“I thought, well, how do they handle writing home to this kid's parents, he's been in-country one month, and tell them that he accidentally picked up a rocket in his hand and it went off?” (Audio Interview, 51:19)

Steven L. Bobb, Sr.

War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Marine Corps Unit: Force Logistics Command, 3rd Marine Division Service Location: Quantico, Virginia; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Da Nang, Vietnam Rank: Corporal Place of Birth: OR

Steven Bobb enlisted in the Marines knowing that he could not be drafted, under old treaties that forbade his tribe to bear arms. He worked as an ammo tech in Vietnam, arriving in 1970, also pulling some guard duty and occasionally going out on patrol. Although he was rarely in direct danger (his first patrol at night being his worst experience under fire), what he saw in Vietnam affected him deeply. In particular, he recalls an accident in which a young soldier, one month into his tour, picked up a live rocket, which went off but did not kill him immediately.