Thursday, December 5, 2024
Ray Rodriguez was enjoying life as a student at the University of Texas — joining the military was not part of his plan.
Rodriguez graduated college with an accounting degree in December 1970. Like many young men of his generation, Uncle Sam called the following month as part of the military’s lottery system.
“My number was 36, I was drafted into the U.S. Army,” he explained, referring to the system that randomly selected birthdates for conscription. “The lower the number you had, the more likely you were going to get drafted.”
“When I reported for duty, they put about 50 of us on a bus in San Antonio and drove us to Fort Polk, Louisiana.”
During his first days there, Rodriguez noted the isolation he felt. “I knew no one ... you’re going to a place you’ve never been before, so I was a little nervous.”
However, he quickly adapted to the routine of basic training, which lasted about eight weeks. During this time, he participated in the physical demands of Army training, such as marching and learning to handle weapons.
He qualified with the M16 rifle, the standard firearm used at the time. His training also included “bivouac,” an exercise where soldiers camped overnight in the woods for two or three days to practice survival skills with minimal equipment.
“There at Fort Polk, when they discovered I had a degree, they asked me — many times — to go into the officer program,” Rodriguez said, explaining that becoming an officer would have required a longer commitment. He preferred to fulfill his two-year draftee obligation and then find a civilian career. “Two years was enough for me.”
Unlike many of his peers, Rodriguez did not receive orders to serve in Vietnam. Instead, after basic training, during a brief stint in a “holdover unit” at Fort Dix, New Jersey, which he refers to as “a mixed bag of nuts,” Rodriguez and some fellow soldiers were tasked with park sanitation for several weeks.
Lifelong friendships can begin in the oddest of circumstances, such as doing laundry. Rodriguez met another soldier while folding bed sheets. “I noticed he wore a University of Texas Longhorn ring. And I said, ‘Are you a Longhorn?’ He said, ‘Yes, I am.’ I said, ‘Well, I am too!”
That chance meeting sparked a lifelong friendship that has lasted over 50 years. The two became roommates in Heidelberg, Germany, and shared many experiences, including traveling and working together. “He moved to New York City, to Manhattan. We speak once or twice a month.”
In Heidelberg, Germany, Pvt. Rodriguez worked in a postal unit, where the soldiers were given bunks in old German barracks. His job involved traveling to smaller postal units around Heidelberg, about 30 to 40 miles away, to help sort and distribute mail and packages.
He also made regular trips to Frankfurt Airport with a small team to pick up mail from the United States. They brought the mail back to the main post office in Heidelberg, where it was sorted and distributed to different military units across Europe.
Reflecting on his time in the military, Rodriguez appreciated the opportunities it provided. “I got to travel ... I went to England, France and Italy,” where he discovered a love for Italian food. In Germany, he attended Oktoberfest in Munich. “They had good food and good beer, too,” he laughs. He also traveled to Tunisia, in Northern Africa. “For a young 21-year-old guy, I learned a lot.”
“I remember going to Paris for Christmas and attending midnight mass at Notre Dame, which was special. Then I went to St. Peter’s in Rome for Easter midnight mass, which was also a memorable experience.”
Upon returning to the U.S., Rodriguez smoothly transitioned to civilian life. He secured a job with the IRS in the metroplex. “I put all my possessions in my MGB and drove to Dallas,” he says, crediting his military experience with teaching him valuable life skills. “I learned independence, how to adapt, and how to treat people in life.”
Though his time in the military was brief, Rodriguez remains grateful for the experience. Today, he celebrates Veterans Day with quiet recognition from his family. “I get phone calls or texts from my daughters saying, ‘Thanks, Dad, for being in the military.’ So, that’s kind of nice.”
Rodriguez’s service can be summed up in three words: pride, opportunity and experience. While he may not have chosen his path, he made the best of it.
Rodriguez knows the military may have changed, but he encourages young people to consider it as an option. “There’s going to be some discipline involved, but take advantage of the opportunities,” he says. “If you’ve got time, give it a try. You never know what interests you might discover.”
