Roy Sheldon:  

Life Outline 1966-present Since high school graduation in 1966: Until 1968 I worked with my dad helping out at the ODOT rest area on I-71, where he worked as a custodian, and with hauling coal for old Bill Fisher at Fisher Coal Co. in Ashland. After being drafted in Feb 1968, I served in U.S. Army: Active Duty 1968-1970, at Ft. Knox, KY (Basic Training); Ft. Sam Houston, TX (Combat Medic training); 97th Gen. Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany (medic); US Army Ready Reserve 1970-1973: Summer Training at Camp Perry, OH in 1971 with 686 Med Co., ONG; Standby Reserve 1973-1974. College Education: I started college at Kent State the fall following the May 4th shootings. Instead of lead, it was rubber bullets & tear gas. Earned a Bachelor of Arts in English & American Studies (summa cum laude), Kent State U.; Master of Arts in English, Bowling Green U.; Doctor of Philosophy in English, Purdue University. I worked as a Grad. Teaching Asst. in grad school. Employment: Franklin College of Indiana, one year position, 1982-1983; Washburn U., 1983-2015, Assistant then Associate Professor of English. Activities: Catholic mission trips to Guatemala delivering medical supplies, clothing, etc: Summer 1984, 1985, 1987. Member of American Mensa, Ltd. since Nov. 1980. Proctor in Mensa for about 20 years. Interests: fantasy & science fiction, & genealogical research. My daughter has a B.S. & a master's in accounting. She passed her CPA exams (on the first try) in the summer of 2011 was hired by a Topeka firm as a full-time accountant! In 2023 she became a director in the firm. I am a grandfather now. ------------------------------------ DNA & Genealogy DNA testing shows a I am a 25/25 match with a documented descendant of Godfrey Sheldon (1599-1671), who came from Bakewell, Derby, England, to the Scarborough, Maine, area with his family before 1660. The match means there is a 95 % chance that we share a common ancestor, likely Godfrey Sheldon. Godfrey is one of the Sheldon Family Association progenitors. [Genealogical research has helped me discover perhaps one reason I became interested in English & literature: My grandmother, Elsie Cooper Sheldon, was related to American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851). I'm a first cousin, four times removed, to Cooper.] I am also a distant cousin to Susannah Sheldon of the Salem Witch Trials. ------------------------------------ Military Service Narrative 1968-1974 *INDUCTION: 08 FEB 1968 ARMED FORCES EXAMINING ENTRANCE STA.; CLEVELAND, OH. I was anxious about being drafted into the army since 50,000 were being drafted monthly & a good portion of those I thought were ending up in Vietnam. Though I could have been a dead man walking, I wasn't going to walk, dodge, or run away from my duty & obligation to serve my country, as a number of men my age had. I have direct ancestors who served in the army/militia in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, & the Civil War. On the appointed day, I got up early & my dad took me on the 9 mile drive in to Ashland. I boarded a bus outside the Selective Service Office in Ashland, OH a bit after 7 a.m. for the hour & a half ride to to Cleveland. I took the oath of service with at least 36 other men in a crowded room. It was a cold, cloudy day flight in a prop jet from Hopkins Airport to Louisville, then on a bus to Ft. Knox. I shaved my sideburns off in a Hopkins airport restroom, getting several nicks from what was almost a dry shave. *BASIC TRAINING: 09 FEB-13 APR 1968; 8 wks.; in 5th PLATOON, CO. B, 8TH BN, 3D TNG BDE; FT. KNOX, KY. This was a cold time for basic, even in KY; We got up by 5 a.m., did our S's: sh--, shower, & shave & were ready by 6 a.m. for reveille formation then breakfast of s.o.s. (sh-- on a shingle). I remember the cook saying: "Take all you want, but eat all that you take." Early on my hair was shaved by gleeful barbers. I was issued GI clothes & glasses and had my picture taken, hoping the nicks wouldn't show. TRAINEE'S LIFE: I and other trainees lived in large barracks and were regularly on elbows & knees policing the area for cigarette butts, etc. We underwent live fire exercises, crawling under barbed wire in dirt. We took self-defense classes, engaging in Pogo stick combat & throwing each other, learning kick, chop, & throw techniques. In man carry practice, I always got the heaviest guy & had to run with him on my back. We underwent the choking, gasping gas mask exercise in an enclosed tent. Intensive physical training involved pushups, situps, running; my hands became raw from doing monkey bars. I ended up in sick barracks for several days around 06 Mar 1968 with fever, aches, cough, etc.. I remember lying in that weak-springed bed, coughing, sweating, aching, and taking my meds at exactly the earliest permissible time between doses, writing down the times on a notepad just to be sure. After consultation at the hospital, I just missed being re-cycled in a different unit--which might have totally altered my fate. Recovered, I had to reclaim my bunk when I returned to my barracks & do evening makeup sessions to catch up. I got the feel of the M14 rifle on the firing range through much practice. (I had been used to shooting rabbits & groundhogs with a 12-gauge shotgun!) The night firing ex. was difficult because I had no night vision. (I couldn't see crap!) There were long, tiring marches up & down hills with a heavy backpack & weapon. Early in April the assassination of Dr. King brought much added activity at the post. I heard the drone of flights leaving for much of the night. Rumors spread of being prematurely activated, given weapons, sent to quell riots in cities. Finally, after things calmed down, we marched proudly through graduation parade in our dress greens. At the end of training & graduation, I and several others boarded the same flight to San Antonio in the evening. I was glad to be on the same base as those billions of dollars in gold bullion and wished I could have been able at least to see some of those bars! *COMBAT MEDIC TRAINING: 14 APR-21 JUN 1968; CO. B, 2ND BN, USAMEDTC, FT. SAM HOUSTON, TX Class 236. I was surprised I was given orders to medic training but later suspected it was due to the high score I received on my Army GT test. (That score got me into Mensa.) The Flight to San Antonio: I remember the large roaches all over the San Antonio airport at night arrival; I enjoyed pleasant spring weather & it didn't become really hot until June. I found more emphasis on classes & learning first aid, etc. We gave each other shots, including smallpox boosters. We visited the HemisFair Exposition '68 in San Antonio several times, even sneaked in. Veteran medic John Dennison has written the following about what medics were taught in their 10 weeks of training: "Basic health care and hygiene for self and others We learned how to give shots (practiced on each other using saline) Drawing blood (practiced on each other) Starting IVs (practiced on each other) Use of Splints for broken bones Treatment of gunshot wounds Treatment for Amputations Head wounds Shock Burns Shoulder dislocations C.P.R Tracheotomy VD Seizures Field training in stretcher usage, correct procedures for moving and carrying patients, techniques for approaching and treating patients under combat situations, Setting up different types of tents, Air medevacking. Training films were heavily used during the training process. I believe they had a film on all the above listed subjects. Most of the training was geared toward combat situations; however, some general medical training was included for hospital duty such as making beds, bed pans, setting up and giving catheters and enemas to patients." [Source: Dennison's website for combat medics]. I remember our field training exercise on hilly terrain at Camp Bullis--seemed like the government owned the only hilly area in miles of Fort Sam--where we triaged & gave initial treatment to "casualties." The assassination of RFK in June was a shock, but there was less bustle & noise than in April because it was a medical post rather than an armor or infantry one. I received my orders before graduation & breathed a sigh of relief that they were for Germany (APO NY not APO SF!). At that time 3 out of 4 graduating companies were being posted to Vietnam. Almost everyone in my company had orders to Germany. *LEAVE: 22 Jun 68-08 Jul 68: 22 Jun 68 FLT 54: I took Continental Airlines from San Antonio to Houston, from Houston to St. Louis on Delta FLT 156 to meet my parents at the airport, visit Grandmother Rehg, Uncle Allie, & Aunt Cora & Uncle Edison in St. Clair Co., IL. Then we travelled by car back home to Rowsburg, OH. After I spent a couple weeks relaxing in the Ohio countryside, my parents drove me to Fort Dix, NJ, primarily on the PA Turnpike. That was a lengthy trip. After goodbyes, they returned to Ohio, and I went into the post. *OUTPROCESSING TO GERMANY: 08 JUL 1968 USAOSREPLSTA, FT. DIX, NJ; FLT A-741 MCGUIRE AFB, NJ. My flight was on a large cargo jet with virtually no windows & seats facing backwards. For 8 hours we were looking at our luggage. Great! But we made it to Rhein-Main & deboarded for the hospital med co. *DUTY STATION: 09 JUL 1968-29 JAN 1970, 97TH GEN HOSP; FRANKFURT AM MAIN, FRG. This was a German Luftwaffe hospital during WWII which the US military had taken over after liberating Germany from the Nazis. The Med. Co. was in Betts Kaserne across Homburger Landstrasse from the hospital: A & B Barracks. The Orderly Room was in A Barracks. The barracks, which likely housed German hospital personnel during WWII, were solid stone and had 3 floors and an attic, communal showers & restrooms. B Barracks was a pinkish color. My Accommodations: mostly in B Barracks: 1st few mos. lived in larger 8 man room, then moved to 4-man room with Sinclair, Boring, & another roommate (Rm. A-74, I believe). Finally, after having moved to B Barracks, I was able t...Expand for more