Interview with David B. Carlson, a Vietnam Veteran. CCSU Veterans History Project

I was worried surgery a Vietnam War I was there and what was your graduate service how was the army got drafted in the army okay what was your highest rank bu achieved I called spec for or its efore you start out as an e1 and you make an up you go from there alright and in what general location did you serve horse users okay I started out in basic training at Fort Dix two months that was I started on December uh actually January 1st 68 two months they are at Fort Dix two months at Fort Sill which is our Tillery training which is what I went into and I did a year in Vietnam which is good do a year that means you didn't get shot hmm it's a good thing and then I had five months at left two for my two years back at Fort Sill the artillery for got out December 5th 1969 alright thank you that was a long a little bit so a few days prior to service and some of your basic training experiences so first question is were you drafted or did you enlist I got drafted and that was the only way to go for me I tried to enlist in the Air Force I thought I had a knee injury I had knee injury when I was 20 and they wouldn't take me in the Air Force but when I when the army that got drafted it was prime time and everybody was going and they're taking you know just about anybody your physical and mental defects they were taking it and mind he got better eventually so it didn't already my services at all yeah we're not just a Connecticut I was living do you recall actually that they do you what happened was I got drafted on it was supposed to be December 6 1967 so I got on the train to Newhaven got down in New Haven went to under Haven and they told me I had two choices to go back home for three weeks because they didn't have they're not they don't army does it play it very well not real smart mm-hmm there's no such thing as military intelligence well you know no such thing so I get there they tell me there's no basic training you weren't ready to go when I burped no early December so they said you have two choices you know go to Fort Sill I mean Fort Dix that would be and have what they call three weeks of dead time downtime which probably would have been KP everyday now that I think about in retrospect so or go home so I went home for three weeks it's they don't get paid but it's good time which it counts towards the two years so you know you're a fool to want to go down there so I went home for three weeks to start on January 1st basic training that's when I started okay so well how did you feel would you have immediately Jenner's about this be confident were you nervous oh yes I thought my longevity was in question I didn't think you know I didn't know what other kind of what was gonna happen I was nervous I didn't particularly like the army because of the way that a young well they want to tell you what to do you know that's part of the whole you know that's how they kind of mold you so that's what it was I didn't like it and when I got through you know I didn't want to get any trouble I think it any trouble that was my goal good went to years to stay out of trouble yeah well I think the brig is probably the Navy and it very stockade stuck a stockade well that being said tell me about your boot camp experience I had knocked over first place for me was a difficult more difficult because not physically because I was fairly good shape you know but I had an analogy to the cold a very usual thing it's called cold urticaria itch from cold exposure so that was hard I was hard and also this is the regimentation you know they you got to follow the rules and that that stuff you know basically it wasn't too bad wasn't bad so as more as I just having it having to follow the orders yeah be Monica for him yeah well you know of course they get you the young age I was 22 so it's a little harder for to get a guy like it could remediate or you know for guys all the guys were 19 yeah but you know it's still it's 22 if it happened now you know there's no way I'd be in trouble when you're already get smarter you know oh yes so how did you how did you get through it I got through it because thinking um well look at these guys most of these guys I'm a better physical shape than most of them so I can do this they can do it you look at some of these guys work you know a lot of guys were overweight even that we get guys who are overweight they get through I can do it I say no I can't be it's not that bad it was relatively easy in that respect do you like you member any of your instructors particularly anyone that you liked didn't I remember um some I don't like I don't know their names but I remember my sergeant Joe such name was sergeant Yarborough okay first thing he said to me in my military mind this do be true in the military man you know and he called us all Yardbirds which is a I found out later as a military recruit you know it's also named a singing group later on so he wasn't that bad a guy you know if you just paid attention you know they're what you're told you wouldn't you wouldn't get in trouble so he was okay all things considered you know in the position he was in you know things they had to do you know so she was kind of going along because he had to yeah that's most guys did that you know it's you don't want to you know you know your personally you know there was this like 207 that you want you don't to be known personally awake so this kind of hide the shadows a little bit yeah that's right all right well after after boot camp where'd you go what was your first assignment where it's Sill Oklahoma they're still cold but it was March March in April so that was our Tillery training and to learn how to fire at the guns and that's what I did for two months there that was a little easier and look because there's a little warmer to Fort Sill is a fairly his southern it's Oklahoma almost a Texas Southern Oklahoma so I mean the winter isn't perfect there and but it sounds cold is of the Northeast you know so that made a little easier for me and you know the training is easy I mean because it's designed for some of the guys we're too smart you know they took some guys in there that in the army and they're taking anybody in you know so I figure I can do that too so I did all right well what were your first impressions of a arrived at the camp at Fort Sill means no I just you're thinking all just two more months to go you know yeah when the service what I did was like I in my mind I would do things one thing at a time so I say look I get through basic that's two months then I go two months to get through this and it's something you have to get through it that's all that's what I was thinking you know and worked up pretty well all right well then after you power through that would you go after that my 30-day sleeve and well run at the end of Fort Sill they told us when our where we were gonna go what was our destination most of us all along through basic and AIT which is the second phase of the training artillery training I called them advanced individual training it's AIT they would tell us that we're going to be at Nam so they told us we're going to be enough and some didn't actually someone took Germany someone to Japan but they they told us where we're gonna go that we're going to Vietnam at threat at the end of Fort Sill and then I 30 days leave in back in Manchester and then got on the plane you know took a pen out of Bradley and then we went to Fort Washington which is in Washington State fort I'm sorry Fort Lewis in Washington State for days they they are grained everyday kpe every day for days KP and then over the Vietnam that was that well during your leave did you see any family you see your friends at what they think so far what were they nervous with you being there yeah I saw my girl found a girlfriend at the time no it was great being back with my friends yeah had a good time well guys let honest and a lot of the guys that went to Vietnam didn't show up or they should know they show up like three weeks late or two weeks late which is probably what I should have done you know because you know the old saying was what I think I'm doing you sent me to Vietnam you know that was the idea but anyway so I had a good time and just was dreading you know going over there because I didn't know if what was gonna happen over there you know whether I was gonna be whether I was gonna make it or not no definitely understandable so after you leave well my friend leave I am I going Bradley went to Bradley go to Fort Washington and you know I for I'm sorry for Louis and we're left and I spent four days there and then throw go Vietnam and it was hot really hot you only continue in that yeah about Vietnam just yeah please Karen I was back Vietnam the people we met what you thought of that so when I first got there it was place called Cam Ranh Bay it's a nice area it's back in that no I mean it's warm I got there at 10:00 at night I said oh man it was hot I'm Bonita wasn't what's gonna be like tomorrow I couldn't believe how hot it was never saw a thermometer the whole time I was over there now once but he must have been over 100 there's the only I think it's only maybe 10 degrees above the equator you know that's pretty close it was in the it's pretty close so well the next day we had to go up to a police call which means we pick up trash that's what police call this and I was out there I was dying murder and I actually thought for the first two weeks that I couldn't make it couldn't adjust to the heat and but after a couple weeks everybody like everybody else I you know more or less adjusted got used to it you know it's been about I'd say took about three or four days do I want to let's see benoît which is the 90th replacement which is where they you it's part of your journey to your final unit and then I'd say in about three or four days I got to my unit which is the aides of the six artillery and I think it was a Daquan law a place called Kwan law and that's that's where I started you know my and I started counting the days you know 366 365 364 etc but when he got below hundred everybody was happy you know no sort of you everybody got excited well so then after you after your countdown timer expired you said you had one last stop before you were done where'd you go after that after uh yeah I went to back to Fort Sill for five months now they offered me a deal in Vietnam I had extended vietnam 55 days 55 more days and they got out of the army that was it yeah but it was just the start of the monsoon season and then mine soon you actually get cold over there you know it's chilly so I fifty five days and it was a wise decision I think because my hearing probably worth been worse than it is now if I didn't fire no two more months there so I'd opted to go to Fort Sill for five for the full two years and that was just a big you know it was didn't do much you know just stayed out of trouble and we go out in the field and fired the guns I didn't but I got off that I got onto that because of my hearing I got permission to stay away from firing the guns I've been driving out the IRA drive the gun on then I drove the tank out there they call it tank but it's really self-propelled artillery drove it out there and then they I would go leave the area and they'd fire the guns so and that it's pretty easy they pay you a couple times you know it's not bad so it wasn't very exciting but it wasn't Vietnam that's right so here's the good part what's better yes all right well during your time in Vietnam as you I think you want to tell us about your combat experiences yes okay I could tell you about that most of time I wasn't what they called our rim which was a rear-echelon mother Fletcher not quite there you get the idea you know so that means in other words I had it it didn't have it now Hillary didn't have it real bad and but I never wrote good either our children was some infantry loved the artillery we helped you know we saved them a lot of times it was so it wasn't a real bad I spent six months in a plate at base camp called Z on dia n which is pretty good duty and they would say boy we got hit last night you know like attacked but it turned out to be one one done water we're coming to the burner or something you know I guess was a very safe place to be okay other times it was more dangerous especially when we we've got March ordered we would what use we would have them take our guns and drive over the you know over the terrain and there was some danger there Bob because you were leaving a more secure area and that was but then we know we got attacked while we were going always the date/time of course weren't safer the sometimes we're at what they call NDP's which are tonight defensive positions where they would take an area of the jungle maybe I'd say two miles in diameter and spray with Agent Orange or something it had to be because there was perfectly clear they had to clear it out somehow so they would do that and then we'd be drunk you know we drive in there and 105 batteries they they fool those guys in there this is 105 artillery smaller guns you know those are because those were the most popular guns may 105 I was on a 155 self-propelled God so we drove into these empty peas and set up you know the infantry would help us and we'd have border platoons artillery protons other stuff too I don't how many people we have there and I went to a few of those you know previous places and those were the worst the most dangerous places to be because we're not in a really safe area the thing about the Vietnam War was that there's really no safe area there were no fronts it was all we were just like right in the middle of the action all the time you know so that's what happened I'd say in my time over there sporadically we would get places I was get a murderer too or a rocket or to come in and it wasn't much it wasn't much change you know I mean it could be the unlucky guy you know that had happened to but what's the time it was pretty safe you know yeah well with that sporadic danger with everybody cavities and you're either not with that but I'd say in my time there we had like I say most of it was boredom and we did fire he fired at night a lot of times we fired what they call agent highs harassment interdiction rounds we got up at 2 in the morning fire 20 a couple rounds that wait five that's two more rounds that was just boring and it was sleep deprivation too but in my time there I'd say there was two weeks and particularly one bad night where we were under the gun and all the time so we had just let's see there's my my date here the day here in this thing October 28th okay that's the date it's in the paper I got a thing a magazine here but my it's about my gun just this might sorry about the phone this might be my gun right here particularly gun so we were just leaving a lot Ninh I can't memorize spell it by their place called lockni and that we got to a place called fire support base Rita in October for about two weeks we were even in the daytime we were taking a fire which is unusual usually you like to hit at night when you're on everybody's starting to fall asleep that drops your guard so they're taking rounds in during the day for a couple weeks and they be pumping rockets in and our little mortars they didn't fertilize with would give give us information yeah mortar then we're attacking before we know it but they'd hear I'm leaving the tool show so so we know we'd be outside and our guns firing back out you know so and now that I think about it we're all got all this powder that we use for the for the it was a dangerous situation because it's one of those rounds landed with a part of us you know the gunpowder that we used to blow shoot the rounds off could have been mine wasn't utter disaster so that was happening for about a couple weeks and then sometimes at night would take a few rounds but then one night they told us not clean your cleaner I'm 60s out you know they'd only had to tell us once because we and six teens had a reputation for not firing because they when they got dirty so you had to be careful and make sure they were clean so they told us to do get the m16s cleaned and then we also had will be called direct fire a direct front a fire drill which means normally artillery goes at about 45 degrees our gun would go 12 miles 12 13 miles this time they wants to lower the tubes flat it shoot on the perimeter which is so we kind of we kind of figured out it wasn't that's not a good thing you know practically knew something was going to happen they know more we did so what happened was that I'd say probably two or three in the morning that's something like to hit and as I found out in this article here they were NVA I didn't even know at the time you know I didn't know whether there were a VC or but they were in the FE a of the better army from the north from up the north the VC were like the local guys and they'd they'd be um they would in the daytime there were your buddy said nighttime they they come and shoot you you know but he's gonna be able to real soldiers and they came in so they they can it um about three and somebody yelled and being the wire so they cut into the wire and they saw this big explosion I could see it know oh I freaked me out they were honest and I get outside of mind I had my own little bunker we drank we like dig a little hole in the ground and put sandbags over top I had my own little uh my own little bunker I was in my bunker there pretty good for a mortar hits you're all set they just mortar just hit this goes out like that the rocket hits one who demonstrate then not good probably ain't good probably be dead but I didn't didn't take any you know any hit there I got outside and and we're under full you know under attack and now I go on and all the guys in my section we're on in the gun inside our guy it was it's a self-propelled artillery it's hard to explain but you can go I got pictures here you go you can go inside the gun and fire anyway you go inside the gun they were all huddled in there what's the bad place to be because the one thing that they're looking for these guys these are guys are attacking us they want to make sure they want to get the take out these guns that was the biggest enemy those guns so so I think they then they finally all I got out of there and then we heard that the big ball of fire I'd seen was was gun number two had taken it they were they were on that end up Rimmer they had taken a hit now if we were a gun number four which is in the middle of the configuration of the guns you know they're like five on the outside gun floor it would be in the middle so they've taken a hit I was in number two I was I had been I was Trent sorry no I can do it I could finish this okay keep the continuity going here it's probably a good idea I thought that they were hit and we lost burles Williams Norris was that because they were my you know in my gun section and no what happened was though I got transferred because I thought I didn't some some reason didn't fit in they didn't get along with the guys there most of them were black might it might have been a racial thing I'm not sure I really don't know what happened actually the the guy Norris the sergeant there was a white guy he was the guy in charge of the other that section so I don't know we're done with the reason when I got transferred a gun for it was birth you know fortunate for me so our job that night was to fire what we call they call it self illumination so we've put our troops straight up in the air and fire round up there on a time fuse and it's illumination run so what happens is it illumination comes down on the parachute so it eliminates our area so we can see what's going on so that we can know that's where they in the dark because it was a that's when they could do the most damage so if we illuminated we could see him out there better so that was our job in the middle that's why we're in the middle of this imminent thing anyway so what you crate is he was my sergeant when I first got there he said to me Dave you can call me by my first name I said yeah he says yeah sergeant the sergeant graves said do you want apparently Williams been hit down there even winded he was dying actually he Williams so they asked him anybody want to volunteer to go down there so I did I volunteered and to go down and we from a stretcher down there my weapon on the screen on the stretcher and golf ghetto to bring him more towards the middle of the perimeter because they had some doctors in the middle you know I didn't want to so I brought him to the middle and meanwhile I left my weapon down there you know I wasn't a real soldier you know I got trapped it I didn't think about keeping my weapon in my you know I supposed to always have your weapon with you so I'm and it's a turn-on got blown up you know but in my absence which was another lucky thing you know because I'd like to get the guy so we brought into the middle of the middle of the area and the doctors looked at him we brought him back at his uh one of his arms like hands was like just hang it down you know there's nothing and it's all space was all contorted and like maybe a concussion grenade or something I don't know what happened I can almost think that he could because she came in he went to throw it out and it blow up just as he that's my piñon just as they threw the female inside the gun blow up and blow his hand off and any way you died its optical and he died like it when I was there and um you know I couldn't believe I said look you know I started telling the doctors so what's wrong you can stow k buy anything he was dead so then we went through the rest of the night and when I got down there the second time I got a gun and we saw it saw an NVA guy you had one of those some we call it the soak up it's really called an RPG a rocket-propelled grenade yeah I can see it he had on the shoulder so I know it was on the bad guy so we didn't have those things you know and I pulled it out to my sergeant this you know those guy in your course no one's smart enough to figure it out this stuff sure that you know so I did start shooting and um actually was pretty smart because I started firing in the dirt first watch the runs kick up and um I'm not sure if I hit it right now I don't know that's the only one you know that's only one I ever saw in the whole battle only NBA guy I saw most guys most soldiers never ever see the enemy no it's amazing actually oh did you ever receive any awards no none that were unusual when the sergeant said he was going to give me an award for what I went went down to get the guy you know but then never materialized no one I want to get that Williams the body down there pick him up and him back that never materialized in truth the matter is we were up there on some before that battle when they were coming if the rounds are coming in and we're outside shooting back out and that's pretty darn dangerous so they won't I got one we all should've got you know well I didn't they can feel bad yeah for them Oh what type of injuries did you sustain from that chillin oh I got nothing from that nothing I was brutal on a very fortunate if we had here's I can figure we had about seven or eight guys that were even above about 80 died that night we had my former gun second gun section number two we had Williams Norris mcbird's what I say when got I saw Norris they would got him he'll athough he was on this stuff he died three days later I written you know but Burroughs they wouldn't tell me how he died but I think he died in a ball of fire you know like burned to death real bad and Williams that was the guy who Tommy Obama you know I think he got concussion concussion er and he got him I think that's what got him we had Carter on gun section number six I got hit by an RPG ready to chest and they had what they well I mean I told you what a police call was right well they had a police call for him they must recover he was a mess you know and then we had a guy in a driver I remember his name he got he died too he's a truck driver you know we had about I'd say seven or eight died in our unit and then others died too in that night two other people died from other units from there because the unforgiven more in three guys must have died because they were on the perimeter when this happened they were protecting us you know they put your guys must be other guys they were guys and we're two guys died I got pictures live here of a guy it's not the guys - they were in it we had this guy named Colonel Rogers was there the black guy Colonel Rogers he was running around 45 going around God knows why he was there he's a lieutenant colonel you don't have to be there when you tell Carl you can be you can be those guys are on you know they were up in an office somewhere he was there that night running around with a 45 shouldn't shoot people he got when I saw him he had a he got shot right in the lip right in the lip and like written love it and then the finally got shot in the ass now is it for him for the night but he lived in the throat have throat we had one guy there named drum Big John he was a black fella Lefty his lefty I remember seeing him then he got hit in the arm it was a rough neither a strep they used to call me scrap metal but was really shrapnel they call it the shrapnel hit him in the shoulder lift the parking he was lying on the ground writhing it means a lot of pain and you select you watch the movies on TV you gotta get shot and he keeps coming get shot in the shoulder you know you see that's it you're done for you know that's what it is in fact he he came back he went to the hospital he came back two months later to the unit every once in while the shoulder would split open again the wounds would open up again you know I mean it wasn't it wasn't a real deep it was a flesh wound so it wasn't like you know he ruined his shoulder he would come he would come you came back and that's what happened to him okay you like it off the track there love it now you joined the story about the colonel knows and isn't using so I switch gears a little bit that's okay sure on to your basic everyday life well you're out there sort out right now with your family how'd you stay in touch with him were you able to I wrote letters to my uh my girlfriend my aunt barb Ron my mom and dad I didn't lie a little bit to my parents about situate out how what happened over there you know you didn't tell the truth my father worked to my friends still and they told them you know about what it really happened so it was nice um my girlfriend did she send me a letter you know a Dear John letter you guys know what that is right yeah I got one of those and she was um apparently she was exchanging bodily fluids with the car salesman okay so you know name Nick I didn't mean it didn't hate Nick I was mad at her but I can't blame her you know I mean I was away and you know yeah thanks well she would have mine found somebody else well not maybe maybe uh what was the food bitter was that better than you girl the food was great I thought I was never never fussy but for whatever the mess hall through the food when he had KP he got the job turning an orderly dr all they called it he does with all the chuck them okay wanted to know I thought the food was great and in for sell for dicks and Vietnam in fact they even got ice cream toaster they floated in on the helicopter and you ate it fast so the food was good I like to vote its we had C rations from 1945 from the war yeah I was born C rations we opened up there were C 23 years old we opened up their break that's right it's amazing you know other you have enough supplies yeah oh yeah yeah good we're well supplied we had to they got a spear once in a while you know free beer not too much because then you know we were on duty you know and I said like for example we'd have usually every night we'd have one we'd have six guns to two guns would be firing look ha9 like I told your harassment interdictions two guns would fire you know the four guns will be off not unless we had a fire mission which meant that our killer for the infantry needed us we keep firing rounds you know over and to protect them and they protected us to when our perimeter the infantry guys so that was a different gig those guys they go out every night overnight and the dark in the rain all night long all night long and monsoon season was about three four months long it rained you get cold those guys are on home I didn't wear underwear deodorant don't care and then just looking bright you know raggedy guys and and nobody mess with you they wouldn't get you no no they know the spit and polish it wouldn't dare do you guys carry guns you something they they had things they call fraying or fragging yes they would in other words if you if an officer gave you too much drop when these guys have been on the field shooting people they kill him it didn't happen not all the time but it did happen so the interview guys I give them credit that's a hard thing you know it dangerous it the elephant grass was 15 feet tall you couldn't see you couldn't see 10 feet in front again you're walking through this stuff it's bad dangerous almost been pretty uh pretty stressful how did you how did you have you deal with that well like I said for me I only had two weeks that was difficult that were there was no it was were under attack and that one bad night other than that it wasn't really that big a deal I'm use far as there was the board and factor now I want to get the heck out of here you know as long as I was there the whole time I was there there was not one discussion about anti no anti work talk or no pro work talk ever because you know during that era there was a big protest against the war Vietnam War you guys where I'm sure they becoming aware of that and all that stuff but when I was over there nobody the main focus your main focus was to get out intact you know to get home the effector that they said get back to the world that was that you've heard that expression before I'm sure you've heard that so that was our goal and so what to me no artillery not that bad not that good either you know with a lot of hard work you know a lot of hours in the hot Sun and sleep deprivation I got out of there I wait I'll show you a picture here doesn't mean when I got out of there you see that 175 they called me a rib cage so they should have anyway you know said Nazis our way to 220 and I'm not really that no I'm only a little overweight so skinny I strong you know because I was a kid I was 23 but see this is though this is love this is the monsoon season right here you see that something looks here the mud that's a mess all the cut all the wires we have to lay they have to lay wires communication wires between the better every time attract the other one over they ruined the wires they pulled him up in the track it was a big it was a fiasco it was them one morning I woke up I was in this like bunker and I look at my boots are floating away but it works that was being active and I get and when my boots got wet it was problem because I had 13 feet I had to find boots for me no no your feet you can even get trench foot in you know trench foot is everything yeah it's sinking they have a speaking World War one but you can get transport even even when it's 65 70 degrees or 80 degrees but I didn't know speaking about speaking entertaining stories did you have any any entertainers to see me us no shows and if not we're there any particular humorous or unusual events that went down okay let's see what do the part one part you asked me about that one time we had um we have we've had a fire mission and the guy forgot he put the powder in you shove it in there but he forgot to put the rounded so it goes out of the tool one big fireball flashing fireball no buts didn't hurt anybody but it was funny we didn't have one ah they had something to they cook it didn't have one our killer visit or somebody died sometimes they didn't you mean the paper about what happened in training just like see nine guys just died and the mortar around exploded in the tool well we didn't have any that nothing no not one is it like that I mean one guy Williams that poor guy Williams dropped around on his foot the guy Bruno hears he was doing a barefoot but they call them they call a fire mission the middle of the night he's in his underwear in bare feet you know shooting fire the gun and run and that's a guy died sooner but I want God on his toe but um okay what else know the part of the question yeah I think the part of that question was if he even had me yo any bit of fun stories to talk about did you ever see any surely incur so entertainers they had a couple shows um say to me what they were we went song and drink a few beers and they had also with the call girls would come in for morale purposes you know anyway talk to the soldiers they would bring up I don't they actually brought doughnuts with a comb donut dollies you know unless they call the girls they would come in and we'd be out there uh they had outdoor showers you know maybe driving it in their trucks and there would be you know moving out there and they'd be driving like bias you know just got one you know I mean I used to live you know but um that's about all there wasn't much I to iron ours you know not too many shows I wasn't in an area I wasn't like like most the best areas in was us Zeon that was the FaceCam but there wasn't much there I wasn't in an area like Saigon where there was more um things of that nature we could go to you see shows and things like that you know our legs today um I went to first I went to first one was let's see Bangkok I'm at there for a month now I'm sorry one week about $300 maybe this is why I didn't want my wife to be here you know you know you gotta be good prostitute you know girls were like $13 a day you're fed them that's no that's what that's what happened over there $300 last a long time there and they would have this beer called Singha beer only took two when you were well on your way you know but you know stayed drunken that's what it was and then I went to Sydney Australia to that was um they were just building the Opera House then at that time they'd famous opera house in Sydney and they're always there all complaining the Aussies were all complaining oh what's this thing gonna get done it's gonna take forever and you know I remember going I don't know little crews they're in the water it wasn't that exciting but you know who was Amma there for a week anyway well now I'm just more stuff they're nice not to give me pertaining the service but more so you're like after service can you uh let me know where you were when your service ended and when that happened how do you feel okay so that was Fort Sill I was in force so the last five months and I am it's a long five months I tell you you know not doing much so by the last the last week I'd say or ten days you're not you don't have any duties you don't have any duties there at all your job is to do all these bases you have to touch all these people you have to see you get your records do with this do that to go to all these things and get it get ready so you can you got all the consoles and all the dust the teas in the eyes get that all ready to go I did that and that was the longest probably one of the happiest days of my life get now I'd say well my wife would work with the project life to here was when I got married but uh that was that was a good day too but but that was pretty happy good now so finally I got out December 5th and 69 and uh my friend Jerry who was was kind of funny Jerry was a Canadian who got in trouble in Canada and he enlisted to get out of the trouble in Canada listen US Army everybody else was going the other way you know going to can to get out of those kind of humorous and he enlisted for three years and he gave every morning's it all yep why would I do that three years no anyway he drove me onto the highway like my duffel bag as a Oklahoma drove me out to the highway and I stuck my thumb out my hitch I always one day to check one soon and so I hitchhiked to I got rides all the way to New Haven then I got a train no Haven sick and when I got to this you know hanging in there with guys just in his workplace right left where I left it you know I left in New Haven to go to Fort Dix they were just on the train their rally getting ready to go in and I was just coming out and I empathize with them you know I said all but um so I got it took me a couple days to get to New Haven and then I got called my folks up they came down me and Raven okay that's the what else you got Oh what were you what did you do in the days and weeks afterwards oh what'd I do let's see well I go throw up for a while let's see timelines a little hazy with me but um I'd say I finally got a job I got a little employment they gave me 300 bucks from being in that state did and I got a little unemployment then I am I say from think this oh now I got a job in and the Rogers corporation it's paper mill am i right down the street in 66 in March that would be I'm sorry I'm confused ooh that's before that was before the army after I finally got a job at household finance corporation loans I didn't like that well then like that that would be about 1970 then and then in late 70 maybe in March I'm sorry later it would be September I got a job at Owens Corning fiberglass I left there with the post off like a javelin post off is a letter carrier it'll be February 28 1971 I stayed there till June 4th 2004 33 years and I like this great job like anything else yeah did you ever have any schooling after you backed that's no I didn't I didn't I didn't know I looked before or when the army I went high school and I did some college but no I was never accused of being a good student you know so like that's one of the reasons I went in I got drafted cuz I out are you calm it was spinning so no but since then after the army I never I probably could I couldn't take advantage of some offers but I like the post office it was a good job good job well did you continue any relationships with any of your friends no I did not Gerry one guy from Fort Sill Romila Harrison Hattiesburg Mississippi bro I want a couple letters to him back and forth he was where that Camilla Aragon yet that's where they hit the right there where he lived and guy to Jerry were a couple Jerry bill nor he was the guy from Canada couple letters other than that no never really no contact no as far as I could probably do it now with the internet find some of these guys probably could I just never never wanted to all right well just a couple other quick little questions in closing here is that um how did your military experience influence your thinking about war or the military in general even before I went in I am I thought that and you know I didn't think much of the war thing because most of the war is his uh people aspect are planning it and the pawns me for example and you know when the ndia that's hit us I wasn't that those guys they tried to kick were killing us I wasn't man rolling cuz I know they were just like me you know for slab or a stupid slob maybe you know was in the army so I never had you know much you know the respect for the voluntary you know are they empathize with the guys because I was one of them you know and I think most of it's all for naught most of these guys go in you guys go to Afghanistan and all these wars you know there's they they think they're doing this patriotic thing that's all for nothing no the only guys I could possibly sympathize we could agree with his more work to that was it seems like they you know they had to be done they really accomplished something but as far as the rest of it even like Korea for example reading accomplished in Vietnam nothing's ever accomplished and the guys were playing these things these wars their kids never have to call not less they want to turn that Kennedy when I'm supreme you know he didn't have to his father was important person and I can't really I can't blame anybody who whatever I mean a draft dodger I would just don't rub it in my face you know other now if you did it that's more power to it I mean I I tried to get online listen I tried to listen the Air Force but I know physically I because my knee I could get in so that's how I feel about done and I don't like officers all right that being said did you join any other organizations I think I joined them all but I don't really participate that much okay DFW and the American Legion and we had what they call an army native Club in Manchester I remember that too but generally speaking up go didn't go to those things you know I don't participate I pay the union dues which are minimal but alcohol okay so more such as two shows at work yeah yeah I guess that's it yeah well how did you service in your experiences affect your life hmm no it's hard to say well you know for a long time I I think of just a little bad luck and go and you know didn't affect me and certainly I you know I'm not having uh flashbacks nightmares he had a couple nine years you know bad dreams but now you know it maybe have affected me I'm low I think you anybody who goes there comes out they come out and more shape than they left when they went there I would think you know I had some issues I'm unable now too long to watch any any kind of movies at all have any gun violence no when I first got out I watched Clockwork Orange you know I know why he brought me so much but not in your at respect I think that's it's possible that that's the reason I don't know if a certain you know that time most people think I'm normal came out of a mostly intact you know but um I will see you know people to people talking to each other and assume their rooms they're talking maybe like slightly if they're sit there and have an animated conversation and I'm so I assume they're not but just about to start a fight that's not normal and we're actually there they're not they're just you know like I'll tell you people are like that they all do that you know they're not even near fighting so so that's a possibility that is affecting though I don't over certain you know but I don't I was lucky pretty lucky no I'm pretty well I guess that's all I could think of but here you're okay yeah I was there anything else that you want to add interviewer well I'm sure there's something and I will think of it when you leave all right sorry all right well at this time just want to say thank you very much for your service and thank you for not afraid

Channel: ccsuvhp

Views: 18,282

Rating: 4.8125 out of 5

Keywords: Veteran (Profession), Vietnam Veteran (Literature Subject), Veterans History Project Of The Library Of Congress American Folklife Center, Interview, Army

Id: oTR_F--6nYg

Length: 52min 51sec (3171 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 16 2015