Hometown Heroes: Vietnam vet shares his story

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - With Veterans Day just a few days away, we are sharing the stories of locals from the Desert Southwest who are part of our Veteran community.

Vietnam Veteran, David Anderson, graduated high school and was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1966.

“It came in the mail, a letter from the president and it said greetings, you have been selected and when I went down to be inducted, they said there’s openings in the marine corps, anyone want to volunteer, so I volunteered for that,” said David Anderson, Vietnam Marine Corps Veteran.

Anderson served in the Vietnam war for one year, from 1966 to 1967.

“It was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life, most adventurous. I had a good time actually, I thought,” said Anderson.

He was a field radio operator in combat zones during the war. 

“When you’re 18 years old, you think you’re bullet proof, so you don’t think anything’s going to happen to you, you know, it’s the other guy,” said Anderson.

He was passionate about serving our country.

And now that he’s a Veteran, a big part of his life is being involved with the V.F.W. Post 8242.

“It’s been fun for me, before I was just kinda sitting at home, but now I have a purpose,” said Anderson.

And if you’d like to celebrate those who served our country, you can attend the Veterans Day Parade Saturday on Fourth Avenue in Yuma.