Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
2:49 | Tom Buchan remembers growing up outside of Los Angeles and not being friendly with rules, leading him to enlist in the Army. Deciding to join the tanker's battalion seemed the most appealing to him, so he joined up.
Keywords : enlistment basic training mechanic father Training discipline WWII
Working as a tank crewman in the Army, Tom Buchan was assigned to Fort Knox and then stayed on active duty om reserve. After getting called into active duty, he had to train for deployment.
After Fort Carson, Tom Buchan was sent out to his deployment in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. Getting there, he felt like he did not know much at all about Vietnam and had to learn quickly in order to stay alive.
Continued from Part 1. Tom Buchan remembers a particular mission while in the forest of Vietnam. Sleeping in the woods, he had to be resourceful after they faced a surprise firefight in the middle of the night.
Continued from Part 2. Seeing two Viet Cong in the forest, Tom Buchan fired quickly and managed to save his and his friend's life, but it left him with a very distinct memory that he still keeps today.
