Sgt. Dennis Ulstad

Posted by: Ronald Overton, 1st Recon Battalion Association
December 27, 2020 at 9:17 AM 

Sgt. Dennis Ulstad

Sgt. Dennis Ulstad
When I arrived in country in March of 1968, Sgt. Dennis Ulstad was already ‘larger than life’. What was most difficult for me, was to try to square the legend with the man. You see, Denny was very quiet and shy and soft spoken. In addition, he actually looked a cherub. Personally, he always reminded me of Peter Noonan from Herman’s Hermits.
When in the rear, he didn’t party, or ‘go to the vill on a skivvie run’, like so many others. When in the area, he pretty much stayed in his hootch and read his bible. He was very religious, but quietly so in that he didn’t preach and he didn’t condemn. He was just a warm, loving, Christian man. Ah, but he was a Recon Marine who really like killing Charlie. I mean he REALLY liked killing Charlie. His ferocity in the bush was legendary. When his patrols ran into Charlie, more often than not, Denny would ensure that his teams were going to inflict as many casualties as possible. Outnumbered? Feh. Who cared. It didn’t seem to matter to Denny. After all, he had surprise (and God) on his side. Indeed, it was like he was on a mission from God. The rumor around the area was that he just like attacking base camps. Not such a cherub after all.
He grew up in Billings Montana, been an Eagle Scout and after attending college for a year, dropped out and enlisted in the Marines. He was on an extension when I met him. By that time, he had already earned both a Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal, both for heroic action. He also had two Purple Hearts and as I recall, a Meritorious Combat promotion to Sergeant.
This brings up the issue of decorations. Some medals are slightly different depending upon the branch of service but in general, in the Marine Corps, for personal decorations (not counting the Purple Heart), there are two types: Heroic and Meritorious. Heroic are for a specific action while Meritorious are for a period of service and not action specific. The top decorations – Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and Silver star are ONLY awarded for acts of valor while both the Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal can be awarded for either acts of valor or for meritorious service. The Navy Achievement medal is only awarded for meritorious service. If the meritorious service was in a combat zone, it qualifies for the “V” device. In the case of Denny, both his Bronze Star and Navy Commendation medals were Heroic.
When his extension was up, he rotated back to the states and was separated from the Corps. This didn’t last for long as he wasn’t too happy as a civilian. From what I heard, he had received some harassment from anti-war demonstrators. I don’t know if this is true. Regardless, he decided he didn’t like civilian life and reenlisted with the intention of going back to Vietnam and Alpha Company. Imagine the Marine Corps recruiter in Billings. Here this smiling, blonde cherub walks in and the recruiter is thinking, ‘this sweetheart should be going into the Air Force’ . . . until he looked into Denny’s eyes and at his DD-214.
He arrived back in country on January 5, 1969 and got as far as Camp Reasoner but was not reassigned to Alpha. Instead, he was assigned to Echo Company. I never knew why. I know Denny terribly disappointed not to get back to his old platoon. He was only back in country three weeks before he died on patrol. Three weeks. On January 26, his team was being extracted using a ladder and the helicopter lost power over a river. Denny, as patrol leader, was on the bottom. When the bird lost power he was washed off and drowned. At first he was listed as MIA, but his body was later recovered and sent back to Montana. He’s buried in Mountview Cemetery in Billings.