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SALT LAKE CITY — A Marine serving in Vietnam who was interviewed by former KSL anchor, Dick Nourse, got the chance to finally watch the news clip Thursday in celebration of his 70th birthday.
Steve Rasmussen served as a Lance Cpl. in the Marine Corp. in 1967. The 24-year-old from Ogden was a member of the Fox Company, 2nd Battalion of the First Marines and he served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968.
He was one of several hundred Utah soldiers that Nourse interviewed during his month-long visit to Vietnam.
"We got back from on a patrol, and somebody says 'There was a newscaster that was interviewing people from Utah' so they sent me over," Steve said.
A few years after Steve left the military, he married Darlene, and the couple have now been married for more than 41 years.
Steve's family decided to surprise him with watching the video interview at the KSL Studio for his 70th birthday.
"And during that time talking to his brothers and sisters, they talked about him being with Dick Nourse, and I knew who Dick Nourse was," Darlene said.
Darlene said she was actually watching the interview with Steve when it aired, and chuckled to herself when Steve mentioned that he didn't have a girl in his life.
"Oh, I remember him," Darlene said. "And jokingly I said, 'Oh, I'll be your girlfriend,' just to myself. It was a dumb college girl trick."
Oh, I remember him. And jokingly I said, 'Oh, I'll be your girlfriend,' just to myself. It was a dumb college girl trick.
–Darlene Rasmussen
Steve said he remembers doing the interview, though he didn't know Nourse at the time. However, he said it was nice to chat with someone from back home and share a laugh.
"Have you had any dealings with the South Vietnamese people themselves," Nourse had asked Steve in the interview.
"Well, I can't understand them so. . .," Steve had answered.
Rasmussen was injured by a land mine about six months after the interview, and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged in 1968.