December 13, 2023 • 45 mins
Roy Gleason grew up near Chicago and fell in love with baseball while watching Cubs games with his grandfather. As a young teenager, he learned he had a tremendous amount of talent. After moving to California, he soon found himself signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
In 1963, Gleason was a late-season call-up for the Dodgers, played in several games as a pinch runner and got one very memorable at-bat. After a few difficult years back in the minors, Gleason seemed poised to return to the Dodgers for the 1967 season. After a very strong spring training, he got the call-up, but not from the team. He'd been drafted by the U.S. Army.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Gleason describes the shocking shift from the field of dreams to the rice paddies and jungles of Vietnam, the dangerous patrols and enemy ambushes he had to navigate, and how he longed to get back to baseball.
He also takes us inside his actions to rescue fellow soldiers in early 1968 and the mission later that year that left him wounded and wondering what he could have done better to protect his men on that deadly day.
Gleason was immediately evacuated for medical treatment and several prized possessions were lost, including his 1963 World Series ring. But more than 30 years later, the Dodgers made sure that story had a happy ending.
In 1963, Gleason was a late-season call-up for the Dodgers, played in several games as a pinch runner and got one very memorable at-bat. After a few difficult years back in the minors, Gleason seemed poised to return to the Dodgers for the 1967 season. After a very strong spring training, he got the call-up, but not from the team. He'd been drafted by the U.S. Army.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Gleason describes the shocking shift from the field of dreams to the rice paddies and jungles of Vietnam, the dangerous patrols and enemy ambushes he had to navigate, and how he longed to get back to baseball.
He also takes us inside his actions to rescue fellow soldiers in early 1968 and the mission later that year that left him wounded and wondering what he could have done better to protect his men on that deadly day.
Gleason was immediately evacuated for medical treatment and several prized possessions were lost, including his 1963 World Series ring. But more than 30 years later, the Dodgers made sure that story had a happy ending.
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