I served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from June, 1968 to August, 1969.
I was inducted (drafted) into the U.S. Army in January, 1968, and went to Basic Training at Fort Bliss, Texas, - right outside El Paso. I then went to Fort Polk Louisiana for Advanced Individual Training. My MOS was 11C10 - Infantry - Mortar - and was trained to carry, setup, aim, and fire the 81 mm mortar.
I arrived in Vietnam in late June, 1968, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. Much to my surprise (and relief), I was assigned as a clerk in the 101st Administration Company and spent most of my tour at the large Army base at Bien Hoa which was on the North-East corner of the large Air Force Base at Bien Hoa. Aside from the occasional mortar and/or rocket attacks and the minor ground assault in Tet of 1969, things were fairly quiet for me. On one of these occasions, one hooch in our company took a direct hit and two men were killed. On another occasion, a 122 hit just outside our hooch, wounding three men (one man's left hand was entirely blown away by a large piece of shrapnel).
While in the service, I only volunteered for two things:
1. I felt safe enough to extend my tour two months so that I would have less than five months to serve upon my return to the U.S. This allowed me a five month early out - I only served nineteen months active duty.
2. Our Master Sergeant was looking for a new courier. One was due to rotate out. I stepped up, and wound up doing a few courier runs via C-130 up to Phu Bai and then by truck/jeep/chopper to Camp Eagle and various LZ's in I Corps.