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Columnists
An Honorable Service, a Veterans Day recollection
By Don Mathis
Nov 10, 2022
Before I was drafted back in 1971, I marched in several protests to stop the war in Vietnam. They drafted me anyway. So, rather than join the politically motivated migration to Canada, I decided to make the most of it.
I figured, at the ripe old age of 19, that I had done everything else in life; I may as well go in the service. This goes to show how wrong a young man can be. I had never been married, never had a child, never had a job for more than 18 months, I had never even had a car. I had a lot to learn in my future.
I probably gained 20 pounds in the first two months of service, 15 of it in muscle. I told one drill sergeant that I used to play on the Obstacle Course when I was a kid, and asked, “Can I do it again?” The Basic Training instructor called it a Confidence Course. He laughed at my eagerness and said, “Go ahead.” A dozen of my friends followed.
The Personnel Manager asked what I wanted to do in the Army, “Cook, Clerk, or Infantry?” I told him “Medic” because I knew training would be at Fort Sam Houston in my hometown. He repeated his question with the caveat that if I gave another flippant answer, I would be assigned to infantry.
Since I already knew how to type, I became the best damned typist in the Company – and I was able to sign up for more advanced clerical training. I ended up with Personnel Management skills, nowadays called Human Resources.
My tour in Germany was not always pleasant but it was a far cry better than Vietnam – and I made the most of it. I learned how to submit my own request for promotion – and became a Specialist Fourth Class in no time. I got to go joy-riding through the German countryside in a tank, a helicopter, an ambulance, and a jeep. And I honed my skills in administration.
On my own, I visited Luxembourg and London, Brussels and Berlin. And when my parents visited, we toured Europe from A to Z, from Amsterdam to Zurich – with stops in Pisa and Paris. Such travels gave me a world view.
Even after my honorable discharge, the Army continued to influence my life. My certificate of appreciation from President Richard Nixon and letter of recommendation from Captain Zoltan Szabo helped me find a good job with the Civil Service.
Veteran’s benefits encouraged me to go to college, enabled me to buy a second home, and has helped keep me healthy for more than five decades. To paraphrase E.B. White, “It is bad luck to be born 20 years before a war.” But I made the most of my Army days and I’m glad I served.
I still make the most out of life, and when I die, I look forward to that final veteran’s benefit, a burial with military honors at the National Cemetery.