William Hondel: Took a Friend’s Place

The calm South China Sea rested in front of two men as they sat on a white sandy beach in Vietnam. Martin Short and William J. Hondel had stopped to take a break and enjoy the sun for a few moments before returning to their work. Although they were in a war, and away from their homes, life in the foreign country wasn’t always bad for them. They joked that the beautiful scenery they were looking at was so nice that they should build a hotel there. This humor was appreciated and necessary during the Vietnam War, but after a brief laugh, the conversation went in another direction.

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it,” said Hondel, of West Allis.

The tone of his voice wasn’t sad, angry, or scared; he said it matter-of-factly.

Short was confused, “What are you talking about?”

Hondel shrugged off the subject, but his premonition would sadly become a reality on March 13, 1968 in an ambush on their convoy in Pleiku, Vietnam.

Years later, in 2015, Short would provide more than just memories of his fallen friend; Short would give a photo of Hondel to Media Milwaukee for inclusion in a national project to collect a photo to go with every name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Hondel had been a second lieutenant, and also in charge of Short and the rest of their freshly-out-of-high-school platoon in the Army. Both men were engineers though and had driven thousands of miles together in large military trucks.

“We all looked at him as a big brother,” said Short.

Hondel had been in the Army for nine years and saw it as a career; he knew how things operated, so he wasn’t hard on his platoon. Short and rest of the men wouldn’t do things because Hondel wanted them to; they did it just because.

“It was devastating,” said Short. “We not only lost someone we knew. He was a good officer; it was hard replacing him.”

Earlier in the day on March 13, before they were ambushed, Hondel told Short to take his truck to the back of the convoy. Hondel would then take Martin’s place up front. The convoy had 150 vehicles formed from three engineer companies, the 509^th Panel Bridge, and the 70^th and 586^th Dump Truck. Short protested that he would be eating dust all day from all the other trucks, but eventually he went to the back.

As they made their way down the road, they were ambushed by an estimated 300 North Vietnamese men that attacked them from either side of the road from bushes and other foliage. The attack on their convoy wasn’t just gun fire though, as the North Vietnamese used mortars, rocket propelled grenades, and Claymore mines. They also had hand satchel charges that were thrown at the trucks hoping to destroy them.

Since it was an engineering convoy, they weren’t equipped with the best weaponry, which left them surrounded in a fight that lasted over five hours.

Short had to stay low in the tall grass during the fight, with only the immediate area around him for perspective; he said it was like he was looking through a straw.

During the ambush, Hondel and the other men at the front of the convoy held up the battle, until Hondel was killed.

“We had 14 killed, not all from the 509^th, 585^th, and 70^th engineers,” Short said. “South Vietnamese had deaths, the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) had 48 to 50.”

After the March 13 battle, Short  was in shock. He said that he didn’t have many clear memories of what happened after it. He thought that he, and those involved in the ambush, were suffering psychologically, whether they knew it or not.

Looking back on his life so far since he has been out of the Army, Short said he felt like he had been given a chance, like he had a purpose.

“I felt like Bill expected me to do something with my life,” said Short.

Short knew that although anyone could have died that day in the March 13 ambush, Hondel had possibly saved his life by sending him to the back of the convoy.

Hondel’s wife Heidi moved over to America after he died. She never had a clear picture of what actually happened to him during that ambush, so Short helped her.

Short saw Hondel as a friend, a wonderful guy, and a good officer; all of which reflected in his character.

“He died leading his men into battle, that says it all,” said Short.