"If you tell a friend you're going to stand up for a friend, you don't turn your back on them when the going gets a little nasty." (Video interview, 29:40)

Ronald Winter

Ronald Winter, Phu Bai. November 1969 [detail] War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Marine Corps Unit: HMM-161 (Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron), 1st Marine Air Wing Service Location: North Carolina; South Carolina; Florida; Virginia; California; Vietnam Highest Rank: Sergeant Place of Birth: Troy, NY

Ronald Winter didn't take the easy way out when it came to military service. Although he was attending college on a scholarship, he decided to enlist in the Marines, and once he was shipped off to Vietnam, he volunteered for machine gunner duty aboard helicopters. In 13 months, Winter flew 300 missions, and even the mundane supply drops were fraught with a danger he never shirked.