Veteran Spotlight: James ‘Jim’ Spanopoulos

A Purdue University alum, James ‘Jim’ Spanopoulos served in the United States Navy. At just 23 years old, he fought in the Vietnam War. He has a great pride for his country and for its freedom.

“If you get called to come and serve your country, you better do it,” Spanopoulos said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

In Vietnam, Spanopoulos served as an Officer of the Deck (OD). He monitored and watched for potential explosives like trinitrotoluene (TNT) that were meant to take out U.S. ships. 

“I was OD on the bridge,” he said. “There were six of us and we were responsible for getting to launch and recover the aircraft. We made sure we weren’t over any Chinese junks that were full of TNT out there at that time, because they had already damaged some of our ships.”

At one point during his tour in Vietnam, Spanopoulos nearly died when a plane that he was supposed to be on crashed moments after taking off. As he was boarding the aircraft, he was notified that a doctor needed to unexpectedly take his seat to travel to patients in Barcelona. Minutes after he left the tarmac, Spanopoulos watched from the ground as the plane took off and immediately crashed in the water.

“I’m lucky to be alive,” he said.

As one might imagine, witnessing death and destruction while in Vietnam was all too frequent – even accidents and incidents not directly connected to enemy fire or battle like that of the airplane Spanopoulos was supposed to board.

Spanopoulos witnessed a similar incident when a plane was returning back to base safe from battle and crashed while landing on the base.

“I was on the bridge one day and an aircraft was coming in after a bombing mission and a fighting mission. It missed the cables and it went right into the water,” said Spanopoulos.

All those aboard the plane, which totaled two pilots, sadly passed away in the accident. 

When Spanopoulos returned home to America, he married his college sweetheart. His homecoming remains very memorable to him.

“There were hundreds, if not thousands, of families waiting for us to dock, which was unbelievable,” Spanopoulos said. “They were just worried about us and happy that we were home. It was just great to be back home again safe.”

An estimated 24 men in Spanopoulos’ contingent never returned home. These men are still remembered in the group’s annual reunion.

After his first wife passed away from cancer in 1968, Spanopoulos remarried. Today, he has two children and four grandchildren. One of his sons lives just down the street from him with his family. 

Spanopoulos has a heart for giving back. He attributes this to his near death experience. 

“I really feel that I was blessed by the Lord that I didn’t die when I should have,” he said. “I’m here for a reason and I always try to help.”

As a result, Spanopoulos volunteers regularly, including helping Alzheimer patients at St. Agnes Parish in Valparaiso. Whether he was fighting overseas in Vietnam or volunteering in his community today, Spanopoulos is a man of tremendous grit, courage, and character.