Green lights flickered in the dark distance. U.S. Marine Michael Paul Braun knew what they meant-artillery lining up. Friendly or foe? His fellow Marines’ lives in Vietnam depended on the answer.
“I marked that spot with a rock there, where I saw that hill. And so, I went up and asked my Captain (Edward F. Riley). I said, Did we have artillery up here? And he goes, No. I said, Somebody does. He said, Well, how do you know that? Well, I said, I saw one of those three quadrant lights that they used to line the guns up at night and that’s what it was.’”
Riley went to the spot with a rock and confirmed Braun’s observation. ‘’That’s right… He started sending out messages right then and they were all scrambled (coded). And a little longer, along comes B-52s with the bombs. I mean, 1,200-pound bombs going off all night long. It was biggest fireworks show I’ve ever seen.’”
This occurred during Operation Dewey Canyon, “the biggest operation that we ever went on,” said Braun. “We captured three Russian artillery pieces, brand new…They
(North Vietnamese) tried to destroy it and…we captured around 500 tons of arms and ammunition…It was a storage area to supply the south…That was a 58-day operation. We never seen the rear.” Jack Revis recorded Braun’s recollections in October 2024 for the Veterans History Project.
How did Braun know what the green lights meant? “I had read the ‘Guns of Navarone’ when I was in high school…where the Germans had their guns set up…they used those at night to line the guns up.”
Braun enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1968 at age 19, fully aware he would likely fight in Vietnam, an unpopular war. “I didn’t have any qualms about not being able to do it.” He served in Vietnam from June 25, 1968 – July 25, 1969.
His unit, the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, carried the grim nickname, “The Walking Dead.” As Braun explained, “we had taken so many casualties…because of where we were in Vietnam, right there along the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), at times we were in the DMZ. Because they (enemy) had no respect for it, so we didn’t either.” Their area of operation stretched from the South China Sea to Laos.
As the company commander’s radio operator, Braun held a dangerous job in the field. Enemy forces deliberately targeted Marines with visible antennas.
He was promoted to E-5 Sergeant based on excellent war service. “They asked me about four or five times, would I reenlist and go to OCS
(Officers Candidate School). And I told them no.” Why? Braun told his company commander that his father and mother served during the Second World War and he grew up with seven brothers and sisters and his grandfather. I said, “That’s how come I know how to handle chores and how to tell people to do theirs…I did 18 years in their little army…I’ve done two years in your Marine Corps…That’s 20 years and I’m getting out,” Braun said, smiling.
Braun was discharged in December 1969 with Vietnam Service and Campaign Medals and a Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V (valor), among others.
Returning to Tahlequah, Braun earned a degree from Northeastern State University, bought a convenience store, and later earned a Class A commercial driver’s license to drive his own truck from 1987-2005 for companies like PAM Transport, YAFFE Iron and Metal and Ellsworth Trucking.
But service came with a price: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, diabetes, neuropathy, hearing loss and four marriages. He received a 100% VA disability rating.
Despite these challenges, Braun remains committed to helping others. He is
active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3707, Disabled American Veterans Post 31, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH).
Don Nichols of Muskogee’s MOPH, Chapter 617, wrote, “He’s always there to encourage me. He’s that way with everybody. Very honorable, very principled man…Paul helped get the National Purple Heart Monument (in Tahlequah) going by meeting with the Cherokee Nation and getting a donation of about $25,000.” Braun is a citizen of Cherokee Nation.
Braun raised three daughters -”I feel like they are all very accomplished”- and has five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He lives in Cookson.
Was he glad he served in Vietnam? “Yes. I did something that a lot of guys ran from.” Patriotism? “It’s getting better…I think it’s our young people that are really picking up on what it means to be at patriot.”
Story by Retired Lt. Col. Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR website: Rick Travel Niche
