Monday, January 23, 2012

Engineer Battalion (Const) in Vietnam War

This weekend I did a lot of Vietnam War research, particularly regarding the engineer battalions that were sent over there and the projects they worked on. I have my husband's stories for my novel, Family Secrets, but I wanted to flesh them out a little by getting the "bigger picture".

Served in U.S. Army Co. D 84th Engineer Battalion (Construction) 1967-68
Actually, what prompted me is I ran across the coffee can in which my husband had stored his original DD-214, patches and ribbons from his army service. My husband is not a coffee-drinker. But, coffee cans are among his all-time favorite containers for storing items, especially in his shop, which is where I found this little jewel.

Unfortunately, you can see from the back of his DD-214 (which I used as the backdrop) and some of the ribbons, not all his war memorabilia stored well in the coffee can.

It was interesting to learn more about engineers, the role they play in the military in general, and about his unit in particular during the Vietnam War. I will eventually mount these items in a shadow box for display in my living room along with the framed memorabilia I have from my father's WWII experience. But for now -- well -- except for the DD-214 that is in a plastic sleeve, they are still in that coffee can (in the house, not the shop).

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