Richard Reyes - Vietnam - 1964

Richard Reyes, ET2 In 1964, when I was 19 years old, I made the decision to enlist in the United States Navy. I was deployed to Vietnam multiple times; I served in the years 1968, 1969 and 1970. My responsibilities as an electronics technician were to take care of the radio and crypto equipment. I remember becoming a Shellback; you become a Shellback when you cross the equator and are initiated, or you will be a Polywog for the rest of your life. The process of becoming a Shellback was somewhat fun. The worst part was when we chose the guy with the biggest belly on the ship and put axle grease on him and you had to kiss his belly; he was King Neptune. I recall the long grind when I was in the ammunition ship; it was a 24-hour day – 8 hours of breakout, at least 8 hours of servicing the vehicles like the aircraft carriers and all the support ships, and 8 hours to eat, clean up, watch movies and play cards, go to sleep, and next morning get up and start the day again, ongoing, minimum 30 days at a time. The long nights consisted of me and my friends playing spades and trying to make the best of the time we were there. One time, my friends and I got kicked out of a hotel in Bangkok for skinny-dipping in the pool; the worst part was that I was the one that initiated this. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. One night when we were sailing in the USS SU ATF 75, Gilbert Rivera from Roswell was on the helm when the captain asked, “Gilbert what is it that you like about the Navy?” Gilbert replied “I like the Navy because they let me drive.” Everyone in the ship laughed, but not the captain; we did not see him for the rest of the night. The time that I was gone, I never told my mother where I was at or what I was doing; all she knew was that I was in a ship. When I came home, I had nothing. I was happy to be home. I am proud of my service; if I had the opportunity to go back, I would do it again without any doubt or hesitation. I have been retired for 5 years and during my days I like watching movies like Sand Pebbles and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I prefer western movies. The thing that I enjoy the most is to watch my kids grow up and be able to be here for them. Richard received the Vietnam Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal with Honorable Discharge in 1971. Richard attended Bel Air High school and is a current resident of El Paso, TX. Richard has been married for 45 years to Elsa Reyes and has 3 children, Ricardo, Naomi and Adriana. He is the oldest of 6 siblings, including his 4 sisters and 1 brother. He has 8 grandchildren, Ricardo, Brianna, Hannah, Nicholas, Samuel, Mathew, Victor and Idalyz. As told to Rosa Macias, Student, University of Phoenix