Page 95 - Stand Down Vietnam

on. That turned me against them, hippie people,
instantly. I was afraid to wear my uniform as I drove
back to Michigan. I stuck it in the trunk. But, of
course, my short haircut didn’t do much for me. It was
a giveaway.

When I returned to the United States, we landed at
Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, California. When the

plane landed; all hats went up into the air; it was
like your football team had won the Homecoming game. I
don’t know how the guys got home without a hat. That
was just very exciting; hearing that and seeing that.
We were home! We had to pay for a taxi to get to the
San Francisco airport or to a car rental place. Some
of us got together to share the fare.

At the time, I had an older brother that lived in San
Bernardino, so I took a plane ride to see him.

I don’t know why I did it, but I signed up again; this
time for Vietnam/Thailand. I had to go again, I was
sent to Thailand for a year (’71-’72), 365 days this
time. I was assigned to a base called Korat. It was
the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in northeast
Thailand, about 150 miles northeast of Bangkok.