Vietnam veteran Darwin Wall, right, is congratulated by his B Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade commander, Daryl Solomonson, after receiving a Bronze Star medal in a ceremony Monday, July 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — Members of the 720th Military Police Battalion’s B Company had been sent to Vietnam to provide security for fighting troops.

But for three years, they joined soldiers on the front lines, conducting patrols and ambushes, participating in search-and-destroy missions and defending local villages.

Their unique service from 1967 to 1970 marked the first time a U.S. military police battalion took part in infantry duties, according to unit accounts. Officially, however, it went unacknowledged by the Army.

That changed Monday in a long-awaited ceremony in the U.S. Capitol, where 35 former “Bushwhackers,” as the military police members called themselves, were awarded Bronze Stars for their service. The medals also honored the scout dog handlers of the 212th Military Police Company.

Participants in the ceremony stand for the pledge of allegiance in the U.S. Capitol, Monday, July 24, 2023. Thirty-five former members of B Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade were awarded Bronze Stars for their service. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

“Today marks a milestone when our history at last meets official recognition of who we were and what we did, to officially set the record straight for our posterity and how we should be remembered,” said Steven Aurilio, a former specialist in B Company. “This will help bring our members and families a sense of identity and closure and out of the shadows of obscurity.”

The 55-year oversight ended due to a mailing blitz several years ago by a group of former military policemen from the unit, who sent out 55 letters to congressional representatives in 25 states asking for assistance in obtaining recognition. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, answered the call.

In 2021, he contacted the Defense Department and the Army, which began extensive searches at multiple personnel records facilities to find documentation of the military police's infantry actions. The former Bushwhackers wanted to receive the Army’s Combat Action Badge or Combat Infantry Badge but both requests were denied.

Unit members instead were offered Bronze Stars, a decoration for meritorious service in a combat zone that Aurilio said the military police “never considered or thought we earned.”

Latta deemed it a “step in the right direction” in winning recognition for an estimated 600 military police members who were deployed by the Army to “perform duties outside what they signed up for.”

“They rose to that occasion,” he said.

Latta’s office has collected 56 applications from former military police since January, receiving Bronze Stars for all.

Vietnam veteran Lino Petrucco, who served with B Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, salutes as he receives his Bronze Star medal from Rep. Robert Latta, R-Ohio, Monday, July 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

The medals were distributed Monday to standing ovations in the Members’ Dining Room of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Bushwhackers and their family members from across the country filled every seat. Several Bronze Stars were awarded posthumously, including to Thomas Watson, a former B Company squad leader largely credited with bringing the story of the 720th Military Police Battalion “into the light.”

Watson and Robert Bogison, a former member of the battalion and author who publicized his comrades’ exploits in the book “Up-Close & Personal”, met in 1998 and spent years researching details of the unit’s operations.

The Bushwhackers served in South Vietnam and were tasked with protecting a sprawling American logistics base called Long Binh Post, a frequent target for enemy sappers. The 720th Military Police Battalion, under the 18th Military Police Brigade, were assigned ground soldier duties and given a flotilla of patrol boats to guard against infiltration and rocket attacks.

“We didn’t drive around in jeeps and direct traffic as people think,” said Donnie Thomas, a former staff sergeant. “We walked around during the day trying to get someone to shoot at us so we could shoot back at them.”

Dean Wetzler, 80, described his two years of serving in Vietnam as a constant state of unease.

“You never knew what was going to happen and when,” he said.

The battalion was awarded 24 Purple Hearts during the three-year infantry mission known as Operation Stabilize, 13 of them posthumously.

“War cares not what a soldier’s [Military Occupational Specialty] is,” Aurilio said, referring to the military’s code for specific jobs. “In the field for tactical operations such as ours, the risk and the battle station were the same.”

Veterans of B Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade pose for a photo after receiving Bronze Star medals at a ceremony Monday, July 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Thomas said he was disappointed his fellow Bushwhackers did not receive the Combat Infantry Badge, an award for those who fought in active ground combat. But he said a Bronze Star helped bring much-needed attention to B Company and "that means a lot."

"A lot of people now are aware of what we did," Thomas said.

The average age of the unit’s surviving members is 76. Latta said he hoped word-of-mouth would lead to commendations for many more Bushwhackers. The Army’s Human Resources Command is reviewing four additional former members for medal eligibility.

Aurilio, the former B Company specialist, said the men were not pursuing self-aggrandizement but rather recognition for meaningfully contributing to a war that changed their lives.

“It’s important to us that the record be set straight,” he said.