Sisters man recalls perils of Vietnam

As a naive Airborne infantryman in the green jungles of Vietnam back in 1965, Sisters' Dan Little would often be amazed at how many stars filled the night sky.

Little was a member of the Army's 101st Airborne Division and saw the atrocities and heroics of battle in all its hues. He also experienced the travails of simply living in an alien and often hostile environment.

"At any one instant you could sit down beside a trail and see a different bug, such a variety of animals: snakes, bears, tigers, water buffalos and warthogs," Little said. "Some of the jungle canopy was so dense and thick that no light would penetrate down onto the floor, small leeches would jump off the trees at you, they didn't even need to be in the water. The termites were worse than the ants."

Now a tireless businessman volunteer activist, Little is a force in assisting American armed forces around the world. He's often seen at local fairs, air shows and military events in his boldly-colored vendor booth, selling popular military leisure wear emblazoned with skulls, guns and modern combat graphics.

"Years ago, I raced motorcycles and drag boats and started airbrushing T-shirts back in the late 1960s when I got out of the service," Little said. "Back then, there weren't any printed shirts, only a few novelty-type items. That evolved into doing surfing T-shirts in the 1970s which turned into Ocean Pacific Sunwear and that famous Southern California beach lifestyle clothing. I worked with them until 1990 and sold my interest in the company to Merrill Lynch, then moved to Oregon."

SDS Graphics was reborn back in Orange County, California, in 2003 under the condition that they do something effective for our troops.

"It's run by my son, JR Nichols. I felt a real need to give back to these guys," said Little. "I started designing and printing military T-shirts and apparel to sell as a fundraiser for Rear Area Support, our non-profit organization that sends care packages to deployed troops."

From that, Little got involved with helping wounded veterans in his Vision 2 Victory enterprise, a new program that puts wounded veterans in a competitive environment in the worlds of surfing, boat racing, motorcycle and off-road racing.

"It gives them an opportunity to do challenging events they wouldn't normally get to do. Right now our goal is to get a crew of 10-15 to compete in a segment of the Baja 1,000 race next November as a driver, navigator or support vehicle member," he said. "The Class-4 off-road buggy has to be adapted to each person's particular disability. The car is being built right now at a garage in Southern California."

Little recalls one example of the impact such events can have on a wounded soldier's life.

"One of our guys, Ryan Price, lost both legs and part of an arm in Afghanistan in the 101st Airborne, and he competed as an observer on an offshore water ski race from Long Beach to Catalina as part of the boat crew," Little said. "It was grueling, that boat averages 85-90 mph and the water is rough. I talked to his wife weeks after and she said the smile was still on his face. It's humbling for me to be around these men; their attitudes are so positive. And it's not just men: Laura Langdeau was a Marine in Iraq and lost most of an arm in an ambush. She's attempting to break a land speed record on a motorcycle at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah."

Little spent 20 years not talking about Vietnam. One year he found himself at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. and it became a transforming emotional experience leading to his 24 years of sobriety.

"To be able to talk about it and help veterans has been a miracle for me," he said.

"I was drafted in 1965 in Norwalk, California. Everyone I knew had friends or relatives that served in the military. When I got my draft notice I went right into the Army. I'd never even heard of Vietnam before," he said. I did boot camp at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and volunteered my first day to become a paratrooper. An airborne instructor came up on stage and gave his pitch of more money and training, and I wanted to be one of the first 12 people on stage and I jumped and pushed my way up. Only four guys stood with me."

In '65 there were many World War II and Korean War vets still in the 101st and were some of the first combat troops into Vietnam. They were the initial replacement troops for the 7th Cavalry division depicted in the 2002 Mel Gibson film, "We Were Soldiers."

Little spent a year in operations with the 101st, from Saigon to the Central Highlands, never in one place more than 30 days.

"I was trained as a weapons expert in small arms with the airborne infantry in search-and-destroy operations encompassing squad-size to platoon-size missions. I was wounded twice."

Once, at a deserted POW camp, Little and his unit found some old fishing hooks at a hooch, tied their boot strings together and went down to the river to try and catch some fish.

"The water was like the black lagoon and we put our lines in and waited. Something came up out of this mucky river with a lizard head and spiny fin. We thought it was a dragon or some kind of brontosaurus dinosaur," Little recalled. "It was huge and lifted its head out of the water and stared at us. We ran like hell. Later we found out it was a Komodo Dragon."

When Little returned from Vietnam he was treated poorly by the Army, news media and the civilians.

"There was so much misconception. I got into lots of fights simply trying to defend myself. I had to stop because I wasn't that good of a fighter," he joked. "The protesting was just starting up when we came home. I know we were doing good in Vietnam and their people loved us. Back in the early stages of the war, the goal was to help the Vietnamese people. Somewhere along the line that changed and got lost."

Little continues his work for our veterans and deployed troops with many upcoming events and projects.

"In Vision 2 Victory we give these guys back some of the dignity and vitality lost during their service to our country. We have 14 separate programs and sponsors to support these wounded warriors to set records and compete at a high level with able-bodied athletes," he said.

"Americans are helping our veterans reach extraordinary goals and changing lives forever. The impossible is possible and these guys give us all hope and determination for fuller, brighter lives."

For more information on Little's programs, visit http://www.rearareasupport.com and http://www.vision2victory.com.