Vietnam veterans share their journey, teach Yorba Linda students about courage

Vietnam veterans shared the pain of surviving explosions, losing friends and the emotional wounds left behind from the war, filling in the story for students beyond what is found in their school textbooks.

More than 80 Yorba Linda High students heard the stories of 28 veterans as part of “Portraits of Courage,” a U.S. history project designed to examine the impact of the Vietnam War on the men and women who lived through the fighting.

“I wanted the students to be active participants,” said history teacher Lloyd Walls, who partnered with another history teacher, Lisa Tully, to execute the project.  “In a world that is increasingly digital and increasingly fast paced, I think we are losing a bit of the human connection. But when you are sitting across from someone and you can see the pain of their memories, it becomes real.”

Groups of three students were partnered with a veteran who they interviewed for an hour about their lives and experiences during the war.

“It’s probably been one of the most positive experiences,” said Mike Lynn, a Vietnam veteran who helped recruit many of the veterans who participated in the project. “We don’t get our chance very often to tell our side of the story. It gave us a chance to have a voice.”

Lynn’s granddaughter, Sydney Ashton, participated in the project along with classmates Tatum Folmar and Yichuan Ding. They interviewed Frank Orozio, who enlisted in the Marines in 1967. He was 19.

Orzio and his platoon were caught in a deadly ambush – he lost a leg, the use of his left arm and half his jaw was removed. He received two Purple Hearts.

“You wake up and think about it,” he told the students. “There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think about the war and those I lost.”

Orzio’s strength and determination left a lasting impression on Ashton.

“You can really tell, speaking to him, he has true love for his country and he believes strongly in everything they did there,” she said.

Gabriella Jreige, Ricky Valdez and Kaci Stewart sat down with Doug Potratz to learn about his war experience.

“It was really different than what we had studied and learned, just because they always explain the Vietnam War as kind of like not that positive,” Jreige said. “Once we got to talk to our veteran, we got to see his perspective and how that was one of the biggest things he’s done in his life and how it affected him, impacted him. And, we got to see how people treated him.”

A sergeant in the Marines, Potratz was assigned at one point to work in the ambassador’s house. He told the students his favorite memory was waking up the ambassador at 3 in the morning to have him take refuge in a bunker in his boxers and long black socks. And in his office, the ambassador had signed pictures with all the presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Richard Nixon.

“I’ll remember the Vietnam War as how Doug Potratz explained it,” Jreige said.

Stewart said Potratz’s personal stories helped her feel closer to his experiences. She was able to take away much more than what is written in a textbook, she said.

“It’s comforting to know that there’s people out there that genuinely enjoy serving our country and protecting us,” Stewart said. “That they are willing to put their lives on the line for everyone else.”

Walls said all of the veterans interviewed for the project shared a common sentiment: They felt very abandoned and alone coming home after the war.

“I just couldn’t imagine fighting so hard and then not getting any appreciation coming back,” said Brooke Miller, a junior, who interviewed Gary Erland. “When he came home, he was spit on and he got called bad names. He wasn’t welcomed.”

As part of the project, Quinn Santone, a senior, photographed the veterans. He wanted to translate what they went through into the photos, he said.

“A lot of people had canes, different artifacts, and I wanted those things to be captured as well,” Santone said. One veteran’s photo includes his therapy dog, Casper.

To honor the veterans, a gallery displaying the veterans’ stories along with the 16-by-20 photos was held Thursday, June 8, in the school’s library. A book containing the stories and photographs was given to the veterans.

“They can see that their story is being told and will be remembered,” Walls said.

Lynn said he wants the students to remember the troops did their best under extraordinary circumstances.

“We are proud that we represented our country,” Lynn said. “If you see someone wearing a Vietnam hat, take a second to shake their hand and say, ‘Welcome Home.’”