From Bootcamp to Vietnam

By Darlene Neubauer

This is a true story that will enlighten you on the intense fighting that went on in Vietnam. My brother wrote to me every time he got some time off from going up in his helicopter and fighting for hours at a time. He had trouble finding time to get enough sleep. I was grateful for all the letters that he wrote to me while there. I tried to get him to come home and not re-enlist like he did. He wanted to stay with his group and fight to the end, not knowing how long it would really take to end this cold war. They called it a cold war, but after reading all of Jerrys letters, I would call it a hot war. It lasted 20 years and we lost 58,267 service men. What a horrible price we had to pay for that war.
I could never have the words enough to express my thanks for all these men who gave their lives for our country and for those that died in wars around the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483646220

Darlene Neubauer

Darlene is the author of her autobiography…”The Red Thread” and also a new book of fiction called, “BREANNA.” She has been a pastor’s wife for over 30 years. She also worked for Youth For Christ ministries for 15 years as well as many other church related jobs.

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FROM BOOT CAMP TO VIETNAM

I want to begin this true story with a little background about my brother before he went to boot camp. Jerry Ray Murphy was born October 21, 1945 in Fullerton, California. He lived with his parents, sister, and brother at Gene Camp, California, which is near Parker Dam.

As Jerry grew up he had plenty of desert to run around in and go on hikes. It was hard to keep track of him because he was always going some place with a friend. During those years it was safe for kids to go hiking and playing cowboys and Indians out in the open spaces. We had a bell on the porch, which we could ring and Jerry would hear it and come home, that is if he wasn’t too far away.

When our father died, Jerry was 13 and he and mother came to live with my husband and I in Riverside, California. Jerry finished grade school there and then he and our mother moved to Chester, California where Jerry went to High School.

Jerry was an outdoors kid, always going fishing, hunting, or hiking. While living in Chester he had two big black Labrador dogs. They were his best friends and went wherever he went, except to school, of course. Jerry was a kind of loner. He liked to be out in the woods with his dogs. He was a good student and it was a great day when we received his graduation invitation. He finally made it and I wanted to be there to see him graduate.

I had never been to Chester, so while we were there we did a little sight seeing. Chester is a beautiful part of our country. I could see why Jerry liked living there. We made the trip and spent a few days with them and saw him get his diploma. There were only about 30 graduates and it was a very nice graduation. After the graduation ceremony we all went out to eat to celebrate. Jerry was really excited and was so glad that I had come for his big day. We talked about his plan for his future, but he really wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He knew he didn’t want to go to college. He said it was hard enough making it through high school.

Soon after graduation mother said she was moving to Fallon, Nevada to be with her boyfriend, Bob. Bob was taking care of a motel and a bar in Fallon. Their new home was in a motel. They had two rooms with a kitchen and bathroom. This was not very exciting for a boy just out of high school. It was a very small town and after a few weeks Jerry started getting very bored. He thought that joining the Army would be a good idea. I don’t know why he chose that branch of the service, but we all thought it would be good for Jerry also.

Jerry signed up for the Army at a recruiting office in Fallon. From there he was sent to Ft. Ord, California for boot camp. Jerry had never been there either, so this was a new experience for him. He made friends right away and said he was glad he joined.

Most of the following information will be taken from letters that Jerry wrote to me (his sister) during his time in the Army.

BOOT CAMP

Some of his first activities were to camp out, learn how to throw a grenade, shoot a rifle and crawl through a field with live bullets going over your head. A lot of guys got shot crawling the course. He said we had to crawl the course two times in the daylight and once at night. This gave everyone bloody elbows and knees. Then there was the 20 mile march. He said that really got us in shape. Then of course we had to do guard duty and KP.

They put us on all kinds of details to keep us from thinking about going home. Then we had to turn in all our equipment because we got orders to go to Ft. Hood, Texas. For a guy who hadn’t really been anywhere I was getting to see some of