Wayne Elkins
"Mr. Elkins was 19 years old when he
enlisted in the military. He joined the military because he believes
that it was just doing his job. There's no other reason except for that
it's doing his job as a citizen of the United States of America.
Training was in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. In training they would learn how to do many things. They would learn how to march, shoot, etc. This lasted from April until June. At this time he was a carpenter so he would learn how to build.
When he first joined he was a carpenter. Carpenters would build bridges, houses, etc. After he was a carpenter he was promoted to be a tunnel rat. This is where he mostly served during the Vietnam War. Tunnel rats go into tunnels with either no one or just one person. They have to go into the underground tunnels to see what is down there and to clear whatever is done there out. Some of the many items that could have been down there are the following: mines, snakes, grenades, booby traps, and many more. When they first went down they would sometimes throw grenades in first, to help clear out whatever was down there....
...When Mr. Elkins returned home from Vietnam he had changed a lot. Some of the ways that he had changed are that he became more of a man, so he started to stand up for himself a lot more. Also he started to learn right from wrong... All of the negative experiences that he saw made him what he is today.
His homecoming was very awful. There were many protests and there were citizens who were being very disrespectful. Some of the citizens spit on the soldiers. Some threw things at them. So overall homecoming was awful.
When I asked him if he would do it again he said that if his country needed him then he would. He also thinks that everyone should have to serve for at least two years. Mr. Elkins supports the draft too. He believes that everyone should do their job....
...Now, I also feel a lot differently about all of the soldiers and the veterans that we have now. Just seeing my veteran building up tears in his eyes made me feel unbelievably awful. LIke I didn't know what to say except for to just sit there and think. I have so much more respect for our veterans and our soldiers, because what do we do here back in the United States?... There's a reason that the U.S. is a free country. When I asked him if he was proud of his service he said that he was. If I were him I would be proud too. Also he says that he would do it again. After he already served his turn he would do it again. That shows something. Especially if he has already been there and now he knows what war is like..." ~ N. Marchesi
"...'The war taught me to be accountable for my own actions and feelings.' That is a good thing to learn from the war. It makes me wonder what it really must have been like for the soldiers serving, watching there friends die in battle never getting to see there family it must have been really hard and still is hard today. It was hard for the soldiers to trust people because of guerilla warfare you didn't know who would turn or pop out at you when you were not looking; friends could be enemies....
...My thoughts and feelings towards Mr. Elkin’s story really moved me and I walked out with so much information that I didn't know before that I do now it amazes me! It really made me think what a good life I have… and how people would love to have my life because they go through tougher things. I liked Mr. Elkins personality a lot. He was very much into anything we had to say and he really looked like he wanted to hear it. I know that this is really hard for people to talk about and I give all the respect in the world to Mr. Elkins for talking to us about it. There are so many people that have or want to help America in it’s time of need, those are the people that should get credit for things they do. Wayne Elkins being one of them was a great guy to meet. This was most definitely a valuable experience and if I could do it again I most certainly would." ~ A. Pelotte
"...In war he felt that he was just doing his job. He told me that he was scared and anybody that said they were not scared was a fool....
Mr. Elkins said that they had tents to sleep i with cots, but in battle they slept on the ground. Wen they weren't in battle they got regular food but in battle they got boxes with beans and dogs ana cigarette and drink. When they had time to relax they would play guitar and make songs. He said that the hard times were watching someone get killed and killing someone was hard. He also said there wasn't much good times. He was sick for several weeks after he killed his first person and then after he shot the guy he tried to climb up the side of the truck to get him. He said it was hard because a kid would shoot at you. But, he did these things to free our country and he was doing it because it was the right thing to do...." ~ T. Bouchard
"My interview with Mr. Elkins was a awesome experience. It taught me to listen to the stories these soldiers have of the time they were over there....From this interview I learned that the war can be troubling..." ~ V. Dart
Training was in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. In training they would learn how to do many things. They would learn how to march, shoot, etc. This lasted from April until June. At this time he was a carpenter so he would learn how to build.
When he first joined he was a carpenter. Carpenters would build bridges, houses, etc. After he was a carpenter he was promoted to be a tunnel rat. This is where he mostly served during the Vietnam War. Tunnel rats go into tunnels with either no one or just one person. They have to go into the underground tunnels to see what is down there and to clear whatever is done there out. Some of the many items that could have been down there are the following: mines, snakes, grenades, booby traps, and many more. When they first went down they would sometimes throw grenades in first, to help clear out whatever was down there....
...When Mr. Elkins returned home from Vietnam he had changed a lot. Some of the ways that he had changed are that he became more of a man, so he started to stand up for himself a lot more. Also he started to learn right from wrong... All of the negative experiences that he saw made him what he is today.
His homecoming was very awful. There were many protests and there were citizens who were being very disrespectful. Some of the citizens spit on the soldiers. Some threw things at them. So overall homecoming was awful.
When I asked him if he would do it again he said that if his country needed him then he would. He also thinks that everyone should have to serve for at least two years. Mr. Elkins supports the draft too. He believes that everyone should do their job....
...Now, I also feel a lot differently about all of the soldiers and the veterans that we have now. Just seeing my veteran building up tears in his eyes made me feel unbelievably awful. LIke I didn't know what to say except for to just sit there and think. I have so much more respect for our veterans and our soldiers, because what do we do here back in the United States?... There's a reason that the U.S. is a free country. When I asked him if he was proud of his service he said that he was. If I were him I would be proud too. Also he says that he would do it again. After he already served his turn he would do it again. That shows something. Especially if he has already been there and now he knows what war is like..." ~ N. Marchesi
"...'The war taught me to be accountable for my own actions and feelings.' That is a good thing to learn from the war. It makes me wonder what it really must have been like for the soldiers serving, watching there friends die in battle never getting to see there family it must have been really hard and still is hard today. It was hard for the soldiers to trust people because of guerilla warfare you didn't know who would turn or pop out at you when you were not looking; friends could be enemies....
...My thoughts and feelings towards Mr. Elkin’s story really moved me and I walked out with so much information that I didn't know before that I do now it amazes me! It really made me think what a good life I have… and how people would love to have my life because they go through tougher things. I liked Mr. Elkins personality a lot. He was very much into anything we had to say and he really looked like he wanted to hear it. I know that this is really hard for people to talk about and I give all the respect in the world to Mr. Elkins for talking to us about it. There are so many people that have or want to help America in it’s time of need, those are the people that should get credit for things they do. Wayne Elkins being one of them was a great guy to meet. This was most definitely a valuable experience and if I could do it again I most certainly would." ~ A. Pelotte
"...In war he felt that he was just doing his job. He told me that he was scared and anybody that said they were not scared was a fool....
Mr. Elkins said that they had tents to sleep i with cots, but in battle they slept on the ground. Wen they weren't in battle they got regular food but in battle they got boxes with beans and dogs ana cigarette and drink. When they had time to relax they would play guitar and make songs. He said that the hard times were watching someone get killed and killing someone was hard. He also said there wasn't much good times. He was sick for several weeks after he killed his first person and then after he shot the guy he tried to climb up the side of the truck to get him. He said it was hard because a kid would shoot at you. But, he did these things to free our country and he was doing it because it was the right thing to do...." ~ T. Bouchard
"My interview with Mr. Elkins was a awesome experience. It taught me to listen to the stories these soldiers have of the time they were over there....From this interview I learned that the war can be troubling..." ~ V. Dart