Randall Wiens:  

Hi Edgewood Classmates! After reading several classmates' stories, I decided to share mine. After Edgewood I spent four years in civil engineering at Cal Poly Pomona. In 1970 my birthday was selected in the first national draft lottery - it's the only thing I have ever won! Rather than going to Vietnam with minimally-trained grunts, from 1970 to 1973 I volunteered for the United States Army Fifth Special Forces Group - Airborne (only about 1% of volunteers make it through the extensive training), often called the "Green Berets". In real life I was in the same unit as "Rambo" of movie fame (there were about 1,100 of us) I was a medic on a Special Forces "A-team" ( of TV fame) trained to perform surgery, dispense drugs, and operate a basic laboratory, as we were trained to operate in areas where medical doctors did not venture. It was quite an experience and, as luck would have it, the Fifth Group was withdrawn from Vietnam just as I was assigned to it after completion of my training. Whew! The Fifth Group then focused on the Middle East and Africa. In late 1973 ...Expand for more