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| Bill DeArmond the day he was discharged from the Army in May of 1969. Photo provided by Bill DeArmond. |
By Holly Shanks
Published May 6, 2015, in The Journal, Webster University student newspaper.
http://websterjournal.com/2015/05/01/websters-vault-program-accepted-vets-when-others-didnt/
Less than one year after he was told he would never walk again, Bill DeArmond hitchhiked toward Lindbergh Boulevard. He had just arrived at Lambert Airport on a clear and sunny day in September, 1968. He was wearing the only clothes he had with him – his Army dress uniform. A passing insurance salesman offered him a ride to a Ladue Elementary School where his mother was a teacher. He wanted her to know he was home and had survived the Vietnam War.
“I had to keep pinching myself. It was so soon and sudden,” DeArmond said. “Cause we were in the field in Vietnam just (a couple of days before) and then we’re all of a sudden home.”
