I am the only person that served active duty in my family.
My father tried to enlist but the Army would not let him because of his job. He worked at the Ford Bomber plant in Detroit during WWII. Dad helped build B25 Bombers as a supervisor in the wing department.
I served in Vietnam between 1965 to 1966 with the U.S. Army, 1st Engineer Battalion B Company, and 1st Infantry Division. My assignment was Combat Engineer demo specialist RTO and Truck driver and Engineer Recon. I initially trained at Ft. Riley, Kansas in 1963 and was discharged in 1966.
The worst part was the idea that I could be wounded or killed in a country that I never heard of until we got sent there. My greatest fear was getting ambushed. I along with a 2nd Lt. did a lot of recon for the when the rest of the 1st Division come over in September 1965. It was rough country especially when you saw people wearing black and carrying weapons and you knew that were the enemy. Most of the time they didn’t bother us but sometimes they would ambush us later up the road. There is nothing scarier than bullets landing around you in the middle of nowhere. Also it was the not really knowing who the bad people were, or who was your friend that could possibly kill you at night.
The war experience changed me. I have Agent Orange and had a cancer that no one in my family ever had, same with my heart disease. My cancer is in remission since 2001 but I will always have the scars. I still have heart disease the VA watches my heart condition but only gives me 60% disability not taking in account of my cancer witch they say in not service related I still am not getting any better heart wise working on 100%.
The reception coming back home was terrible. It was not a popular war. Even some of my friends didn’t like me around the VFW would not even recognize us until years later. I am now a life member. I now respect life a whole lot more and I love all my fellow veterans from any war especially WW2, KOREA, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars, all of them actually.
I don’t think I really adjusted 100% I still have bouts of depression and anger which I take medication for. I have sleep apnea and have trouble sleeping, but I get by and keep going. I don’t like fireworks or sudden loud sounds.
I am retired since 2002 because of my cancer. As for photos I lost everything in a flood back in the 80’s. I had over 600 slides and pictures taken in Vietnam and state side but now I only have two or three left that my mother had taken at my wedding.
This is a picture of me with my three daughters and one of my granddaughters.
~ Benjamin Bowman, Vietnam Veteran
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