Source: United States Navy (Medical)
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – A young Billy Bui sat cross-legged on the floor with his head resting in the palm of his hand. He peered up at the weathered face of his grandfather as he listened in earnest to his grandfather’s story. There was a subtle breeze blowing through the nearby open window. It was the early 2000’s and Bui lived in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, California, but through his grandfather’s words he was being transported to another place and time: the Vietnam War in April 1975.
His grandfather, Danny Dang, recounted his time as a captain in the Republic of Vietnam army during Operation Frequent Wind. The Americans were pulling out of Vietnam and Dang was forced to figure out a way to evacuate his family. All they possessed was a small fishing boat. Unable to head north or south because of the North Vietnamese military and the Filipino pirates, they set out to sea in the Pacific Ocean in their small boat.
Bui hung on his grandfather’s every word, listening in awe and anticipation, as the story became more suspenseful. There was a feeling budding in Bui that he couldn’t shake. His grandfather continued, his voice gravelly.
For two days, Dang and his family had drifted aimlessly in the vast deep blue of the Pacific Ocean. On their last hope and running out of food, water and supplies, they came across U.S. Navy frigate USS Hepburn (FF 1055). At the time, the ship was not tasked with rescuing refugees, but Dang saw this as an opportunity.
Making a hasty decision, Dang scuttled their boat by stabbing holes in the bottom. The little boat had begun to sink, forcing the Americans on USS Hepburn to save them and allow them on ship. They were taken to America, never seeing Vietnam again.
“Granddad carried all his experiences with him for a long time and was really big on talking about it,” Bui said. “He did everything he could, fighting for his country and he instilled in me a sense of duty to my country. It’s a sense of individual sacrifice.”
Having that sense of duty instilled in him at such a ripe age, Bui grew up knowing he would join the military. He would go on to earn a degree in health science at California State University Channel Islands and later join the U.S. Navy Reserve as a corpsman in 2016.
It wouldn’t be until Bui wore his uniform and lived the life of a service member that he’d fully appreciate and understand the stories he grew up listening to from his grandfather.
For the next eight years and continuing to this day, Hospital Corpsman Petty Officer 1st Class Billy Bui has been attached to Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, a Marine Reserve unit headquartered in Seal Beach, California.
As of Nov. 1, 2024, the unit has been activated for a scheduled 2025 deployment to Okinawa, Japan, in support of the Marine Corps Unit Deployment Program.
The unit began intense training prior to the activation in preparation for the deployment as they provided a Total Force solution to align with the Marine Forces Reserve’s commitment to the Marine Corps’ strategic objectives.
It was during one of these training exercises that Bui would be faced with one of the most intense and nerve-racking moments of his career.
In August 2024, the Marines with 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment were practicing daytime land navigation at Camp Talega on Camp Pendleton. Bui stood near the Combat Operations Center, alongside the radio operators.
The arid hills of southern California stretched endlessly and were framed by sparse foliage. Bui squinted his eyes against the relentless sun.
The morning had been calm and overcast, but the cover that the clouds had provided quickly burned away as it reached noon. Bui ran his sun-kissed hand through his hair, drawing in a deep breath of the dry air. The pungent smell of sagebrush filled his nostrils. This was the last steady breath he’d take before things began to escalate.
A sudden crackle over the radio dismantled the placidity of the day.
“We’ve got to stop,” a voice blared.
A second call requested the range safety officer in order to investigate the situation. The urgency was unclear at first.
The radio screamed again, “We need Bui out here now!”
Bui’s focus sharpened instantly. He jumped in the nearby Humvee and the driver tore through the uneven terrain, speeding faster than a bullet. The Humvee could only get Bui so close before he had to run on foot. His heart raced like that of a hummingbird’s wings and his breaths became rapid as the adrenaline coursed through him. With a stretcher in tote, Bui climbed the steep hill, reaching the top where a Marine lay unconscious.
The Marines had already begun the fight to save the unresponsive Marine, stripping him down to his undergarments to cool his soaring body temperature.
Bui quickly assessed the scene. The Marine was completely unresponsive, and his tongue threatened to block his airway. Without hesitation, Bui delegated tasks, thrusting a nasal pharyngeal airway into the hands of Sgt. Michel Charles while he monitored the unconscious Marine’s vitals.
“Get this in his nose—now!” Bui ordered.
Together, Bui and the Marines moved the unconscious Marine onto the stretcher and navigated back down the narrow trail.
Once Bui and the Marine were in the back of the Humvee, Bui performed a sternum rub to elicit a pain response from the patient. Bui also scooped ice onto the Marine’s neck, armpits, and groin to combat the heat. The Marine’s fate teetered back and forth on the brink of life.
“Don’t go into the light,” Bui said to Marine with a certain desperation in his voice.
Upon arrival back to base, Camp Pendleton paramedics took over, preparing the Marine for medevac. Within moments, the helicopter descended, the urgency of the scene mirrored by the seamless coordination of the team on the ground.
Bui watched as the helicopter disappeared over the horizon, carrying the Marine to advanced care.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if we’d cooled him,” Bui later reflected. “If his airway wasn’t open, he wouldn’t have made it.”
Days later, the news came: the Marine survived.
Bui said, “(The Marine) survived an internal core temperature of 106, which at that point is a heat stroke.”
When the Marine returned from the hospital, one of the first things he did was seek out Bui.
“Doc,” the Marine said, “I remember hearing you the whole time. I couldn’t move, but I knew you were there.”
Bui was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal for his actions at the end of the exercise in July 2024. But for Bui, it wasn’t the medal that mattered; it was knowing the Marine would live to see another day.
Bui viewed his actions as part of a team effort, a chain of lifesaving decisions made possible by training and trust.
“Practicing your medical interventions is essential because your field craft is a very perishable skill,” Bui said. “If you’re not consistently drilling and staying sharp, those skills can slip, and in medicine, that can mean doing more harm than good. Training ensures we’re ready and up to date with the latest techniques. This kind of preparation is exactly what sets us up for success during the deployment.”
Now, Bui is a senior line corpsman with eight corpsmen under his command. He is also working towards a master’s degree to become a physician’s assistant.
As Bui reflects on his journey, he finds himself coming full circle to the stories his grandfather tells him.
“I really didn’t appreciate my grandfather’s stories all that much until I put on the uniform and lived some of my own stories,” Bui said.
Just as Captain Dang courageously fought for his family’s survival during a perilous moment in history, Bui’s own actions during training exemplify the same principles of resilience, sacrifice, and duty.
Now, as a senior corpsman with his own stories to tell, Bui understands the profound legacy his grandfather passed down to him, a legacy of heroism in the face of adversity.
As Bui prepares for the deployment, he carries that legacy forward, determined to serve with the same unyielding commitment his grandfather inspired in him so many years ago. Through his actions, Bui honors his family’s history while forging his own path, proving that courage and sacrifice are values that transcends generations.
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Who We Are: The United States Marine Corps Reserve is responsible for providing trained units and qualified individuals for mobilization to active duty in time of war, national emergency, and crisis or contingency operations. On a day-to-day basis, Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) consists of a talented and dedicated pool of nearly 100,000 Marines able to augment the Active Component in a myriad of ways, to include operational deployments, support to training, participation in bi/multi-lateral exercises with partner nations and allies, and service-level experimentation in support of Force Design and refinement of new concepts, tactics, techniques, and procedures.