In the searing heat of Vietnam’s monsoon season, a young man from Comanche, Texas found himself thrust into the chaos of warfare. Staff Sergeant Jimmy Burks, who dropped out of high school in 1968 to enlist in the U.S. Army, is now sharing his harrowing experiences through Texas’ Voices of Veterans program.
Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., recently introduced Burks’ oral history as the newest installment in the state-sponsored initiative that preserves veterans’ stories. Burks’ account offers a raw glimpse into the life of an infantryman during one of America’s most controversial conflicts.
“My mother signed the paperwork, so that’s what I did to stay out of trouble,” Burks recalled of his enlistment at just 18 years old, needing parental consent to join during the height of the Vietnam War.
From Small-Town Texas to Vietnam’s Front Lines
Like many young soldiers, Burks had little idea what awaited him overseas. He soon learned his designation as an “11 Bravo” — military shorthand for infantry — meant he’d be in the thick of combat operations, often trudging through monsoon-soaked terrain.
The transition from civilian to combat soldier was jarring. “It was scary. You didn’t know what was going to happen, if you were going to be shot at, if you had to go out into the field and shoot or whatever,” he explained about those initial weeks of his yearlong deployment.
What does a firefight actually feel like? Burks’ description strips away Hollywood’s glamorized portrayal, depicting instead the terrifying reality of combat. “The next thing you know, here they come, opening fire so we got into a fire fight that lasted about 30 minutes. They pulled out, they had woundeds and dead—that was basically it.” He noted the Vietnamese were formidable opponents, especially those from the north.
In a cruel twist that highlights the fog of war, Burks himself was wounded not by enemy fire but by his own side. “They thought we looked like the enemy,” he said simply, encapsulating the tragic confusion that often characterized the conflict.
Preserving Veterans’ Voices for Posterity
Burks’ testimony joins over 500 other veterans’ stories collected through the Voices of Veterans program, the first such initiative by a Texas state agency. The program records and archives these oral histories, making them available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public.
Perhaps most significantly, these records are preserved alongside documents from Texas legends like Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis in the Office of Veterans Records at the General Land Office. This placement symbolizes the equal historical importance of modern veterans’ contributions to the state’s heritage.
The program has taken on special significance under the leadership of Commissioner Buckingham, who has made history herself as Texas’ first female Land Commissioner since taking office in 2022. Before this role, she served as the first Republican elected to the Texas State Senate from Travis County and the first woman to represent Senate District 24.
Beyond mere historical documentation, these veterans’ stories serve a deeper purpose. They inspire future generations while acknowledging the profound sacrifices made by those who served — sacrifices that, as Burks’ account vividly illustrates, often leave physical and emotional scars that last a lifetime.
For the young man who once needed his mother’s signature to enlist, his voice now stands preserved among Texas heroes — a testament to ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and the enduring value of their stories.
