Ronald in Vietnam
Ron’s Military career started when he was drafted for the Vietnam war. Ron had not wanted to join the army but thought that he would at least be doing something that would be honorable and helping his country. Ron went to basic training in Tacoma, Washington at Fort Lewis. From there he was sent to Advanced Individual Training (AIT), ATI is where he would learn his future role in Vietnam. They found that he was excelled in the mechanic field. After ATI school he was assigned to the 94th maintenance group. It was on May 12, 1969, that Ron would officially enter Vietnam. Uncertain of the end results would be. Little did he know that it would leave him with failing lungs and a lifelong battle with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) among other issues that would be a direct result of the Vietnam War.
Ron was stationed at Long Binh located between Bien Hoa and Saigon. Long Binh had snack bars, special services crafts shop, large restaurant, dental clinics, wood shops, photoshops, basketball, and tennis courts, leather crafting, lapidary, and sliver/ gold casting classes. Long Binh was one of the largest American bases in Vietnam. This base was given to the south in early November of 1972. During Ron time in Vietnam, He had visited every base in between Saigon and Cambodia. This was due to the fact that he would go out and fix tanks that got clogged. Because of this, Ron has seen a large part of southeast Vietnam.