We’ve been learning about Tracy’s Jim Keul, his life before the Army, and his Vietnam service. Jim grew up in Tracy, Minnesota and graduated with the Tracy High School Class of 1962. He attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, graduating in 1966 with a degree in Sociology and an ROTC commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Army reserve.

Jim returned to Tracy and worked until he reported for the Medical Service Corps Officer Basic Course in January 1967.

“I went down to Fort Sam Houston, Brooke Army Medical Center (San Antonio, Texas). I spent about three months there. They aligned me for combat work. It was called a Battalion Surgeon Assistant. It prepared you to be a medical platoon leader and treat and evacuate casualties.”

Jim described his field-oriented training at Fort Sam.

“We did field work: starting IVs; giving shots. We did practical work. We even simulated Dust-Offs – loading choppers and that kind of thing.”

He grinned as he recalled living in the Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQs) at Fort Sam with the other new lieutenants.

“A lot of my buddies had fast cars. It was like an office job. We were done at five o’clock. On the weekends we would hit the Officers’ Club; hop in our cars; go down to Padre Island; camp on the island all weekend; and come back. (Jim chuckled) It was great living!”

The Army assigned Jim to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

“I got a beautiful job at Fort Monmouth. I was like a low-level hospital systems administrator in Monmouth. I had the Ambulance Section; I had the Out-Patient Section; and I had some rural dispensaries. I had maybe forty-five people. It was an eight to five job, although some nights you’d have to stay at the hospital all night.”

He explained that his new assignment involved a lot of on-the-job training.

“Some of it I didn’t particularly like. I was pigeon-holed in an office and had to write a lot. I got out, though, and thought I could help motivate people. I had a couple great Sergeants. They educated me quickly, ‘Hey, Lieutenant, you don’t mess with us and we’ll cover your ass.’ I never had a problem. So, I learned very early about the enlisted ranks.”

Jim’s responsibilities included the Outpatient Clinic at Fort Monmouth’s Patterson Army Hospital.

“The people I was very close to were in the out-patient clinic. We took care of a lot of retired Army or military people in that area. So, a good part of the job involved making sure they were comfortable and that we took good care of them.”

Other responsibilities took Jim and his people to areas off Fort Monmouth.

“I would go out and check my two dispensaries. One was out on a little island where there was an anti-aircraft missile site (to defend the New York metro area). We also had to transport people for specialized out-patient care. We’d run a lot of people to Fort Dix. That was part of our ambulance section.”

Jim enjoyed his work, but enjoyed his off-duty time even more.

“It was right on the New Jersey shoreline. My best buddy was a Veterinarian there, smart as a whip. Like me he liked to have fun, (Jim laughed) so we hit it off. We had a great, little shack on the shore. We couldn’t afford it, (Jim chuckled) but we were big shots.”

Their apartment just off the shore became “party central.”

“There were a lot of places right from our house along the beach. There was all kinds of activity. Asbury Park was just south of us. It was a hot spot.”

Sometimes the party left the beach for the nearby big city.

“We went to New York quite a bit. We’d get free tickets; take a date; and go to a Broadway show. We’d go to a horse track and down to Atlantic City.”

But all good things come to an end. Jim’s assignment at Fort Monmouth ended sooner than expected. He arrived in March 1967 and had reassignment orders by November 1967.

“The Colonel could tell sometimes that I was having too much fun. When I got my orders to ‘Nam he said, ‘You know, Keul, for every action there’s an equal reaction. You’re going to ‘Nam.’ (Jim laughed)

Jim was unfazed by orders to Vietnam because he was young and thought himself invincible. He described his journey overseas.

“I had a little home leave and then hopped on a commercial flight to San Francisco. That’s where I flew from. We were on a commercial flight with good-looking stewardesses and all. We gassed up in Hawaii and then on to Tan Son Nhut, just outside of Saigon.

He recalled deplaning at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in early January 1968.

“Oh, the heat and the smell. It was an eye-opener, let me tell you. They sent us to a replacement depot. We’d just hang around, waiting for orders. When I read mine, this little old gal, sweeping up the floor said, ‘Beaucoup VC.’ (French for ‘Many Viet Cong’) Of course, I didn’t know what “beaucoup” meant.”

By the end of January 1968, Jim had learned what ‘Beaucoup VC’ could do to his new unit.

The Lyon County Museum is organizing an exhibit about the Vietnam War’s impact on Lyon County. If you would like to share Vietnam experiences or help with the exhibit, please contact me at prairieview pressllc@gmail.com or call the museum at 537-6580.