Did you become a soldier by choice or were you drafted? Did you know you would be in the war when you heard about the draft? What was your reaction?  

“I did not expect to be a war. I was drafted to go to Fork Polk Luisiana in 1967.  I can say I was scared because when things like war are put in front of you, the first thing you are thinking about is getting ready to leave, there is no time to react because I was so overwhelmed and shocked.”

Was it difficult leaving your family behind? How were you able to control your emotions?

“I had no emotions during this time because they did not help in the war. I actually felt as though it all ended far too soon, because I had made a whole new family there in Vietnam.”

What branch of military were you in? What was your ranking? How many men were in your squad?

“Well I had scored highly on the OCS (A six month course) and became a Lieutenant/ supply officer/ Combat engineer.”

How old were you during the war? How long were you in Vietnam?

“I was 22 years old when I was drafted for Vietnam and was 24 years old when I returned home, therefor I was in Vietnam for two years.”

What did you do in Vietnam? As an engineer, what kind of combat were you in? What was your specialty?

“Well, I was what everybody called the ‘supply guy’ basically meaning I would go around and keep everyone in supply with what they needed. Thankfully I didn’t actually have to physically fight anyone but I did learn to fly helicopters and planes. At the end of the day I remember playing volleyball with my men and watching a movie. All in all, I enjoyed Vietnam.”

What was the most terrifying event that occurred while you were in duty? What was the most memorable experience you had?

“The most… exciting event that seemed to occur was that one of our air bases was attacked and had exploded. Honestly though, I found that there were far more good memories than bad ones, there seemed to be very little harm towards me, even though there was a war going on right outside.”