‘I marvel at the bravery I saw’

North Branch man served in Vietnam, wrote a book about the ‘Twins Platoon,’ which he was part of

By Patricia Buschette

During the Tet Offensive in 1968 when Chris Sauro was part of a Reactionary Platoon, he is pictured in a fox hole. While the infantry did the fighting in the field, in every unit there were those who had desk jobs or were responsible for other support. Every Marine is trained to serve as infantry. During Tet 1968, when it was feared that the base would be attacked or over run, they would call out the Reactionary Platoon that would set up a secondary or backup perimeter if the main perimeter was breached. On occasion the Reactionary Platoon would be sent to the main perimeter. Contributed photo

As Chris Sauro, of North Branch, approached high school graduation from North St. Paul Park High School in 1967, he contemplated what would come next. “In those days,” he said, “graduation signaled the beginning of independence and a charting of one’s own life. Military service seemed like a good way to enter adulthood.”

“In my father’s generation there was a fellow who was a Marine at Guadalcanal, and I looked up to him. I had three older cousins who were Marines,” he said, “I always looked up to the Marines.”

Christy Sauro, Jr. – Graduation from boot camp. Immediately after, they were sent to Vietnam. Nobody needed dress blue there, worn only if one was in the Marine band. “For most of us we never saw a dress blue uniform. Every platoon had an honor guard person who may have gotten a dress blue.”

Chris’ admiration goes back to early days of television programming when the television networks’ closing of the day featured footage of WWII and the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. “I just admired them so much and they were known as being the toughest bunch. They had a lot of prestige. It was like a rite of passage as you tried to create an entity for yourself.”

Chris enlisted in the Marines in February of 1967 while he was a senior in high school in what was called the “Delayed Entry Program.” At that time enlistment was for a four-year program only. After enlistment, he received a letter informing him that he was now part of the Twins Platoon. This effort was sponsored by the Minnesota Twins baseball team and the U.S. Marine Corps recruiters in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area.

What did Chris’ parents think about his decision to enlist with the Marines? “I told my dad what I had done, and he said, ‘That would not have been my first choice,’ but he was okay with it,” Chris remembered. And his mother? “I believe she was proud... I believe she signed for me because I was 17.” During those days, it was expected that everyone would serve,” he said. “It was one’s patriotic duty.”

After graduation Chris told of his anxiety. “After I graduated, I had three miserable weeks looming over me, wondering if I would make it and how embarrassing it would be to fail. You wondered if you get sent over to Vietnam; what would that be like,” he said. “You have all these thoughts racing through your mind.”

Chris received a letter with the names of other recruits and was encouraged to contact others on the list, and to encourage buddies to sign up. Contact was made with Robert Cusick and Larry Jones. “We went to parties where we met other recruits,” he said.

Photo taken by Chris Sauro’s mother at the June 28, 1967 pregame swearing in ceremony at Met Stadium. Chris and the other men in the Twin’s Platoon stood in front of the crowd and received an applause. They were allowed to stay until the sixth inning. Contributed photo

On June 28, 1967, Chris and the other 149 recruits attended the Twins – Boston Red Sox game. “I remember I was tired because I was not sleeping well. We were brought out to the field at a pregame event, and as we faced the people, we took our oath. The four female recruits were sworn in separately. Marines were dressed in dress blues, and recruits were dressed as we were. The band played the National Anthem and the Marine Corps Hymn, and we went back into the stands,” he said.

The game went on as scheduled until the fourth inning when drill instructors signaled the recruits to come down from the stands. They were brought to buses and brought to Wold Chamberlain Field.

The four women who were sworn in participated in a separate ceremony. During the baseball game, recruits were immediately boarded onto buses by the sixth inning and shipped to San Diego for boot camp. The four women could not join them because Marine Corps recruit training was strictly segregated by gender. Chris has been unable to locate any information about the four female recruits. Contributed photo

This was the beginning of many new experiences. “I had never been in an airplane before,” Chris said. Arriving at boot camp at three in the morning was the beginning of many new experiences.

It was Chris’ cousins who helped prepare him for boot camp. “Just be prepared,” they said. “It will be outrageous. Try to keep anonymous, don’t draw attention to yourself, keep your mouth shut, try to do what they tell you to do.”

Their example – While at boot camp, they were told they had to water the grass every morning and so with buckets they would go out and water – the sand. There was no grass, but they had to obey the order.

“One of the rules of boot camp was that we could not talk with anyone. There were very few times when you could sit down and talk to the guy next to you. However, we learned to communicate by facial expression. We got to know each other and could communicate with eyes and facial expression – they had to be minimal facial expressions,” he said. He pointed out the photo on the cover of his book, “The Legacy of the Twins Platoon” and said that he could see those guys planning their action by body language without needing to speak.

Did the violence involved in training make you a better Marine? “I don’t know how to measure that, but yes, I am thinking it did. Boot camp prepared us for adversity. They were out to fault you for something so they could slap you around,” he said.

“In combat you do what you are told to do – you cannot question orders. They want to prepare you for the unexpected – to be able to deal with anything that comes your way. I get that – it makes sense. It wouldn’t work if you question everything that is going on. This isn’t up for a vote, people!” he said, explaining why following orders without question is necessary.

“We did everything we could to outsmart them,” he said, laughing as he remembered.

Chris served as an embarkation assistant. As such he was responsible for planning, mapping out, and executing the movement of troops, vehicles, gear, and supplies from point A to point B as troops moved. During training, he was sent to embarkation school at Coronado Island, California, to prepare for this role.

There is a well-known sense of pride among Marines as relating to the other branches of the service, and when Chris was asked about it, he said, “We do it in fun or jest. The barber in the building where I retired was with the 82nd Army Airborne. I said to him, ‘Shane, you know why the Army created the Airborne? That was the only way the Army could get the Marines to look up to them,’” he said, enjoying the joke.

When asked about his personal response to the human injury and death now these many years later, he describes it as horrendous. “I marvel at how brave and courageous these guys were, and I just want people to know that, especially because they don’t want to talk about it.” He adds, “When I look back, I marvel at the bravery that I saw. How can you not admire that? Some didn’t make it – what they sacrificed!”

Some deaths have been attributed to Agent Orange when dioxin was identified in the body. Parkinson’s disease is another malady visited upon Vietnam vets due to Agent Orange, a chemical herbicide and defoliant used on the battlefield. “Those affected included those associated with the aircraft used to spray the defoliant,” he said.

“Public opinion about the war was very negative at the time,” he said, “but that attitude has changed. Most people now do not really argue about whether we should have been there.” He added, “They thank me for my service.”

In 1984, the thought came to Chris to write a book about what happened to the Twins Platoon. 

“I knew very little about the fates of others. I concluded that it would take years, maybe a lifetime, to gather the information and piece it together. Deciding that it was just too massive an undertaking, I dismissed the idea,” he said. However, he added, “The idea would not go away. As the years passed, I became increasingly inspired to take on the challenge. What started as an idea became a calling. In the summer of 1990, I began to work in earnest on a written account of the Twins Platoon. I worked on it about 40 hours a week for 15 years. I spent more than 17,000 hours working to complete the manuscript.”

“The book was published and was well received. However, over the years, people said they wished the book had been longer. They wanted to know what happened to other members of the Twins Platoon. I learned the fate of many others. I discovered their war experiences varied from those in the first book and needed to be told.” Chris learned much about the personal and at times tragic results of their service. “Their children grew up not knowing, or understanding, how things could have been better. The stress of it all was deeply felt by the family members,” Chris said.

Marine Aircraft Group 36 (MAG-36) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing assault support aircraft. The helicopter squadron was one of many squadrons part of air wing 36 “They were like an umbrella over aircraft helicopter squadrons,” Chris said.

Chris’ second book, “The Legacy of the Twins Platoon” has won 20 book awards. Chris continues his search for members of the platoon and is still searching for 32 Marines. His author website, www.twinsplatoon.com lists all that are deceased, color coding their names if they were found, and in red, if they have not been located. Some deceased were found through grave markers. Chris maintains personal contact with some, including many who have moved out of the area but keep in touch.

Chris was adamant that without the cooperation and contributions of the stories of members of the platoon that the book would not be possible. He continues to search for members who are not yet identified. When found, some didn’t know about the first book. “I learned of a Marine who, when he returned from Vietnam, would be found crying in the bedroom. ‘I keep seeing all those bodies,’ he said. He died in 1972 when his car crashed into a tree.” Chris’ research as reported in his book describes what Marines went through.

The personal stories of his fellow Marines are told in a beautiful manner that not only honors them but preserves the history of their contribution.

What has Chris gained because of his training and service? “The biggest thing,” he said, “is that the never give up attitude is instilled in you. You just keep adapting and overcoming; you never give up,” he said.