KELLY FARRELL / Staff

Lt. Paul Paulsen, 64, sits in the decorated office of his Marco Island home. Paulsen added the Presidential Unit Citation to his wall of decorations, photographs and other memorabilia from his days in the Vietnam War and later as a commercial pilot.

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Marco resident and Vietnam War hero Lt. Paul Paulsen said every Memorial Day is special to him, but this one tops them all.

The Navy pilot, who since retired as a commercial airline pilot, received the Presidential Unit Citation in Washington, D.C., May 14. His top secret U.S. Navy squadron, VO-67, is the first to receive the award while no longer in active duty. In fact, the award came to these Vietnam heroes 40 years late.

The Presidential Unit Citation is the highest, most rare award given by the government for a unit’s service.

The VO-67 squadron was once rumored to be the “suicide squadron,” Paulsen said. The casualties were anticipated to be very high, at least 50 percent. The casualties were high and Paulsen said, “I thought they died in vain,” and added that “I never knew I did anything.”

The squadron’s mission and even their existence was kept secret until finally declassified in 1988. For over 20 years Paulsen was unable to talk about the losses he and his squadron suffered.

“Not even my wife knew very much about it until we had our first reunion,” Paulsen said.

His wife Judy added, “I knew he was in Vietnam, but I thought he was just like every other Vietnam Vet. I didn’t know he did something so special, so secret,” she said.

They were sworn to secrecy because they were operating in what was supposed to be a neutral zone. They also were dropping what were at the time considered to be very high-tech listening and tracking devices along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and near Khe Sanh in South Vietnam, alerting U.S. forces about the enemy’s location and plans.

The job was difficult, dangerous, and according to the U.S. government, VO-67 was nonexistent. The “VO” was short for “Observation Squadron” and they were assembled in 1967.

“Our mission was the most highly classified of the Vietnam War. Only the highest people in the Navy knew about it,” Paulsen said.

It was so secret some of the 328 members who made it back home had trouble getting full benefits because their service with the unit wasn’t recorded on exit papers. It wasn’t until 1988 the Navy declassified information about the “Ghost Squadron” and finally they could reunite and talk about all the things they were forbidden to say.

Many of the young men beat the terrible odds, but even the “lucky ones” weren’t that lucky, Paulsen said.

“The hardest thing I ever did was serve on an inventory board,” he said.

Paulsen, while in his 20s, had to go through his best friend’s belongings to choose what would be sent home to his family. “I read every one of his letters,” Paulsen recalled.

Although Paulsen wasn’t able to talk about the experience for years he said he kept everything locked in a trunk for decades – everything from his uniform to the telegram he received when his first son was born while he was still serving.

“We were never supposed to fly with anything personal because if we were captured it could be used against us ... But I felt bullet proof that day he was born. I put that telegram from the Red Cross in my flight suit, which was stupid. I said ‘they’re not going to shoot me today, I’m a father now.”

Paulsen saw his son for the first time about six months later.

Once information about the unit’s activities was declassified, Vo-67 members started a Web site and many of the former members have a reunion every other year. They talk about the good times and they talk about the difficult times, Paulsen said.

“You tried to be happy, there was a lot of drinking,” he said.

“It wasn’t like the guys in the trenches who saw someone blown up right next to them, but for us, after you were briefed, you never knew if you would see each other again. You never knew at breakfast if you’d see the guy at dinner,” Paulsen said.

U.S. Rep. William T. Sali from Idaho learned of the men’s courage and was the driving force behind getting recognition for the unit. Donald Winter, secretary of the Navy signed the Presidential Unit Citation, which commended the members for “extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance ... sustaining extensive operating damage and losses ... VO-67 carried out their highly important and extremely sensitive missions with outstanding skill and dedication.”

Paulsen said that every Memorial Day he reads the list of 20 men who lost their lives. This year he can do the same knowing that families have received the respect they deserve, he said.

“To hear from these guys that we saved countless lives, it finally makes you feel like it was worth it. To receive the Presidential Citation is very special. Not just for me, but for the survivors, for the families, the daughters and sons who until recently thought they’d lost their loved one’s lives in vain,” Paulsen said.