8 – The Herald
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Schuck tells of life in the jungle
By MIKE FORD
The Delphos Herald
mford@delphosherald.com
DELPHOS — Through
our nation’s wars, “America’s
Friendliest City” has commit-
ted many of its young men to
military service.
In one case, the city received
a transplant from New York
but by way of Vietnam. Rick
Schuck, 58, was born and raised
in New York. He enlisted in
the United States Army at age
17 on April 1, 1969, at Fort
Hamilton, NY. He was sent to
Fort Jackson, S.C., for basic
training, requesting phone sys-
tems training but was ordered to
radio school. He had difficulty
with the Morse Code test and
was transferred. He requested
supply work with the infantry
and was sent to a basic training
unit, making him a cook. He
worked as a baker in Vietnam
and recalls his service with
pride.
“In February 1970, I
received orders for Vietnam and
after a 30-day leave, I shipped
out to Vietnam in April 1970.
I had to report to Fort Dix,
N.J., to receive my clothing and
shots, after which we left from
McGuire Air Force Base on
our flight to Vietnam. We had
stops in Anchorage, Alaska,
and Yokota, Japan, before
arriving in Bien Ho, Vietnam.
While in Alaska, I was able
to phone my brother who was
stationed at Fort Wainwright
in Fairbanks. As I only had
a 45-minute layover, he was
unable to come down and visit.
It was nice to talk to him as
I was headed for the combat
zone and hadn’t seen him since
July (1969),” he said. “From
Bien Hoa, we were transported
by truck to Long Bihn out-
side Saigon, where we received
in-country indoctrination and
orders to our new assignments.
I was to be stationed at a bakery
unit in Chu Lai in I Corps in the
northern part of Vietnam.
“They gave me my orders
and I was told to go to the
airport and hop a flight to Chu
Lai. It was pretty interesting
considering I was new in the
country and had to figure it all
out. I caught a C-130 transport
plane and flew to Chu Lai
where I had to phone the bak-
ery to come pick me up.”
Schuck remembers being
assigned to a unit at Chu Lai, a
major American base.
“I managed to arrive at my
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
✰ ✰
✰ Community Health Professionals ✰
✰
✰ of Delphos
✰ ✰
Your Hometown Choice
✰ for Visiting Nurses
✰ ✰
& Hospice Care
✰ ✰
✰ ✰
• 602 E. Fifth Street • 419-695-1999 ✰
✰ ✰ he wouldn’t get orders for two that I will always remem-
✰
www.ComHealthPro.org
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
MARCHOCOLATE
www.delphosherald.com
Schuck was stationed to a unit at Chu Lai, a large base that was home to Americans of all
military branches. He said the area had red dirt and the sod on men’s boots revealed their
“home” when away from base.
duty assignment on my father’s time where the enemy fired and made our own oven mitts.
birthday on April 20, 1970. over 300 rockets into the Chu We didn’t run out after that.”
I was stationed with the 4th Lai base,” he explained. “We Schuck also had to deal Schuck today
QM Detachment, a platoon of had worked all night and went with another hazard: Vietnam’s
home via the postal service.
about 22 guys whose job it was back to our barracks; that’s extreme heat. “Recreation was what you
to bake fresh bread for all the when the rockets started com- “We wore towels around our
made it; there was a USO club
units in a 25-mile radius of Chu ing in. We went into alert mode necks and usually wrung them
about a mile down the road
Lai,” he said. “I was a private and you usually tried to go to out every half hour. Needless
and we would walk there for
first class when I arrived at the your bunker but we had already to say, we drank a lot of water.
entertainment. We would play
detachment and was promoted gone to sleep when we heard We would also take salt pills softball and football when we
to specialist 4 in May 1970. the rockets, so we just rolled to keep from losing it all from
had spare time; we also played
The platoon sergeant in charge underneath our bunks. That’s sweating so much,” he said. a lot of cards to pass the time. It
said he would have no PFC’s what we normally did if there “Sleeping during the day was can be said that our time there
in his unit. was a rocket attack when we hot and uncomfortable but you
was many hours of boredom
“At the bakery, we worked were in the barracks, so I just soon got used to it as you had
with short bursts of terror when
at night since it was so hot fell asleep under the bed. no choice; there was no air con-
the enemy got rocket happy,”
during the day; it would reach “I don’t remember what time ditioning. Fans were big to cool
he said. “We also spent a lot
up to 120 degrees during the it was but I do remember waking off with. Our meals were from
of time writing letters home;
day and since we had to work up at 11 and still hearing rock- another units’ mess hall about
as there was no Internet then or
around 300-degree ovens, it ets. They didn’t hit non-stop; a quarter-mile away. We ofteneven phones to call home, the
wasn’t practical to expect us they were intermittent. I rolled would make our own meals
mail was extremely important
to be very productive during over and went back to sleep and with items from home and our
to our morale. One of the guys
the day. As it would get down when I woke up, it was over. fresh bread. We showered using
in our platoon didn’t receive
into the 80s at night, we ended The all-clear had been given water from a tank mounted on a
mail for over two weeks and
up doing a lot of sweating 24 and we went about our business. support about 15 feet in the air.
we had our hands full trying to
hours a day. Our shift would Incidentally, those were the days The water was always warm
help him keep his sanity. Delphos resident Rick
start around 5 p.m. and we of the Kent State riots.” from the sun; guys would usu-
“The only time I got to call Schuck had the experience of
would work anywhere from That wasn’t the only danger ally take their showers early
home was when the USO set up his boots hitting the ground in
10-14 hours per day, depending Schuck faced. in the morning after the water
a phone link with the States and Vietnam in 1970. He served as
on how much bread we would “The work had its own haz- cooled at night.” we were able to phone home for a baker and worked at night to
need to make that day. We ards and the equipment used In addition to the heat, not
5 minutes for $25. Needless to avoid the 500-degree inferno it
made white bread, rye, wheat, had many functions. One of the having a wastewater treatment
say, it was the best money spent would have been to bake during
potato and cheese bread. As we pieces was to cut the dough into plant also made life uncomfort-
the whole time I was there.” the day. He also had to avoid
had to work all night, we were loaves to put in pans for the oven; able.
The government wanted “rocket-happy” Viet Cong
relieved from having to pull we had two guys lose a finger “Our latrine was a 3-man
America’s sons to be able to while trying to sleep during the
carry on their family name. For day in its 120-degree heat.
guard duty on the fence line of in that equipment,” he contin- outhouse with steel drums cut
the base.” ued. “Another hazard was the in half to receive the waste. This
this reason, as long as Schuck went from high heat to living in
Schuck spent most of his ovens; after loading the pans into waste would have to be disposed
was in the war zone, his brother an ice box.
time in-country in the safety the ovens, which held a large of every day and since we were
would likely stay in Alaska. To “I would spend the next six
of a large base that covered number of pans, we would have cooks, we assigned that job to
keep his brother safe, Schuck months finishing my tour and
several miles from one end to to remove them after they had locals who did odd jobs for us.
extended his tour in Vietnam being promoted to sergeant. At
the other. However, he says the baked the allotted period of time. The waste had to be burned to
voluntarily. that time, the U.S. forces were
enemy did get “rocket happy.” This was when most of us got dispose of, which made the odor “Before my year was out, I pulling out of Vietnam and as
“Being at a main base didn’t minor burns on our hands and of our area smelling of diesel
was offered to extend my tour I only had five months left of
mean we didn’t see any of wrists from wrangling the pans fuel and human waste. You got by six months. As I was com- my service commitment, I was
the war; occasionally, the Viet out of the ovens. There was a used to it after awhile; since we
fortable with the unit and men ordered out of the Army in
Cong would send rockets and shortage of oven mitts to work slept during the day, we hardly
I was with, I went ahead and November 1971. From the time
mortars into the base to see with and supply had a problem noticed it,” he said. extended my tour; for this, I was I left Vietnam to come home to
what they could stir up. May getting thems, so we improvised Staying sane in the jungle
granted a 30-day leave home. the time I was discharged from
4 and 5 of 1970 was one such by cutting up wool army blankets depended on support from Around June 1971, I came home the Army was about 48 hours.
for a 30-day leave and thor- We weren’t given much adjust-
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ oughly enjoyed being home,” ment time. I remember it being
✰ ✰ he said. “The bad side was it in the 20’s when I came home
✰ VFW was extremely hard to go back. and it was over 100 when I left
✰ As there were other guys going Vietnam; it took me awhile to
✰
✰
✰
✰
of Ohio Charities ✰ back, we would clique around adjust to the cold,” he said.
✰ while we waited for our flights The climate Schuck
and back over. We tended to shun returned to was cold in more
✰ ✰ the new guys as we had our own than one way.
✰ ✰ VFW Post 3035 ✰ stories to tell each other and we
were part of a brotherhood.
“The Vietnam War wasn’t
popular at home but I was
✰ ✰ “Another reason I extended proud to have served. One
✰ 213 W. Fourth St., Delphos ✰ was because my brother was hears of the nasty stories hap-
✰ 419-692-8816 a medic stationed in Alaska. pening to the vets when they
✰ As long as I was over there, came home and I experienced
✰
✰
✰
“Proudly serving all veterans” Vietnam. I figured I was in ber,” he concluded. “Before
✰ a safer position than he going over the first time, I ran
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ would be if he went over.” into a friend who cursed me out
It wasn’t long before Schuck for going. On the other side of
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP the coin, when I was home for
my 30-day leave in New York,
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
I got on a transit bus in uniform
and the bus driver wouldn’t
DELPHOS HERALD
let me pay the fare. You can’t
The
imagine how good that little act
Telling The Tri-County’s Story Since 1869 of kindness made me feel.”
Schuck’s brother had mar-
405 N. Main Street Delphos, OH 45833-1598 ried a Delphos woman he met
Visit our website at: www.delphosherald.com in the Army and Schuck met
her sister at the wedding. He
419-695-0015 began to correspond with her
during his military career; one
Our veterans are true heroes! thing led to another and Fran
Will became his wife. Schuck
Thank you for all you have done! came to Delphos and later
became the city’s water super-
intendent until retiring from the
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP job in 2000.
12497 (11-09)
We are independent agents proudly representing Auto-Owners Insurance.
Dickman
AGENCY NAME Insurance
OR LOGO AgencyHERE
UP TO
10790TWO LINES
Elida Rd., Delphos, LONG
OH
Town Name 419-692-2236
• 555 555-1234 • website
•EAST-BELLEFONTAINE AT KIBBY
•DOWNTOWN-ELIZABETH AT MARKET
“Highest in Customer Satisfaction with the Auto Insurance Claims Experience,
Two Years in a Row” - - J.D. Power and Associates
•WEST-ALLENTOWN AT CABLE
LIFE • HOME • CAR • BUSINESS
Auto- Owners Insurance ranks highest among auto insurance providers in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008-2009 Auto Claims Studies. SM Study based on 11,616 total
responses, ranking 25 insurance providers. Excludes those with claims only for glass/windshield, theft/stolen, roadside assistance or bodily injury claims. from auto insur-
ance. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed June 2008 - June 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.