When you heard that you were coming home, how did you feel? Wonderful. That was the best feeling. In my case, it was a mixed blessing. I had about 45 days left to do, and I got a message from the Red Cross that my father had died of a heart attack, and so I was on my way home at that point. They went ahead and sent me home. I had three months left to do when the news came, so at that point in time they just cut my orders to be separated from the service, or discharged at Grand Prairie Naval Station in Dallas, which is close to Baytown, so that's what they did. So you didn't have to stay in the Navy until the end of the war? I did not. I got out in June of 1969. How did you feel when you found out that everyone was coming home? When I heard that, I was glad those guys were out of there, and I was real sorry and disappointed for the way that it all came about. I felt let down and disappointed in what our country was and what it stood for at that point in time. Were you able to pick up where you left off after you came home? I remember stepping off the airplane at Hobby Airport, and all I wanted to do was kiss the ground. I was just glad to be home. Was life different after you got back home? Very different. I had a whole different outlook on life. You just can't go to a place like that and then come home and things are the same. They're just not the same. You have a different outlook on life at that time. It seems as though your life means a little more to you, and you know that it can be taken from you quickly. I never had those fears until I went into the military, and then that's when you realize. Did you have any close calls over there? There were several close calls. My first close call after I was in Vietnam, we were out on patrol at night. I was in a Boston whaler; it had a M-16 machine gun mounted on it and we carried a little personal sidearm, and that's how we made
Interview with Gary Hightower, Signalman 1st Class Navy veteran of the Vietnam War originally from Baytown, Texas. Hightower answers specific questions concerning his time in Vietnam such as where he was stationed, what his job was, and if he had any scary combat moments; Hightower also explains his outlook on the war then, and in hindsight.
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