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Reflections from Private Bob



Here I am a few weeks after I entered the US Army in October 1968. That day in October, when I raised my hand and became a soldier, seems so long ago. Yet it seems like yesterday. I can feel the fear of entering military service knowing that my friends John and Joey had recently died in Vietnam. I remember being drafted and knowing that I did not want to fight in Vietnam. That trip to the recruiter was deeply driven by a desire to find a path that did not include the War in Vietnam. I signed up for an extra year to serve in the US Army Air Command working on missiles with nuclear capability.

I served stateside for three years at a missile firing range in New Mexico. During my military service I grew up a lot. I learned valuable life skills - LOL, like doing my own laundry. I developed technical and interpersonal skills that would last me a lifetime. I met my first wife Ellen. I got outside of my comfort level in a major way as I learned to live away from home and my family. In the end, I wonder what my life would have been like if I had not been drafted.


... reposted from November, 2014

8 comments:

  1. T;hank you for your service to our country. And thank you for your continued service in maintaining your blog featuring thoughtful observations.

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  2. Thank you for your service to our country Bob.

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  3. Thanks for your service Bob....Goodness..you could melt a heart with that picture.

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  4. Bob, I'm looking at your left column...why do you have more readership in INDIA than in Kansas??!!! Are you also known as "MumbaiBob"?

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