Hollander, Carl, SP 5

PLEASE DESCRIBE WHO OR WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE ARMY.
I joined the Army because I couldn't support myself and I was hungry. No one in 1968 would give you a job unless you were "draft deferred". There were only two choices available in the summer of 1968, the Army or the Marines as there was no waiting list for

My fellow Basic Trainees

either one. At the time draft boards were drafting young men into both the Army and the Marines. I was looking for a meal to eat and didn't want to wait. I didn't want the Marines because I don't think I'd like being confined to a ship on the water.

I was tired of living on crackers and water in a dumpy old rooming house in downtown Baton Rouge and trying to support myself as a carhop at the Blue Bird Drive Inn in Baton Rouge. I went to a college friend's house in Franklinton, spent a few days, and then decided to go to the Army recruiter's office there and sign up. At the time I joined I didn't really appreciate the benefits that the service would bring to me. This picture was taken by a Drill Sgt as a substitute graduation picture from basic training as we were on fireguard duty when pictures were taken of trainees in class 'A' uniforms.

WHETHER YOU WERE IN THE SERVICE FOR SEVERAL YEARS OR AS A CAREER, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECTION OR PATH YOU TOOK. WHERE DID YOU GO TO BASIC TRAINING AND WHAT UNITS, BASES OR SQUADRONS WERE YOU ASSIGNED TO? WHAT WAS YOUR REASON FOR LEAVING?
Soon after having a physical at the Customs House on Canal Street in New Orleans, we were placed on buses for Fort Polk. When we arrived at 2 am, the drill sergeant was waiting for us. The first week on Sunday, the drill sergeant marched us to attend chapel. On

Moving on up.

the second Sunday, we were asked who wanted to attend chapel and I raised my hand with about 20 other recruits and we were marched to the chapel. At the end of the service, the Chaplain (MAJ) asked if anyone would be interested in being a chaplain's assistant and I raised my hand again. I was the only one who did so.

We talked in his office for a few minutes and he signed me up although I didn't know it at the time. When I finished basic training I was told I was going to a typing school at Fort Dix, N.J. After a month at that school, I was told to report to the US Army Chaplain's School at Fort Hamilton, NY for another month of training. I remained a 71M20 my entire time in the regular army and enjoyed my work and the Army. I however was interested in marrying my pen-pal girlfriend of several years and thought married Army life to be too difficult for her. I flew to Taiwan just weeks after my ETS and married my pen-pal and brought her to the US 6 months later. We have been married for 45 years so far.

IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN ANY MILITARY OPERATIONS, INCLUDING COMBAT, HUMANITARIAN AND PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, PLEASE DESCRIBE THOSE WHICH MADE A LASTING IMPACT ON YOU AND, IF LIFE-CHANGING, IN WHAT WAY?

Chaplains Bunked FSB Rawlins

From February 23, 1969, as part of the second Tet offensive, Tay Ninh base camp received hundreds of mortar and rocket rounds (107 and 122 mm) each night. For 3 or 4 days. Later NVA hit our ammo dump and blew it up and for the next 8 hours, it burned with occasional rounds exploding. A dozen or more rocket rounds landed in the camp daily thru March and early April. At this time it was safer to be in the "field" and on firebases than in Tay Ninh base camp. The battle was for Tay Ninh's first phase, June 5-7, 1969. At one time we were cut off from Tay Ninh base camp at Fire Base Rawlins and then attacked nightly by an NVA mortar crew who lobbed in about 8-10 rounds, before a 105 howitzer on our berm line fired on them at point-blank range.

DID YOU ENCOUNTER ANY SITUATION DURING YOUR MILITARY SERVICE WHEN YOU BELIEVED THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY YOU MIGHT NOT SURVIVE? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED AND WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME.
1. While on FSB Rawlins in Tay Ninh Province ( 4 /23 inf (mech) during a June night I ran for the chaplain's bunker which was an underground dugout covered with PSP and sandbags as we were being mortared. It was a small place with every round coming in not very far off. Each round seemed to come closer and closer and then overshot us. Whew.

2. While riding on a Chinook helicopter to the top of Nui Ba Den mountain as we neared the top I was getting with my gear when 3 rounds penetrated the wall opposite me as I watched daylight enter the cabin as we approached the summit. The rounds were just inches from my head. I never heard any gunfire as the Chinook motors were so loud.

3. While driving chaplain on road between FSB s sniper fired on chaplain and me - round went through the jeep. 4. While standing Saturday morning formation in the HHC HQ area on the main base at Tay Ninh promptly a rocket attack began at 0800. We had previously been told to hit the dirt but a friend of mine ran forward and rocket detonated and my friend lost his life. ( April 12, 1969 ) - ammo dump blew up that night from a direct hit.

5. I went to take a shower one night in the base camp in the Manchu area ( 4/9 inf ) and was delayed by a fellow chaplain assistant. I headed out for the shower with just a towel and halfway there a rocket came in a hit the shower - if I had not been delayed with the conversation I would have certainly been killed.

OF ALL YOUR DUTY STATIONS OR ASSIGNMENTS, WHICH ONE DO YOU HAVE FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY? WHICH WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE?
My favorite duty station was Fort Hamilton. It was in Brooklyn, New York right on the Atlantic Ocean by the Verrazano Bridge. It was a small base encircled with just a chain-link fence between us and the ocean. A great view! I could see the great ocean liners coming and

Some of the local populace

going out to sea. One morning I saw the "FRANCE" heading out to sea. It was about 1,000 feet long and a beautiful ship. Another day I saw another magnificent ship, the "QUEEN ELIZABETH" sailing past. I heard it was sent to Hong Kong to be a school ship but it caught fire and sank in Hong Kong.

On weekends I could go to Radio City and see shows and the USO was a great place to go and offered coffee and snacks and tickets to events in town. I went to a dinner and dance at the Cardinal Spellman Club and danced with some young Catholic girls. It was fun. I also went to the Statue of Liberty and made all the way up to the head to see the harbor. I also saw the infamous UN and Radio City and Rockefeller Center as well. The senior officer at the USACHS (Chaplain School) was Ch (MG) Francis Sampson who was one of the most famous chaplains in the Army at the time.

He had parachuted into Normandy on 6 June 1944 as a member of the 101st Airborne Div. was later assigned to find "Private Ryan" who was actually Fritz Neiland whose three brothers had been killed the previous week. This had been brought to the attention of President Roosevelt and the Secretary of War who then ordered the mission to find Private Neiland and bring him out of the combat area. Later at the Battle of the Bulge Ch (CPT) Sampson was captured along with his assistant and held in a POW camp by the Germans.

Six months after I left the Chaplain School, Ch(MG) Sampson visited the chaplains in our AO which was the III CORPS and I took pictures of his visit with the chaplains of the 1st Cav and the 25th ID. Now back to Fort Hamilton, one Sunday morning my buddy and I went into the city to attend a church service. He steered me to a large old church and told me it was the famous Marble Collegiate Church pastored by Norman Vincent Peale. We were both dressed in our class A greens and walked up to the front door to find a guard there who told us it was closed. My friend led me to the side door where a man in a suit let us enter and told us no more were allowed. I was a little perplexed as I set down in the pew wondering what was going on when an elderly lady with a walkie talkie sitting next to me asked where we were stationed, where we were from, and why we were there. She then relayed the information to someone on her walkie talkie.

We were told the service would start in a few minutes when Norman Vincent Peale introduced the president-elect and Mrs. Nixon and their daughter Tricia and David Eisenhower who were all seated two rows behind us. The service began and I found it devoid of any mention of Jesus Christ and filled with "positive thinking" to get us thru the week. At the end of the service, we had to wait until the Nixon and Eisenhower families were gone from the area. I was amazed at being less than 20 feet from the president-elect.

I listened to his first speech as president on Jan. 20, 1969 on AFVN Radio on a firebase which I have forgotten. My least favorite duties were being sent to fireman school at Fort Benning to run coal-fired steam boilers to heat buildings. The chapels and most buildings required someone to shovel coal and watch steam pressure to get the buildings to heat up and it was dirty inside and out from coal dust which somehow got into the chapel as well. I remember blowing my nose and seeing all the black mucus on my handkerchief many times over the two winters there on that job. I spent almost two weeks at the replacement station at Fort Benning and most nights shoveling coal and thought I was never going to get out of that place so I caught a ride to the Post Chaplain's office and said "Get me out of here". They said they didn't know I was on post and I left the next day.

FROM YOUR ENTIRE MILITARY SERVICE, DESCRIBE ANY MEMORIES YOU STILL REFLECT BACK ON TO THIS DAY.
We arrived at Long Binh in an Army bus with caged windows at night, where we noticed the smell and intense heat. After being issued uniforms and gear we were walking to a transport area where we saw 6 or 7 NVA soldiers in complete Kahki uniforms with pith helmets

A Very Somber Moment.

behind a roll of coiled barbed wire and being guarded by MPs. This was the only time I ever saw a live NVA in uniform. While being in-country, I got to see most of III CORPS from Saigon to the Cambodian border from Lai Khe and the 1st Inf. Div HQ ( who were always borrowing our generators ) to Cu Chi, Ni Ba Den, Trang Bang, Sui Da, Go Da Ha, as we occasionally traveled by jeep, LOH, or HUEY.

We usually never spent more than 1 day anywhere and usually traveled to several places each day. What I remember the most is the memorial services in Vietnam held for fallen soldiers. I typed up their names and rank and unit for the church bulletins in the base camp on the day each week that we came in, usually, a Friday evening or Saturday before we headed out again on the road or chopper for the next location. I knew their faces when they were no longer there and a few by name. One of the names I did remember was LTC Albert Butler, the commander of the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry, 25th Infantry Division ( the unit I was attached to) and CPT Larry Baldwin of the 7/11 Artillery. The chaplain and I ate lunch at the 4/23 Mess Hall in the base camp at Tay Ninh West, the chaplain at the officer's table with the CO and CPT Baldwin.

After the meal, the chaplain asked me to drive LTC Butler and CPT Baldwin to the airstrip to their chopper, an LOH. I drove a little too fast exceeding the speed limit and the battalion CO chewed me out as I drove the jeep. I dropped the CO and CPT Baldwin and the chaplain and I watched as they took off. The chaplain told me they had both been killed about an hour later. Another man was SSG John Inguillo who would try to organize and keep his men ready for the next day's movements with little pep talks in the APC the night before they went out. There was a Jewish chaplain's assistant wounded at Frontier City. Five men from our battalion 4/23 were on a sweep on Nui Ba Den and disappeared in the caves March 1969 and never found. Later that month I was on top of Nui Ba Den when an F100 did a napalm attack on the side below me. I could see the pilot sitting in his canopy as he passed below me. It was a very unusual sight for a ground troop to see.

WHAT PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF FROM YOUR MILITARY CAREER?

This was our Scout for the1st of the 27th Wolfhounds

I received letters of commendation from Ch (MAJ) Walter Phillips of the 43rd Engineer Battalion, Fort Benning, Georgia, and a letter of commendation from MAJ Michael Moran of 245th Engineer Battalion S-1, USAR. These were a more personal type of award and more meaningful to me. Here at the left is Nguyen who was the Kit Carson Scout for the 1/27 Wolfhounds. We photographed each other near newly emplaced howitzer on firebase outside Cu Chi.

OF ALL THE MEDALS, AWARDS, FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES YOU RECEIVED, OR OTHER MEMORABILIA, WHICH ONE IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY?
It was the Bronze Star. I was amazed that it was awarded. I think the Lord got me through a number of times I had a good chance of being zapped but somehow lucked out each time. While driving down the road in Tay Ninh a sniper bullet missed the

There were many life altering events

chaplain and me by a few inches. While driving on another road, a mine was found in the road in front of our jeep. While in Tay Ninh base camp I was in Memorial Chapel office with Brigade chaplain when incoming came in. I dove for the limited floor space faster than the Brigade chaplain. There were shrapnel holes in the wall. I was transferred out to Cu Chi for that.

While riding up to Nui Ba Den Mountain our Chinook helicopter took three rounds through the fuselage above my head. While walking to the shower in base camp one-night incoming rockets exploded near me on the ground and I was only wearing a towel. No one was hit and after it was over, I got up, went to the shower, and found it riddled with shrapnel holes from that attack. My jeep was completely destroyed by 107mm rockets. Fortunately, I wasn't in it. The Motor pool sergeant said there was nothing left of the jeep that could be salvaged. Even the Chaplain's flag on the Chaplain's hooch in the base camp had 3 shrapnel holes in it. All men were issued flak jackets at First Brigade HHC, where even the supply clerk was seriously wounded by shrapnel.

WHICH INDIVIDUAL(S) FROM YOUR TIME IN THE MILITARY STAND OUT AS HAVING THE MOST POSITIVE IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?

Rocket Shrapnel hit our Jeep on this trip

Chaplain (CPT) Donald Just. I was his assistant and was with him much of the time every day. He was a dedicated Christian and loved his "grunts," always trying to do the best for his men and being where he needed to be. No matter how rough the conditions in the weather, time of day, firefight after firefight, his council with the men was always there to do whatever it took to benefit the men and help them with their problems. He made a point of being with the men in dangerous places and endured the hardships of living conditions that all the men experienced.

CAN YOU RECOUNT A PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM YOUR SERVICE, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FUNNY AT THE TIME, BUT STILL MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Diving on the floor in the chapel office at Tay Ninh base camp with the Brigade chaplain on top of me because there was nowhere to go. Boy was he mad! Driving in a convoy to Cu Chi to pick up my new jeep to replace the one destroyed. With

My main source of Transportation.

me was a 42-year-old PFC who told me he was paying off a deuce and a half he damaged. Given a "bad boy " reputation by brigade chaplain at Tay Ninh, he transferred to Cu Chi and was told an SP/4 was promoted to sergeant to watch me. (which he did). I believe I forfeited the Good Conduct Medal for hitting the floor ahead of the brigade chaplain during a rocket attack. The Chaplain and I were stranded without transportation at Go Da Ha which was a muddy swamp of a place on the Vam Co Dong River and where I ate Navy chow for the first and last time, as asked for some black tea and server the said it was water, and it was! After chow, I was assigned to a leaky hootch that was in standing water of several inches depth with no other Americans and an ARVN platoon.

There were no beds but air mattresses (which I didn't have) and hammocks which the ARVN threw up quickly. The hootch was basically just a shell of a building without any light. The ARVN's looked exhausted from a long patrol and began hooking up their hammocks. I then watched an ARVN soldier blow up a rubber doll to sleep with. At first, I thought it was funny but then I realized it was really sad. I then tried to sleep by leaning down and sitting on the floor against the wall as I had no hammock or anything to sleep on but the floor. We were then attacked that night and I had no weapon to use because I was told to leave it at our last firebase. I noticed an M79 hanging on the wall and quickly learned to use it but didn't have to fire it fortunately because SF troops in the area took on the NVA and defeated them, so we only listened to the battle.

WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER YOUR MILITARY SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY?

This was blanket bombing at its best.

I had some prior experience in the retail grocery business as well as some experience as a department store departmental manager. So, I applied for and received a job as a drugstore manager trainee. It paid off because I kept that job for 30 years as a drugstore manager. I was laid off in 2003 but found a management job running a "dollar store' for the next 9 years and retired in 2012.

WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS ARE YOU A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? WHAT SPECIFIC BENEFITS DO YOU DERIVE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIPS?

My Military Organizations

I joined the VFW in 1975 and have been a member most years since. I later joined the American Legion and have found both groups to be interested in maintaining the defense of our country and the welfare of veterans by assisting them. All a vet has to do is ask. Both organizations also have many benefits they offer to their members. I am currently a member of the Honor Guard of American Legion Post 38 in Baton Rouge and also the sergeant at arms having received a certificate of training from DOD and Casualty Assistance Center, of Mortuary Affairs, Fort Polk, Louisiana for military funerals for Army personnel and Military Veterans.

IN WHAT WAYS HAS SERVING IN THE MILITARY INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND YOUR CAREER? WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT YOUR TIME IN THE SERVICE?

Work hard then, relax now and enjoy Retirement.

Without a doubt, the service made me a more responsible employee and a more responsible father and husband. Service also instilled in me the values of Duty, Honor, and Country as not just words. This photo was taken by my niece who was visiting from Taiwan.

BASED ON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY JOINED THE ARMY?

Get that Education as quickly as possible.

In every work that you do, give it your best effort. Never settle for second best if you know you can do better. Your best effort will eventually pay off in more ways than one. Uphold your integrity and don't compromise your values. Get as much education as you possibly can and put it to good use.

IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU REMEMBER YOUR MILITARY SERVICE AND THE FRIENDS YOU SERVED WITH.
I have found one of my buddies from Tay Ninh RVN so far. It's the first time to talk with him in over 25 years.

KC 7.6.20