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Donald Ray Hobbs. The "Draft" for the needed soldier power of the military is a necessary evil. It can never be fair, as mere mortals are on the selection board. In times of peace, the number of the draftees is less than in times of war. Regardless, being told that a young man must interrupt his career and report to training camp to become a soldier is an eye-opening experience. Most of the new draftees just pick up and report, others are more than happy to report, while a few refuse to serve. I am so proud of those that report for duty after being drafted. Most of the area soldiers were drafted and most, if not all, served honorably. Donald Ray Hobbs was just one, of the several Rockport/Echols young men, that was drafted and became a hero for serving his country in time of need and in time of a war. Those that honorably served and in true sense, American Heroes, were presented a grave injustice when they returned home. Some of the American people and most of the news media unfairly blamed these young men and women for the events that were occurring in the war zone. The returning heroes, in some cases, were just ignored, while in other cases they were treated unfairly and unjustly. In that time frame and I can remember it well, I was not very proud of some of the American protestors nor of the news media. Thanks goodness, most of the American people, since those days in the sixties and seventies, are now treating all soldiers with the respect and honor that they deserve. I can not be that positive with the news media. Donald Ray Hobbs was born and raised in the small town of Rockport, Kentucky. He was a 1959 High School graduate of Beaver Dam, KY and a Vietnam Veteran. He started the first grade at Rockport and completed all eight years of elementary education. By then, Rockport High School was no more, and he was bussed to Beaver Dam to complete his high school education. The following paragraphs were written by Donald Ray and I will leave them intact. The poem on the left was written by Donald Ray when he was serving in Vietnam. The idea and most of the formation of the poem "Came" to him one night when he was on guard duty. Lead on Mr. Donald Ray Hobbs and thanks for your service to our country. MILITARY SERVICE OF DONALD RAY HOBBS: Having my Critical Skills Deferment declined by the Ohio County, KY, draft board and neither the KY or MO state boards being able to decide my status, I received classification notification (1 A Accepted) signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. During the induction process in Louisville, KY in March, 1966, along with 83 other draftees, a Marine Recruiting Sgt made a passionate pitch for four "proud" men to fill his allotment and become Marines. No one volunteered so he picked four. I was number one, so off I went to Paris Island, SC for Marine boot camp. After boot camp and infantry training at Camp Lejeune, NC, I was off to ANTI-AIRCRAFT WARFARE ELECTRONICS OPERATOR Training in San Diego, CA. I and another Engineer graduate draftee were at the top of our class and we both received orders to serve the rest of our duty teaching the class. Unfortunately for us, over-riding orders came from the Commandant of the Marine Corps that our entire class of 25 would report to Viet Nam as Christmas replacements. I was in Chu Lai, Viet Nam (roughly 80 miles south of Da Nang) with a Hawk Missile Battery from December 66 for thirteen long months. Our missiles were located on a sand hill between our air strip and the South China Sea. The mission was to protect the air base from attack by enemy jets and/or bombers. Metaphorically, like shark control in Green River. Even though the war was going on all around us, our unit was not a priority to enemy. A reason could well be that while I was there, not once did we pick-up an enemy jet in S. Vietnam airspace. That didn't mean the enemy wasn't near. As I recall around October, 1967, the Army set up a base camp about 1000 yard south of our base perimeter. On the first night the troops arrived, they were hit by mortars. I was on guard duty that night and stationed in a bunker overlooking their camp. There were a lot of fireworks because they hit a couple of helicopters but it didn't last long. The sad awakening came the next morning when they reported 17 dead and over 30 more hospitalized. I left Vietnam in January 1968; I held the rank of Corporal and declined a promotion to Sgt so I could get out early when I returned to CONUS. Even though I didn't want to be a Marine, having survived the experience gave me a different perspective on life and helped me in my business career. Where college provided a level of technical competence, the Marine experience was an intensive course in street smarts and survival tactics. I spent 20 years with Emerson Electric (Saint Louis, MO) after college, and 20 years with Franklin Electric (FELE) Bluffton, IN; 20 miles south of Fort Wayne. After my retirement from FE in 1996, my wife, Kathy and I continue to live in Fort Wayne to be close to our daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren. Our son, a lawyer, recently took a job in Orlando, FL. In closing, life has been good to me. I can honestly say that I was able to retire from a job and company that I loved. In retirement, I play a lot of golf and provide advice to all those that will listen. :~) |
Donald Ray Hobbs