LCpl Richard A. Barnhart, U.S. Marines (1981-1985)

My Dad served in the Marine Corps from 1962 to 1966. Went to Vietnam. Never really said much about it but did share two funny stories with me:

Supplies were coming in, and a couple of extra hands were needed for transport. Dad was told to drive trk# xyz and said that they picked up 10 truckloads of frozen steaks and beer. He was driving a beer truck. Says that on the way back to their camp, someone had the bright idea of diverting a few trucks to their own camp, so when they reached the ‘fork in the road’ leading to their camp, every other truck peeled out of the convoy and to the fork in the road. Turned out that of the three trucks, one was loaded with steak; the other two were loaded with beer. (Even back then, Marines had their priorities, lol) said they ate really well that night and had enough beer to last them a couple of days….

As a kid, I had no idea what my Dad had experienced until I was 16. He had come home one night after a few drinks with the guys from work, which was unusual for him. He was home by 8:00 pm, and us kids didn’t even notice him being a little bit drunk. But Mom’s face had a look of horror. I asked what was wrong, and she stated that ‘the last time he got drunk, he went back to Nam. Fifteen minutes after getting home and checking the score on the world series, he went to bed. I told mom she was worrying about nothing….

I was wrong; he did go back to Vietnam. I won’t go into detail, but it was the only time in my life that I heard my Dad scream and cry out. He was sleeping but reliving his experience. Even accused me of being ‘Charlie’. And I knew who Charlie was. Moments later, Mom was able to calm him down, and he went back to sleep. At 16, I was very shocked and surprised at what I had heard him saying, shouting, and calling out to his fellow troops.

Prior to this experience, as I think most kids do, I had always asked him questions, many of which he wouldn’t answer. That night answered a lot of my questions in just 15 minutes. I never asked again after this.

I also joined the Corps in 1981. I was lucky, serving during peacetime. As a young veteran, I had always felt that I never got the opportunity to prove myself as a Marine. After watching a particular movie (at the time, it was the greatest in terms of special effects), seeing and hearing the screams, etc, I recalled this incident with my dad when I was a kid.

It was THEN that I realized that I had been lucky during my tour. The morning after watching this movie, I called my Dad and told him exactly what I had just stated here, about how I’d felt I was robbed, but now realized I’d been spared.

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