There’s no question that veterans are the backbone of this country. They risk their lives to help Americans lead a safe life in the United States. They made sacrifices so that citizens could live freely. Despite the profound recognition that these men and women deserve, they are not always seen and are sometimes ignored in society.
E-5 specialist Leon Taylor shares his experience. Drafted into the army in March of 1965, Taylor from Spearsville LA, was told he was drafted into the United States Army and that he only had ten days to show up. the thought of living a normal day-to-day life and being told that in 10 days to leave for 2 years is truly frightening. Taylor was a part of the 2nd battalion in the 31st infantry of the 7th Infantry division stationed in Camp Casey, South Korea at the time and it was near the DMZ separating North and South Korea. Tensions were high due to the Korean War ending around 12 years before Taylor was stationed there.
Taylor was a specialist and his job was communications so he would work on radios and communicate back and forth about various things. On a normal day of his duties, Taylor was out in a field and got no signal so he had to climb a mountain with an antenna and was sitting in a foxhole so that he could relay back to whoever he was communicating with. At midnight around four flashlights had surrounded him. Taylor said that “his heart dropped”. Taylor and his comrade did not know if they were North or South Korean because they were at the DMZ. Luckily they were South Korean marines but it would’ve been a bad day for Taylor if they were North Koreans.
Draftees only had to serve for 2 years so when Taylor’s time was up, he was ready to come home. He flew in through Seattle, WA to board a connection flight to Dallas. As Taylor was getting his luggage to get off the plane instead of the warm welcome home Taylor was met with eggs and other objects being thrown at him by protestors to the Vietnam War even though he was in Korea. At that time a lot of people were not happy with the government and the ongoing Vietnam war and some were blaming the brave men and women that were serving overseas instead of the government. Imagine being someone who is called to duty, taken away from family to serve the country to provide citizens freedom but returning as a traitor. Instead of being welcomed as a hero, Taylor said that people were treated like criminals and to make it worse the protestors were all over TV rubbing it in even more. Taylor said that when he came home “It was one of the worst experiences of my life and I was at an all-time low”.
Despite the way he was treated after serving, Taylor said that serving shaped him into what he is today. According to him and made him grow up from a boy to a man with newfound pride and confidence in himself. He was fired up to start working and make a life for himself when he got home. His advice for anyone wanting to go into the military is “The military is the best thing you can do to grow up if you’re not taking life seriously. If I could go into the military right now it would be into the airforce. The Air Force provides lots of benefits”. Serving made Taylor appreciate the country’s freedom. Taylor expressed that he wanted to show all of the people protesting that the quality of life in Korea was still devastated from the Korean War. Taylor stated people where in terrible conditions and adding that, “People there had nothing”. Taylor realized how grateful he is to be an American. According to Taylor, despite the challenges and issues that America faces today, he still believes that America a great country and that individuals should take moments to appreciate the greats aspects of the country.
