“Thanks for Serving” He Said

I know Veterans Day is not until Nov 11th. I also remember a phrase I saw on some document when I was discharged from the Army in September, 1972. ‘Once a Vet, Always a Vet”. This is so true, You can’t change history and nobody can ever take that away from me.
I was drafted into the Army in 1970. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I was ‘out of phase’. This meant that I had lost my student deferment. I was working my way through community college at the time. I would go to school a quarter, then work a quarter. Upon graduation from the community college I was going to further my education by going for my Bachelor’s degree at a four year school. To do this, I needed to work two quarters or six months in a row to get my finances in order to attend the four year school. This is when I learned what ‘out of phase’ really meant. It meant I lost my student deferment.
This was the fastest I had ever seen the federal government work. It was shortly after three months had expired and I was not in school. I opened the letter instructing me to report for my physical – not to drive and to bring my toothbrush. I reported for the physical as ordered to Fort Hayes and that evening I was getting off a bus at Fort Knox – and people were yelling at me!!
Looking back, being drafted was good for me. I learned many life skills in the Army, some of which carry over still to today.

If you’re younger, you may not know of the draft, or the draft lottery. The draft lottery was televised. It was what it sounds like – several balls in a tumbler with dates on them. Let me illustrate. I was born on Sept 7th. The ninth ball from the tumbler was Sept 7. My friends and I had gathered to watch – I was still on my first beer. The guy next had a birthday that was the last date drawn from the tumbler. He didn’t get drafted. Mom and Dad, couldn’t you have conceived me on another day?
I was in the Army from 1970 to 1972. These were tumultuous times. Many people were against the ‘war” or ‘policing action’ in Viet Nam. There were protests, there were shootings (Kent State) there was Mai Lai. Things were different then. It was not a time to wear your uniform when you were on leave for fear of being spit on or being called a baby killer. I didn’t wear my uniform on leave, but people could tell from my haircut that I was in the military. The fashion then was really long hair on males – before the Army my hair was down to my shoulders and was considered short by many standards.
The Army is nice enough to ask you what you might like to do for your time in the Army. It’s called a ‘Dream Sheet’ – and it was only a dream. No one I was aware of got placed on any of the three selections they made for their time in the Army. The Army decided to make me a Military Policeman out of me. Me? A Military Policeman? That was not on my Dream Sheet anywhere. But, I was lucky in my assignment by the Army. And it was very much luck.
Upon arriving for my AIT (Advanced Individual Training) to become a Military Policeman, in Ft. Gordon, Georgia I was assigned to Company A. My bunk mate suggested to me that we both sign up for squad leader’s school. I really didn’t want to, but like he said (he was another draftee), ‘It’s all good time”. We were both in for the two years no matter which way you looked at it. So, off we went to a two week squad leader’s school. Upon graduation from it, I was then assigned to Company D. Here’s where the luck comes in. Companies A, B and C were all sent to Viet Nam. When I entered Company D President Johnson ordered that only those who volunteered for Viet Nam would be sent there. It was a time of withdrawal of troops from Viet Nam. I did not volunteer for Viet Nam.
I spent my time at Ft. Huachuca, AZ. A very quiet and small post situated at the northern end of the Huachuca Mountains about 15 miles north of the Mexican border. In short, out in the middle of nowhere. I can’t say I did anything brave or heroic while there.
Last month, I was sitting in an airport restaurant waiting for my flight on a long layover. I got to talking with the fellow next to me who also had a long layover. We exchanged our military history. He knew I only went to Arizona. Turns out he was a Vet also (and always will be). He had served two tours of duty in Viet Nam. When we parted, he said to me, “Thanks for serving’. Can you imagine that? After hearing his story, I was shocked, surprised, taken aback, dumbfounded or some other word that is difficult to find, that he had thanked ME.
I’m not saying my time served in AZ was a vacation, but compared to him and the thousands of others who served in Viet Nam, it probably was a vacation. I don’t talk much about my Army time. I feel that what I did was insignificant to those that went to Viet Nam and to those 58,220 that lost their lives. Two of those names on the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington DC are high school class mates of mine. A ‘Thank You’ to them is insufficient for giving their lives. But this is not only about the Viet Nam veterans. It’s about all those who served their country.
I’m sure there are other veterans out there like me. Drafted but did not serve in Viet Nam. I wonder how they feel about this. Do they feel the same as I do? There are those who tell me I served, I did what the Army told me too, and that there was a purpose to my time in the Army. Still, I don’t feel worthy of a ‘thank you for your service’. The question is, if I had it to do over, would I have volunteered for Viet Nam? The answer is, I still don’t know.
Once a Vet, Always a Vet.