WebThe United States Army has 40 military installations in Germany, two of which are scheduled to close. In response to this fear, the United States deployed large forces to West Germany. 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. "I've done my own searches on Google and so forth, but I cannot find anything," Hitt says. 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. After completing his enlistment, Shkurti returned to Ohio State University to earn a masters degree in public administration. While having a positive attitude about any PCS is important, its equally important to have realistic expectations. Like all the other members, he was a draftee, and had come from a tiny town in Mississippi. He is seen here waving to his fans at Bremerhaven train station. HMD released its report, Post-Vietnam Dioxin Exposure in Agent Orange-Contaminated C-123 Aircraft, Jan. 9, 2015. The fatigues were faded and had rips. But in Vietnam, the Cold War became an inferno. 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. He also wrote the liner notes, which reveal a surprising fact: The U.S. Army spends an estimated $200 million a year on music, and is the largest single employer of musicians in the country. I worked in an air-conditioned office and wore khakis, starched shirts, spit-shined shoes and a belt with a shiny brass buckle. 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. You could watch The Beverly Hillbillies, Appy said. The big problem was that Saigon was Sodom and Gomorrah. Opposition to the war made military personnel band together. 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. Some people feel the term Vietnam veteran should refer only to those who served in Vietnam, but the U.S. government defines them all as Vietnam-era veterans according to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 any veteran who served on active duty during the official time frame of the Vietnam War (1961-1975). 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. One of the toughest parts of service was seeing people whose lives were ruined or lost because of the war, he said. The winners toured other military bases and made records. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). It was painful to even be around them. 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. Built over time for more than $130 million, Long Binh eventually had 3,500 buildings and 180 miles of road covering an area bigger than Cleveland. 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 were touted as filling an important gap in NATO's deterrent shield against the Warsaw Pact. Please switch auto forms mode to off. When support servicemen crossed paths with combat troops, We felt guilty. 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. The American military presence in Germany began at the end of World War II. Youre in the hot seat. Anyone who served in the military during the war faced the possibility of being sent to Vietnam, though. You had no say in what your MOS would be. Those recordings were lost for decades, until a collector discovered an East of Underground LP in 1997. They wore fatigues and carried M16s. I am focused on peace and conflict reduction on a global and local scale, he said. The mood around the country was not good for the military, not like today with cheers and applause for returning members. We had an Infantry MOS Soldiers on one of our Sheridan Tanks. It was a huge fire. This often creates barriers to their full integration into German society. The goal of keeping soldiers well-fed was that they would be happy, stay out of trouble and avoid vices like drugs or prostitution, she said. I would have been called a coward by others from the small town I grew up in, so I never considered not volunteering. The rockets, armed with nuclear warheads, became a political issue. Its easy to forget how large a US military presence in West Germany and Korea was maintained during the late 60s and early 70s aside from the forces fighting in Vietnam. Reflecting back, Im more skeptical whether a war of choice can help defend a country in the long run. Its important for people to know they exist. There are different degrees of experience. Hitt says he had already been in one Army band by the time he joined the group. 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. He served as budget director for the state of Ohio from 1985 to 1987. Grafenwoehr is a tiny base compared to almost anywhere youve been stationed in the US. Life athome goes on without them, and it must have been difficult to navigate when they returned, she said. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1968, William Shkurti said, I knew I was going to be drafted so I enlisted. At any moment all hell could break loose, Lair said. 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.. Most of all, Army bands will strive to honor General George Washington's observation, "Nothing is more agreeable and ornamental than good music. 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. The men and women at the main bases such as Saigon, Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Long Binh had a fairly sedentary life and plenty of downtime compared to combat soldiers, Lair said. They would tell him not to go down certain streets because it wasnt safe, so you would know something was brewing there, Lomperis said. Ukrainian soldiers find remains of German WWII soldiers, LGBTQ+ rights situation at home drives young Slovaks abroad, Remembering the horrors of Colonia Dignidad in Chile. After completing Field Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Shkurti was sent to Germany not Vietnam. Those aircraft were used for military airlift, medical transport, and cargo transport operations in the United States and internationally. May 31, 2017 in MILITARY HISTORY DISCUSSIONS. I thought it would be easy, but it was actually tough, said Shkurti, who served as a fire direction officer and supervised a six-person team. American expenditures on construction in Europe declined sharply. He was stationed in Gillenhausen, protecting a valley called Folda Gap. Don't forget Panama and Alaska, Alaska itself in that time period had two Infantry Brigades separate stationed there. I was in Boston when the Chelsea fire occurred in October 1973, received a meritorious unit citation for fighting the fire that consumed a large portion of Chelsea 18 blocks one way, 16 blocks another. Some 20 years later, US President George W. Bush went to war with Iraq over its alleged program to develop weapons of mass destruction. One strong memory I have is how tough it was for the families, Thornton said. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Only about one out of seven were combat troops, said historian Chris Appy, history professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst. I ask this because many guys of draft age enlisted, enlisted specifically for three years to chose their MOS, and in a great many cases avoid serving in South Vietnam. 2. WebDuring 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. If you dig into it, it becomes a very grey war, he said. Both Germany and Vietnam were on the front lines of the Cold War. I had an uncle that was drafted out of Brooklyn, NY. I personally met over the years quite a few guys in my neighborhood that enlisted in the Army, 3 years like you said, interesting thing was that not one served in South Vietnam, even up to two duty station changes, in example serving in CONUS then Panama, etc, I recall one guy I met in a bar who enlisted for 3 1967-70, an Ordnance guy, said he served his whole three years after Basic (Bliss) and AIT (Aberdeen) as wheeled vehicle mechanic at West Point, you know in the regular army component at the academy. The following individuals may qualify for benefits related to Agent Orange exposure: Veterans may file a claim for disability compensation for health problems they believe are related to exposure to Agent Orange residue on post-Vietnam C-123 airplanes. 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. During the war, in-country combat and support troops could be identified on sight, said author Timothy Lomperis, who served two tours of duty in Vietnam in the Army and Defense Intelligence Agency. WebActivated during the Vietnam War, the Brigade oversaw all Military Police operations in the country for a large portion of the conflict, undertaking a wide variety of missions throughout the country and providing command and control for other military police groups in the region. For website corrections, write to [email protected]. An average of 311,870 troops were stationed in Europe per year during 19861990. "The song selection includes songs that were playing in the States, and very much expressed the countercultural sentiments of political resistance in this country at that time," Hollander says. My middle brother died five years ago from extended PTSD and the ravages of the drug addiction he endured while trying to cope with his memories from Vietnam. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. The high rate may have been attributed to our being an Infantry MOS, but the only way you didn't go to Vietnam was because of the above reasons. In Germany the U.S. military was protecting West Germany against the threat of Russian invasion, but it wasnt imminent, Shkurti said. In response the Corps of Engineers drastically reduced the size of EUD and reconstituted it as the Europe District. In Vietnam everyone knew everyone and what job they had. 2 weeks before we graduated they told us, " Class 17, RVN". Patches, In 1968 you could volunteer for the draft and serve 2 years active duty. Despite separate residential districts, there has always been contact and exchange between German and American families. Adopting a variety of organizational arrangements, including an engineer command from 1966 to 1974, USAREUR and its engineers attempted to find the most efficient and effective means to use the scarce resources available for construction and maintenance.