Marine veteran never forgets sacrifices of fellow soldiers
The way he bonded with fellow Marines is a key takeaway of his service for Charles Kotcher.
“That was huge,” he said.
Kotcher’s name is listed on the Vietnam War Honor Roll plaque, located on the main floor of the Alger House at The War Memorial.
“I appreciate that,” he said. “It’s a testament to 400 of our fellow Grosse Pointers who served. We were upper-middle class here and even they served.”
The Vietnam War plaque lists the names of those who served in the Vietnam War from the Grosse Pointe area.
Kotcher, 80, was born in Detroit and grew up in Grosse Pointe Farms. A 1962 graduate of De La Salle Collegiate High School, he enlisted in the Marines in June of 1966.
“I needed that discipline,” he said. “It’s still with me today. I wanted to fly a helicopter, but I needed to sign up to be in for five years. After five minutes of boot camp, I decided not to do that. The Army was on my back to join them, so I enlisted in the Marines.”
Kotcher, who attended the Vietnam Veterans Day Luncheon in March at The War Memorial, said that his expectations of military life were that he would end up in Vietnam for 13 months, the precise amount of time he spent in the warzone.
A part of the 1st Marine Division, Kotcher received his basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in California.
“I was very impressed with the drill instructors,” he commented. “When we went on a 10-mile run or something with a backpack, he’d be off to the side running backward and I thought that was tough. I was impressed with the discipline.”
Once done in California, Kotcher headed for Vietnam in early 1967. Headquartered in Da Nang, Vietnam, Kotcher worked as a postal clerk.
“There were about 10 Marines supporting every one Marine going through the rice paddies,” he said. “We delivered mail by chopper to the guys on the hill. That was huge because they could not get to a town or to the PX. I’d give them everything I had. We would unload big trucks with mail and goods that were coming in for the soldiers.”
It was on Nov. 7, 1967 that Kotcher’s friend Ed Blumer was killed in action in Quang Nam at age 20.
“Of the 30 of us who went over to Vietnam, he was the only one who died,” he said. “That was the most difficult time for me. The gunnery instructor asked for a volunteer to take the mail in by truck. He volunteered to take it and died when his truck ran over a land mine. You never forget, 50 years later, the sacrifices that your fellow soldiers make.”
Kotcher returned home to Grosse Pointe Farms from Vietnam in April of 1968 and was discharged as a corporal. His parents lived in Grosse Pointe Farms from 1955 to 1968.
*This story originally was published in the January-February edition of Live Inspired Magazine, a War Memorial publication.