Marines on Helicopter Carrier 5 Leaving Okinawa for Donh Ha, Vietnam, May 1967. "3/4 loading onto helicopter carrier 5, leaving, Donh Ha from Okinawa May '67." From the John A. DeChant Collection (COLL/1781) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division.
Marine Corps Sergeant David DeChant served with the USMC in Vietnam in 1966-1967 as a Combat Intelligence NCO, assigned to battalion scouts with the 3d Battalion, 4th Marines and 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. In that time he saw duty in Camp Carroll, Dong Ha, and Con Thien. DeChant served a second time with the Marine Corps in 1968-1970 as an embassy courier in Saigon.
Upon his return home, Sgt. DeChant attended and graduated from American University with a double BA in Asian Area Studies and Mandarin, intent on a career in foreign relations. He acted as Executive Director of Maryland Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program, a Presidential Initiative in 1980 intending to destigmatize Vietnam veterans and ensure them equal employment opportunities, easing their passage from military to civilian life. During his tenure he was also a member of the core veterans group that conceived, organized, and built the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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