Paul Kremer was drafted in the summer of 1968 at age 19. After basic training in infantry at Fort Benning (including a week of jungle training), then AIT in armor and NCO school at Fort Knox, he deployed to Vietnam in the spring of 1969. He was assigned to D troop, 2/17th Cav based at Camp Eagle in I Corps, where he led troops in combat, mostly in the A Shau Valley. Kremer remembers lost luggage, drinking beer and whiskey and playing cards during the down times, and enjoying Bob Hope and other USO shows. He also vividly recalls air assaults, river crossings, memory blackouts, rappelling to a downed helicopter to rescue one pilot and bring out the body of another, backing up and bailing out Force Recon Marines, and seeing friends shot -- some wounded, some killed. Kremer was “really happy and sad” when the time came to leave, and leave some “really good friends” there.
Key Words: Fort Benning, Georgia, MOS, 11 Delta 40, AIT, Fort Knox, armor training, cavalry training, jungle training, M14, M16, NCO school, Shake 'n Bake, Flying Tigers Airlines, Delta Troop, Camp Eagle, A Shau Valley, DMZ, An Loc, USO shows, Sydney, Australia, R&R, hand grenade, memory, rappel, D-ring, medevac, Starlight scope, Eagle Beach, South China Sea, Marines, MARS, Phu Bai
Key Names: Sergeant Ross, Bob Hope, Sergeant JD Pike, Lieutenant Jones, Sergeant Vedder, Sergeant Harry Yingling