Roger Schroeder: Those Ohio midwest farmer’s daughters

I was born on tax day in 1950. We lived on a small farm in Columbus Grove, I had a great childhood. At age 18, all men had to register for the draft, I missed the draft lottery by about six months. I always heard the stories about boys going to their mailboxes and finding their draft notices. My heart just fell the day I received mine. I was also learning that there were many ways to avoid the draft, including wealth, politics, family, etc.

I was inducted on Aug. 5, 1969, and did training in Georgia and Alabama for about 5 months. My military occupation would be light weapons infantry.

I was sent to Erlanger, Germany, for about five months, which was more or less a holding pen for Vietnam back in 1970. Germany was like a European vacation. We ate good, drank good and partied hard. By the way, did I mention the women?

There was always a lot of drama in the military, and one was the receiving of paper orders. My paper order for Vietnam came in July of 1970. Vietnam was definitely no tropical vacation, and it was very serious business. I probably never missed home and Ohio as much as I did then.

Everything was different: language, climate, people, etc. I learned to make new friends quickly. We would talk for hours about our homes, food, our hate for Nixon but most importantly women. Lots of my Army friends went by their state nicknames, such as Jersey, Alabama or Texas. I was referred to as one of those northern boys.

Our only true news was letters from home. The military and Vietnam controlled our news. There was a daily military newspaper and an AM radio station (Good Morning Vietnam). Things like Kent State, Woodstock, peace rallies and riots were kept from us. At one point people were flying their state flags above their bunkers.

I don’t know how I was able to contact my Congress person in Ohio, but I put the guilt trip on them through a letter. Sometime later I received a used state flag that hung over the state capitol in Columbus. That flag was huge, about the size of a queen-sized blanket. I was very proud, and I really didn’t know what to do with it after I got home, so I kept it in a box.

My time in Vietnam went quickly, and after 11 months I received another paper order to go home to Ohio. In about 17 hours I was back in Seattle, Washington, and the good ole USA. It was another cultural shock because things had changed a lot.

For example, there were hippies and flower children, free love, different models of cars and the economy. For the Army’s welcome home dinner, my choices were steak and mashed potatoes or cheeseburger and fries. I chose the steak and potatoes, and then it was back to Ohio.

There was some coolness towards military people in the airports in larger cities, but the closer I got to Ohio, the people seemed friendlier again. I was lean, healthy, young, tanned and back in Ohio. Life was great, but best of all were those Midwest farmer’s daughters from Ohio, mom’s home cooking and cold beer.

Jobs were hard to find in 1971, and the Army pay was very poor. I had only earned about $3,000 in my two years of service.

I met the love of my life, Sharon, several months after returning home. We were wed in December of 1973, and are still married today.

I worked locally for years on semi-trucks until 1996. I took the postal maintenance test. With my veteran status and honorable discharge, I got an excellent job at the post office. The postal service was very friendly to veterans.

Through the years I have forgotten some of my army friends, but not their faces. There are two names I will never forget, Jack Wagner and James Markland. Both were from my platoon and friends also, and they were unfortunately killed in action. It feels good to see their names in print on Veterans Day. May you rest in peace, Jack and James.

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— Roger Schroeder, Bluffton