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An up close and personal interview with U.S. Army Veteran and Togetherweserved.com Member:
PFC David E Gettman U.S. Army (1972-1975)
WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MILITARY?
 That's an easy question. I joined the Army to make my girlfriend mad. Boy did SHE get the last laugh! I never saw her again.
WHAT WAS YOUR SERVICE CAREER PATH?
Living in the shadow of Ft Lewis all my life, where I was born the day the Korean War ended, I figured I'd be stationed there and be home for dinner every night. I mean, why pay to send me halfway around the world when we had a perfectly good Army post right here 10 minutes from home?
When the recruiter asked me what I wanted to do in the Army I was rather stunned. I had a choice? I vaguely remembered my dad had been in a tank outfit at Ft Lewis before I was born (717th and 72d Tank Battalions, 2d Infantry Division, 1947-51), so I blurted out "TANKS".
Two days later, January 19, 1972, I'm on my way to Ft. Campbell, KY for basic training with Co B, 2d Tng Bn, 1st Tng Bde. We were the last training cycle to go through Ft Campbell, as the 101st was coming back from Vietnam to reclaim the post. Despite leaving my weapon with a friend while I hit the latrine only to return and find my weapon gone and an angry 1st Sergeant with my friend, screaming he was going to rip our heads off and do disgusting things down our throats, and spending ten days in the hospital with pneumonia after enduring 15 minutes with that same 1st Sergeant spitting in my face as he screamed at me what a goldbricking, fake, good-for-nothing, soon to be ex-Soldier I was before I could go on sick call with a 104 degree temperature, I still managed to finish top in my class and received a small trophy at the graduation ceremony.
Next I went to Ft Knox for training on the M60 Patton tank. The top 4% of each class was chosen for further training on the M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicle, a 17 ton mostly aluminum and styrofoam "tank" with a huge 152mm gun/launcher that could fire conventional type main gun rounds as well as infra-red guided missiles from the same tube, could be dropped from a C-130 by parachute, and could swim across calm bodies of water. So I remained at Ft Knox a few more weeks training on the Sheridan before getting my first assignment.
After graduation I got orders for Worms, Germany, and my best friend from basic training and both tank courses, Pat Donaldson, got orders for Baumholder. So we volunteered for the MP's to stay together.
Pat and I went to Kaiserslautern, Germany for a crash course at the 15th MP Bde headquarters, then got our first assignment with Co A, 385th MP Bn near Stuttgart. In September we were both chosen for the security detail to guard the Air Force 25th anniversary party in Stuttgart. After a few months in Stuttgart I was chosen for another detail to go on tdy to Neu Ulm to bolster a small detachment from Co B there who was having trouble with race riots, while Pat remained in Stuttgart. My transfer became permanent and I never saw Pat again. Heard he later became the colonel's driver.
Neu Ulm was great duty. I could have spent 20 years there and retired, but a bunch of us got in some trouble and were transferred to Co B headquarters in Heilbronn. Two months later we were all reassigned to different locations and duties. I ended up in Hanau with HHB, 3d Bn, 59th ADA, a Hawk missile unit. Somewhere along the line I had picked up an MOS that said I was an Advanced Hawk Missile Guidance System Repairman.
After finding out I didn't have a clue what a Hawk missile was, I was soon transferred to Bindlach, near the Czechoslovakian border, with Troop C, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment. I was back in a Sheridan again and finished my tour guarding the border. When my three years were up I called it quits. My dad and I had accrued 40 years military service in three wars between us, his 37 and my 3. I figured that was enough of a contribution to Uncle Sam.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN COMBAT OPERATIONS? IF SO, COULD YOU DESCRIBE THOSE WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT TO YOU?
 No, the closest I ever got to combat was guarding the Czech border during the Cold War. We took casualties, some fatal, but none by enemy fire. Still often very violent and in combat-like situations nonetheless. We trained hard and we partied hard. Back in the day when only the border Cavalry troops wore the black beret.
Dad was the combat vet, having served in combat in WW II Europe and the Korean War, and in support of combat operations in Vietnam from both Vietnam and Thailand during his 37 year military career.
WHICH, OF THE DUTY STATIONS OR LOCATIONS YOU WERE ASSIGNED OR DEPLOYED TO, DO YOU HAVE THE FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY?
By far the fondest memories I have are of Neu Ulm and the 385th MP's. There were only about twenty of us in the whole detachment and the duty was great. Highest rank was 2LT and we rarely ever saw him. Next was an E-6 who lived off post and you only saw him if you were working the same shift and got partnered with him. Not often  you saw anyone above E-4 in the barracks. We were a very tight group.
We had the whole top floor of a three story building on a very small sub-post, providing security/law-and-order for the nearby Pershing missile base and local military community, and a co-op patrol with the local polizei. The second floor of our building was the PX and the first floor the mess hall.
We did have a General come through once on an inspection. Wish I would have caught his name. I was petrified just being in his presence. I had a photo album in my wall locker and he just randomly flipped it open to a photo of my dad. He turned and looked at me, then asked "is he a little short s*** named Hank?" Next thing the General and I are sitting on the edge of my bunk thumbing through my album while everyone else in the room is heels locked.
The local people were fantastic, the countryside was beautiful, and the dollar was worth a lot. .I made many fantastic friends during my all to short stay there. Sadly it ended abruptly as often happens in the military and I was unable to render proper farewells and swap contact information. Still, there are a couple friends I knew then that I still talk with occasionally.
FROM YOUR ENTIRE SERVICE CAREER WHAT PARTICULAR MEMORY STANDS OUT?
 There are a lot of memories that stand out, but one incident in particular was quite life changing for myself and many other people involved.
During a large field training exercise near the Czech border in July 1974 we had one of our Sheridan's catch fire in the middle of the night. Because the 2d Cavalry Regiment was the first line of defense on the Czech border, our vehicles were fully combat loaded with live ammo 24/7.
In addition to the twenty conventional 152mm main gun rounds in the turret, cases of small arms ammo strapped to the vehicle (7.62 cal, .45 cal, .50 cal), and all the diesel fuel on board, there are eight Shillelagh anti-tank missiles in the driver's compartment, each containing a shape-charged warhead consisting of 15 pounds of Octol, for a total of 120 pounds of high explosive plastic charges in the driver's compartment alone. It made for a rather huge explosion and I was only 30 yards away in the open. Needless to say there was a lasting impression.
WERE ANY OF THE MEDALS OR AWARDS YOU RECEIVED FOR VALOR? IF YES, COULD YOU DESCRIBE HOW THIS WAS EARNED?
 Only medal I ever got was the National Defense Service Medal for joining the Army during the Vietnam War.
I was recommended for the Soldier's Medal in 1974 by my platoon leader, 1Lt. Andrew Stilley, C Troop, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, for risking my life to save a fellow trooper from certain death near Inzendorf, Germany, 25 July, 1974 during a terrible vehicle fire and explosion.
The medal was denied because the only witness was severely burned and returned to the US. I only learned a few years ago he had survived his burns.
In 2007 I received a 70% service connected disability rating from the VA for PTSD stemming from the incident, along with a total permanent unemployable rating.
July 2011 I got to return to the site on the 37th anniversary and took a photo with buildings from Inzendorf in the background while holding a photo of the same buildings from 1974 with tank parts scattered all over the field.
OF THE MEDALS, AWARDS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES OR DEVICES YOU RECEIVED, WHAT IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY?
The only thing I really earned in the Army besides PFC two or three times was that small scholarship trophy in basic training which I still cherish.
WHICH INDIVIDUAL PERSON FROM YOUR SERVICE STANDS OUT AS THE ONE WHO HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?
That's a really tough question.
It was SFC McDanial's, that ancient piece of dried up jerky that couldn't have weighed 110 pounds but could run for days, that taught me in basic training to fear my superiors worse than death.
It was Pat Donaldson, my best friend from basic training, who convinced me to volunteer for the MP's and set into motion a chain of events I still shake my head over.
It was Steve Judd, just for the crazy times we had together and the friendship we still share, though we haven't seen each other in over 35 years.
It was SSG Brow, whose inadvertent near-death experience totally changed my life forever.
CAN YOU RECOUNT A PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM YOUR SERVICE THAT WAS FUNNY AT THE TIME AND STILL MAKES YOU LAUGH?
There are so many that come to mind, but most I can't share here.
One in particular I can get away with. It's when I was with the 385th MP's in Neu Ulm, 1973.
My partner and I one graveyard shift had teamed up with another patrol in our M151A1 jeeps and  decided to go out to the Ulm Rod & Gun Club to prowl around a bit. There was a full moon out in the clear sky and a low layer of fog in the fields about two feet thick covering the ground, concealing the large European Hares scampering about in the open field. It looked like we were driving on top of a cloud!
Somebody spotted a hare jump up out of the fog and with blue lights flashing on our jeeps, the chase was on. For probably a half hour we raced around in circles chasing hares when I spotted eyes glowing across the field...something much larger than a hare.
It was a large Red Deer stag standing near the back of the field. The four of us took off across the field full throttle, side by side just three feet apart in our two canvas top jeeps with the doors removed, laughing and hooting and yelling back and forth, when in the blink of an eye the other jeep was gone.
I stopped and shut my lights off but couldn't see a trace of the other jeep, just a foggy field in the moonlight. I started back tracking and found the other jeep nosed into the far side of a 15 foot wide gulley that ran nearly the entire width of the field. I had just skirted the end of it!
The driver busted his lip pretty good on the steering wheel and the passenger banged his knees into the dash nice and hard, but both were OK after watching my partner and I roll around on the ground in tears, dressed in our khakis.
The jeep on the other hand was totaled. We had to call for a wrecker and fess up to what we were doing out there. Got a good chewing out, but that was it. We also got a brand new jeep, one of the A2 models none of us had ever seen. As the dispatcher was a very good friend, it became my personal jeep when I was on shift.
WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER THE SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB?
 Pretty much just kicked around after the service. Never could seem to hold down a job very long. Family and friends kept me from living in the street. I have a permanent 80% service connected disability rating from the VA with 100% benefits for total/permanent unemployability.
So now I fill my days helping vets and their families over the internet. Got a few websites I administer, both personal and through the 2nd Cavalry Association. Heavily involved with the 2nd Cavalry Association, the active 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Cavalry's Reed Museum and Regimental Heritage Center.
WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS ARE YOU A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? WHAT SPECIFIC BENEFITS DO YOU DERIVE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIPS?
Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 18 Washington life member. American Legion, Post #2 Washington life member, 2nd Cavalry Association, life member. Dragoon Foundation, life member. 99th Infantry Division Association, associate member. 42nd Rainbow Division Veteran's Memorial Foundation, Millennium Chapter, associate member. 72nd Tank Battalion Crusaders, associate life member. United States Constabulary  Association, Outpost 8 Washington, associate member. 2nd Infantry Division Korean War Veteran's Alliance, associate member. Second (IndianHead) Division Association, associate member.
The benefits I've derived are too numerous to list. I've met people who knew my dad well during combat in WW II and attended their final reunion. I spoke with one of my dad's best friends from the Korean War, and though we never met face to face, I attended his funeral and met his wife and sons. I reunited two best friends who hadn't seen each other since WW II ended. I was part of starting a tribute to two US Soldiers killed in Czechoslovakia during a secret mission in the final few days of WW II in Europe, spawning an annual ceremony in the Czech Republic and creating hundreds of friendships with our former Cold War adversaries. The list goes on and on, continuing to grow all the time.
HOW HAS MILITARY SERVICE INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND CAREER?
 I always had respect and admiration for members of the military, but after having served and experienced the camaraderie during and after my service among fellow Soldiers and veterans, its just hard to explain to anyone who hasn't had the experience and it's a very important part of my life to this day. These people are as close or closer to me than my own family.
I've learned to recognize that certain bearing that an old veteran has, and often take time to thank them for their service and try to coax a little of their story out, often a well guarded secret nobody has asked about since the war.
I've also learned how to get over a guarded fence!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THOSE THAT ARE STILL SERVING?
 Take every chance you get to learn everything offered to you. Take time to record contact information for friends you make, because you'll want to find them in years to come. Take lots of pictures, because friends and family won't believe your stories and memories will start to fade. Take advantage of the current GI Bill and every other benefit offered.
If you're injured, get proof! Times, dates, locations, witnesses, medical reports. You can never have too much proof. It may come in handy during a later VA claim. Don't let your GI insurance lapse after you get out. It is one of the best deals you will ever encounter.
Remember your regiment, and follow your officers.
IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU MAINTAIN A BOND WITH YOUR SERVICE AND THOSE YOU SERVED WITH?
Togetherweserved.com has given me the place and chance to showcase my dad's 37 year career and pay tribute to numerous fallen troopers from other eras.
It's given me a place to express my thoughts and memories of my times in the service with others of like experience. It's also given me a place to read of others experiences from different times and places. I've ran into some old friends here, and made even more. Proud to be a life member.
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Assault Vehicle, a 17 ton mostly aluminum and styrofoam "tank" with a huge 152mm gun/launcher that could fire conventional type main gun rounds as well as infra-red guided missiles from the same tube, could be dropped from a C-130 by parachute, and could swim across calm bodies of water. So I remained at Ft Knox a few more weeks training on the Sheridan before getting my first assignment.
you saw anyone above E-4 in the barracks. We were a very tight group.
decided to go out to the Ulm Rod & Gun Club to prowl around a bit. There was a full moon out in the clear sky and a low layer of fog in the fields about two feet thick covering the ground, concealing the large European Hares scampering about in the open field. It looked like we were driving on top of a cloud!
Association, Outpost 8 Washington, associate member. 2nd Infantry Division Korean War Veteran's Alliance, associate member. Second (IndianHead) Division Association, associate member.
