7th infantry Archives -

My Vietnam HELL | FR Phil Salois Silver Star | Bought The T-Shirt #242

Posted on 14 March 202221 March 2022 by Luke Pepper

My Vietnam HELL features Father Phil Salois who served with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, before becoming a Catholic priest.

My Vietnam HELL | FR Phil Salois Silver Star

Father Phil Salois, served in Vietnam with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, 7th Infantry Regiment. In his first months there, he saw his fair share of combat. Phil’s unit spent a lot of time trudging along the rice paddies, looking for an enemy who chose when and where to strike. After a fraught time in country and earning the US Silver Star, Father Phil came back to the United States. With his perennial faith unshaken, Phil became a Catholic priest and a spiritual advisor to his fellow veterans. Suffering with PTSD himself, Father Phil has worked tirelessly to help Vietnam veterans. His work has also included veterans from recent conflicts, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Transcript from ‘My Vietnam HELL’ podcast

Father Phil – We dragged him in, turned him over and he had received a round in the chin. It had ricocheted off the ground and hit him in the chin. It went up to the top of his head and he never knew what him. The guy said we need to go out and get these other guys, so I say okay but we’ve got to bring some help as I can’t carry anybody by myself. So a couple of guys went out with me and we went back out there. People were covering fire for us and we found a lieutenant and the point man. The point man was injured so we carried him back, only to find out he’d lost an eye in that injury.