Support for veterans ‘like nowhere else’ Veterans, military personnel featured in PC panel
A panel of two local Veterans and three active service members spoke at the Porterville College Theater for one hour Tuesday and shared their experiences in the military with students and faculty.
Host for the panel was Jim Entz, Art Professor at PC and Coordinator of the Cultural and Historical
Awareness Program, CHAP, with Marilyn Pankey as forum moderator.
She asked questions about why the panelists joined the military, their families’ concerns, their every day life while on deployment, whether they had communications with family and friends and where they were deployed.
Also were they debriefed after service, would they re-enlist, their positive memories of military service and their least favorite memories.
BILL FLORES
Vietnam Veteran Bill Flores volunteered in 1967, and said he took a lot of tests and he ended up in the Army working on helicopters. He did basic training at Fort Lewis, Wash. He was born and raised in Fresno, and in Vietnam ended up on a Huey Helicopter, and was in Vietnam for 18 months, and extended his service for another six months. He was a crew chief/door gunner on the helicopter, and did maintenance and repair battle damage. When not doing maintenance he was the door gunner. There were three different types of helicopters;
Slicks for troops, Dustoffs for medical, and gunships.
On his second deployment to Vietnam he was on a Huey gunship, or flying arsenal, that went in for reconnaissance, engaged the enemy, and would protect troops on the ground.
CEIDY GOMEZ
Ceidy Gomez is from Strathmore and joined the Army National
Guard as a combat medic after she graduated high school in 2021. She’s currently studying pre-med at Porterville College. She trained 20 weeks in Oklahoma, and had 16 weeks of medical training in San Antonio. She graduated training school and is now certified. She does what a nurse would do, does physicals, helps with in
juries and sends patients for care. She’s currently in the Army National Guard.
JUAN TORRES
Juan Torres graduated in May from Army Advanced Individual Training, AIT, training and is just getting started. He’s a petroleum supply specialist, and is in charge of making sure all vehicles are filled, and managing all fuel supplies. DANIEL GARCIA Daniel Garcia is a graduate of PC, and is active duty in the Air Force. He was at PC for 2 years and transferred to Fresno Pacific. He has had several occupations in the Air Force. He’s in Armament as a weapons mechanic and crossed trained over to Military Police before being commissioned so he can fly. He came back to California where he’s currently a flight commander at Travis Air Force Base.
JOHN PEREZ
John Perez was born and raised in California, joined the Army and went to boot camp in Washington. He spent a year in Vietnam in the Central Highlands, and said, “Thank God I was able to make it.” When he came back he was a trainer at Fort Lewis, and he stressed that the young soldiers listen to their instructors, and be diligent — that was the only way they might come out alive.
When Perez returned to civilian life he worked at the post office for 30 years in Visalia.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Flores and Perez both talk in schools about Vietnam, and belong to Central Valley Vietnam Veterans. The organization raises money to benefit veterans and children in the Central Valley. Perez marched in a color guard and recalls the huge support and how the City of Porterville honors veterans. Like nowhere else, he said.
Explaining the draft, Flores said back in those days when you turned 18 you had to register at the post office for the draft and you had to carry the card with you. But if you were going to college your draft was deferred, but if you stopped school, you went into the Army. The Marines drafted for a while, but the Marines and the Navy were full, Flores said. That’s the way it worked, Flores and Perez said.
“How did your family feel about you going into the military?” asked Pankey of Gomez, who said they weren’t supportive. But after they saw the benefits she was receiving they felt better and saw it was a good thing she joined, she said.
Torres said he didn’t tell his family when he joined the Army. It was his decision, he said. He went to the Navy first, he said. He said he then went to the Army recruiter. His mother was worried, but he said he’d be back in six months.
Every day life in the Army and basic training was a new experience, said Flores.
Gomez said she found freedom in the military, and it was a completely different environment.
Torres said his experience at basic training wasn’t that bad. And AIT training was easier, because it’s more focused and less physical.
Garcia said he traveled primarily within the U.S. — Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, and Florida, primarily. Overseas he was in Korea and will be going overseas again for the majority of 2023. And unfortunately he will miss his daughter’s high school graduation and her first day of college.
‘OUR FAMILY WAS OUR COMPANY’
Perez said that during his one year in Vietnam he wasn’t able to talk to family or friends. He, like most, relied on snail mail. “Our family was our company,” and something he missed was a hot meal. Every now and then they’d get a hot meal. They mainly had to eat rations.
Flores said he and everyone else sent mail to family and friends. But every now and then a Ham radio might be available, but that was not often. It was discouraging, he said. They had to rely on snail mail.
Torres said he could talk on the phone, call his mom, and write letters.
Garcia said he used his phone to keep in contact.
Flores said every three weeks they’d get letters and share them with the helicopter squad. His family sent him a bottle of tequila which he shared with everyone. If a member went on R and R, rest and relaxation, they’d always try and bring a case of liquor back.
‘SEE YA’ Pankey asked the panel where they were deployed.
Flores said he was 19, and didn’t know where he was at all. But he did want to learn about what he was doing.
“You all traveled a lot,” said Pankey.
“When you were out of the military, were you debriefed?” she asked.
Flores said there was no debriefing, the Army basically said “see ya.” And no one wanted to have anything to do with veterans after Vietnam.
“The Army, ‘was OK, you’re done,’” said Perez. It took him 30 years to buy a hat, being a Vietnam Veteran. No one ever wanted to talk about it for years. And now people talk about it, he said.
Garcia said there are support groups now.
POSITIVE MEMORIES
When asked about positive memories about the service:
Flores said in spite of the Vietnam War, there were days when you had fun. There were some good times, and the camaraderie meant the most.
Gomez liked the trust you gain working closely with people in the Army National Guard and the military.
Torres said what he liked the most was getting to know people from other parts of the world, their cultures and backgrounds.
Garcia said he enjoyed the camaraderie established with each team he was attached to. And he still keeps in touch with a number of people to “embrace the suck.” “I’m also grateful for the benefits I’ll be able to pass on to my children. My daughter who decided to go to a private college will be receiving aid from my GI bill, and the rest of my children will be attending college tuition free thanks to the VA benefits.”
Perez said the camaraderie. Being out in the field and knowing the guys in the green uniform were your brothers. And at night it was beautiful to see the stars, he said. Vietnam is a beautiful country, he said, and there were nice moments.
WOMEN IN THE MILITARY
When asked about women in the military Flores said in those days there weren’t a lot of women around, “only the college grads who volunteered to go out and cheer us up. But I’m glad they’ve opened it up.”
Torres said he felt there were no differences between the way men and women were treated. The leaders can achieve as much rank as they want. Everyone was treated the same.
Garcia spoke about flight school, and working on aircraft. He spoke about Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, SERE, training and said the women and men have to get through it the same.
Perez said, “We never had to go through that. But I never saw any female soldiers.”
WHAT THEY DISLIKED
Flores said his least favorite thing was the 4 a.m. wake up call, but the 6 a.m take off was OK.
Gomez disliked the “ready to eat” meals.
Torres disliked having his hair cut. The women who cut hair, “made a soldier suffer,” he said. He and his friends laughed about it afterwards.
Garcia disliked missing seeing his children’s graduations and schooling. He’s going to miss his daughter’s high school graduation in 2023 because of his deployment.
“Guard duty in the jungle and being soaked in the monsoon rains,” he said. “Thank God we were young physically and mentally.” He spoke about the leeches and having to burn them off your skin.
“Ugh,” he said. He remembers he wanted a job where he could stay out of the rain.
FUTURE PLANS
Garcia went back and received additional training and experience.
Gomez is currently studying pre-med and is in the Army National Guard.
Torres said he’s had a good experience in the Army and will stay until he’s finished his contract in 6 years.
Torres said since he graduated training he has become a U.S. citizen, which will help him get a job.
Perez said it was 2 years service during Vietnam, but you made rank quickly.