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Thomas Owens

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The bus full of men deploying to Vietnam broke down in Haight-Ashbury, of all places, and some were tempted. Not Thomas Owens. He stayed on the bus. When he got to the fire base near the DMZ, they put him in front of a typewriter, but soon handed him a rifle and assigned him to a ground surveillance unit. The war was winding down and he was alarmed at the lack of readiness. (4:37)

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Thomas Owens reminisces about life at the forward base in Vietnam, where he operated ground surveillance radar. The memories are pretty grim; rats which begged like dogs, filth, and cold food. Some of the locals who worked there were pacing off distance for attacks, but others were helpful and generous. (5:03)

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Thomas Owens was the real Forrest Gump, and he's still looking for his buddy from Vietnam, Samuel Dozier, with whom he lost touch shortly after the war. They didn't have much recreation where they were. Stand still outside for a minute and you drew a rocket attack. He says we won the war because Vietnam is going capitalist and he admires the success of Vietnamese-Americans. (5:32)

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There were bad days and good days in Vietnam. A bad day for Thomas Owens was loading bodies onto helicopters or dodging rockets. A good day was when the Donut Dollies came to visit. By the time his unit was standing down, he wound up in the hospital, worn down by bad nutrition and infection. He was determined to walk out of Vietnam though. (4:10)

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He was aware of the antiwar movement, but just ignored it. When Thomas Owens returned from Vietnam, all he wanted was a hamburger. He's on speed dial with his fellow vets and he advocates for what he considers right, much to the consternation of his local politicians. (4:53)

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Thomas Owens has no use for bureaucrats, especially the ones who left him with no change of uniform and no decent food. He laments that going to the VA is just like going to Vietnam all over again. You can't get what you need. He does his part for today's returning veterans and he wonders, why do only the negative stories about veterans get all the publicity? (3:58)

Thomas Wells

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Thomas Wells was adopted into a large family in Omaha which gave him a good environment in which to grow up. His folks decided he needed some discipline, though, as he neared the end of high school, and they informed him he would be joining the Army. He found some good role models in the DI's at Fort Benning. (4:54)

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It was just a quick comment from a commander to a lowly recruit, but what Thomas Wells heard that day completely changed his state of mind and helped him get through basic training. As he traveled to his first duty station, another chance meeting with a superior worked out well for him. (4:55)

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His company won a shooting competition which meant they could attend the Bright Star exercises in Egypt. Thomas Wells was packing to leave when he got new orders. The unit was going to Iraq and they only had thirty days to train up on all new equipment. (4:42)

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All the bad stuff happened at the bridge. You rotated between three posts in the small Iraqi town and for the men of Blackhawk 1-9 Cav, the bridge was where you didn't want to be. Thomas Wells remembers that place well and he also remembers trying to keep good relations with the locals, whom he always tried to treat with respect. (5:51)