Marine Combat Veteran Recounts Story of Survival During Annual Vietnam Commemoration Ceremony

As a teenager, Clyde Hoch didn’t wait to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

He signed up while still in high school, and, just three days after graduation, he left home for basic training. Hoch knew he’d be sent to Vietnam, and he arrived in the country in early 1968, during the heaviest fighting of the war.

“Things were going great for me in Vietnam,” he said. “I was moving up fast.”

Then, everything changed. Near the end of his tour, Hoch was sitting on top of a tank on his way back from an operation. All of a sudden, he said, hot air filled his lungs.

“Everything started to get fuzzy. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Uh-oh, this is it.’”

Hoch’s tank had hit a mine, the explosion creating a massive crater in the earth. The impact left him on the brink of death and unable to comprehend what was happening.

“Everything was so still and so quiet,” he said. “And I looked around and saw people’s mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear a thing.”

Hoch recounted his story of survival as the featured speaker of the University’s annual Vietnam War Commemoration Ceremony. After the mine incident, he ended up leaving the military. His life, he said, was never the same. He suffered from post-traumatic stress and a traumatic brain injury, and he contemplated suicide on a near daily basis.

“Coming home from Vietnam was the worst time of my life,” he said. “I was more comfortable in the war than I was in my own country. I didn’t fit in anywhere in society, and the only time I felt comfortable was when I was drinking.”

Hoch’s faith and his belief in God eventually helped to save his life. He ended up volunteering with the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Veterans Mentor Program. And he found a greater purpose by starting Veterans Brotherhood, a nonprofit veteran support organization, headquartered in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, that helps veterans with everything from back taxes, rent, food, and clothes to mentoring services.

This is the fourth year that DeSales’ Veterans and Military Services Center has hosted the commemoration ceremony. A number of local veterans organizations also participated, including John Rivers, VFW Post 11322, Quakertown and the Louis E. Dieruff High School Air Force JROTC.  

The Lehigh Valley Sea Cadets presented American flags to the Gold Star family of Corporal Timothy Schroeder, United States Army, and the Gold Star family of Sergeant Walter Thomas Smith, United States Army. The flags, which were flown over the United States Capitol, were courtesy of Congressman Ryan Mackenzie.

Also during the ceremony, the following students were recognized with awards and scholarships: 

• Cadet James Stelacio ’27, Student Veterans of America, DeSales Chapter, Steel Battalion Army ROTC, received the Military Order of The Purple Heart, Lehigh Valley, Chapter 190 Leadership Award.
• David Lopez Escobales ’26, Student Veterans of America, DeSales Chapter, United States Navy veteran, received the Spring 2025 DeSales University Veterans Scholarship.
• Doris Bozali ’27, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Student Veterans of America, DeSales Chapter, was the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council Scholarship recipient.