I was working on a core drilling rig in southern Arizona the summer of 1966 and bored with the heat and the prospects of my sophomore year at Arizona State University. My neighbor across the street got his draft notice and decided to try to get into the Coast Guard. His driver’s license was suspended so he asked me to haul him to Phoenix and the Coast Guard recruiter.

The Coast Guard had a long waiting list. We went to see the Army about my friend becoming a chopper pilot. We went to see the Navy after that. Across the hall from the Navy was the Marine Corps recruiter. While my friend discussed opportunities in the Navy, I went and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. That was in August of 1966. So many young men were joining up I had to wait until October to get into boot camp. I was nineteen years old.

I arrived in Vietnam in March of 1967 and went straight to the 26th Marines on Hill 55 southwest of Danang, where after a short time for training I went to 2nd Platoon Bravo Company where I remained until March of 1968 when I became the radio operator for the second platoon’s platoon sergeant. I survived the siege and left Khe Sanh on April 1, 1968.

After the Marine Corps I was: A sheet rock humper, in the sheep and cattle business, a Vietnam Veterans counselor, an accountant, a controller, a quality assurance officer, a real estate broker, a management consultant, a writer, a teacher and now, along with my wife Betty, a filmmaker.