Vietnam Service – United States Army
“The military police had a vast assignment of duties in Vietnam. We escorted supply convoys to get badly needed supplies to the guys in the forward base camps and as an MP we had the lead vehicle and the last vehicle in the convoy. It was risky business because of the risk of land mines that would be placed by the Viet Cong. Engineers swept the roads each day for mines. Some were missed and the results were not pretty.
“Another duty I performed was guarding prisoners of war. I was stationed in a guard tower and no one escaped during my time in Vietnam.
“Another duty was patrolling the city outside of the base camp. It was our responsibility to make sure all servicemen stayed in line and did not get into trouble with the Vietnamese government.
“I also got to show my construction skills in building our permanent barracks. I was part of the troop build-up in 1966 and we did not have the conveniences that our replacements had. We slept on the ground for the first six months and then we moved into the permanent barracks.”