I'm sad to say that doing my patriotic duty was not my reason for going in the Army. During my senior year of high school, my dad told me that when I turned 18 or graduated high school the free ride was over, and I had enough sense to know that I couldn't support myself.

A friend told me that he had joined the Army via delayed entry and was headed to basic training as soon as he graduated. I went to the local recruiting station and signed up for a three-year stint in Thailand (with parental approval at 17) and waited to hear what MOS I would be assigned. What I heard instead was that the Army was pulling out of Thailand and that I needed to choose somewhere else to be stationed or choose an MOS and be stationed where the need dictated. However, my recruiter said they were transitioning to a volunteer Army, and if I signed up for a four-year stint, I could chose my MOS, where I would be stationed -- and if I stuck it out and graduated high school first, I would receive a $2,500 bonus when I finished training. Let me tell you, after earning $1.35 an hour washing dishes at a cafe, $2,500 was all the carrot that this horse needed to sign on the dotted line.

Since I joined delayed entry in the fall of 1974, I am considered a Vietnam veteran, and I was the first "volunteer" assigned to my platoon near Frankfurt, Germany. When our platoon leader would say he needed a volunteer, the entire platoon would point at me and say, "He volunteered." It was an Army in transition, and I found myself serving with many "volunteers" who were told by a judge that they could either join the service or go to jail. We were serving with draftees who couldn't fathom why anyone would "volunteer" to be there in the first place.

Not the most noble of reasons to serve my country, but it gave me experience in real life, helped me get an education with the GI Bill, and allowed me the means to purchase my home. Not a bad trade for dressing like a pickle for four years.