Stovebolt.com Forums The Side Lot The Legion Hall When and Where Did You Serve

The Vietnam war was just starting around 1964. I made a decision to join the Navy. Not realizing if I had joined the Army I could only spend two years of service. So that bad decision cost me two extra years of service, or may have saved my life, who knows. So off to boot camp. At Great Lakes Navy training center. Then to Memphis Tennessee for aircraft engine school, on radial engines. I was assigned to a sea plane, patrol squadron stationed at North Island Ca. close to home. The planes were water landing only, that meant no ship for me. I spent time in Japan, the Philippines', and a short tour in Vietnam. Last duty station was Moffett Field in the San Francisco bay area. We got 12 new Lockheed Electra planes. (Navy P3's) and had to learn Jet type engines. My four years were just about up, and I was asked to ship over for another four years, and the opportunity to go to Adak Alaska. No thanks. I had a good time and I was done. That's about it. Stan

Stan, you missed out by not going to Adak. LOL
I spent a couple weeks in Shemya, a lot farther out the Aleutian chain on a civilian contract job, and experienced every kind of weather you could think of the day we arrived. Got off the plane in sunshine, 5 minutes later was rain, then snow, then gale force winds (they use a log hanging on a chain for a wind sock ) etc. The Air Force guys stationed there had a saying - The recruiter said I could go to a Pacific Island full of foxes, but they forgot to mention North, and the 4 legs the foxes have. Adak is very similar.

Anyway, Thanks for your Service.

I received my draft notice 21 December 1965 (nice Christmas present).

My first induction date was cancelled because of a blizzard snow storm. I was finally inducted on 18 February, 1966.

I first was sent to Fort Jackson, SC for processing and then on to Fort Gordon, GA, for basic training.

After basic, I was sent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds to be an Aircraft Armament Repairman. This MOS was basically for use in the Vietnam war effort. I had worked as a civilian for the US Army Corps of Engineers as a Cartographer (map maker) and had a very high security clearance with a restricted travel requirement. When my personnel office found out where I was and what I was doing, I was immediately reassigned to Fort Belvoir, VA. There I was trained to make maps the Army way.

In August of 1966 I was assigned to the 29th Engineer Battalion, 34th Engineer Company which was located on the Ford Island Naval Base in the Center of Pearl Harbor Hawaii. There I was a senior map editor, Specialist E5 and made maps to support the Vietnam war effort.

I was released from active duty and returned to home to Maryland on February 14th, 1964. Because there was so many men drafted in that time frame, I only served 2 years active duty and no active or inactive reserves.

Although being stationed in Hawaii was really an ideal duty station, after a while there, I missed the changing of the seasons. And the longer you were there, the smaller the island became. After a while it was just "another crappy day in paradise".