Willmore

Aaron Willmore
VanderSlik
English 100 - 15
2 October 2014
Old Army
Every day young adults fresh out of high school go to war, whether it is voluntarily or to
pay for ones college. This is fairly common in the United States today, but it wasnt always like
this. Until 1972 all men ages eighteen to twenty-five could be conscripted to the U.S. army in
wartime effort. My grandfather was one of those men to be enlisted.
Thomas Lester Wilson, my grandfather, grew up in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. In 1965 he
graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School.
My parents didnt have very much money nor did I and the only college that I could
attend would be one where I could live at home and still work. So I went to Central Michigan
University, Wilson told me.
He attended Central Michigan University from 1965 to his graduation in 1969. During his
time there he majored in history and minored in political science. He also received a bachelor in
education from CMU.
First male in my family, Wilson, to have a college education, my grandfather told me.
Tom worked full time during his time at CMU and did very well grade wise. Then out of
the blue he was drafted for the United States Army in 1966. Thomas went to Fort Wayne to
report of his mandated physical. Two things happened during the time: he failed his physical due
to his hearing, and promptly upon returning home President Johnson restored two draft
deferments. One of those made it so college students were deferred from being drafted. Then

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after his graduation he was drafted for a second time. This time they did not care that he failed
his physical and he was drafted anyways.
Wilson was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for his basic training then went to Fort Gordon,
Georgia to a military police academy. When he first arrived at Fort Gordon he ended up having
pneumonia and had to go into their hospital. Everyone who had transferred with him ended up
being sent to Germany or they went stateside. He was sent to Vietnam.
On February thirteenth, 1970 Tom arrived in The Republic of Vietnam in Bien Hoa.
From there he was sent north to Phu Bai then to Cam Ranh Bay. After spending a few days there
he was sent north to Quinhon.
I was supposed to go from Quinhon to Phu Bai but when I was there a guy named Sgt.
Miller came out and said, can anybody type? And I figured that typing was a little bit more
secure than being shot at up by the demilitarized zone, Tom explained.
At the end of February in 1970 Tom became apart of the Headquarters and Headquarters
Detachment Ninety-Third MP battalion, 18th military police brigade. Since Tom opted to type he
became a clerk. He also kept track of records for the battalions supply and he also was a duty
officer driver for the military officers when they switched shifts. Wilson was first stationed at a
place in Quinhon called Camp Granite then in July of 1970 his battalion moved to Camp
Keystone. This camp was an old coast guard station on the South China Sea.
It was called camp keystone because we were there like keystone cops! They were an
old Vadivelu comedy act, He explained to me, who had no idea what he was talking about.
While he was there Tom was promoted from Private to E2 while at Camp Keystone then
he was promoted to Specialist 4th Class. He did not receive any higher promotions although he
was promoted to Acting Sergeant but he claims this was no real promotion.

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It meant I got paid as a specialist 4th and I did a sergeant's job the rest of my tour over
there, which included not having to stand night guard but be on CQ to do officer head count.
This meant when the officers came in to the mess hall they had to sign their names, Tom said
unenthusiastically.
It was wonderful duty because it allowed me to get tomang poisoning on three occasions
from bad food, He said sarcastically.
I remember my friend used to draw a cross on his napkin and place it over his food in
the mess hall, he said, his eyes looking into the distance as he remembered.
Why? I promptly asked. Which he then replied with,
Because the food was so bad itd kill ya!
Wilson became Senior NCOIC when he would drive officers on duty because he was no
longer just a driver he was a sergeant as well. This now meant that he was in charge of the other
NCOs even if they outranked him.
On April thirteenth, 1971 his tour of duty ended. Exactly one year and 2 months after first
arriving. When he left Vietnam on the thirteenth he crossed international datelines and arrived in
the United States on the thirteenth, causing him to lose days. He arrived at Fort Lewis,
Washington where he was DEROSed out.
That means they gave us some paper work where we had 150 days or less to be let out
of active duty because they werent going to do anything with us stateside. So my actual active
duty time was 19 months and 7 days, Tom clarified to me.
He continued on inactive reserve until September 1975 and then never did anything
militarily after that. The life experiences that Tom received from Vietnam helped shape his
future and helped drive him towards future goals. After leaving the army he didnt sulk because

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of his misfortune of being drafted. He went on to go to school to become a lawyer and he paid
for it with his GI bill. Tom also got married and started a family, which without that key event in
his life I, his grandson, wouldnt exist. I am grateful for his service and proud to call him my
grandfather.

Works Cited
Wilson, Thomas. Personal interview. 27 September 2014.