 This is Think Tech Hawaii. Community Matters here. Hello and welcome to Think Tech Hawaii and It Never Got Quiet. This is a half hour program that explores the Hawaiian connection with the Vietnam War. I'm your host, Vic Kraft. This is our third program we've already received constructive comments on and that has been reviewed and taken into consideration. We hope to improve with each new episode. The intention of this program was to share the experiences of Hawaiian veterans of the Vietnam War. In the questioning of our guests, we did not want to probe so deep where they would bear their souls. However, we left it up to them as to how much they wanted to share by asking questions that would allow them to take it to the next step as they saw fit. War is a very personal experience. Each of us dealing with it in our own way. It is difficult to share with those who have not experienced war. A lot of veterans may feel ashamed at sharing such personal feelings and don't even recognize that they are carrying such emotions. Many keep those feelings locked up inside, some manifesting themselves, having potentially destructive consequences. One of the reasons for us older guys to come out and tell our stories was to help our younger veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. They, like us, when we were 19 or 20, are 12 feet tall and made of steel. In other words, indestructible. Time has proved otherwise. None of us are case-hardened and we are not capable of being objective when it comes to how we behave. We have been through a traumatic event. It has affected us. I am reminded of a story here in Sorkin Road for an episode of West Wing. This guy is walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, hey, can you help me out? The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out? The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, hey, Joe, it's me, can you help me out? And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, are you stupid? Now we're both down here. The friend says, yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out. The problems we as Vietnam veterans have had over the last 40 or 50 years could possibly have been mitigated if we had had some mentors to guide us. One of the comments we received was from an Iraqi war veteran who after seeing our program said those guys, meaning our veteran guests, were successful in their lives because they didn't have to deal with the PTSD we have. Believe me, we have had to deal with alcohol and drug addiction, broken marriages, the inability to keep a job, socialization issues when dealing with others, especially non-veterans. The Veterans Administration statistics still places 18 to 22 veterans committing suicide each day. We've been down that hole before but we know the way out. Our guest today is Gary Sarah. Gary joined the Marine Corps in 1967. He was trained as a tank crew member and was shipped to Vietnam just before the 1968 Tet Offensive. But as all Marines know, your primary M.O.S. or military occupation specialty is as an infantryman. Gary didn't get to see a tank for a few months after arriving in country and was placed in an infantry battalion. Later, after being assigned to a tank company, he was injured and sent back to the States. After discharge from the Marines, Gary held a few jobs before enlisting in the Hawaii Air Guard. He spent over 30 years in the international guard and has since retired to his hobbies. He does volunteer work at Cali Aloha Park, their heritage park, and has also found another avenue in his life, and we'll talk about that, and that has turned into his new passion. Welcome and Aloha, Gary. Thank you. Glad to be here. I'm glad you are here. Given the reputation that the Marines have, what caused you to go into the Corps right after high school? Many times I've been asked that question, Vic, and there's two actually things that caused me to join the Marines. One was my oldest brother trying to get in the Marines into the aviation force, and he failed to do that, so he decided to join the Air Force. While doing the meantime, I was still going to high school, and during that time, my older sister joined the Army, and also my second brother joined the Navy. So now I had a brother in the Air Force, I had a sister in the Army, and I had a brother in the Navy. So as you well know, just like every family, they come back home and they have stories to talk about, and stories to share with their families. Well, being that my sister, brother, and my other brother been in the other three armed forces, I decided to join the Marine Corps because I didn't want to bring back the same stars that they shared with me. So that was kind of interesting, and I kind of knew what I was getting into, but it boils down to the point where I didn't want to repeat the same stars. Speaking of that, did you have a choice of the jobs that you were going to get when you went into the Corps, or you were just thrown into the occupational specialty that you have? Well, you know, all of us recruits didn't get to find out what specialty or MOS that we were going into, and not until the day after graduation. And among us, the story goes around saying that the way we get selected, as far as the specialty that we are assigned to, is by them throwing darts. And I was lucky enough that my dart landed on 1811 because a lot of people, a lot of the recruits was concerned about being in the infantry. And as you well know, that's the primary thing with the Marines or any forces. Correct. You didn't really have a whole lot of time to socialize because I know that you did Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego, then did the infantry training regiment, probably at Pendleton, and then thrown into tank school right there outside of Oceanside. So you were a pretty busy guy all this time. Didn't get a chance to get out and see the pleasures of the mainland, I would assume. No, I haven't. It's very few times. Even doing the times that we have on Liberty Call, we're restricted as far as the distance that we travel. So just nearby towns that we're able to visit and spend time with. But then again, it wasn't anything mingling with the residents there. It was more a group effort from the Marine Corps. Did you find it as a culture shock at all? I mean, coming from the islands, going into San Diego, here's this big city by comparison. I didn't really find it as a culture shock. Maybe it was, but thinking back then, I didn't see it as a culture shock. The only thing I knew that I would have to change. I would have to adjust myself as far as being involved in the new environment. Because here at home, of course, we speak English. I'm in a pigeon. So knowing well that the people that I encounter don't understand pigeon. So that was, in a sense, a difficult transition. Yeah, I was thinking you came from the big island and raised down there in Hilo, Kona, and subsequently, your family moved up to Waipahu. Waiawa. Waiawa, sorry, and graduated from school there and then went right into the Corps. And as you said, you told me that you had enlisted before you even graduated from high school. So I mean, there must have been some motivation there as far as was there a sense of service or was it just you wanted to show your siblings off? The reason why I chose to join the Marines or the service right after high school was the fact that I knew that eventually I would have been drafted. However, my mom or my parents at that time wanted me to go to school and continue my education. But I told them that being that I'm going to be drafted anyway, to go to school and later on become drafted, then say I die overseas because I knew I was going to go to Vietnam. So the chances of me dying there, possibility. So returning then, if I don't return then, then the money invested in me, you know, for education is like wasted. So I told my parents that I'm going to join the service and get it over with and whatever happens after that, then we'll take it from that point. Not necessarily fatalistic, but realistic as far as a return on investment. Good business sense I would imagine. Your experience in combat, I know that you didn't go into tanks right away. You were shipped out, went into the Nang and I guess were put in a replacement battalion or unit and then farmed out to various other units. I think you said that you had maintained contact with the group that you were with, a bunch of tankers. Correct. And you ended up in an infantry unit, basically performing security duties. Right. And I imagine getting shipped out into the boonies, it had to have been some kind of a traumatic experience knowing that you're going into what we used to call Indian country. Correct. You're right. You know, when I first went overseas my thinking is that once again in country I'd be assigned to a tank unit. Well obviously it didn't happen. I spent about four months, first four months in country being an infantry man. However, this company that we're assigned to was, consists of all different specialists. And we were held there for the purpose of finding out a unit that is available that we can be assigned to. But during the four month spirit, as much as we're trying to get assigned to a tank unit, the word came back that the tank unit was all filled with personnel, so it wasn't any availability for us to be assigned to a tank unit. We'll get back to that in just a minute, Gary. For a moment, let's just take a break here and we'll get back with Gary's here in just a few moments. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. But I have a story and I don't know where to start. I feel alone in a crowd. I can't sleep. I feel overwhelmed. I don't even know who I am anymore. I still have nightmares. I can't live like this anymore. I'm really not so good. But are you ready to listen? For a heightened, the host of Voice of the Veteran, seen here live every Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. on Think Tech, Hawaii. As a fellow veteran and veterans advocate with over 23 years experience serving veterans, active duty and family members, I hope to educate everyone on benefits and accessibility services by inviting professionals in the field to appear on the show. In addition, I hope to plan on inviting guest veterans to talk about their concerns and possibly offer solutions. As we navigate and work together through issues, we can all benefit. Please join me every Thursday at 1 p.m. for the Voice of the Veteran. Aloha. Thank you and welcome back to Never Got Quiet. We're here with Gary Sarah and we were just talking about the beginnings of his experiences in country in Vietnam. And I have a question for you regarding that, Gary. Do you think your experiences in combat affected you in any way, or you're just a normal guy, or did it impact your life in any way that you know of? You know, it's a good question. You know, when I was overseas in country, never done as far as the impact that it would have on my life after I lived that country. Because my primary concern at that time was surviving. So when I left the country, looking back now or looking back then, there was no impact that I noticed within myself. So I would say no, not really. Well, it's interesting because we both belong to the West Oahu Vet Center group that meets regularly. And we have found kind of a place where we can sit and talk story and relate to one another. But one of the things that we have discovered is that we can communicate with each other where we couldn't communicate with other people. And something must have motivated you to come to the group at some point in time. I know that Ed DeGuzman talked me into doing it, and I was very thankful that he did, because I've met a marvelous group of people, plus got involved in some of the activities that the Vet Center offers. And we'll get into that in a minute, because that's one of the things that I think has really been great as far as helping both of us. And that is we've picked up a martial art, but it's really more of a philosophy, and that's kiaikido. And one of the things that attracted me to it mostly was because in kiaikido, one of the primary parts of the philosophy is to keep your opponent from hurting themselves. And I thought that was very different from any of the other martial arts where you're basically trying to beat somebody's brains out. And we do this, and we keep continuing to learn, and as part of that fellowship that we have gained, and I know that in terms of transitioning, you know, getting out of the core, when you left combat, you came back to the states and were discharged after you had done a little more time being an instructor, but you got out, came back to Hawaii. And what were you looking for at that time? You know, when I got out of the service, I was 21 years old. When I came home, I was still dependent on my parents. And I decided I could come home, although I tried to make a living in California up in San Francisco, but realized that my parents wanted me back home. They wanted someone back home, because there was no one there helping them out, so I decided to come home. And I started doing various things. But the transition to civilian life really didn't impact me in regards to my service. My focus was just to do my civil duties, become again a civilian, finding a job, you know, getting paid, and enjoying the comforts of home. So that was the main thing. Life for me at that time wasn't, I didn't take it as serious until my mom passed. After my mom passed, then life became serious for me. Then I really had to look at my career, my future, because it was all dependent on myself. So you ended up in the Hawaii Air Guard, and I think it was at your brother that talked you into it, just as a weekend warrior, and then ended up as a full-time technician there. And again, thank you for your service there, too. Thank you. But it must have been an interesting experience, 30-some years in the Guard. You transitioned through several different aircraft systems, and having to relearn those or learn new aircraft systems and new ways of management. But one of the things that I noticed in our conversations in knowing you is that you always had something beyond that. You had your job, but as one person said it, asked me a question and said, what's your work? You had something else that you could go to besides your work. And I know that when you retired, it was kind of, well, great. Now I can devote most of my time, or all my time, to this hobby. And I know that you do car restoration, amongst other things, as well as volunteer work at Kaleilo Heritage Park. And I know that your sense of curiosity got you as to why we did Aikido at the vet center. And yet it became such a passion with you that you have become our senpai in our group. And I thought that that was marvelous, that you're now our teacher. How did Aikido affect you? I mean, it just, what was the attraction there? Well, initially, the attraction was martial arts. At that time, I was looking for a martial arts, but something that wasn't extensive like karate, judo, kendo, taekwondo. Then this came up. I wasn't familiar with Aikido. So that was my curiosity. And that's the reason why at the vet center I got myself involved in that program. You went beyond that just being a participant? I went beyond that because I realized there was more to Aikido, the martial arts part of it. And it's more personal as far as individuals and knowing oneself better. That's what Aikido for me provides, knowing myself better, knowing my limitations, you know, knowing that I'm the one that creates things for myself and no one else. And to continue that, I figured, well, there's more to it than this. And there is more. And I haven't really learned everything about it. That's an interesting observation because one of the things that we learned in Aikido is you never stop learning. But you also bring up a point that I find interesting and that is having goals. We talked about it before as far as you're transitioning from military life to civilian life and providing a job or something, keeping a roof over your head. But there was still something more that you wanted. And you went ahead and joined the service again, essentially. Did 30 some years, which I think is remarkable. And then when you transitioned from there, it was not a problem. And so many retirees think the statistics show that you have people that are dying from health problems or suicide within five years after retiring, which is a heck of a statistic. And I know that you've been retired for quite some time, but you didn't see the military as being the end of your life. You had something else. And I think that to answer this young guy's question as far as the Iraqi war veterans, the PTSD aspect of it, I think that in conversations with you and also conversations with a friend of mine who's a psychologist up in Alberta, a lot of people when they have that loss of purpose become desperate. And you seem to have maintained that. You had that purpose even though you didn't have a job. You had a hobby. And I know that you've done an awful lot of cars and your restoration skills are remarkable. How did you end up doing that? I mean, it's just something that you felt good about. It all started because of my previous jobs that I had prior to my time in the Air Guard. There were other jobs that I were doing. And one of them was I had a lot to do with automotive. And I've learned a lot. And I found out that what I was learning or what there was showing me or teaching me and making me do was very interesting. So I kind of carried that on. That's great. Just to kind of change the direction here a little bit. What would you like people to remember about us in the Vietnam War? I think for me it's that the people hope that people would understand that were put there. And all the men, women that participated in that conflict did their best. And that's the bottom line. And no more. Just doing their best. Interesting observation. And I hope that our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans feel the same way that they have done their best. We'd love to have some feedback. We were also looking for people to interview. If you have some comments or would like to appear on the program, please send us an email at 808-VietnamVets-at-gmail.com. I would like to thank the staff here at Think Tech Hawaii for all their support and assistance. Truly without them, this program would not be possible. If you would like more information on the Kalea Loa Heritage Park, please go to their website, www.KHLFoundation.org. And once again, I would like to thank Gary Sara for being with us on this program. Thank you very much for joining us.