was told," you are going to Germany, get your wives in german class". This massive program to improve American weaponry and conditions for troops and their families, supported by the commitment of huge resources to building the facilities required, was one factor in shaking the resolve of Soviet leaders and exposing the hidden weaknesses of the Soviet military and political systems. They lived in an apprehensive state. I assisted a medical officer suture up a Marine after a bar fight who was so drunk he didnt need an anesthetic. Anyone who served in the military during the war faced the possibility of being sent to Vietnam, though. Supercharge your procurement process, with industry leading expertise in sourcing of network backbone, colocation, and packet/optical network infrastructure. It's there to boost morale, it's there to provide entertainment and comfort for soldiers, it's there to sort of represent what the U.S. is musically, culturally to the rest of the world.". Boy, I thought I had it made, Shkurti said with a small laugh. 800-829-4833, Veterans Crisis Line: Germany He never carried a gun because if he was shot, the enemy soldier could have claimed it was self-defense, he said. WebAs 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. 7) Cologne, Germany. I was in Infantry AIT at Ft. Polk Nov. 68-Jan 69. He now is an adjunct professor in the John Glenn College of Public Service. Given the popular conception that being drafted during Vietnam was a guaranteed ticket to the combat zone, Ive always found it amazing how many of the people I know who served in the Army or USMC during the Vietnam War never actually went to Vietnam. 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. You had no say in what your MOS would be. TCDD, the toxic substance in Agent Orange, may be inhaled as an aerosol or ingested by contaminated food or water or from hand-to-mouth transfer. Tomorrow is too unpredictable, especially during deployment, he said. of United States Army installations in Germany The NATO maneuver Reforger I (Return of Forces to Germany) in Vilseck/Grafenwhr in 1969 was one of many joint war games held by the US Army and the Bundeswehr. However, their wartime ally, the Soviet Union, soon became an enemy. Out of our entire class I believe two, maybe three guys got orders for Korea. Many celebrities joined in the protests. East of Underground was one such band a multiracial, seven-piece group stationed in Germany at the tail end of the Vietnam War. Huge streams of paperwork came through military intelligence offices that allowed Lomperis a birds eye view of the war and how it functioned. There were more prostitutes than bureaucrats, and every kind of club and bar from high-class to low-class. During the war, these men felt like they were part of the military endeavor, but its not what the public celebrates. I can only speak from my own experiences. In Germany the U.S. military was protecting West Germany against the threat of Russian invasion, but it wasnt imminent, Shkurti said. But in Vietnam, the Cold War became an inferno. This lasted for 5 months, then we were told, Okanawa. Even as the war drew down in 1975 and early 1976, the pressure was intense as huge numbers of men came home with addictions and injuries too horrible to really describe, Thornton said. So he was off to Camp Casey and the 9th Infantry Manchu's for 16 months, I was in the same unit a couple of decades after him. He attributed it to where he happened to be standing in a formation. We had an Infantry MOS Soldiers on one of our Sheridan Tanks. The mood around the country was not good for the military, not like today with cheers and applause for returning members. They were so talented, I just assumed they would have a contract with the first studio they walked into.". C-123 Airplanes and Agent Orange Residue - Public Health As my husband likes to preach: expectation management.. 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. The thought of army music evokes a certain tradition say, trumpets and drums in the style of "Pershing's Own." Back at home over the decades, veterans themselves may have helped camouflage the roles they played during the war. 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. Based on the HMD report, VA has decided to acknowledge exposure to Agent Orange for personnel whose military service involved regular contact with the contaminated C-123 aircraft. Outdoor Recreation Center. Don't forget Panama and Alaska, Alaska itself in that time period had two Infantry Brigades separate stationed there. "I'm just amazed that [the band's] three singers didn't have hit records after they left the Army. Along with its allies, the US had liberated Germany from the Nazis. Im also more respectful of what servicepeople endure. Dave. An Army in Crisis 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. 7th Army in particular suffered heavily, especially with loses of combat arms NCOs Then there was the two infantry brigades in Alaska, the 171st and 172nd, both gave up one battalion each for transfer to the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii before it left there for South Vietnam, two full battalions had to be raised to replace the ones sent away. We wore different uniforms. The King of Rock 'n' Roll, as Elvis Presley would eventually become known, was drafted in as a soldier and began his military service in Germany in 1958. They were the rear echelon. 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. "I initially was stationed in Korea. After graduating AIT at Fort Knox I was sent to their NCO Armor School. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. Most of all, Army bands will strive to honor General George Washington's observation, "Nothing is more agreeable and ornamental than good music. Many veterans struggled with feeling that their experience didnt measure up. You made a deal in Saigon, and the car arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, said Lomperis, who bought himself a $30 radio cassette player during the war, brought it home and kept it until about 2000. The enemy was the Soviet Union and the other signatories of the Warsaw Pact, including the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. 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. Engineers and USACE remained in Europe, still proud of their contribution to defending Western Europe and ending the Cold War. Historical Vignettes Still, a ration card would allow personnel to buy $2,000 to $3,000 worth of goods, she said. There were swimming pools, bars, cheap booze, entertainment, dancers and strippers, American TV. 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. They wore dirty boots and dog tags hanging around their necks. We served honorably. WebThe entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Army Staff Medal First Class and is the author of four books about Vietnam including The War Everyone Lost and Won.. Hollander says it isn't clear what the Army planned to do with these recordings, especially since so few copies of them have surfaced just three dozen in East of Underground's case. 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. Heavily guarded Pershing-II rockets were brought to the US base in Mutlangen in 1983. Involved in the Vietnam War After completing his enlistment, Shkurti returned to Ohio State University to earn a masters degree in public administration.