"Tex" Houston


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Hey Rob i didnt know where to put this and some may not even like this guy , but i got along with him just fine so here goes:

His name was Tex Houston and he camped there at the placer dig on the left as you turn off the main road up to your claim. (trommel)

He was the watchman for the claim. And everyone knew not to mess with him..(crazy) lol

I camped next to him for about two months and finally got him to go in to the Prescott VA where he was given 100% Service connected disability for PTSD and other wounds he had received while a member of US Army Special Forces in Viet Nam.

In his obit i came across while reading some Special Forces Association news online, it said he had a gun store in Wickenburg for awhile...

Tex loved shooting and one evening we drug an old car hood all the way across the wash with our 4 wheelers and propped it up on the side of the Rich Hill near a mine adit, and then we got back and shot all his bullets at it -----never scratched it once ..30-06....

Well after his check in at VA in Prescott he got a big chunk of back pay and bought his dream rifle, a .338 Lapua on a AR platform...... I trust he never had any problems hitting long range after that!!!!

The last time he texted me was when he got the rifle -----I was glad that he was finally a little happier.....

Thanks for letting me put this up...sometimes you really never know who it is you are helping out....... this time it turned out to be a war hero.

Not too well liked back home..........but how many Viet Nam vets were.....

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Many vets have had a rough time ... I was friends with a guy we called " Du" who'd done two tours in Nam and came back messed up ... While he was in country his brother was murdered in Iowa ... He got extended a week at a time while he was in the jungle and after about 10 extensions, a helicopter came in and his group leader told him to get on and he was going home ... 72 hours later they dumped him off on the streets of St. Louis with his bag and a .45 ... He caught transportation up to Iowa and walked into a bar owned by the guy who Du was convinced murdered his brother ... Du asked the guy's name and then pulled his .45 out and blew him away ... He did 2 years in the pen for that ... I knew him and mined with him for a few years up in the Klamath Mtns. ... He went through a bunch of psycho stuff but gradually got straightened out and found an OK woman ... They got married and were doing OK but one snowy day he drove up toward the mountain pass above their home and went off the high side ... He tumbled down a 300 ft. cliff but lived, although stuck in 4' of snow in a small creek, his rig upside down ... After a day or so the county road crew saw his truck and brought in rescue ...Unfortunately, the crash broke about half the bones in his body ... Extensive rehab and lots of drugs got him throught the pains, more or less ... But his wife left him and he finally went down to Mexico to work an oil rig ... After a couple years, he called me up one day and asked if he could crash at my ranch for a couple days ... I told him "sure" ... I got home very late on the night of the day he'd called me, and to make a long and somewhat dramatic story short, I and my recently acquired blonde beauty arrived at the ranch late under the brilliant light of an October harvest moon ... He had a crappy little Honda car and when I pulled up behind the ranch house I heard an engine running ... I went over to the sound and saw his little white car ... He was sitting shirtless in the driver's seat with the windows up, doors locked and motor running ..After pounding on the window,.I tried to open the driver door, but it was locked ... I walked around back and tripped over one of my dredge hoses that he had taped to the exhaust and run up into a backseat window wing and sealed in with clothes and pillows ... I went to the passenger side and tried to open the door but it was lock too ... I started yanking on the door, gettting actually kind of violent about it and suddenly the door opened ... The horrid thick odor of exhaust came billowing out and I lunged across the front seats and opened the driver side door, then pushed Du out ...He was lifeless ... I ran around and put my head to his chest and could hear no heart beat ... His skin was a little bit cool ... I started doing mouth to mouth resuscitation, even though I'd never done it before ... After about a minute, I put my ear on his chest and listened ... After a bit I heard a single "ka thump" ...So I kept doing the MtoM for a bit, don't know how long, and all of a sudden he sat straight up and started cursing me and the world in general ... He screamed, "I was gone you SOB, why did you bring me back!!!!!!" Well, that was the beginning of a very long four days of trying to work him through the situation ... Finally, I thought I'd gotten him at least off the edge and found a job for him working on a massive forest fire that was burning (Siskiyou County, N. CA, September, 1987) ... There's a bunch more to this story, but two days later I got a call from the sheriffs who said he'd killed himself a mile up a skid trail from my ranch, again, using one of my Keene dredge hoses .... A lot about Du was good, but he was haunted by Viet Nam ... He used to get bombed on Black Velvet and start talking about the killing ... He often said he didn't know within 50 how many people he'd killed, and admitted that some he'd killed were Americans who had crossed him in Saigon ... There's lots more to this story but I guess it'll have to wait... Unc

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Hello Ron,

I have to tell you that was a great and sad story that you wrote about your friend named Du

I didnt know him of course but I have to commend him for doing two tours in Vietnam. Anyone

that does that has to love their country and believe in what they are doing. Thats the kind of person

that I would love to shake their hand let them know how much I appreciate what they have did for

God and their country. I was in Vietnam in 1969. I never think it is to late to pray for someone even

if they are gone from us. Thank you Ron for sharing this story about your friend. As soon I close this

email and send it to you I say will pray for your friend that you lost. Im sure he is in a better place now

and that he no longer has to carry any burdens around.

Best Regards

Goldsmoke

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Ya know, I had an experience with a Vietnam Vet for several years until he finally died from his wounds. I felt so deeply for that man when no others would care to be around him. He was drafted at around 19 years of age and went right over after basic training. It wasn't long on his first mission he was following a officer into the field and the officer stepped on a mine. The officer was killed outright and Mickey was wounded from head to foot on his right side. One eye, right arm, testicles, right leg and foot all shattered. They flew him to the states where he died a couple of times and they managed to bring him back each time. Physically he was mess and that is why people sort of shunned him. He live with his younger brother who was mentally challenged. The wife and I would help him as much as we could by fixing things in his, home erecting fences, etc. Elsie would cook for him and have the boys over for a good meal every once in a while. He wasn't a joy to be around always but he never got on the 'Why me' thing, or held anyone responsible for his state of affairs. He just kept on truckin and really appreciated the help.

I think that more people should get involved in helping these vets that are hurt be it mentally or physically. They didn't want to get into that state but they are there and they need help, God knows.

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Steve, you said a mouth full. I did two tours in Nam, And could not stand how I was treated when I came home, So I asked for Germany and got it. They treated us pretty good over there. I went in in 66 and got out in 73. Been through 5 wives, and I'm on my 6th now, for almost 22 years, so I guess She's it. Grubstake

Yeh, and now I'm 100% service connected, well more than that, but payed at 100% 100% on my heart, 50% ptsd, 20% on hearing and 10% for tinnitus, and 20% diabetes. house bound.

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Hey Paul,

I don't think I ever met Tex, but heard about him. Over the years, Rich Hill had handful of carekeepers, prospectors and miners camped all over the place. Some were real deal carekeepers, others were just saying they were to camp on the ground.

The one carekeeper that pops to mind back in the 90's was a guy named "Bear" that lived at the base of the Devil's Nest claims. He would run guys off, but he also allowed others to hunt the claims.

That was great you were able to get the guy the help he needed. I think Vet's are some of the most important people in the World, but they seem to be the ones that don't get any help or assistance once they are out on their own. It's a same, you would think the Government would give these guys what they deserve.

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Wow, thanks for all the stories and input guys.....as much as I believe in God and country---i really think there was a different motivation for most who of the guys who did multiple tours in VN

A lot of guys I have talked with over the years returned for more tours in Viet Nam because it was the only place they felt comfortable..... or were accepted for who they were and accepted for their rank, not age.......

I can see where it would be difficult returning to the states after running a platoon or A-Team to be told you werent qualified to do this job or that job---that you needed to get more training or go to college----- or just completely have your applicaton for a job dumped in the trash because you were a crazy from Nam.......

Being19-to 25 and having lived thru VN that was tough, but the world they knew back home to was never the same..and ended up being tougher than combat.

I am seeing the same thing with a lot of the OEF-OIF vets----( some of them are gamers just like there were after Nam....just playing the system), but when i do get a person who is genuinely hurting I try my best to go out of my way to help them.....

One major problem is the one's who need help the most are often the one's who wouldn't step foot in the VA door,,like Tex they have preconceived notions or got poor treatment in the past and dont want to go back and deal with some idiot at a desk.

I understand all that because I am a patient too----- but it is also our job as brothers to encourage all vets to come in and get checked out to see if there is anything we can do to make life a little better.

Thanks again to ALL vets out there !!!!!!!!---------and another BIG thanks to you guys who arent vets who help us by donating to your local vet service organizations.

Thanks for the platform Rob.!

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Here is the proper obit from his friend...

Ronald Henry "Tex" Houston, SOA #2288, SSG, USA, passed away May 27, 2013. He was a member of the 5th SFGA during the Vietnam War. It is with great sadness, we report the loss of SSG Ronald Henry ‘Tex” Houston, who passed away, 27 May 2013, in Wickenburg, AZ. Tex died as a result after a lengthy battle with cancer. I served with Tex at SOG CCS; he was assigned to 1st Exploration Company, with extensive combat time running missions with Captain Carr and Pappy Reed. On my first tour, I was assigned to 1st company for a very short time and went on two operations with him before joining CCS Recon. My second week in county, I went on my very first mission with Tex. It was my first combat, and Tex went the extra mile to make sure I didn’t do stupid as I earned my CIB. Tex was a friend, a great warrior, solid soldier. He was one of those soldiers you could rely on 100% in the field. Tex returned to the US and went back to being a cowboy in Texas and AZ for years, then started a Gun Shop in AZ. He recently gave the SOA several items for our silent auction. He is survived by his only daughter, unfortunately; he had little or no contact with her over the years. Tex was a member of the SOA/SFA, he was a decorated SOG veteran receiving his CIB and Purple Heart, if my memory is correct, he earned several awards for valor and achievement.
May he RIP

Pete “BUS” Buscetto
CCS Recon

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Ron,

Thanks for sharing this sad story. Tex's demons won out eventually, even as you did your level best to save him from himself, and that in itself, is commendable in the extreme. Knowing what I do about you over time, I am not in the least surprised by your efforts to do the right thing. As is indicated, he is one of many that have not sought available treatment, out of pride, embarrassment, or just not wanting to be double crossed by the "system". I have a sense of that as well. Often it is better to keep on doing as best you can, and not re-open old wounds that have never seemed to heal...

Cuz Gary

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