CONCORD – The stench, the heat and the cigarette-eating rats longer than a foot.

With a fine-aged sense of honor and character, New Hampshire National Guard veterans who served in the Vietnam War reflected on their experiences last night to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their tour of duty.

"They came from all walks of life, all different occupations, and they could accomplish anything that the battalion commander asked them to do," said Maj. John Sullivan of Portsmouth, their executive officer. He praised the professionalism of the 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery unit, which fired 150,000 rounds while deployed from Sept. 16, 1968, to Sept. 4, 1969.

The men shared, in equal parts humor and emotion, their stories -- everything from what it is like to be shot at to what they remember most of combat.

"You see a lot of war movies, but the one thing that's missing is the stench," said Arnold Taylor of Concord.

Frank Derocchi of Lee recalled he finally felt like he was at war when he saw tons of smoke waft up from the land. "All that smoke from the rockets coming in?" he said. "That was the smoke from the latrines."

Bill Toland of Exeter, who measured a rat at 14 inches, spoke of one experience that movies accurately depicted: Sniper fire. "I was shaking all over," he said.

In advance of Memorial Day, the event served as a solemn tribute to the men who did not come home alive.

►Display honoring fallen heroes gets attention in Tilton

Of 506 citizen soldiers deployed with the unit, seven men died, six killed in action. Five men, all from Manchester, were killed when the truck they were riding in hit a landmine. They were: Richard P. Raymond, Richard E. Genest, Gaetan J. Beaudoin, Guy A. Blanchette and Roger E. Robichaud. Roland Labonte of Hudson was also killed. The seventh man, Ray C. Mroczynski died in a non-combat death.

Most of the men deployed were in their late 20s with more than 10 years of service. And 80 percent were married.

The loss of their fellow soldiers, their friends, was a great burden on everyone, Ed Scully said.

John Barvenik gets a laugh from Ed Scully, both Vietnam veterans, at last night's oral history presentation at the New Hampshire National Guard Headquarters. (DAVID LANE)

"It impacted us very much because Roland was a fine officer, a fine gentleman, a wonderful husband and a great dad," he said of Labonte. "It affected us all very seriously."

As the veterans sat on a panel, a screen behind them flashed photos of field artillery and soldiers in Vietnam. The men spoke quietly about their service at times and jokingly with each other about Army life at other times.

Bob Reeves of Epsom recalled he had a laborer's job, which he hated, when he heard he was being deployed.

"Hell," he recalled telling himself, laughing, "Vietnam's gotta be better than that."

Reflections on the war kept intermingling with memories of family life -- the jobs they held in the private sector, their families waiting for their safe return.

Toland, a medic, spoke of meeting Genest's son at a battalion reunion years later and welling up as he hugged a young man who looked just like his dad.

He also recalled, upon returning home, of being called a "baby killer" and the disconnect between veterans and some members of the public.

"The people on the street were definitely not welcoming," he said.

Richard Lavoie of Nashua recalled the difficulty of acceptance upon returning home, including struggling to find work.

"It was hard, it was very hard. A lot of guys were getting divorces," he said. "It was hard for everybody. We had it rough in Vietnam, but they had it rough at home."

While the grand homecoming was delayed nearly two decades, John Barvenik of North Hampton spoke of the great friendships and ties forged.

"That bond we had still exists today," he said.