In north Louisiana in the late 1960s, if you had two arms, two legs and a head you would be classified 1-A for military service and the war in Vietnam. So those who went to college with a student deferment were careful to find a place in the military before graduation. Few of my pledge class even bothered with job interviews, wisely investing their time in arranging a place in the armed services. So I applied to become a Naval Officer and was accepted. I reported to Newport, Rhode Island, for Officer Candidate School in July 1969 and underwent 4.5 months of intensive training. Ours was a strong school. The Navy OCS was only taking 1 of 25 that applied, so there were a lot of very smart and accomplished men in the group. We were put through a “Hell Week” upon arrival, and that eliminated some fellows. Even though I was going into the Civil Engineer Corps and would never serve on a ship, I was put through the same training as seagoing Line Officers. I think the Navy wanted everyone in that uniform to be authentically “nautical”. I dated three terrific young women in that 4.5 months, fell in love with two and didn’t get along with the third. Been married to her for 47 years.
After commissioning I was sent to Civil Engineer Corps training in Port Hueneme, California for three months and then was ordered to Saigon, where I spent a year’s tour as part of a gigantic project that built the modern infrastructure of South Vietnam. I became close friends with some of the officers in the command, and went on R&R with them to Hong Kong and Sydney and on duty to Bangkok with them. My second tour was in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I shared a leased Victorian house in the Piedmont Hills with buddies from Vietnam also assigned to the Bay Area, with many fun experiences.
