Documentary chronicles Lower Burrell veteran’s Vietnam War experiences

Hal Shaffer is aware of first-hand concerning the sacrifices and struggling that battle can convey.

Now the 74-year-old Decrease Burrell man is sharing his story about serving and being wounded throughout the Vietnam Conflict as a part of a documentary collection being produced by John Bailey titled, “Obligation, Braveness, Honor — Southwestern Pennsylvania Goes to Conflict.”

The 30-minute documentary about Shaffer is considered one of 64 that chronicle the experiences of native army veterans that Bailey, an Arnold native, has created.

About 50 folks turned out for the premiere of the documentary on Saturday afternoon on the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum in Tarentum.

Bailey stated Shaffer’s harrowing story about being gravely injured by a grenade set off by a visit wire whereas on patrol and the in depth medical remedy he required in its aftermath “is essentially the most outstanding of all of them.”

“My father served in World Conflict II, so I had an understanding about what troopers face,” Bailey stated. “However spending time with Hal and the opposite veterans for this undertaking has given me a a lot better appreciation for the sacrifices and hardships they endured. Hal’s story is definitely one that can keep in my head.”

Dennis Ames, 73, of Erie, stated he served briefly with Shaffer in Vietnam earlier than he was injured. The pair remained mates after being discharged from the Marine Corps.

“The phrase got here all the way down to us that Hal was killed in fight,” Ames stated. “So it was a reasonably large shock after I came upon that he had survived.

“Seeing this video makes me really feel just a little responsible about all of the issues he’s gone by,” Ames stated. “I spent a 12 months over there and by no means had any issues. However he has suffered rather a lot.”

Shaffer was hit by shrapnel and filth from the grenade blast, which blew off the tip of his nostril, tore out his left eye, broken a part of his decrease bowel and severed a vein in his left leg.

He underwent a number of surgical procedures earlier than being discharged from the army and categorised as totally disabled.

He was adorned with a Purple Coronary heart.

In 2006, Shaffer suffered the primary of 4 coronary heart assaults and was recognized with Sort 2 diabetes.

He additionally has been handled for prostrate, lymphoma, lung and thyroid cancers, which he believes are the results of his publicity to Agent Orange, a tactical herbicide used to clear vegetation throughout the Vietnam Conflict.

He stated the grueling radiation and chemotherapy therapies “are virtually as unhealthy and typically worse” than the situation they’re getting used to deal with.

Docs have advised Shaffer there’s nothing extra they’ll do for him and despatched him house from the hospital below hospice care.

Shaffer’s grandson, Drew Campbell, 22, of Decrease Burrell, stated he has heard lots of the tales included within the documentary earlier than “however I didn’t know all particulars.”

“I used to be conscious that my grandfather was wounded in Vietnam, however I actually had no concept concerning the extent of his accidents,” Campbell stated. “I at all times knew he was a reasonably powerful man. However I didn’t understand how powerful he actually is till listening to about what he needed to undergo.”