Russ Cupp receives his pin at WHRO studios.

Local Vietnam veteran Russ Cupp received something recently that was more than 45 years overdue—a “thank you” for his service in Vietnam. To honor his service, Cupp received his official Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin in a private ceremony at WHRO studios. The lapel pins were developed through the U.S.A. Vietnam War Commemoration, a national 50th anniversary commemoration that was launched in May 2012.

“I am not used to being welcomed or thanked for service in Vietnam,” Cupp said. “Back then when we got out it was spit, insults, derision or mercifully, indifference. We didn't fit in for a while, some never fit back in.”

Although his father had enjoyed a career in the military, Cupp said he never expected to serve. After “straying” a bit in high school—he enjoyed surfing much more than attending class and was caught a couple times smoking in the boys’ room—he found himself in Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth. While he says he didn’t really enjoy it, he does appreciate the knowledge it gave him.

“I would have never got into any college had I not gone there,” he explained.

Russ shared his Vietnam photo album with WHRO Staff.

The military training he received also served him well once he was drafted and sent to Vietnam in 1970. Even before arriving, he’d already lost a lot to the war. His best friend had been killed three months prior to his arrival, and a cousin his age had died in Vietnam a year before that. “I just remember thinking to myself, ‘I don't give a damn what it takes, I'm coming back,’” he recalled.

Cupp started off working in small arms repair in a shop where his company would repair anything the “grunts,” or infantrymen, needed to be fixed. Later, he began filling in as a driver on a gun truck that led convoys. The job demanded constant alertness to identify threats of ambush, and the convoys often encountered gunfire. The continuous adrenaline rush left him struggling to adjust when he returned home.

“You're having that constantly for that whole year and then you go back to nothing,” he explained. “Supposedly adrenaline is more potent than heroin, opium, or cocaine and you just have that coursing through you—forced on you—and then you get back. How do you top that as far as where you go to find a job?”

Once back in the states, Cupp returned to Old Dominion University to study theater, but thoughts of the war were never far from his mind. He turned to alcohol to drown out the horrors he’d witnessed and struggled with alcoholism for a time. He also suffered from nightmares for many years and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, and he endured cancer as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange.

Cupp has never visited The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., but said he may one day. He is also considering writing a book about his experiences in the war. In the meantime, he is simply grateful to finally receive a word of thanks for his service.

 

Russ discusses exerpiencing war at such a young age:

 

Russ explains why he has not visited the war memorial in Washington, D.C.:

 

Read more stories of local Vietnam veterans.

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