At the end of the Vietnam War, the United States adopted a volunteer Army, but declining military expenditures made it difficult to keep the American forces combat ready and maintain the quality of life for soldiers and their families. File a claim online. Ammunition storage facility, Heilbronn, West Germany (left); If I am sad about anything Vietnam-war, it is how other global players view that period of history when compared to the American perspective. From the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991, Army Engineers played a key role in providing the facilities for arming, supplying, training, and housing American soldiers and airmen and their families in Europe. Patches, In 1968 you could volunteer for the draft and serve 2 years active duty. After graduating AIT at Fort Knox I was sent to their NCO Armor School. WebThe Vietnam War exposed this problematic dimension in the U.S.-German relationship most dramatically. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1968, William Shkurti said, I knew I was going to be drafted so I enlisted. The chow halls tried to replicate moms home cooking with menus of grilled hamburgers, roast beef with gravy, French-fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, buttered corn and asparagus, ice cream, vanilla pudding and cherry pie, Lair said. They were touted as filling an important gap in NATO's deterrent shield against the Warsaw Pact. I can only speak from my own experiences. would have to use the scheduled bus service to get around the base, Lair wrote in Armed with Abundance.. Especially from the minority groups, our black comrades, because they bore the brunt of the draft, were very unappreciated, and made the ultimate sacrifice above and beyond other groups, and for what? Thornton said. Dave. Many veterans struggled with feeling that their experience didnt measure up. I was going for many reasons, but the most important was to close a chapter of history I felt needed closing, Thornton said. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. In 1972 Thornton enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17 and trained to be a hospital corpsman. I was in Infantry AIT at Ft. Polk Nov. 68-Jan 69. Morale was bad, and there were racial problems, Shkurti said. Some Air Force Reservists who were crew members on C-123 Provider aircraft, formerly used to spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, have raised health concerns about exposure to residual amounts of herbicides on plane surfaces. Supercharge your procurement process, with industry leading expertise in sourcing of network backbone, colocation, and packet/optical network infrastructure. Being a noncombatant doesnt mean they didnt feel scared, that there wasnt a looming sense of danger even onthe biggest bases that were considered safer areas, Lair said. One would fly overhead about every 60 seconds, remembers the professor emeritus of political science at Saint Louis University. Lewis Hitt played guitar in East of Underground. Army's Rock 'N' Roll Past Maybe they didnt risk their lives but they risked risking their lives, said Meredith Lair, a Vietnam War historian at George Mason University and author of Armed with Abundance: Consumerism and Soldiering in the Vietnam War, which examines the non-combat experiences of American soldiers in Vietnam. The liner notes of East of Underground: Hell Below conclude with a sort of benediction, lifted wholesale from the U.S. Army Field Manual: Because of the unique ability of music to communicate, bands will serve in different capacities of publicity and recruiting, and in the support of civil affairs. They deserve our respect. The challenge was figuring out what the enemy would do. Once we got our orders, the guy Just below me went to Germany. Combat veterans offered a truly unique and special contribution to the war, but that doesnt mean it wasnt a sacrifice for people who served as support, Lair said. And there were the German-American friendship weeks every year. During World War 2 Volunteering for the draft was a common term, that is that after a point enlistment in the Army was halted for the duration, only draftees where accepted (This is for the Army only, the Navy and Marine Corps still took enlistees), and if a 18 year old or in many cases older guys in their 20s/30s who have not yet received a notice, or had a deferment, and gave up their deferment could "Volunteer for the Draft", this also applied (within the Army) for those 17 year old's who wanted to go into the Army. If you enlisted you would serve 3 years and chose your MOS. A rare photo of East of Underground in performance. One of the biggest lessons Dr. In the early years, dances were held on the streets of Berlin in summer months and in winter, the US Army organized Christmas parties for local children. Its important for people to know they exist. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force used C-123 aircraft to spray Agent Orange to clear jungles that provided enemy cover in Vietnam. Thornton returned to school later in life and is now finishing his doctorate in business administration in the field of cross-cultural competency and conflict management. Out of our entire class I believe two, maybe three guys got orders for Korea. Veterans (including some Reservists) who state that they flew on or worked on a C-123 aircraft between 1969 and 1986 are eligible for the Agent Orange Registry. Situated in a remote area with the enemy about 300 yards away over the border, Shkurtis unit was constantly in harms way. I think I never knew, or know even today, of any Vietnam-era vets I would not embrace as brothers. Being Stationed in Germany She was a USO (United Service Organizations) volunteer who entertained servicemen. They left their families to fight in a war that wasnt popular. As the threat of imminent invasion receded in the late 1950s, U.S. Army Engineers continued to build and maintain facilities that supported American and NATO combat power and housed and supported U.S. forces and their families, now permanently stationed in West Germany. Is it if you might be in danger of a mortar attack versus projecting violence and delivering it to the enemy? I worked in an air-conditioned office and wore khakis, starched shirts, spit-shined shoes and a belt with a shiny brass buckle. After Nazi Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, four countries representing the Allies (the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France) asserted joint authority "I met the singers and the other players and we got together and played, and it just kind of all meshed together.". The tensions between the two sides were demonstrated when US Army and Soviet Union tanks faced off in a divided Berlin. Hitt says he had already been in one Army band by the time he joined the group. We would take orders from Washington and from the five information streams (personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics and political implications) and use all that information to create an order of the day, Lomperis said. This includes individuals who performed service in the Air Force or Air Force Reservewho regularly operated, maintained, or served onboard C-123 aircraft known to have been used to spray herbicides during the Vietnam era. Soldiers bought goods with their ration cards, which were punched when purchases were made, Lair said. When I left Korea, the first thing I did when I got to Germany was to find Special Services, which happened to be right next to my barracks," Hitt recalls. Because he was one of the last there in that formation and those three went to the ROK. After Boston, Thornton served at Marines Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They have rock climbing, paddle boarding, BBQ grills, a restaurant, hiking trails, and more. Don't forget Panama and Alaska, Alaska itself in that time period had two Infantry Brigades separate stationed there. have hearing loss. An official website of the United States government, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website, About the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website, Historical Vignette 105 - Engineers Played an Important Role in Europe During the Cold War, Deactivated Nuclear Power Plant Program (DNPPP), Regional Environmental and Energy Offices REEOs, Industry Information Re: COVID-19 Support, Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity, G-1 Reserve Component Augmentation, Office of Human Resources Directorate, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Regardless of how we each served, part of our soul was left in that place with those who never came back alive, and with those who suffered and died after, and we should be honored for our collective loss if for no other reason. of United States Army installations in Germany When support servicemen crossed paths with combat troops, We felt guilty. 8) Bruges, Belgium. He remembers his commanding officer Abrams as a political genius who turned the war around.. Sign up for a new account in our community. He now is an adjunct professor in the John Glenn College of Public Service. That was where I met my wife. There werent enough NCOs (non-commissioned officers), not enough support or spare parts. Vietnam War I would have been called a coward by others from the small town I grew up in, so I never considered not volunteering. It's from here that controversial drone missions are flown against targets in Africa and Asia. Vietnam Era Draftees Stationed in Additionally, not all Vietnam-era veterans served in-country. Brutal tactics were the norm during the Vietnam War, and no one suffered more than the Vietnamese themselves, both in the North and the South. When we got home, everybody was the same, said Lomperis, a Saigon warrior who served in a support capacity at MACV (U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), also known as mafia HQ or Pentagon East.. Active duty personnel who served in a regular USAF unit location where a contaminated C-123 was assigned who had regular contact with the aircraft through flight, ground, or medical duties between 1969 and 1986, and who developed an Agent Orange related disability. According to the report, from 1972 to 1982, approximately 1,500 to 2,100 Air Force Reserve personnel trained and worked on C-123 aircraft that previously had been used to spray herbicides, including Agent Orange, in Vietnam. 3. So many servicemen came home and saw how the story (of the Vietnam War) was being told. A new compilation pulls together some of those old records it's called East of Underground: Hell Below. It was a game of cat and mouse that almost turned deadly when he was nearly killed by some drunk Vietnamese soldiers, Lomperis said. But that tradition was set on its ear back in the late 1960s and early '70s, when the PFCs stationed overseas formed their own pop bands. WebHere are our top 13 places to see while youre stationed in Germany: (click on any city name below to learn more) 1) Prague, Czech Republic. Mastering these complicated and delicate international arrangements, EUD accomplished a large and complex construction program, especially during the 1980s. On leave, Thornton would head home to see family and friends, but the war changed things. Drug abuse, overdoses, crime and traffic accidents led to several deaths within his unit. As opposed to the goldbug society, or service personnel who were not interested in meeting locals and learning about Vietnam, Lomperis sought out opportunities to get off the base and interact with the Vietnamese. and child care facility in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany (right). He wasn't wealthy or connected in anyway and he also had an Infantry MOS and he was one of three soldiers out of his basic training platoon that went to the ROK. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Deploy network infrastructure faster and easier than ever before, with pre-packaged yet massively scalable infrastructure components for top packet and optical systems. Im also more respectful of what servicepeople endure. Knowing that the threat is so close by is an incentive for people to work together. In the late 65 through 1966, the Army Divisions outside of Vietnam, specifically CONUS and West Germany were hemorrhaging personnel for service in South Vietnam, these being primarily if not exclusively volunteers, these numbers had to be made good. WebThe conventional wisdom was that everybody carried a rifle, patrolled the jungle and faced death daily, but thats false, said William Shkurti, who served as an artillery officer in a remote area about 300 yards from the Cambodian border in fall 1970. Lomperis served two tours of duty in Vietnam in the Army and Defense Intelligence Agency. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. They wore dirty boots and dog tags hanging around their necks. Those recordings were lost for decades, until a collector discovered an East of Underground LP in 1997.
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