I served with the U.S Army HHD 43srd Sig Bn. and the 1st Sig Bg.

My basic training was in FT Lenard Wood, Missouri in 1968 with Ait in Fort Knox Kentucky. I was a permanent Party Mechanic F-4-1 Armor unit, deployed to Viet Nam in October 1969. I joined at 17 years old.

My Dad and all of my uncles served WWII and Korea. I heard a few stories from them. This picture is of my dad in his Sailor uniform who didn’t speak much about the war. He did tell me about being in the Pacific and part of the Navel Bombardment on the islands during the troop beach landings and shooting down a Japanese plane.

I was always interested in the Army and watched all the WWII movies. I thought I would give it a try because I was always adventurous; I heard a lot of my neighborhood friend’s older brothers joined and went to Viet Nam. I felt I wanted to try it also. When I arrived at the 22nd replacement in Long Binh, the first thing I remember was the intense heat and awful smell. It was 2:00 in the morning and 80 % or warmer than back home. It was a whole different world for me. I had a hard time adjusting to the heat and hated it, but after a while I ignored it and just concentrated on my job in the motor pool. I was asked to drive convoy, and then I was hooked. I was always worried about an ambush and had been through only two that were not met for us, but just the same, we saw all the death and destruction that it caused.

When I returned home in 1971, no one seemed to care about the Vets or the War, you just didn’t talk about it, It took me a long time to open up and talk to family and friends, Now that I have been with other Vets, I have been feeling proud that I served. I had two neighborhood friends KIA over there. One was in my unit. We served together and drove convoy together. I met a lot of good people over there, and for the most part I really respected the Vietnamese People, they had a hard way to go. Here is a photo of me at the MCRD, Marine Recruiting Depot in San Diego attending my grandson graduation. Michael did one tour in Afghanistan and is currently stationed at Quantico.

The time I spent serving made me like life a lot more. It’s better to be alive than dead (old saying from the Nam). It gave me a bit of a hot temper towards certain types of people. But on a positive note, it made me respect professional jobs like firefighters and police officers. My dad was with the Ferguson Fire Department until his death in 1986. I am now retired from law enforcement with the Lincoln County Missouri Sheriff’s Department. I am married to my 2nd wife and have 3 grown children all married with their own families. We live in the country. It’s just me, my wife with her cows and my two dogs.
Life is good.
~ Nicholas B. Sinopole, Vietnam Veteran

We are honored that Nick has shared his service and story with Comes A Soldier’s Whisper, where we are all connected.

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