In the spring of 1968 I was a college dropout in Fort Worth, TX. My memory of the period is somewhat vague. I do remember taking my draft physical and passing. Not knowing what to do, I took off with some companions for San Francisco. It was a brief period of panhandling and crash pads. Not the life I thought it would be, so I was able to make my way back to Fort Worth. I called my dad and told him that I was about to be drafted and was considering boogieing to Canada or Mexico or just going underground in hopes that the Army would not find me. And of course, I considered getting drafted and going with flow. If I went to Viet Nam (pretty good odds), I thought the survival odds were in my favor. Dad told me to do what I thought best for myself. That was a surprise. I figured what the hell and got myself drafted. The Army sent me to Fort Polk in Louisiana. Eight weeks of basic training, two weeks of Leadership Preparation, and eight more weeks of advanced infantry training and off I went to Viet Nam (a thirty day leave before I left). The plane dropped me off at Cam Ranh Bay and I was sent inland to An Khe to join the 1st Cavalry Division who after a few days of training  sent me south to join A company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment at a cut down, deforested, rubber plantation. Let the games begin.