Fifty years ago, soldiers James Averette and David Hosenfelt were in South Vietnam, somewhere on the Cambodian border.
They didn't know each other well, but that was about to change. Under hot fire, they were aboard a helicopter attempting to land soldiers.
The two men became friends for life because of what happened next.
"We were ambushed," Hosenfelt added. "The first thing I remember is something hit me in the face. We jumped out of the chopper. One guy said we were knocked out."
The next 18 hours were hell. But sometimes, hell creates a family.
Last week, Averette's daughter Crystal Guthrie traveled from Newport, North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with Hosenfelt, who farms near Calwood. Over the years, the families bonded. They kept those bonds tight, even after Averette passed away in 2012.
This year, Guthrie brought along her husband, Drew, and their children Wallace, 8, and Donald, 5. She said her mom, Carolyn, couldn't join them for the trip.
Hosenfelt and his wife Judy were joined by their two grown sons, Matt, who lives in Iowa, and Justin, a farmer like his dad.
"I live right down the road from him," Justin said. "He was very surprised when Drew and Crystal came in."
They had Thanksgiving together, then dinner again on Friday night at the Fulton VFW. They've had other reunions, too. For Hosenfelt, this one was a surprise.
"We've been talking about it since May," Crystal said. "We're friends for life. They definitely hold a special place in my heart, that's for sure."
If it wasn't for Hosenfelt, Crystal said, she wouldn't have known her dad.
Their saga began Nov. 28, 1968, when Hosenfelt saved Averette's life. It was Thanksgiving Day.
Surviving together
Averette and Hosenfelt were soldiers in the Army's 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Manchus. On that fateful day, the Manchus were sent on an operation near Tay Ninh city. What the Manchus didn't know was that this was a well-fortified Viet Cong base camp, defended with hundreds of bunkers, machine guns, rockets, mortars, mines and more. Manchu.org shared a harrowing account of what followed.
Hosenfelt and Averette, members of Alpha Company, rode together in the chopper toward the landing zone. The pair prepared to leap out as the helicopter descended. But before they could jump, automatic weapons fire strafed the helicopter.
Averette's elbow and eye socket were seriously injured, and Hosenfelt a chip of Averette's bone bounce off his face. Averette plunged to the ground, with Hosenfelt quickly following. He was already hit in the leg by a .51 caliber bullet. Hosenfelt did his best to slow Averette's bleeding.
"I put my belt around him," Hosenfelt said, adding he tried to fashion a tourniquet above his own leg wound.
Bullets flew and grass burned around them.
Everyone aboard the helicopter, aside from Hosenfelt, Averette and one other soldier, were dead. The third man vanished into the jungle to get help. He was never seen again.
It got worse: Averette was hit again, a round from an AK-47 striking his chest. Tear gas hissed around them.
"They dropped tear gas on us, so I put his gas mask on him," Hosenfelt said.
They lay in the darkness, Hosenfelt periodically checking to see if Averette was still bleeding.
"We were pinned down out there for 18 hours," Hosenfelt said. "It was Thanksgiving Day."
When daylight came, surviving Manchus arrived and the pair were taken to safety.
In total, 19 Manchus died and 36 were wounded during the action near Tay Ninh. Averette spent 10 months recuperating in a hospital and was discharged from the Army, while Hosenfelt returned to duty after four months.
Family ties
Hosenfelt came home. He and Judy went on to have their two sons, but the war was always there.
"He wouldn't talk about it for a long time," said his son Justin. "He still doesn't talk about it very much."
Averette talked about Hosenfelt sometimes, Crystal said. She credited Hosenfelt with saving Averette's life.
"Without this man, my dad would not have survived, and I would not have had the opportunity to have my dad (with me) for 32 years," she said.
Averette never got to have a career.
"He was permanently disabled," Crystal said. "He would do stuff around the house. He liked to paint and do woodworking."
Averette passed away in June 2012, but the approaching 50th anniversary got Guthrie thinking about her dad's hero again. She sent an email to Fulton Mayor LeRoy Benton, asking if some kind of recognition for Hosenfelt could be arranged. Benton passed the email on to Larry Underwood of the Fulton VFW, and Underwood started planning.
Guthrie and her family hoped to travel to Fulton for the 50th anniversary, but feared that wouldn't be financially feasible.
"Then, in early November, (my husband) Matt was talking to someone and sharing our story, and they stepped up to pay for our plane tickets," Guthrie said.
She and her family flew to St. Louis Wednesday, where members of Hosenfelt's family picked them up for a side trip to the Arch before driving them back to Fulton to spend Thanksgiving together.
A proclamation from the City of Fulton was presented Friday at the VFW dinner, along with another surprise.
"We're getting all the Vietnam veterans to sign a wall hanging," Underwood said.
Hosenfelt said he appreciated the gesture.
"It means a lot," he said of all the excitement. "It's nice. Crystal and Drew, they all surprised me."
Hosenfelt, now 70, has spent his life raising cattle and corn. He loves the tranquil country life, and said his wife Judy is his saving grace.
"Her living with me all these years," he said. "I used to have terrible nightmares. She just put up with a lot."
According to Judy Hosenfelt, both men later received Purple Heart medals.