LAURINBURG — William Swift knew at an early age exactly what he wanted to do with his life. Little did he know then that a Purple Heart was in his future.
Not just one, but two.
“A career in the military was at the top of my list as a teenager,” he said recently. “I saw the Golden Knights at Fort Bragg in 1959 or 1960 (and) my uncle was in the 82nd Airborne Special Forces, so there was that influence, as well.”
He enlisted in the US Army while a senior at Pamlico County High School.
“I was part of the group referred to as ‘The Forgotten 11’ because we were the first African-Americans to graduate from Pamlico,” he explained.
Swift was sent to Fort Bragg for basic training, then to Fort Campbell in Kentucky with the 101st Airborne Division. After three months, he was headed overseas.
“Our training focused mostly on riot control, because there were a lot of riots back then — but we still had duties to prepare for Vietnam,” Swift recalled, “and those duties were pretty intense.”
Before he left Fort Campbell, Swift was scheduled for dog-handling and sniper school in Malaysia before being sent to Vietnam.
“(Vietnam) was quite unusual,” Swift said after careful thought as he searched for the right words. “It was a war for commanders and politicians, but as soldiers we did what we were told to do.”
Swift arrived in Vietnam as an 18-year-old ready for duty, but shortly after his 19th birthday he was wounded in both legs from sniper fire. He was sent back to the States, where he recovered at Dwight D. Eisenhower Medical Center in Georgia and was kept out of action for three months.
It would result in his first Purple Heart.
“But I wanted to go back,” Swift said. “I had something to prove.”
First, he attended and passed drill sergeant school in Alabama.
Swift had been told, however, that unless he showed his superiors that he could get back to regular active duties, he’d be reclassified.
“I was too gung-ho for that, and I wanted to show them,” Swift said. “But it might have been a mistake — after I showed them, they put a Band-Aid on me and sent me back to Vietnam as a pathfinder in 1971.”
One year later, Swift was wounded again, this time by mortar fire. His injuries were extensive and widespread. He was sent to an Australian medical ship — which he described as “clean, nice and with good food” — where he remained for two weeks.
He was eventually awarded his second Purple Heart.
Eventually he was sent to Kansas to work as an intelligence analyst and, after some time, Swift went to Korea and also served in Desert Storm before returning to Fort Bragg as a drill sergeant, where he stayed four years before retiring.
Nearly 60 years after seeing the Golden Knights, Swift is now a retired 1st Sergeant from the US Army. He was active during the Vietnam War, serving from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1971 to 1973; from 1992 to 2012, he served as the JROTC founder and instructor at Marlboro County (SC) High School.
In total, Swift served in the US Army from 1967 to 1992 and made more than 400 jumps with the 101st Airborne Division.
But he’s hardly slowed down with his involvement with the military. Swift currently serves as president of the 101st Airbo0rne Division for North Carolina and South Carolina. He is also a member of the Triple Nickels as a life member of the 82nd Airborne Association.
“We’re all a very close, tight group,” he said. “There’s a lot we’ve been through; experienced and seen a lot that … most might understand, but you wouldn’t want to do it.
“I lost quite a few buddies over there,” he added.
He also said there were many relationships formed with the Vietnamese during his time in their country. And looking back, Swift said he also owes a lot of gratitude to his wife of 29 years, Sheila.
“It’s not only the soldiers who serve,” he said. “Their families also serve — in a different way, but they sacrifice as well.”
As for his two Purple Hearts, Swift said they were just a product of doing his job as a soldier in the US military.
“I wouldn’t trade a bit of any of it,” Swift said. “I was a proud soldier serving this great country (and) I’d do it all again if I could.”
W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-506-3023 or [email protected].
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