Supercharge your procurement process, with industry leading expertise in sourcing of network backbone, colocation, and packet/optical network infrastructure. You could watch The Beverly Hillbillies, Appy said. They worked in intelligence. The big problem was that Saigon was Sodom and Gomorrah. After that, the search was on for as many of these Army bands as they could find. David Hollander produced the compilation. For the next 17 years the Europe Division of the Corps executed the Army and Air Force construction programs in Europe and supported the NATO construction program. Dotted around US bases are numerous residential districts for American soldiers and their families, such as this residential district in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. I had surgery shortly after the fire, then spent convalescent leave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon graduating, I was the only one in our Company sent to Ft. Knox Ky.. All of the other Draftees in our class stayed at Ft Lewis in Infantry. Germany will remain strategically important for the US. To prop up sinking morale and keep soldiers safe on base rather than heading into Vietnamese towns, the U.S. military strove to make bases as home-like as possible, Appy said. For recreation there were basketball, volleyball, tennis and multipurpose courts, football fields, miniature golf courses, a driving range, an archery range and a skeet-shooting range. Out of our entire class I believe two, maybe three guys got orders for Korea. 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. The fatigues were faded and had rips. She served me milk and cookies, and we have been together now for 44 years, Thornton said. ". Most of his time was spent protecting government buildings from Vietnam War protesters. Attention A T users. 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. The challenge was figuring out what the enemy would do. While older Germans were friendly, younger ones were hostile and aloof, Shkurti said. WebIn An Army in Crisis Alexander Vazansky analyzes the social crisis that developed among the U.S. Army forces stationed in Germany between 1968 and 1975. Germany One colonel joked, If we ever really got attacked, the V.C. 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. Vietnam Ammunition storage facility, Heilbronn, West Germany (left); 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. 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. 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. 8) Bruges, Belgium. Germany During Men facing shipping out exhibited many types of behavior. 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. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. The US soldiers also brought American culture to Germany. WebThe United States Army has 40 military installations in Germany, two of which are scheduled to close. 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. 18th Military Police Brigade (United States The post exchanges, or PXs, rivaled todays big box outlets for variety and selection, Lair said. Over 220 others have already been closed, mostly following the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. At least we all went to the same unit, one guy and I went through basic together. Another difference was the sense of solidarity he felt. The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Don't forget Panama and Alaska, Alaska itself in that time period had two Infantry Brigades separate stationed there. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, Germany They left their families to fight in a war that wasnt popular. Responding to these concerns, VA asked the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) (formally known as the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study possible exposure and increase in adverse health effects in C-123 crew members. In addition to meeting locals, walks off-base could provide valuable intelligence. It's easy! The report determined that it is possible that this exposure contributed to some adverse health effects. I would have been called a coward by others from the small town I grew up in, so I never considered not volunteering. For guys drafted during Vietnam, what really were the odds they would be sent to Vietnam as opposed to remaining stateside, or sent to Germany or Korea? This is the official public website of the Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 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. was told," you are going to Germany, get your wives in german class". 2018 Petabit Scale, All Rights Reserved. Opposition to the war made military personnel band together. It's also a mystery what happened to the bands apart from Lewis Hitt, none of the members have come forward. That led to deep divisions between Washington and Berlin. Error, please try again. The tensions between the two sides were demonstrated when US Army and Soviet Union tanks faced off in a divided Berlin. [Today in History] Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the However, their wartime ally, the Soviet Union, soon became an enemy. Their story got eliminated. At the end of the spraying campaign in 1971, the remaining C-123 planes were reassigned to reserve units in the U.S. for routine cargo and medical evacuation missions spanning the next 10 years. 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. You would think (serving in Germany) would be a great duty, but it wasnt.. They lived in an apprehensive state. 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.. A rare photo of East of Underground in performance. 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. During the war, these men felt like they were part of the military endeavor, but its not what the public celebrates. Right, I got you, very interested to know that fine point. 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. Because he was one of the last there in that formation and those three went to the ROK. The entire emphasis is on the narrow combat experience, Lair said. Outdoor Recreation Center. Vietnam War Along with its allies, the US had liberated Germany from the Nazis. Then, there was the shopping. Find out if you qualify for VA health care. "I've done my own searches on Google and so forth, but I cannot find anything," Hitt says. 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. Its kind of like playing goalie for a soccer team. In retirement he wrote Soldiering On in a Dying War focusing on the Vietnam drawdown and The Ohio State University in the Sixties.. I know that was very dependent upon where you called home, but that was my reality, Thornton said. May 31, 2017 in MILITARY HISTORY DISCUSSIONS. Tomorrow is too unpredictable, especially during deployment, he said. You pull together under a common enemy, Shkurti said. In Vietnam everyone knew everyone and what job they had. In November Thornton journeyed to Da-Nang, Vietnam, with his wife as a keynote presenter at the Asia Pacific Mediation Forum. 3) Paris, France. Call: 988 (Press 1), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington DC 20420. Veterans must show on a factual basis that they were exposed in order to receive disability compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange exposure. They deserve our respect. But as the confrontation between the Soviet Union, our former ally, intensified with the Berlin blockade and the outbreak of the Korean War, American leaders grew fearful that the next target of international communism was Western Europe, which contained our most important democratic allies and a rapidly rebuilding capitalist economy. The Federal Republic of Germany became an important strategic location during the Cold War. File a claim online. It's kind of both complicated and disjointed, it was a struggle to be sure. 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. "I was shocked when I found that out myself, but it kind of makes sense," Hollander tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered. The sky swarmed with helicopters. Well, one. We served honorably. They proudly served their country, but were derided by combat troops as REMFs or rear echelon mother (insert expletive here), Appy said. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). 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. Office of Accountability & Whistleblower Protection, Training - Exposure - Experience (TEE) Tournament, Military Exposure Related Health Concerns, War Related Illness & Injury Study Center, Clinical Trainees (Academic Affiliations), Post-Vietnam Dioxin Exposure in Agent Orange-Contaminated C-123 Aircraft, local VA Environmental Health Coordinator, Find out if you qualify for VA health care, diseases related to Agent Orange exposure, Call TTY if you He was with the 3rd Infantry Division in Schweinfurt. Grafenwoehr is a tiny base compared to almost anywhere youve been stationed in the US. 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. With two sons already in the war, they felt I should not go. No matter where veterans served in Vietnam, they were a close witness to danger. 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. Home was tough because my parents did not agree with my volunteering. Ask me or any other serviceperson and they will tell you they are proud of their service, Shkurti said. Over the years the US Army has become firmly entrenched in the German landscape. Many celebrities joined in the protests. She was a USO (United Service Organizations) volunteer who entertained servicemen. The guys with the beer with hot food and hot showers, Appy said. The American military presence in Germany began at the end of World War II. It was still no guarantee you wouldn't be sent to Vietnam and in some cases even be sent to do something else besides what you trained for. 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. Powered by Invision Community, Vietnam Era Draftees Stationed in W.Germany, South Korea, and CONUS, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. 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. You guessed it, my last name started with a T. Got a question 11Cav, during the Vietnam era/60s early 70s period, was there a difference between volunteering for the draft and outright enlisting? 7th Army in particular suffered heavily, especially with loses of combat arms NCOs Then He served as budget director for the state of Ohio from 1985 to 1987. If you call it wrong, thousands of people could end up being killed, he said. Vietnam has come to symbolize certain things that arent necessarily true. 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.