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There is no classified information whatsoever in this series of web pages. However, you can do me a favor. I lost my original DD214 and the VA and Army told me that the Fed copy was burned when the building in St. Louis burned down. If you happen to come across my DD214, please mail me a copy. Do it for a fellow spook. Thanks guys. Within two weeks after posting the above on my website, I received my DD214 in the mail. Thanks to whomever sent it. You've saved me several thousand dollars in 2003 alone. |
When I was in Junior High School and High School, I walked about 1.7 miles one way to and from school. In order to alleviate the boredom of this walking, I spent the time reading books. This was in the early 1960s and WWII had been over for 15 years so there were lots of books about WWII and I read most of the WWII books in our school libraries on this long walk.
Two of the books I remember most were "Pardon Me, You're Stepping On My Cloak and Dagger," and books about an Italian Catholic priest. The priest taught me a lot about prayer. Both books were full of humorous anecdotes and large doses of reality. The "Cloak and Dagger" book was by a man who had gone into the Army and ended up at the OSS spy school. He told about his recruitment, training and deployment in France during the war. I then read a lot of books on the OSS, CIA and espionage in general. The book about the priest told how the priest continually talked to God in a conversational manner about EVERYTHING. I adopted the habit of the priest and have done the same since reading that book. No issue was too big or too small. The priest had no car and no bicycle so he walked everywhere he went and conversed with God continually as he walked around the Italian countryside. The book told how he solved many problems on these long walks while conversing with God, questioning Him, disputing Him, listening to Him and thinking.
Everybody has a story about how and why they ended up in the military and here's what happened to me to get me into the Army and over to Vietnam.
Dr. Peek was my history teacher and he was a real card. He used to tell his students that teachers were all poor and underpaid. To emphasize his point he would say, "I'm so poor that my shirt sleeves are in shreds." When I asked him how he and the other teachers could spend every summer in Europe or in Asia, he would say, "It's so much cheaper to live overseas that we go over there to save money." Well, Dr. Peek always wore a starched shirt, a tie and a jacket. He was never seen without his jacket on. One day he went on about his shirt sleeves being in shreds and so I said, "O.K., Dr. Peek, let's see them." He looked at me and said "See what?" I said, "Your shirt sleeves, Take off your jacket." He took his jacket off and that shirt with the starched collar and starched cuffs was literally in tatters from his shoulders to his cuffs.
Dr. Peek's Ph.D. was in music and he played organ at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, but he sure knew a lot about history and what was going on in the world. In 1964, he frequently told the class, "I'll guarantee you boys that you will be going to Southeast Asia within two or three years. You'll all end up there." He was serious and we believed him. However, I discovered the safety of the "Educational Deferment." As long as I went to college, I would not be drafted and I wasn't dumb enough to volunteer to get shot at.
I was a member of The Seattle Temple Corps of The Salvation Army and a friend who was also a member was in the 4th Infantry Division. He went to Vietnam on a ship and took part in a WWII style beach landing in Vietnam. He told me he thought we would all end up in Vietnam.
All kinds of other things were going wrong for me and I was in a real quandry I went to my mom and spilled my guts. She of course responded with, "Cheer up. Things could be worse."So I cheered up and sure enough .... things got worse. I got a phone call.
The caller simply identified me and himself and then said, "You have ten days to enlist. After that you will be drafted." I said, "There's not much chance of that. I've got a "student deferment." He replied, "You HAD a student deferment. You are required to maintain 16 credits per year. You only have 31 credits so you no longer have a deferment. Good day." click
I called the university and they told me that they had only transferred 15 credits from the community collage. The health class didn't count.
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Check back in a couple of days. The saga continues. I visit a recruiter . I get another phone call. My nephew Mark meets David, his new baby brother. The Special Intelligence interview takes place. You will read about my trip to the northern woods of Minnesota to visit my Aunt Margaret. Eddy Williams and I get shot at by a sniper. I hang out with Salvation Army missionaries in Saigon. The largest surrender of North Vietnamese Army regular troops takes place next to our compound while I'm on guard duty. It's boring but educational. |
Dan Ross Bonna Ross Jordana Ross Dan
& Bonna Ross Dan and Bonna Ross drdan71, drdan71@aol.com cornucopiagenealogica
09/30/03
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