As a veteran I say thank you to all of you who take time to honor those of us who served.
A lot of my time was spent behind a desk pounding a typewriter. I was drafted early in the buildup at the start of the Viet Nam war. I didn't want to go but the thought of facing combat was better than being a draft dodger and running off to Canada.
As it turned out I stayed in the U.S. all two years of my service.
Our Division (5th Infantry (Mech))was a mess. Poorly led and unorganized. Shortly before I reported there a unit from the division had been sent to Nam. In less than two weeks they had 75% casualties. Nearly every one knew somebody who was killed or wounded. Morale was low and I was sort of an outsider.
The Army decided we were not fit for combat. I'd been there maybe a little over a month when most were shipped out to Germany or Korea. The decision had been made to turn the division into a basic training facility
As I could type, I ended up with a desk and a typewriter in the operations office.(S-3). That's where I spent my last year plus a few months.
I was typing training schedules, letters requesting firing ranges, tank trails for troop movements and other communications involved in the training.
Most of the work was being done by people like me, draftees. We did our share of grumbling about the Army and being uprooted from our lives back home. Long before texting it was common to hear FTA. You texters don't need that explained.
In spite of how many of us felt, what I remember most is, we did our job. A that got more interesting as our basic training of the new batch of mostly more draftees.
After they graduated from basic training they were all brought back and we started giving them AIT. Advanced Infantry Training. From there things went to unit training starting at squad level on up to company training.
Our snug office found ourselves going out to the field too. As a Mechanized Division we had an over sized personal carrier which I got to drive. Yep...it was fun pushing a 15 ton track vehicle around the wilds of our base.j8
One of the last things I was involved in was a full division training exercise. Everyone was out on maneuvers. I was quite an experience, but I still couldn't wait for my discharge. I was very happy to say goodbye to the Army and return to home.
Now years later I found myself needing my veteran's benefitof health care. As I hear "Thanks for your service " when being treated at the VA , I felt some guilt. I never felt I did that much and I never volunteered, I was drafted into service.
Then after a few years at the VA, I Googled my old unit. The battalion I helped train by typing out training schedules and other needed clerical duties was sent to Viet Nam a couple months after I left. They had a good record over there and got some unit citations.
Now I feel proud of my service and the work I did while in the Army. So to all veterans today, I salute you. We served and did our jobs.
So... THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE