My name is Joseph Hajny, Vietnam veteran. While in college in 1968, I dropped to a part-time student; the administration office notified my draft board; and I received my “Greetings” letter from Uncle Sam. When I arrived home in May, I visited the Army recruiting sergeant. He played on my fears by asking, “Would you rather be carrying a rifle through the rice paddies of Vietnam or pushing buttons on a computer?” I signed the dotted line for a three-year commitment to the United States of America.

I attended Basic Training at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri and then was stationed at Ft. Lee, Virginia for Quartermaster School. I was trained as a supply clerk, first learning the manual system of record-keeping and then learning the NCR 500 computer system for inventory control. On the first night of computer class, the instructor informed us, “There are 55 NCR 500 computer systems in the world and 53 of them are in Vietnam. Guess where you’re going?”

My plane for Vietnam left San Francisco on Friday the 13th, December 1968. I served with the 1st Logistical Command, 596th Maintenance Company. I was stationed first in Gia Le (by Phu Bai) for seven months and then our company was transferred to Chu Lai for my final 5 months. My job was entitled Authorized Stockage Clerk, a fancy name for supply clerk. The NCR 500 Computer system was comprised of two 40-foot air-conditioned vans. The vans were air-conditioned because the paper records had to remain humidity-free to prevent jamming. Let me assure you that, no matter what job one had in Vietnam, war is not a nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday work situation. I often worked 12- and 13-hour days, including Saturdays and Sundays because the grunts needed their supplies.

I returned home on The Silver Freedom Bird in December 1969, enjoyed my 30-day leave with family and loved ones, and then finished my three-year hitch with the U. S. Army at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina with 91st Psychological Operations Company, John F. Kennedy Center.

Before Vietnam, I had not thought of the situation there very much outside of my then limited view that the Communists were trying to conquer another country. Having read numerous books about Vietnam since, my opinion about the Vietnam War is this: Our government fooled the American public about the situation in Vietnam which cost our country the lives of over 58,000 men and eight women. Having said that, I would not change what I did. I am very proud of having served my country in a very tumultuous time in our nation’s history.

The best thing about my Vietnam service: The friendships that were forged. The worst thing: Fear, even though I was not in combat. On the plane trip to Vietnam, I very distinctly remember thinking: “Will I come back with an arm missing? A leg missing? Will I come back?” As a former Marine of the Vietnam War once told me: “Vietnam was a different type of war. It took a different breed of man.”

As the coordinator of The Dennis Harter Memorial Education Program in which my fellow Vietnam veterans and I enter local schools to discuss the Vietnam War with students, my advice to you is this: If you want to learn more about the Vietnam War – educate yourselves. Two of the best books about the Vietnam War are: A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan and The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam.

Peace and Love. Joseph Hajny – NAM POET.

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