Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas Isenburg went to high school in Tehran, Iran with the constant threat that Russia would invade. For him, keeping the Russians out of Vietnam seemed the right thing to do. He enlisted in 1964 in Akron, Ohio. His college roommate, a former Marine, told him, “If you are conflicted about what you should be doing, join the Corps. They will solve your conflict.” Call sign “Goofy” when acting as radio operator, he served with the 2d Battalion, 1st Marines (the “Raider Battalion”) in Vietnam. Initially, his unit participated in DAGGER THRUST operations--Marine amphibious rubber boat assaults from USS Bexar (APA-237)-- but they later moved to Phu Bai in I Corps to participate in Operation HARVEST MOON. Their last major engagement was as a blocking force against the NVA coming through Laos and the DMZ. It was called Operation HASTINGS, July to August, 1966. “I was still carrying around the stupid radio. The company radio operator got hurt, but I mean, the whole company started with 155; we were walking around with 50. So, each of the platoons was basically down to squad size.”