Identity & Community

Veterans' Stories: Project 412

00000176-e6f7-dce8-adff-f6f7713f0000Veterans' Stories: Project 412 is a series of interviews created and produced by a group of Pittsburgh-area active-duty military personnel and veterans in 2014. 90.5 WESA partnered with Leadership Pittsburgh's Community Leadership Course for Veterans to shine a spotlight on area veterans from all branches of the military, who share personal memories and stories about their service in conflicts from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan.This project supported in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund.

Ron Worstell: Service In Vietnam Is 75 Percent Of Who I Am Today'

90.5 WESA | By Sarah Schneider

Published November 11, 2014 at 3:30 AM EST

Ron Worstell served as an infantryman for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1970.

“I tell everybody that my time in Vietnam of one year at the age of 20 something was really five percent of my life at that time, but that experience is 75 percent of who I am today,” he said.

Worstell says the experience gave him a broader perspective of the world, as well as lifetime bonds with those he served alongside. After he retired, he started volunteering with the National Park Service at the Vietnam War Memorial. During his six volunteer trips a year he meets with families and helps them find the name of a loved one.

“Now that I have time to do things, it’s for the veterans,” he said.

Worstell was interviewed by CLCV team member and former U.S. Army E-5 Sergeant James Yauger. Read more about Veterans' Stories: Project 412 and its participating team members.