 I'm Brian Buckwalder with DAV's communications team. And today I'm joined by Don Samuels. Don is a veteran of the Marine Corps, serving from 1960 to 1969. During the Vietnam War, he took part in the battle for Hill 881 North near Quezon where on January 20th, 1968, he sustained a gunshot wound resulting and partially losing his right hand. He was medically discharged from the Marine Corps in 1969. But his service didn't end there. After his time in the Marine Corps, he joined DAV and became a national service officer, helping veterans file their claims for benefits. He eventually became a supervisor of the National Tennessee National Service Office before retiring in 1989. He then became the assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs, overseeing the state's claims activities, legislation, and outreach until he retired from that position in 2011. That same year, he was unanimously elected as DAV's national commander, where he continued his pursuit of serving veterans and their families. Today, Don continues to volunteer his time serving veterans as an active member of Chapter 3 in Nashville, Tennessee. Don, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with me today. Thank you, Brian. So, January 20th, 2022 marks 54 years since you fought during the battle for Hill 881, and is the anniversary of your alive day. Can you share just a little bit about what you remember from that day? Sure, I'll be glad to. I can remember the... our company, which was India Company, 3rd Battalion, 26 Marines, and our company commander's name was Dabney, Captain Dabney. January 20th, we knew we were planning for an assault to Assault Hill 881 North. That morning, before daylight, we put our troops together. We slipped over the Hill of 881 South, starting up the Hill of 881 North. And as it broke daylight, it was just a massive firefight going on. We found out later after this that there was actually an NBA battalion up there. We had a lot of casualties. We had some field in action, wounded in action, and I'm sure many, many emotional scars that were due to that battle. We finally started getting air strikes in. We had artillery firing. And when the reinforcements come in, eventually the Hill was taken. But it's a day that I'll never forget because of the Marines, the comradity we had. We were all one big family. We all scratched each other's back, would do whatever we could do to help each other. If we had one that was weak in a little bit, we'd work with them and pick them up and move on. We know the platoon that I had. We were just all like brothers. I mean, we really had a lot of trust with each other. You know, you do talk about when you were serving alongside your fellow Marines and maybe the Corpsmen on Hill 81 and just your time in the service. You mentioned how it's a brotherhood and doing what you can to help. Kind of in that same mindset and what you've touched on a little bit, how has that service in the Marine Corps and that experience shaped and influenced your decades of service to veterans after? Well, I knew I wanted to do whatever I could do to help not just those survivors because after the battle for the hill, later on some of the men that were left and stayed when the platoon was rebuilt were KIA and other battles. So I've always wanted to do what I could do to help others. I have a compassion for that trying to, you know, if somebody needs help, I think that's something that we all should be doing, which if a veteran could end up helping the whole family, could end up helping the children, could end up helping a spouse or a widow. I just think it's thing to do. Final question for you is as we're reflecting and as you reflect on your Alive Day and to the events from the Vietnam War that you experienced, what are some ways that we all can remember those who have sacrificed their lives and service to our country and honor those veterans who've come home with injuries and again for you, especially those you've served alongside? Well, one way, of course, is benefits. And everybody can get involved in the A.V. legislation, you know, the V.A.E. budget, but it's a compassion. Some people might have a little more compassion than others, but I think if you get down to the basic American and their families, you know, they're all good people. And they could all do something, you know, if they help one person a year. They go to the V.A.E. hospital and sign up for voluntary services. You know, if they have someone in a family that's eligible to be a member of one of the veterans organizations, you know, they could help out as a volunteer or they could do things as volunteers in their community, which would result in helping someone, not specifically a veteran. Well, Don, first, thank you for your service and thank you for all you do for D.A.V. in the many years that you've put into volunteering and just being an advocate for veterans and their families. So thank you for your time.