Vietnam veteran uses experiences to help others

Steve Yedinak said the lessons he learned from his father in the woods of the Pacific Northwest kept him alive during the Vietnam War nearly 50 years ago.

"You go out and you fish and hunt and learn to be patient, learn to keep quiet and walk without disturbing the branches," he said, with his voice dropping below a whisper. "Those are exactly the ingredients we teach young guerrillas — the Green Berets."

Yedinak, a 75-year-old Newport News resident, engaged the Viet Cong in the type of guerrilla warfare that American troops found difficult to counter. "We were like animals — you had to be that way to survive," he said.