Flashback to Viet Nam

I had called in the entire staff early in the morning to put down ice melt on the steps and walkways. The ice storm got worse as the dawn of day started to show itself. The rain coated the tree branches and the surrounding frigid air froze the rain in layers. Many large tree branches broke from the main trunk and came crashing down. It seemed that we were fighting a losing battle, but we persisted. ?

I had just been making calls to vendors for more supplies when one of my foremen, Grady came to my office trembling. I asked, “What’s wrong, Grady?”?

“Mr. Dobbs, do you mind if I sit in the lunch room for a few minutes?”?

“Sure. What’s going on, Grady?”?

“The branches keep breaking at a rapid pace and they keep falling. It’s sounds like one of the firefights I experienced in Viet Nam.”?

I told him to get a cup of coffee and take as much time as he needed. Recently, he had told me that he had volunteered to serve in the army in 1969. He trained as a member of the 101st Air Mobile and sent directly to Viet Nam. During the three months he was there, he had been on several patrols. The last patrol he was on would be his last. There was a new lieutenant heading up the patrol and when the men got to an open clearing, he gave instructions for the men to dig foxholes and hunker down. The seasoned sergeant told the lieutenant that they should stay in the wooded area and wait until dark before settling in. The lieutenant told the sergeant that he was in command and for the sergeant to follow his orders. The men dug their foxholes in the open area and started to settle in. As soon, as they did, mortar rounds came in from the surrounding wood line. Grady and his partner were among those wounded by mortar rounds.?

Grady finished his cup of coffee. He turned to me and said that he needed to be with his men. “They need me and I need them.” ??He stayed with his men until the job was completed.?

From Grady’s story and experience, I learned quite a bit about leadership.

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