AUSTIN, Texas— Today, Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to introduce the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB's Voices of Veterans oral history program. This week, we highlight the service of Sergeant First Class (SFC) Cecil Dendy who served in the U.S. Army.
Dendy was born in 1941 in South Carolina. He grew up with five brothers, two of whom served in the Armed Services, and three sisters. He grew up in South Carolina where he attended high school and graduated in 1957. After high school, he went to work for Clinton College, a private historically black college or university (HBCU) in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1963. His family supported his entry into the U.S. Armed Forces and his service to his country. He went to boot camp at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
While discussing his boot camp experience, Dendy laughed and admitted he wasn’t a fan of all the “hollerin’,” but he fondly remembered the names of the men who led the Privates through boot camp. He attended infantry training at Fort Hood, currently named Fort Cavazos, in Killeen, Texas. In 1967, Dendy went to fight in the jungles of Vietnam where he experienced the perils of monsoon season and unseen enemies.
Dendy spoke about his first engagement with the enemy in Vietnam. He remembered, “It was at night. We were on patrol and had stopped. They said, ‘Everybody down,’ and everybody started firing […] Load your magazine and fire, load your magazine and fire. It was scary.”
He encountered harrowing obstacles like booby traps and buried land mines from enemy forces. When asked about their fighting capabilities, Dendy replied, “They were slick,” referring to their guerilla warfare style of fighting.
Dendy lost two of his best friends in the Army while serving in Vietnam. He spoke about the bravery he saw in injured men who still put others before themselves while fighting far from home. Dendy was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries that paralyzed one of his arms which he sustained while courageously serving in combat.
When asked what message he would like to leave for future generations who may listen to his interview, Dendy gave a simple but powerful reply, “Education first.”
To listen to SFC Cecil Dendy tell his story, click the button below:
Sergeant First Class Cecil Dendy's Story
RELATED: Voices of Veteran: U.S. Army Veteran Ken Wallingford Shares His Story of Service
Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the Veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview.
Voices of Veterans is a state agency's first Veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas Veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat.
The VLB records interviews with Veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis.
Veterans' interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our Veterans' sacrifices.
To listen to the over 500 archived stories of Veterans documented through the GLO's Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below:
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Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., brings a lifetime of experience to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). In 2016, she became the first Republican elected to the Texas State Senate from Travis County and the first woman to represent Texas Senate District 24. She made history again in 2022, winning a statewide election to become our state’s first female Land Commissioner.