Story: Robert E Sheridan CCC RVN SOG Vietnam War

Things left behind lead us to discover a story.

As a child, I was always fascinated with the military and its history.  As a young boy, I started collecting things as a result of my own grandparents and generations before them serving in many wars. 

Many years ago, I was at an antique shop.  I saw this tomahawk in olive drab with a person’s name on the handle.  I saw 69-70 CCC RVN on the head of the blade. And looking again at the handle was Paratrooper Wings, a lieutenant(1LT) bar and Green Beret badges struck in tin.  I thought wow and I purchased it!  The person’s name on the handle is spelled RESHERIDAN.  In the past, the spelling elongated looked like something else to me.  For many years I thought the person’s name was  Resher – Dan.  I thought last name first.  Recently my friend Clete was visiting and saw this tomahawk in my display cabinet of historical items and things of my childhood.  He said where did you get that?  I told him the story and said I can’t seem to find this person Dan who owned it.  Clete said, “his name is R.E. Sheridan”.  I said what?  Sheridan what?  So, I got on the internet and I found a few things... But not really much.  I was very busy and Clete had to go.

A couple weeks later, on Memorial Day weekend, I was visiting my parents in California.  At the time, I was taking a break from catching up with my parents and I got back on the internet because I felt compelled to dig deeper into this person!  I found many things out and I broke down.  He was part of a team of the hatchets and in the 60’s resided in Orange County California.  As a child so did I.  In about 1966 – 1968 My Uncle Jean Thenot went to Vietnam and served those years in the US Army. So, I knew what was happening.  Later on, Sheridan Served too.  In the middle of 1969, Sheridan’s life was lost at the attack of an LZ base in Vietnam.  His tomahawk reflects his projected service was not fulfilled into 1970 as anticipated. 

I look back on the effects of Vietnam.  Many people died and for what cause?  Both the people of this country and those of Vietnam.  At the time there was a thing called communism as known as the Red Scare.  A war of instilling Freedom at the time of political agendas.  The survival of people’s need to spread ideology as a “gear” to their own means of some control due to Western expansionism.  But stepping on culture and imposing another’s way is at times the demise of the greedy with hidden agendas.  

I witnessed many things during this time.  The Space Program, Martin Luther King assassination, Vietnam War, the Counter Culture, movement of freedom for people of other skin color known as Civil Rights, heard great music, Watergate to President Ford getting us out of the Vietnam War.  Days of encouragement, hope, fear, change and war.  What a mixed up time. And then came Disco.  What an experience for a child to see.  My dad worked on the Space Program and my Uncle served in Vietnam.  I saw hippies and strange things in public.  What scared me the most was the hippies and the Vietnam War.  Another thing that scared me was the notion if you "speak out" you might get shot. As a child growing up during this time it seemed very conflicting and unstable.

Going back to Sheridan, I cried as an adult with the experience of the time for this man in his twenties as I shared my discovery with my dad that day. As a father, I was horrified.  It all "came together" like Come Together that Beatles song grooving up slowly as you realize oh my God.  This experience of many things all at once affirmed an array of emotions for me.  Just one artifact from history is a story within itself. What else do we know of this man? There is more to this than meets the eye and more to this person that stems from his own ancestry? Is this a primary source? Does this story stop here?  Robert E Sheridan thank you for serving our country and rest in peace.