"I lost several friends in the Korean conflict, and I always felt that I wanted to serve in the military and that I owed Uncle Sam some of my time." (Audio Interview, 1:54)

Jimmie C. Spiller

War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Unit: Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 77th Armored Regiment, 5th Infantry Division Service Location: Fort Carson, Colorado; Vietnam; Romulus and Fort Wadsworth, New York; Walter Reed Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland; Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Monroe, Virginia; Nuremberg and Darmstadt, Germany; Fort Sam Houston, Fort Hood, and William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas Rank: Colonel Place of Birth: OK

In college during the Korean War with a student deferment, Jimmie Spiller wasn’t drafted. But he never forgot the sacrifices some of his friends made in that conflict, so at the age of 35, as an ordained minister, he became a military chaplain. In Vietnam he was attached to an armored battalion. He comforted the wounded and those in need of assurance, holding services several times a week and not just on Sunday. He also paid visits to Navy hospital ships and learned to improvise when a bugler was not available to play “Taps” at a memorial service.