Robert Banes:  

, 1966). Battalion sent to Viet-Nam April, 1966. Most of our company travelled by troop ship. I was one of the nine person advance party and travelled by C-130 and C-123 transport aircraft. I was promoted to Specialist Four (E-4) in late 1965. Promoted to Specialist Five (E-5) in April, 1966. Converted to Sergeant (E-5) later in 1966. Promoted to Staff Sergeant (E-6) in mid-1968. Remained with the company until November, 1968 which was almost 6 months past the intended term of my 4 year enlistment (voluntarily). Boarded and approved for OCS twice. The first time all orders were cancelled when we received orders for overseas movement from Texas. The second time I decided to leave the Army and marry a foreign national. I had orders for Engineer OCS at Fort Belvoir, Virginia voided and accepted discharge in late Nov, 1968. While in Viet-Nam in uniform for over two and half years I lived through the Tet offensive. I received following decorations: Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with 9 campaign stars. I qualified with the following weapons: M-60 machine gun, M-14 Rifle, .45 semi-automatic pistol, & .38 revolver. I liked and and intended to make a career of the Army. However, I met a young Vietnamese girl and decided to get married and forget the military career. Still married. No regrets.