ROCKPORT, Texas — Arthur Lee Mann does not call himself a hero.
“I was doing my job,” he said.
For decades, that was all he would say.
Now, the Vietnam War veteran is opening up about the ambush that nearly killed him and his crew, and the actions that earned him one of the military’s highest honors.
Born Jan. 23, 1945, in Belleville, Illinois, Lee grew up in poverty, working long hours from a young age to help support his family. He enlisted in the Navy in 1963 after high school, calling it “the best thing that ever happened” to him.
It took him far from home, and into war.
Mann served aboard an assault support patrol boat with the Mobile Riverine Force, working as both an engineer and a .30-caliber machine gunner, often exposed in open fire.
“Most of the time, they found us first,” he said. “So we always shot our way out and got back.”
On May 8, 1968, during a mission along the Song Ba Lai River, his boat (ASPB 91-3) moved toward a landing area when a large Viet Cong force opened fire from the shoreline.
Rockets. Recoilless rifles. Automatic weapons.
The first volley hit hard. The blast knocked Mann off his feet and hurled him more than 10 feet across the boat. Shrapnel tore into his arms, leg and hand. The attack disabled the vessel’s radios and controls, sending it crashing directly onto the beach in front of enemy positions.
Still wounded, Mann got up.
He fought his way through the wreckage to the control area, where the crew was dazed and injured. He helped the coxswain regain control, offering direction and encouragement as the boat remained pinned under heavy fire.
Then he saw his captain. The officer lay gravely wounded on the exposed bow. Ignoring the gunfire, and his own injuries, Mann ran forward into the open.
“I ran out there and grabbed him,” Mann recalled. “And I carried him back in.”
He pulled the captain to safety, administered first aid, then returned to the fight, picking up a rifle and grenade launcher to lay down covering fire as another boat moved in to help.
His actions helped suppress enemy fire long enough for the damaged vessel to be towed out of the ambush.
Lee was wounded again in the process, the second time that day.
“That’s hard to talk about,” he said quietly. “But thank God we all survived.”
For his actions, Lee received the Silver Star, awarded for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action.” He also earned three Purple Heart medals.
But when he came home, there was no ceremony waiting.
“Bad,” he said of the reception many Vietnam veterans faced. “They were throwing stuff at us and spitting at us.”
Only his parents greeted him when he returned to Illinois.
“That’s the only homecoming I had,” he said.
For years, Lee kept his experiences to himself.
“They tried to ask me about it, and I said, ‘You don’t want to know,’” he said.
Over time, with encouragement from his wife and fellow veterans, he began to talk, though the memories remain close.
“I have nightmares,” he said. “I’m proud of what I did, but at the same time, I’m not proud of killing people.”
After more than 22 years in the Navy, Mann built a civilian career using the technical skills he learned in service, working in power plants and later with the University of Texas system.
Now living in Rockport, he spends his time fishing, hunting and gardening, staying active despite lasting injuries.
These days, he says, the reception is different.
“Every time they see me, somebody says, ‘Thank you for your service,’” he said. “I think people are trying to make up for what we didn’t get.”
His message is simple.
“Let’s have peace,” he said. “Human life is precious.”
And for those who serve:
“Just treat them with respect,” he said. “They don’t ask for it, but they deserve it.”
More Veterans In Focus stories are available here, along with resources for local veterans.
Contact Veterans In Focus reporter Michelle Hofmann at michelle.lorenzo@kristv.com
