Sean Groves
Carey Eveland
Period 1
Mr. LeDuc
April 11th 2014
Gerald Smith
Gerald Smith's military experience completely changed him for the rest of his life. Smith
joined the Navy in 1964 and he was a steel worker second class and he also was a naval gun fire
officer. Smith said he would carry extra ammo for good luck. He went to boot camp in Great
Lake, Illinois. Smith was motivated to join the Navy by the G.I Bill. The G.I Bill ended up being
Smith’s most important thing he received after his service ended. Shortly after he enlisted in the
Navy, he joined the Vietnam War. Little did he know that the Vietnam War would forever
change his life.
Smith's most memorable moment during his service was the NMCB-11 ammunition
explosion on September 3rd, 1967. It was one of the most significant days in Battalion history.
Frequent and heavy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong artillery attacks on the Dong Ha Combat
Base resulted in a massive explosion in the U.S. Military Ammunition Depot which resulted in
an 8-hour period of concussion and shock waves from the fires and explosions. Absolute
mayhem occurred on that day. For eight hours straight Smith had to deal with constant
explosions and concussions. But he persevered and ended up surviving the onslaught of
explosions. Because of that, he earned a Purple Heart, along with many other awards.
Smith believed that the war in Vietnam was a complete mistake and is was mostly
caused by President Lyndon Johnson. When Smith came back from Vietnam, he wasn't the same
man. One of the effects he got from the war was anxiety; Smith was always on edge. He also
couldn't find a job because of the war. People viewed Vietnam veterans as villains and treated
them poorly. But Smith didn't hate what he did. He actually believed that the military was a
positive learning experience. War is what changed him, not the military. Smith also believed that
the war could've been won if President Lyndon Johnson had made better decisions. If Johnson
decided to bomb Northern Vietnam, the communist country may have surrendered, but we did.
The war was lost and the veterans were viewed as evil individuals.
Smith's involvement in the military changed his life completely. There were some good
things about it. But there were some traumatizing and terrible parts too, like the NMCB-11
explosion. At the end of the war, he ended up earning six medals, the Purple Heart, the Bronze
Star, the Combat Action medal and much more. But all in all, Smith thought the military
toughened him up. He found out that he was a pretty tenacious individual. Smith also pulled
some pranks on his officers. At one of the bases he was stationed at, the building he lived in had
a tin roof. So he would throw rocks on the roof and yelled “Incoming!” He ended up being
stationed all over Southeast Asia and Europe, such as Spain, Kuwait and the island of
Okinawa. .
After his service ended, Smith was overjoyed to find out that the G.I Bill was going to
help him get back on his feet. When Smith came back from Vietnam, he began to go to college.
One of the main reasons why he loved the G.I Bill was because it paid for his education. Smith
believed that paying for a school loan was useless when you had the G.I Bill. He went to college
and wanted to sign up for advanced classes, but his counselor thought otherwise. After his
counselor left, he snuck in to his office and changed his classes. To his counselor’s surprise he
maintained a B average while having a full time job. He said it was very tough but the things that
helped him through it was perseverance, the G.I Bill, and to “Never give up.” He is now living
good and loving life. He currently drives a nice Monte Carlo and he absolutely loves that car. He
also has two sons, one who is in the police department and the other, who's in the fire
department. Smith loved his time in the military and believed he would be a different man if he
never had enlisted. It is an experience that he will never forget.