Army Sergeant E5 Enrico Ugolini

As part of a mortar platoon supporting a recon unit in Vietnam, Enrico Ugolini set up and broke down 15 times or more on the way to the battlefield hotspot.

Enrico Ugolini and his twin sister, Pierina, were born in 1946 to Angelo and Annunziatina Renucci Ugolini. The family home, situated on 14 acres of land in Sant’Anna Pelago, was divided into three units and shared by three families. Ugolini’s mother’s family lived in Barga.

Ugolini lived with his immediate family, paternal grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins all under the same roof and benefited from many good cooks. He especially liked zuppa inglese, a custard dessert. “They all made cookies filled with figs, strawberries, whatever they could find,” Ugolini says. “Everybody made the tortellini or tortellacci.”

Ugolini’s father immigrated to the United States in the early ’50s, lived with his brother in Highland Park, Illinois, and after four years sent for his family. Ugolini was 10 years old when he left Italy. “I didn’t really think about it too much,” he says. “I knew I was going to see my dad.”

The family settled in the largely Italian town of Highwood, which made the transition a bit easier. Ugolini attended Oak Terrace Grade School and graduated from Highland Park High School in 1966. He attended DeVry University while working evenings at Jewel Food Store and after one year left school to work full time to help support his family. His mother suffered from multiple sclerosis and medical bills were piling up. “We all pretty much had to work,” Ugolini says. “All three of us me, my sister and my dad.”

Ugolini was drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1967. “I never thought of that because I have flat feet and I even have an irregular heartbeat,” he says. “They still managed to take me; everybody was in shock, including me.”

Ugolini’s father served in Mussolini’s army during World War II and told stories about crossing the Alps and German troops in the mountains. He was not happy about his son being drafted during the Vietnam War. “But what could I do?” Ugolini says. “Uncle Sam doesn’t give you a choice.”

Ugolini completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and then went to Hawaii for advanced training, assigned to kitchen duty. “They said that because I was Italian maybe I would become a good cook,” says Ugolini. “I didn’t even know how to boil water!”

His flat feet ached standing on the concrete floor all day until Ugolini was transferred to infantry, out in the field. “Actually the field was better because you walked in dirt and it was soft,” he says.

Ugolini was assigned to a 4.2 mortar platoon. In April 1968, he dispatched to Okinawa and prepared for jungle warfare on an infiltration course. A few days later, Ugolini deployed to Vietnam, but he wasn’t worried about the war at the time. “It seemed like you weren’t really afraid of doing things,” says Ugolini.

Stationed in Vietnam for one year, Ugolini moved with his platoon, 15 times or more, from one Landing Zone to another in the mountainous terrain, supporting the Recon platoon out in the field. The first base was LZ Bronco. The soldiers followed a routine at each LZ. “First thing we did, we dug in the area so we could set up our 4.2 mortars in case we got shelled,” Ugolini says. “You had to establish your quadrants and establish your four squads.”

The mortars were set up north, south, east and west in case they needed to be fired in different directions at the same time. The shells were covered up near the guns. “And if we got hit that night, we’d use them,” Ugolini says.

Once the guns were set up, the soldiers built their bunkers, a challenge during the monsoon season. The bunkers were made of steel and covered with sandbags to shelter the men from the weather. When they moved on, the South Vietnamese Army took it over. “Then we’d find out a month later that they got overrun by the enemy,” says Ugolini. “But there was not much we could do about it, since we had already left that area to build another LZ.”

Ugolini started out as ammo bearer, assigned to E Company, 4th Battalion, 11th Infantry Brigade. Two weeks later, the gunner got hit during a firefight, and Ugolini moved up to assistant gunner. He eventually advanced to gunner and squad leader in the second squad. “I trained on the job, more or less,” says Ugolini.

Recon patrolled out in the field continuously, searching for the enemy. “We supported the Recon platoon when they needed us,” Ugolini says. “If the enemy saw them and contacted them, we had to fire some 4.2 mortar rounds at them. It could be on the other side of the mountain or it could be a mile or two away.”

As squad leader, Ugolini was in charge of anywhere between eight and 10 men. “My job was to get everything set up, make sure everybody did their job and if we got in a firefight, make sure that the ammo all got replaced from the night before,” he says.

Ugolini patrolled roads in the jungle terrain, searching for land mines, and he also pulled guard duty. “At times we were under fire but that’s all part of war,” Ugolini says. His platoon suffered casualties and death. “We got in a few firefights, not as much as the people out in the field,” he says.

One of the last Landing Zones was A Shau Valley, known as the Valley of No Return. Dense triple canopy jungle covered the area. “When you were out on patrol, you felt like you were lost out there,” says Ugolini. He remembers worrying about all the fighting as he got closer to the end of his tour of duty. “When you’re hoping you’d get home,” he explains.

Ugolini completed his Vietnam tour in April 1969 and returned home. He was discharged as Sergeant E5. “We got lucky,” he says, “They gave us six months early out.”

Ugolini received the Bronze Star for one of the worst firefights he participated in. “We got hit pretty bad one night. To me, though,” Ugolini says modestly, “the whole squad should get a Bronze Star, but they give it to the guy in charge.” Ugolini kept the 4.2 mortars firing illumination rounds all night long, to light up the whole area. “So the guys out on the perimeter could get rid of the enemy,” he says. “Let’s put it that way.”

Ugolini is retired from Commonwealth Edison. He married Marcia Romsey in 1977 and they have one son, who is happily married with two children.

Reflecting on his time in Vietnam, Ugolini says. “It didn’t matter where you came from — South, North, East, West; rich or poor— everybody got along,” he says. “And then when we came back to the States, I found out everybody really didn’t like us.”

The above article appears in the March 2026 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.

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