After graduating from college in 1965, Robert Ferguson enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to escape the draft. Ferguson completed Officers Candidate School, but was rejected from flight training due to poor depth perception. Instead, he trained as a radar operator and deployed to Vietnam in 1966, completed seventy combat missions in seven months. He was then reassigned as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) to coordinate air support in the field. In 1967, Ferguson was severely burned when an armored vehicle detonated an explosive device. He was evacuated and spent the remainder of his military career recovering in various hospitals in Japan and the United States.

Support the mission: https://www.patreon.com/TheVietnamExp...

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Get behind the scenes content on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevietname...

Chapters:

0:00 Forward Air Controller
3:26 First Combat Mission
7:02 FNG Tragedy
9:01 Horrendous Burns
11:54 Medevac
13:19 Terror in Japan
14:54 Dealing with Trauma
16:35 Homecoming
17:56 Rehab & Reflections



Welcome to the largest YouTube channel exclusively dedicated to the Vietnam War. We strive to build a better future by learning from the past. All participants – and their military citations – have been vetted. For the sake of privacy, we do not share veteran contact information.

Do you know a Vietnam veteran, survivor or witness that should be interviewed? Send us an email at the address below.

[email protected]