Page 110 - Stand Down Vietnam

During my time in Vietnam, we did not have Armed Forces
Radio or Television. The only radio we had was the
ones to communicate with each other. The USO would
come to some of the bases and put on a show about every
four months. Now, if you went on an Air Force base,
they had everything. Radio, TV, air conditioning, big
thick mattresses. They were worried if their air
conditioner was working while we were worried if we

were going to live the next day.

I volunteered for Desert Storm. I figured I was not
through serving; I had training at Fort Leonard Wood,
Missouri. We loaded on planes four times and every
time they’d call us back off the plane because of the
cease-fire. Me and three of my buddies were ready to
go. We wanted to go get the head man.

In my lifetime, I’ve been all the way around the world
and halfway again. Everywhere I went, I tried to treat
the people fairly; sometimes that was hard to do
because you didn’t know who was your friends and who
was your enemy. They’d booby-trap a pop can, and how
many soldiers see a pop can and want to kick it. I saw
a lot of that while I was in the evacuation hospital.
I saw guys with their arms and or legs blown off; stuff
like that.

The politicians in Washington got in the way. We never

had enough troops on the ground. It seemed like we’d
lose as many as was coming over as replacements. I
think with more troops and equipment and allowing the
military leaders to conduct the war; we could have won.

It’s like President Johnson; he didn’t do anything for
the military as far as I’m concerned. They got my goat
because I thought he was our commander in chief and we
had to do what he said. Or, take Westmoreland, they
told him to stop the bombing; he didn’t listen, he
increased it.