Terry Gene Mayer: “I stepped the right way”; #3 in a series
The Army was not necessarily in Terry Gene Mayer’s life plan and his time served had a lasting impact, but as he said more than once, “it was interesting.”
Drafted a few years after he graduated from Stacyville Visitation High School, Mayer boarded a bus in Osage heading to Des Moines, was sworn in, and flown to Fort Bliss, Texas for boot camp.
“It was alright, being a farm kid, you’re used to working,” Mayer said casually, “it was just like every day you know. Of course, you had drill sergeants there and you weren’t used to them—They made it a challenge, but they were good about it.”
Mayer was drafted into the infantry, or as he called the job, ‘ground pounders.’
After advanced training in infantry, Mayer had an opportunity, and took it, to further his training at officer training school (OTS) at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Upon completing OTS, Mayer was offered airborne or ranger school, but he said he declined because he did not want to stay in Georgia.
In February of 1969, Mayer left for Vietnam.
This story continues in the EJ.
