On January 28, 1968, I made the drive from Irving to Fort Sill to report for active duty and my three months of schooling. Upon arriving at the incoming processing offices, I received my new orders and my accommodation assignment. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the single officer billeting was in a fairly new and modern multi-story building. My room was nicely furnished with a private bath. It was like living in a nice hotel with a cafeteria. So far so good! The classroom for indoor instruction was also quite modern and well equipped. The instructor was a First Lieutenant from South Carolina, and a very good presenter.

After the first week I realized that I had found a course of instruction that I loved. I found the design and mechanics and hydraulics of artillery pieces, the variety of projectiles and fuses, and the materials and processes for aiming to be extremely interesting, and I actually enjoyed reading about it all! Aside from the frequent cold and wind of an Oklahoma winter, the outdoor instruction was also fascinating. Hands on operation of the howitzers was exciting and the process of adjusting the landing area of the rounds fired was challenging. I performed so well in all areas of instruction that my instructor suggested that I consider applying to the commandant for a position at the school.

When I had received my initial orders I had been surprised and somewhat perplexed at my assignment. Upon completion of Artillery school I was assigned to the Reception Station at the Army Infantry Training Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I knew that training centers made use of Artillery, but what would I be doing at a reception station? And I had no further orders beyond that, meaning I could likely spend the remainder of my initial two years there. I was not pleased with such prospects, so I decided to make the application for an instructor-ship. After an interview with the commandant, he approved my application and made a formal request to the Pentagon for a change of orders. I couldn’t believe my ears when I was later informed that the request had been turned down! This was the first time that I questioned whether I wanted to be career military.

I didn’t have any prospects for marriage when I finished college, but I had already decided that I wouldn’t pursue it going into the Army, since the chances of going to Viet Nam loomed heavy. I wouldn’t risk not coming home alive and leaving a young widow. Linda and I had developed a strong relationship over the Fall and Winter, but we never discussed any type of commitment. After several weekend visits back to Irving to see her, I began to realize how much I cared for her and missed spending time together. When I saw that my two year commitment in the Army was going to be at Fort Bragg, I made the decision to pop the question. On my next visit, in late March, I asked her if she would consider being my wife. I’ll never forget the moment; I didn’t have a ring and I didn’t get on my knee. We were sitting on her sofa talking, and when I asked, I caught her completely by surprise. She had a shocked look on her face and her response was “you’ve got to be kidding!!” Then I was caught off guard, and I thought that I had blown it! I assured her that I wasn’t kidding, and then she said “yes”! I had probably never been so let down in one moment and then happy in the next in my life. We went shopping for a ring and made plans for a summer wedding, after I had gotten settled in North Carolina. I finished school at Fort Sill in late April and had a week of leave before reporting for duty at Fort Bragg. I spent several days in Irving before heading out across the South to the East Coast.

It was a long drive from Texas, and after stopping for the night near Atlanta, Georgia, I arrived at Fort Bragg by late morning. I was processed in and received my billeting assignment. It was nothing like Fort Sill; a small cramped room in an old barracks with well used furniture and a typical steel bunk bed. I determined that I would immediately begin a search for something – anything – better. The following morning I reported to the Reception Station and met Major Tompkins, the Commanding Officer. After a brief overview of what we did there, I was introduced to another Lieutenant who was in charge of the testing branch, where all the inductees and recruits were tested for aptitude before shipping off to the training center. I would be the assistant director of that branch. This was disappointment number two of my short time in the Army. I had just finished a comprehensive school in a complicated and technical combat branch, and now I was shuffling papers in an administrative role that had nothing to do with my chosen field. Another strike against career military…what a waste!!

After a couple of days of familiarization with the processes of testing, and meeting most of the personnel, I decided that I would make the best of the situation and began the search for alternate housing. I was lucky to quickly find out about three Lieutenants who were looking for a roommate to share a four bedroom house in Fayetteville, which was the town adjacent to Fort Bragg. That solved my housing conundrum and before long I would be looking for a house to rent with my forever roommate! The days went by slowly, even as I became more involved in the processes, and took on more responsibility. The testing branch was experimenting with a new program to expedite the test results using punch cards for a computer system. That was somewhat interesting, but the director was mostly involved with it. He was definitely on the “nerdy” side, so it was right up his alley. We didn’t have anything in common, so I spent my days doing my job and my evenings hanging out with my roommates, and counting the days until Linda would be joining me.

We had set our wedding date for June 22, so in late May I began to look for a place for us. In military towns there are always lots of houses being vacated because of personnel moving to new assignments, especially during war-time. I was able to find a nice furnished brick home in a suburban addition of Fayetteville, and quickly moved in. That made a huge improvement in my living conditions and I had an opportunity to get to know the next-door neighbors. We had a Staff Sergeant with the 82^nd Airborne on one side and a Warrant Officer with the Army Air Corps on the other side. They both had young families, so it provided a homey feeling to the surroundings.

On June 15, I took two weeks leave and caught a plane to Dallas to prepare for our wedding. We had a busy few days getting our marriage license, spending time with friends and family, and packing all of Linda’s belongings into a U-Haul trailer before the big day. After the wedding we had our reception at my sister’s home, then started our honeymoon by driving to Shreveport, Louisiana. The following days were spent in New Orleans, Fort Walton Beach and Jacksonville, Florida, Savannah, Georgia and then to Fayetteville and our first home. It had been a bit of a whirlwind, but fabulous, time. I returned to work and Linda soon found a position with a local insurance company in Fayetteville.

The late 1960’s was a time of turmoil in the United States, largely due to the Viet Nam war. There were many people who were against the war, for various reasons, but young people were especially vocal. Some young men of draft age, 18 years and up, were even fleeing to Canada to escape induction into the Army. It was also the time of the “hippies” with their open lifestyles and “free love” mantra. Anti-war protests were common-place, particularly on college campuses. Marijuana and a few other drugs had become prevalent among many of the young, especially among the hippies. Fort Bragg, as one of the major Infantry training centers, was the receiving point for much of the East Coast and many of the draftees came from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC and surrounding areas. There were some very interesting characters among them. Busses full of draftees would arrive regularly throughout the day and night. Every evening, when the headquarters offices closed, an officer and a couple of enlisted men would man the office as a point of contact for any reason that might arise. This was known as OD duty, for Officer of the Day. There were nights, when I was serving as the OD, that I would be called to the receiving point, where the busses unloaded, because of an unruly draftee. They were generally loud, obnoxious, and belligerent characters who didn’t want to accept authority. Fortunately, they usually would quiet down when an officer with a side-arm showed up and threatened jail, or worse. It was always amazing how a shaved head and a uniform, where they all appeared the same, changed their demeanor. A few were truly hard core and caused enough trouble to actually end up in the brig.

In the Fall of 1968, we received notice that a U. S. Senator by the name of Ted Kennedy would be visiting Fort Bragg and touring the training center. That meant that he might come to the reception station. I couldn’t believe the amount of hoop-jumping that commenced in order to impress this potential visitor. Since there were many hardwood trees in our area, there were always lots of leaves on the ground. An order went out that due to the potential of the Senator’s visit, processing would be held to a minimum, so that most of the personnel could be involved in clearing the grounds of all the leaves and debris. Truckloads of leaves were taken to the dump. Then someone made the comment that the Senator was from Massachusetts, where the leaves were considered a thing of beauty in the Fall of the year. Trucks and personnel were then frantically dispatched to the dump to gather leaves and scatter them around the grounds!! I was dumb-founded…reason number three to doubt being career military!!

In late Fall, I was relieved of duties in the testing branch and assigned as Commanding Officer of one of the four companies of personnel assigned to the reception station. The previous Lieutenant had done a poor job of managing affairs and I was charged with getting things under control. I finally had a position that somewhat fit my training through the Cadet Corps and Artillery School! After a long talk with the First Sergeant, I found that the previous Lieutenant had let his ego badly affect the chain of command. I shared a large piece of “humble pie”, explained what I would like to see done, gave the First Sergeant my blessings, and watched things turn around. It was a good feeling.

On January 28,1969, I received my promotion to First Lieutenant, and shortly after was made Commander of one of the other personnel companies, for much the same reason. My first year of duty was done and I began thinking seriously about leaving the military when my two year obligation was complete. Springtime came, and in late April everything suddenly changed, when I was told to report to the reception station Executive Officer, a Major. I entered his office and there was no exchange of pleasantries; he sat at his desk, and with a quizzical look, simply said, “Lieutenant Nauck, you’ve been tapped for Viet Nam”. I don’t know how long it took for those words to soak in, or just what I replied, but he acknowledged that I had only nine months remaining in my tour and would have only seven months left when I arrived in country. It didn’t make any sense, because a combat tour was twelve months. Regardless, my orders were that I would have four weeks leave to move my family and get things in order to report to Fort Lewis, Washington by June 16. I wasn’t sure just how to tell Linda.

I can’t remember just how we dealt with the sudden news, but we wrapped things up in North Carolina, reserved an apartment back at the King’s Square, and headed back to Irving in mid May. We spent the next few weeks enjoying friends and family. We made a trip down to the Gulf of Mexico for a little family reunion at the beach. It seemed odd to be renewing friendships and relationships while also saying good-byes, that could be for the last time. We didn’t think about it that way, but the thought lingered in my mind. Linda had landed a job at her previous employer and she would be well taken care of by my sister and all the close friends that we still had in Irving, The morning of June16 arrived, and I had to say good-bye to my love, just six days before our first anniversary. As I entered the jet-way at Dallas Love Field and took my last look at Linda, I experienced the worst feeling of loneliness that I had ever felt. I wasn’t thinking that I wouldn’t come back, but seven months without even hearing her voice seemed like an eternity!

I arrived in Seattle by early afternoon, was shuttled to Fort Lewis, and began the processing for “over-seas combat duty”. I was finished by the next afternoon and flew out of Sea-Tac airport on the morning of June 18. The 737 plane filled with soldiers landed in Honolulu to refuel, and we were able to de-plane for an hour to stretch our legs. I was fascinated by the waiting area at the gate with no glass in the window openings and the view of Diamond Head in the distance. From there we would start the long flight to the Philippines where we would refuel, before completing the last leg to Cam Ranh Bay in the Republic of South Viet Nam.