how did we let things get this way

[Bill Murphy]

John Dallas, those of us who "volunteered" by throwing ourselves on the grenade still maintained our US serial number prefix if we did not foolishly sign up for the third year before we had served a day of our obligatory two years. The only difference between a two year US and a three year RA was that we two year guys didn't get to choose our MOS. I remember being in a unit at Fort Lee, Virginia where returning Vietnam veterans were cursing the final year they had to serve stateside just because they were scared into the third year by being told they would die if they didn't sign the papers.