Despite Agent Orange exposure, Vietnam veteran says, 'I would still serve today'

It wasn't the ending that Herman Martinez expected would cap his active duty soldier's story.

It was 1972 when Martinez, an Army sergeant, got off an airplane in Oakland after returning to the United States from Vietnam. He and his fellow solders were told that in gratitude for their services, they would be treated to a steak dinner.

Martinez wasn't really interested, so he and two of his fellow soldiers climbed in a cab to leave the airport.

The cab driver took a look at his passengers and said, "Could you duck down? I don't want anyone to see you.

"I don't want bottles or rocks to be thrown at us."

Considering he spent more than a year fighting for his country in Vietnam, Martinez didn't expect that greeting.

"That incident will never go away," he said.

As awful as it was, it didn't dampen his feelings about America.

"It made me want to fight for what this country stands for," he said. "I was more determined than ever to do something with my life."

Despite numerous health problems caused by exposure to Agent Orange (a powerful herbicide mixture used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to defoliate trees and destroy enemy cover), Martinez continues to support his fellow veterans, and America, in any manner he can.

When the Tribute to Heroes Parade runs its course through Main Street at Lakewood Ranch Nov. 9, Martinez will be working the crowd, trying to spread information about His Lakewood Ranch Association of Veterans and Military Supporters or about the VFW Braden River Post 12055, where he serves as vice commander.

Martinez has been a longtime supporter of the Tribute to Heroes Parade, and he said he doesn't mind that this year it is being held on the Sunday before Veterans Day, as opposed to its longtime spot on the calendar on Memorial Day weekend.

"The honor is the same and the recognition is the same," he said. "I am grateful for what they do for the veterans."

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Normally, Martinez, 75, said he would be marching in the parade but this year he is heading the VFW's membership campaign, and he will be spending his time trying to recruit new members.

"We're not getting new faces," he said. "My goal is to keep the spirit alive."

His spirit always has burned bright.

"I was born in Colombia," he said. "And we came here to Miami when I was 9 years old. It was financially rough for my family, but we were grateful America had received us. We were poor, but we were rich in love and affection."

When he was 19, Martinez thought he could help his family best by joining the military. So in January, 1970, Martinez was sent with his fellow U.S. Army soldiers to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. He was part of a team that supplied bombs and supplies to Army bases.

He quickly accepted a change in assignments.

"They were asking for volunteers to be helicopter gunners," he said. "They were short."

His helicopter would support convoys to Army fire bases.

"We were under attack a couple of times," he said.

Helicopter gunners filled one of the most dangerous roles in the Vietnam War.

"The doors would open, and you would have on a harness," Martinez said. "You were strapped in with a M60 (7.62 mm machine gun)."

The pilot would try to keep the gunner on the side of the helicopter away from incoming fire, but the gunner was needed to support the troops on the ground or to counter enemy forces firing upon the helicopter.

"The pilot depended on me, and I depended on him," Martinez said. "By the grace of God we survived."

According to U.S. military records, it lost 5,607 helicopters or about 42% of the 12,000 that served in Vietnam.

Even so, it took a plane ride back to the U.S. to cause him the most fear.

"The worst feeling was when I got on the airplane to come home," Martinez said. "I was surrounded by strangers. You could hear a pin drop on the airplane. You were leaving your comrades and you had no idea what was waiting for you at home."

After the incident with the cab driver, Martinez began working in 1979 as a special agent under the Department of Justice. He later served with the Orange County Sheriff's Office as division commander, special investigators division, from 1989 to 2006.

His many health issues caused by the Agent Orange exposure caused him to cut short his law enforcement career.

He didn't find out he had been exposed to Agent Orange until his mid 30s.

"I kept it very quiet," he said. "They had tried to treat the symptoms first and I was having tremendous headaches. I felt weak and I was having one test after another. I was having cancer issues and severe PTSD."

He never thought he had been exposed when he was a soldier.

"When we landed, you never knew if you were exposed, and there was so much denial by our government."

Martinez will be telling his story during the Tribute to Heroes Parade.

"Kids will ask, 'Did you kill anyone?'" Martinez said. "But it's not about that. It is about liberation. It is about helping people in need."

Does he regret anything about his service?

“If I was called, I would still serve today,” he said.