THOMASVILLE- Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Jimmy Layton doesn’t speak about his time in the service often, noting not many people can understand the true horror of war unless they were there. Having not shared his experience with many, Layton was shocked to recently receive letters from Cross Creek Elementary third graders thanking him for his service.

Layton followed in the footsteps of his father, the late James E. Layton, who fought in World War II, and was also a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient.

“He never talked about the war,” Layton recalled. “I had no idea what he went through until I found some of his things while cleaning out.”

When asking around to find out more information, Layton was told the snow was so bad in Germany during WWII that food and supplies could not often be delivered.

“They had to eat whatever they could find,” he said. “I believe WWII was a lot worse than what I went through in Vietnam.”

Having a deep appreciation for his father’s service, Layton was drafted for the Vietnam War, where he served from 1968-1969.

Layton began in the tank division, but said after being blown off the tank twice, he decided it was time to change his MO.

“I became a scout then,” Layton said. “We more or less tried to look for the booby traps and went ahead in the tunnels.”

Layton said he went through various tunnels while in Vietnam, which it’s famous for.

“They’ve got tunnels all over the place,” he said. “It’s like a town underground.”

Layton explained the tunnels often split into two and he would not be required, but he would run ahead in his tunnel in order to look out for his “brothers and sisters.”

“We call each other brothers and sisters,” he said. “The Red Cross nurses are known as sisters, and all the guys are brothers. We worked together and stuck together as a team.”

While speaking about his brothers, Layton became emotional, sharing he refused to ever leave a brother behind.

“If someone got shot in the line of fire, I went and got them,” he said. “I wasn’t going to leave my brother and one of my fellow friends over there. I was bringing him back. I had to do that.”

Sacrificing his own life in the line of fire to retrieve his brother earned Layton a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with a v for valor.

At 19 years old, Layton said he just wanted to go to Vietnam and do a good job and make his country proud, but he never realized the dangers.

“We would wade through water and come out with leaches all over us,” he said. “We’d have to take a cigarette and burn them off of us.”

Layton specifically recalled a day on the Cambodian border, when he was following a Lieutenant’s personnel carrier and noticed three North Vietnamese hiding in the bushes.

“One of them threw an RBG, which was like a bazooka, toward the lieutenant’s track, so I alerted them that we were surrounded and we pulled out and reorganized,” he said.

Despite the sacrifices made and the brothers lost, those serving in the Vietnam War received a cold welcome when they returned home.

“We didn’t get a welcome back home,” he said. “One of my guys I see and talk to from the 25th infantry talked about how he got spit on when he got back.”

Such backlash caused Layton to shrink inward and try and focus on other tasks, such as his pecan orchard.

Years have gone by and Layton still has continued to work at his pecan orchard, not discussing his experience often. That is until he received two letters from Liam and Anna at Cross Creek Elementary.

“When I received these letters, I thought who in the world do I know in the third grade,” he said. “But, when I opened them it made me feel really good.”

Layton does not recall a time in his life, where he has ever received a letter thanking him for his service, much less from someone he hasn’t had the chance to meet.

“To have a teacher who taught these students about veterans is really special,” he said. “It really made my day. Reading these letters, I was so happy and so glad.”

The letters brought Layton such joy that he took the time to write the teacher, Liam, and Anna, stamping all the notes with his purple heart.

“I wrote them my appreciation and told the teacher how glad I am that she taught them about that,” he said. “I received my Purple Heart and my Bronze Star, but you don’t often get told thank you.”

Layton said he has not mailed the letters yet and is waiting until the students return from Christmas Break, but would love to correspond with them and potentially provide the teacher with additional names from his infantry who have never received letters.

Layton concluded emotionally, wiping tears from his eyes, thanking the students once again, noting they will never know his true gratitude.