Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.27.2019
Howard White, 71, U.S. Army, 1967- 68. White said he entered the Army in early 1967 and left in late 1968 that gave him nearly two years of active duty, most of it spent in Vietnam. He said he was supposed to be trained as a light mechanic but ended up in Vietnam as a gunner and radio operator on convoys. “We had night convoys and they were just wiping us out like crazy,” he said,......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.27.2019
Steven Detmer, 85, U.S. Army, 1953 – 55. Detmer was born in Cleveland. As a child he remembers his grandfather saying that no grandson of his was going to be brought up in Cleveland. His Grandfather took the family west and they settled in Cottonwood, Idaho. “That was the best move that ever happened,” said Detmer. “I had never been outside the city, and Cleveland was tough. I......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.27.2019
Billy Gibson, 83, U.S. Air Force, 1955 - 59. Gibson is originally from Norborne, Missouri, a farming community northeast of Kansas City, along the Missouri River. He initially considered joining the Marines but decided on the Air Force instead. During basic training, he remembers going on a field exercise which was called a bivouac at the time, sharing his tent with another airman.......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.05.2019
J.R. Wright, 86, U.S. Navy 1950 - 58. The Korean War was approximately four months along when 75,000 United Nations troops and 261 naval ships made a landing at Inchon in 1950. Two U.S. Navy boats cautiously swept the waters of Inchon Harbor for mines, one behind the other while taking fire from North Korean shore batteries. The lead boat suddenly exploded and sent sailors flying from its......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.05.2019
John Mouw, 83, U S Army, 1954 - 57. Born and raised in Redmond, Washington Mouw said his decision to enlist in the Army was more attractive than the thought of going to prison. He said local police were trying to arrest him and he went to Seattle to enlist. His recruiter provided him a test he said looked like a word test out of Readers Digest magazine. He claims he did so well on the......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.05.2019
Kathy Moore, 75, U.S. Navy, 1964 – 65. Moore enlisted in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. She initially planned on joining the Air Force but said her decision was swayed to join the Navy by her two favorite uncles. She served as a Navy AZ. The AZ skill field is listed in the Aviation Maintenance Administration, Navy Occupational Specialty (NOS) A440. AZ’s perform a variety of clerical,......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.05.2019
Mike Boyle, 51, U.S. Navy, 1986 - 90. Boyle said he was born in Mineola, New York. His family moved to the Southern California area for a brief time before relocating to Placerville in Northern California. Boyle planned on joining the Air Force. He went to enlist one day, but the Air Force recruiter wasn’t in, the Navy recruiter was, and so, Boyle joined the Navy. He was a welder in......
Photo by Thomas Alvarez | Idaho Army National Guard | 09.05.2019
Bob Gordon, 63, U.S. Army 1975-76. Gordon was born in Flint, Michigan. His family moved to California and then eventually Coos Bay, Oregon where he lived for 37 years. He joined the Army because his brother was in the Army. Gordon was a generator repairman stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas. He recalls the day his unit was scheduled for grenade training. He said he faked being sick because he......
