|
Please wait for page to fully load before scrolling Please Sign My Guest book |
I served my time with the 172nd Preventive Medicine Unit in Danang and with the Phouc Tuy Training Battalion, Forces Armee' Nationale Khmere Training Command Phouc Tuy Viet Nam '71-'72 as a Preventive Medicine Specialist and Medic. |
|
War is an external and internal hell that every veteran, male or female, has experienced. Vietnam is no
exception. The only difference is that Vietnam was an unpopular war.
No one wants to hear about it or even cares. It's in the past so let's forget it.
I never even got a "Welcome Home" except from my wife and family.
So many stories have gone untold because people don't have the time to listen or
really don't care. It happens so many times in our lives. Don't these people realize how much
we hurt! Our stories must be told so no one ever forgets the horrors of war.
So many men and women did not come back to share their story, and others came back
with outward signs of the horrors of war. I was one of the lucky ones, I bear no outward
signs of the war, but that does not mean I have no wounds, not all wounds are physical.
Many wounds and battles are fought from within, and some are still being fought today.
All Vets have a story, but not all have someone to listen to them. Even when we do, sometimes
it hurts just too much to talk about that we keep it inside and let it eat at us.
I have a story to be told, and yes it does hurt, it may not hurt you, but it does hurt me.
It hurts just because it was war. It hurts because of friends lost in the war,
and it hurts when people don't care.
This site is a healing process for me. I can begin to tell my story without the hurt of rejection.
But this is only a beginning, a small portion of my story. Some stories will never be told.
It is my hope that through these pages the healing process can begin for all those who are still in need of healing.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag, serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
---unknown
|
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR IT, FREEDOM HAS A FLAVOR THE PROTECTED WILL NEVER KNOW. IT IS A SOLDIER WHO HAS GIVEN YOU FREEDOM! |
Awards
Received with Honor - Displayed with Pride
Please visit my Awards Pages for All Awards Honoring this site
The Welcome Home Graphic below is reserved for display by
Military on Active Duty, a Veteran, or a family member of one!!
Thank You - Graphics by Doc and Ron Fleischer
My Story - In the beginning
My story begins in the summer of 1970. Someone got the bright idea to change the
Selective Service Draft System, from now on it's going to be a lottery. All birthdays
were put in a hat and picked one at a time assigning numbers to each day. The lower
the number the better chance of being drafted. I remember the day of that first lottery.
I was in my car coming home and the drawing was live on the radio. I didn't have to
wait very long for my number. Over the radio came, number 13.. July 8. I new
that I was going to be drafted sooner or later, so I turned in my 2S student differment and
took a 1A status. A month didn't pass when I got the letter. Greetings...it began.
I was then given a 15 day pass before reporting to Fort Sam Houston Texas for training as
a medic and preventive medicine specialist. I graduated from that class number "13". I
waited for orders...and then they came..."VIETNAM".
The next day I called my fiancee, Judy, and told her...not an easy task. I asked her
not to tell anyone else because my sister was getting married and I didn't want to spoil
her day. Two week later, and 25 pounds lighter, I went home for a 30 day leave before
shipping out. When I got home I told everyone I was stationed in Washington State not to
ruin the wedding. Judy and I took a drive and stopped on an isolated street so that we
could talk. I put my head in her arms and we both cried. We then talked about marriage and
decided that we would get married before I left. Then we drove back to my parents and everyone
knew about Nam. My mother unpacked my duffel bag for me and found my orders. It put a little
damper on my sisters wedding. Judy and I proceeded with our plans, everything was
organized and ready, dresses, invitations, hall, music, food, church, day and time, everything
done in 2 weeks!
My Tour of Duty - Vietnam As of July 1, 1998
I reported in February for my physical and indoctrination. Groups of us filled into a small
room and were sworn into service. Then we waited for our basic training assignments.
Lucky me again, I was assigned to Fort Polk Louisiana, also known as "little Vietnam" because
it was closed in the '50s and reopened for the Vietnam War. The weather and conditions
were very similar and they even had a simulated village for us to go through. So far my luck
told me I was going to Nam. I graduated 2nd in my class from basic, missing the written and
physical exams along with hand to hand and weapons by 1 point, a 99 out of a 100.
I went to town, bought 2 bottle of Boones Farm Strawberry Hill (99 cents each) and
got drunk.
We married August 7, 1971...2 weeks later I left for Vietnam.
Please sign my guestbook. Your comments are important to me.
Thank you
To Sign or View Guestbook.... Click Button below
You are visitor number:
bravenet.com