalry Division was an airborne Army unit). I went from the comfort from being able to sleep in a barracks to bunkers dug into the ground which we shared with rats."
Bie was a door gunner in a Huey helicopter. Their job was to ferry supplies to troops. He said they saw a lot of action as they flew mission after mission to or even behind the front lines.
"There is that moment when you are just hovering above ground as everyone gets off the bird and those seconds can't go by fast enough, because you're basically a sitting duck," said Bie. "That happened one time to us in which the birds had set down, and Charlie opened fire. We took heavy casualties in what was an ambush."
Bie admits he was lucky because he'd made it through his time in combat on the ground and in the air unhurt. He finished up his military career working for Armed Forces Radio back home in Alaska. But he admits he wasn’t prepared for the hostile reception many Vietnam veterans received when they returned home to the United States, because of the controversy surrounding the war.
"Nobody wanted to talk about it, not even family members for the most part," said Bie. "There was the encounters with people as you were going though airports, sometimes unpleasant. For the most part, there was no such thing as welcome home."
Bie had a long career in broadcasting, moving to Santa Barbara decades ago. He’s been President of the Santa Barbara-based Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 218 since 2012. He says they have worked for years to get people to recognize that it wasn’t their decision for the United States to take part in an unpopular war. It was their responsibility to serve when called.
"We were just ordinary people who got scooped up to go and serve their country," said Bie.
As Veterans Day is commemorated on the Central and South Coasts, Bie is far from alone. There are approximately 58,000 veterans living in the Tri-Counties, including around 23,000 Vietnam War veterans.
