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C. B. Black

C. B. Black, a machine gunner with the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, saw heavy jungle combat during his tour of duty. He remembers sloshing through the mud as his unit cut paths through the dense jungle. They couldn’t walk on the trails for fear of ambush and land mines. He remembers sleeping in mud with snakes, monkeys, scorpions and tarantulas. There were no snacks, TV or candy. He remembers wringing water out of his bread before eating it. Every day his unit fought off leeches and endured jungle rot. He often slept in rice fields with his entire body, except for his nose, submerged in water,. He also survived a helicopter crash. At one point, he went 75 days without a bath. At the end of his tour, Black was awarded seven medals, including the Purple Heart as a result of third-degree burns on his right side from the hulls from hot bullets.

When C.B. left the jungles of Vietnam in 1966, he was promoted to the rank of Sgt. and honorably discharged. He returned to Oakland, CA, disillusioned with the war when members of his unit he had previously fought with shunned him in the airport. He found it hard to believe that the men he previously fought with and carried off the battlefield would turn away from him as soon as they returned to the United States. He said that hurt him more than the physical scars he received during the war. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other maladies from his war days, Black was angry and bitter with the world.

For a while he wanted to forget the war. He left the medals at his father’s home, but lost them more than 40 years ago. They were destroyed when his father’s house burned down.

The years have mellowed his attitude toward the war. The medals he received were his proof that he served his country and was recognized for his service. He wanted to show them to his children and grandchildren.

For years he struggled to get his medals replaced. Finally, he turned to his congresswoman for help. In November 2009, his wife, Loretta, led him to a surprise ceremony where he was awarded replacement medals and recognized by Mayor Bill White who proclaimed it “C.B. Black Day.” U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, pinned a Purple Heart on Black’s blazer and presented him with six other medals, including the Bronze Star. Click here to read Black’s story in the Houston Chronicle.

Today C.B. spends his time running errands for other people. He tries to keep the house clean for his wife. He is active in his church choir and a lead singer at North Chase Community Church. After getting his medals back, he feels he now can leave his legacy with his family.

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