Trending
We have begun learning about Marshall's Rich Maurer, who grew up in Colorado, graduating from Broomfield High School in 1964. He began college at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, but enlisted in the Army in March of 1968, believing he would be drafted anyway upon graduation. He hoped that enlisting might give him more influence over his Army options.
Rich enlisted for training as an Army radio operator, but first had to master Army Basic Training at Fort Bliss, Texas. He smiled, recalling his trip to El Paso, Texas.
"I was there with about 30 other guys. We took the oath. They got us a bus; took us to the airport in Denver; and we flew to El Paso. I remember that flight because a bunch of the guys had never flown before and we went through one heckuva thunderstorm. We were on a DC-9. They fly a little lower than the bigger planes, so it bounced all over the place. I remember these guys being terrified because they thought we were going to crash. (Rich chuckled) I was concerned, but I had flown before."
The trainees' arrival at Fort Bliss was disconcerting for everyone but the drill sergeants.
"Getting off the bus, your drill sergeants are yelling at you. They were very forceful on where they wanted us to go. (Rich chuckled) I had no idea what was going on! I just wanted to follow the group and hope I didn't get lost."
Rich learned that drawing Fort Bliss for Basic Training was a good thing.
"I found out later Fort Bliss was probably one of the best places I could have gone (Rich chuckled) because a lot of the others were worse. They had the new, concrete (barracks) that were air-conditioned."
Rich described their typical training schedule and some of the training.
"They got us up at five o'clock. You had to make your bunk and get yourself squared away. Then you had to go eat. We had to be to the mess hall by around six. They didn't give us a lot of time to eat. You had to get in there, eat, and get out. (Rich laughed) And then it was PT after that -- running and stuff like that. You're doing a lot of physical training at Basic Training. They have a little bit of classroom stuff because you have to learn the chain of command and those things. Also, you had to learn how to use a rifle (He qualified on the heavy, M-14 rifle) and I didn't know much about that."
Rich remembered the drill sergeants pushed them hard.
"They would yell at you if you had problems. Low-crawling was something I wasn't good at and you low-crawled in sand. So, the low crawl was a problem and the drill sergeant was always yelling at me. (Rich laughed)"
Two Basic Training incidents stood out in Rich's memory.
When our drill sergeant got mad at our whole squad he'd take us out and make us do push-ups in rocks. (Rich chuckled) That last week when he sat down and talked with us like humans, he told us that he enlisted to be in the Army Band. They made him a drill sergeant and he was a very unhappy drill sergeant. (Rich chuckled) Another incident wasn't funny. Back then they used (air) guns for vaccinations. During Basic Training they're vaccinating you for going overseas. I think it was the cholera vaccine. They had the wrong setting on the guns so we all got overdosed. Everybody was sick and I think eight or nine ended up in the hospital."
Rich survived the low-crawling, and vaccine overdose; learned enough rifle marksmanship to qualify; and passed his end of course tests. His grandparents attended graduation. He recalls the dates of his training cycle because of external events.
'I went in April 5th. The night before, April 4th, was when Martin Luther King was killed. At the end of my Basic Training, that weekend, was when Bobby Kennedy was killed. So, that bookended my Basic Training."
After graduation, Rich boarded a bus for Fort Huachuca, Arizona for an AIT (Advanced Individual Training) to be a Radio Operator. He explained how AIT differed than Basic Training.
"At Fort Huachuca you had some free time, although the staff sergeant could be hard on us. So, we didn't get along with him too well. (Rich chuckled) It lasted only four weeks and this was in June and early July, so it was really hot -- 110 in the shade. Our classroom barracks were air-conditioned. Our barracks where we lived was not. So, at least we weren't on the go all the time. We had a little physical training, but not much. That was the first time I shot an M-16 and I qualified as an expert marksman. An M-16 was much easier to fire than an M-14."
Rich explained why his Fort Huachuca AIT ended early.
"We were learning Morse Code. The people who got up to at least 10 words a minute, and I was doing13, were chosen to become a Teletype Operator. That's why I went to Fort Gordon, Georgia."
Rich enjoyed a short leave in Colorado before flying to Atlanta, Georgia. The road to Fort Gordon, however, was not an easy one.
The Lyon County Museum is organizing an exhibit about the impact of the Vietnam War on Lyon County. If you would like to share Vietnam experiences or help with the exhibit, please contact me at prairieviewpressllc@gmail.com or call the museum at 537-6580.