Vietnam-Era National Guard Unit Enshrined In War Memorial

INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the few National Guard units that saw active combat in the Vietnam War has been permanently enshrined in the Indiana War Memorial, a long-awaited recognition.

There were plenty of hugs, handshakes and smiles to go around among the two dozen members of the Indiana National Guard’s 151st Ranger Regiment. And once the ceremony to open the new exhibit on their service in Vietnam began, there was lots of applause.

The 151st Rangers, based in Indiana, were one of the few National Guard units deployed to Vietnam at a time when guardsmen seeing combat was rare. Arriving just before New Year’s 1969, the 151st provided long range reconnaissance for the military.

They left a year later as one of the most decorated units of the military to serve in that war. Four soldiers didn’t make it back home. Maj. Ron Himsel (Ret.), who commaned the unit, held back tears as he talked about those six men.

"It’s a shame it couldn’t have been done sooner because since the war, we’ve also lost a lot of our members who died due to diseases or whatever. But we appreciate it, it’s great," he said.

Veteran Larry Rhodes, from Evansville, said the exhibit will put the unit into the Indiana history books by being in the well-visited war memorial. "That’s a lot of people that may not have known about the unit that will have an exposure to what we did," he said.

One of the biggest things Rhodes, Himsel and the others took away from their service, they said, was the bonds they made with their comrades.