Bob Riley - U.S. Army

I JUST DID MY BEST

By Bob Riley

A few days after I graduated from college in May of 1968, I received a letter from the Selective Service Board telling me that I had been re-classified from 11-S to 1-A.  After a couple of months, I decided to enlist in the United States Army instead of waiting to be drafted.  I reported to AFEES-Houston on August 12, 1968 and began my time in the Army.  At AFEES, a sergeant told us that normally we would have been put on a bus to Fort Polk in Louisiana, but these were not normal times. We were told that Fort Polk was filled up due to the Vietnam War and because of this, the Army would be sending us (by Continental Airlines) to Fort Bliss in El Paso.  My first order was to memorize my Army serial number which is RA 15849274.  It is still imbedded in my brain after all these years.

We spent a week at the reception center…taking tests, starting our shots, getting a haircut and being issued uniforms and other articles.  The articles were all stuffed into a duffle bags upon which our name and serial number had been stenciled on.  I still have mine.

A group of about 50 of us were directed to take tests and about seven of the group passed all phases of it.   Those of us who passed were treated to an Officer Candidate School pitch which we all declined.   It would not be the last time for me to decline an opportunity to apply for O C S.  On our last day at the Reception Center we were picked up by some of the BCT cadre and directed to board a bus to our new temporary home for the next two months.  It was located in the Logan Heights section of Fort Bliss; where we were assigned to C-4-3 (Company C-4th Bn-3rd Brigade).  I was assigned to the 4th platoon under Staff Sergeant Robert Atkins and Sergeant E-5 Weldon Brandon.  I still remember the details relating to this early phase of Basic Training.   After a couple of weeks, I was pulled out of formation and sent to listen to another pitch to apply for OCS which I also declined.

For field training and the rifle range, we rode a bus to the McGregor Range in nearby New Mexico.  I qualified on the use of the M-14 rifle.  One day I was told to score trainees on a live fire range.  The first trainee was in a concrete fox hole with his M-14 rifle and he turned toward me with his finger near the trigger and complained about the pop-up target not working.  He was pointing the weapon at me and I froze.  One of the NCOs saw what was happening; he ran over and shoved me aside.  He then yanked the trainee along with his weapon out of the hole and canceled the exercise.  Somehow I managed to get through hand grenade qualification and the gas chamber with much less fear and excitement.

When our company graduated in mid-October-1968, I did not receive any orders and was told to just stay around.  Later on, I saw my name on a roster and when I asked what it meant, I was told I would be sent to Main Post Fort Bliss.  This turned out to be the beginning of nine months of AIT in electronics courses at the United States Army Air Defense School (USAADS).  There were two courses.  One was a Missile Electronics basic content course that lasted two months.  It was during this phase of training that I really  got bored and placed my name on a list to voluntarily test a new weapon system in South Korea.   Nothing ever came of my application at the time but years later, I learned that the weapon system to be tested was the Vulcan automatic system.  Also, when the system finally underwent testing the tests were done in Vietnam.   It should be noted that the Vulcan, which was initially intended to be used in air defense, was found to be better suited to support combat infantry operations.

My second course was 7 months long and we were trained to maintain and repair the AN/GSG-5 system, also known as BIRDIE (Battery Integrated Radar Display Equipment).  BIRDIE sent target data to Nike-Hercules surface to air missiles.  Our class finished in July-1969 and I was awarded the MOS--25-D-20 (BIRDIE Repairman).  My first orders assigned me to the 6th Bn/65th Artillery (AD) in Key West Florida. I knew this was an error because that unit dealt with HAWK low altitude surface to air missiles.  While on leave I received revised orders assigning me to HHB-13th Artillery Group (AD)-Snelling Army Air Defense Site in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Before I left for this new assignment, the Apollo 11 landed on the moon.  Two days later I flew to Minneapolis, the Snelling Army Air Defense Site was just south of the MSP airport (where the original Airport movie was shot.) and across the street from the Fort Snelling National Cemetery.  When I reported for duty, I met up with a couple of men I had been trained with at the UASAADS at Fort Bliss.  The BIRDIE section worked 24 / 7.  Actually, being on a site that did not include a classroom was a big change for me.  I really got a chance to apply the skills we had been taught in school in Minneapolis-St. Paul…a real four-season area.  Snow was on the ground for six months and the temperatures plunged to as low as -35 degrees with wind chills as low as minus 70 degrees.  A couple of months after arriving, I was promoted to Specialist 4th Class (E-4).

Although we were not directly involved in the Vietnam War, we did see its tragic results.  I pulled a lot of funeral details both as a pallbearer and a member of the firing squad.  Without going into detail, it was not a pleasant duty.  One night in April 1970, I was working the night shift in BIRDIE and was just getting set to take a nap--it was authorized--when I checked the TV and learned about the Apollo 13 accident.  I stayed up for about two hours watching the news.

There were some nice and funny times about being at the Snelling site.  I had a visit from my parents and two of my aunts in September-1969 and we went to Duluth, MN and from there into Ontario, Canada.  After we got back, I went to the office and found out that my name had been drawn to receive a ticket to the Minnesota-Baltimore baseball playoff game.  Late in that game, I got so cold I had to leave.  During the summer that I arrived, the mess sergeants fixed steak and lobster cook-outs.  In December-1969, I was offered tickets to the Vikings-49er's NFL game, but I had to decline since I had duty that Sunday. 

A few hours after I reported that day, I got a call from the AADCP (Army Air Defense Command Post), telling me to turn off the BIRDIE at a certain time.  I asked why and was told that our radar (which sent signals to the BIRDIE) was interfering with the CBS microwave system for televising the football game. They said I’d be told when to turn the system back on again.   Consequently, our entire MSP air defense area was shut down for about three hours. While this type of action is no longer practiced, just think of how such knowledge might have benefited the Russians if they had only known it then.

Well, all good things including Army duty, must come to an end.  I decided to take an “early out” to attend graduate school at the University of Houston.  After my request was approved, I had to meet with the battery commander at HHB.  He wanted to know if I would reconsider and re-enlist for 2-3 more years.  If I’d agreed to reenlist, I would have received a bonus of about $2500/$3000 and a promotion to E-5.  After thinking about it briefly, I said no.  I left the base and Army active duty on May 18, 1970.  I am still in contact with several of the men with whom I served.  I did my USAR time in a filing cabinet at the Military Records Center in St Louis.  I was given my Honorable Discharge in August-1974. 

I enjoyed my time in the Army, but I must admit for a while I harbored a sense of guilt about not serving in Vietnam.  I’ve come to accept the fact that we can’t all become legendary heroes like Sergeant York and Audie Murphy who were outstanding warriors.  But as a decorated Vietnam vet told me many years ago, it didn’t matter what our MOS was or where we performed our duties.  What did matter was how diligently we served in our combat or supporting roles.  If we did our best, we earned the right to hold our heads high because we contributed mightily in the overall and combined effort to get the big and small jobs completed successfully.

Bob Riley