Terry Musser, a native of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, discusses basic training and his two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. Musser tells of graduating from high school early and enlisting in the Army in 1965. He tells about his basic and advanced infantry training at Fort Leonard Wood (Missouri), jump school at Fort Benning (Georgia), and field communications training. Musser describes taking classes on weapons and first aid in basic training, having to make new friends at every phase of his training, and getting limited recreation opportunities. He explains his first assignment was to dye his clothes and patches green. Assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Brigade, Musser describes spending thirty-two days aboard the USNS Geiger, a troop transport, on route to Vietnam. Musser relates his first impressions upon arrival in Vietam: the smell at Qui Nhon and finding snakes in his tent at An Khe. He talks about his various duties in brigade headquarters working in communications and reflects on how the Army was unprepared for the war. He characterizes soldier life as "long lengths of sheer boredom interspaced with fire fights." Musser discusses ill-conceived military tactics, addresses the lack of continuity due to one-year enlistments, and highlights the downside of relying on on-the-job training. He says he still keeps in touch with some friends from his unit. Upon returning stateside, Musser relates training with the 6th Special Forces at Fort Bragg (North Carolina), despite being too young for Special Forces, and volunteering for a second tour in Vietnam because he did not like the "spit and polish" of stateside service. Returned to Vietnam in May 1967, he discusses assignment to the 173rd Airborne Brigade where he worked in an air conditioned office for the Headquarters Company, Signal Platoon. Musser states it was stressful that there was no safe place and "you were always at risk." He talks about being moved to Dak To and the casualties his battalion faced there. He criticizes the general quality of officers and the lack of reliance on small Special Forces units. Musser talks about the "short timer's calendar" and the psychology of not wanting to get too emotionally tied to anyone in country. He reflects on the difficulty veterans had getting acknowledgement and compensation from the government for post-traumatic stress disorder and Agent Orange. Musser addresses good-luck superstitions, being given busy work in base camp, stealing jeeps, "scrounging" food, and selling Vietnamese knives to rear echelon people. He mentions mail call and conditions in the field, including terrible dehydrated food. He criticizes the way the media portrayed the Tet Offensive as an American loss. Characterizing his Army discharge as quick, solitary, and with no decompression time, Musser describes his first meal in the U.S. and his homecoming to Wisconsin. He mentions filing for unemployment, being turned down for State Patrol because he was too young, attending the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse until his GI Bill funding ran out, and returning to the farm. He speaks about how he got involved in politics and got elected as a senator in the Wisconsin legislature. Musser discusses joining veterans organizations, passing a bill to delete "era" from the phrase "Vietnam Era veterans," and attending reunions.
