Becoming a Man in the Shadowlands: a Survivor's Story
Copyright© 2019 by Dennis Randall
Chapter 36: Rumors of War
When I entered high school, Vietnam and the war in Southeast Asia were faint rumbles on the event horizon of the evening news. The war was a distant thing and few of us paid much attention. After all, how could battles on the other side of the world have any impact on our lives?
With each passing year, the rumble of conflict grew louder as the drums of war picked up the beat. By my third year in high school, Vietnam was on nearly everyone’s radar. Taking a piss in the boy’s room, I could hear nervous seniors’ debate choices between the Army, Marines or Canada.
In my last year, I was one of those nervous seniors. I loved to watch war movies but the idea of being a player in the real thing was unsettling.
It was more than unsettling ... it was damn scary.
I had watched President Kennedy as he set forth his call and urged all Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Both my father and stepfather had served in the Navy and fought the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II. My grandfather’s brother served in the Army’s Artillery Corps under General Pershing in France during the First World War. My great grandfather had served in the Union Army during the Civil War and my ancestors had fought in the War of Independence with General Washington.
I wanted to follow family tradition and serve my country but I also did not want to die in the process. My options were limited. College was out of the question. Based on my experience in high school, I didn’t think I had enough brains to do anything in college except flunk out.
My job prospects were equally dismal. I had no skills and no experience. The best I could manage was sweeping floors and stacking boxes. My folks were useless and offered no advice or help. We never discussed my future or my life after high school.
While I dithered, the hammer dropped. I got my notice to report to the Boston Naval Base for a pre-induction physical. I was officially on the radar of my local draft board and time was quickly running out.
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