Page 87 - Firehouse Pond

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

The oath of office; the pledge to support and defend the Constitution of the
United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic – had and continues

to have important patriotic meaning to me.

I celebrated my nineteenth birthday while in Basic Training. Enlisting for an
additional year allowed me to choose my Military Occupation Specialty

(MOS), and thereby avoid the infantry, and immediate assignment to
Vietnam.

I jumped at the opportunity to sign-up for another year to avoid immediately
going to Vietnam. I was a trained soldier; indoctrinated in the ways of the
U.S. Army. I was not ready for the war. I am not ashamed to say that this

young man was terrified of what was to come.

ROLLING-THE-DICE

Our government was telling our citizens that the Vietnam war would end
soon. Every soldier in my basic training unit took the extra year by rolling the
dice.

We hoped it was true and believed if we could delay for at least one year,
perhaps we could miss out on all the excitement in Southeast Asia. But a

promise made does not always mean a promise kept.

The war dragged on until 1974. For many of us, the war never ends. At that
time, it was the longest war our nation had ever fought. We lost an estimated

58,100 killed in action. Hundreds of thousands were wounded in action.
More than 100,000 Vietnam era, American soldiers have died from suicide.