Untitled

Military Bio:

The Reserves in Vietnam,
I was a freshman college student at St. Petersburg Junior College November 22nd 1963. News of the Assassination (President Kennedy) came over the speakers at the Student Union. We were all in shock. This seemed like the beginning of difficult times for students of my generation and many thoughts would go through our minds, as we made our way into adulthood.

The action in Vietnam escalated in the next few years and the draft was going full bore. The talk on any campus throughout the nation was to go or not to go. Was it a War or Not?

I had passed my Selective Service Physical and was advised to stay in college and keep up my grades or prepare to dig foxholes. So it was shape up or “ship out”. I did what thousands of other smart patriotic young men. I joined the RESERVES! Six months active duty and back home again, “so I thought”.

The typical Reserve Units were all filled up, but I managed to find a spot. In fact I found two spots in the 231st Army Heavy Boat Transportation Unit out of St. Petersburg, Florida. The only problem was the slots were for a Hard Hat Divers? I talked my roommate Glen (Tink) Crosby into taking the other spot for the draft had caught up to him also. The rumor was, “no way would we go to Vietnam for the 231st had been called up during the Berlin crisis” so the recruit Sergeant said. And like a dummy I believed it. I was an avid scuba diver doing underwater cave exploring, spear fishing etc. so the challenge to train in the Hard Hat Equipment was exciting for me. Not so for my roommate who had never been diving. After all, we lived just down the road from Tarpon Springs and I told Tink we could always get work as a sponge diver or work on the Gulf Oil rigs in the future if we lived. We enlisted!

We shipped out to basic training at Ft. Jackson SC in 1964 and met up at the Ft. Eustis VA. at the U.S. Army Transportation Diving School. Tink and I were part of a class of six including Jim McCutchen of St. Petersburg, a couple of surfers from California, Barns and Domphier and a giant of a guy from Connecticut we just called Foster. It was an exciting six months of training with the grisly old Army Master Divers who spent every waken moment trying to intimidate us. These “Lifers” were all counting down for retirement and wanted no part of the Vietnam War. It was more of a lesson on how to get along with Army Lifers as well as sometimes funny, sometime dangerous procedures in our trade. We spent half the time training and half the time drinking and playing “hearts. Diving in the pitch black James River under the dead fleet was kind of dark like some of the caves in Florida I had been in. It was truly claustrophobic hard and dangerous work as depicted in the movie ‘’Men of Honor’’ and Glen (Tink) was petrified. I was to but tried not to show it. It bothered me alot because I could not hold my nose to clear my ears. And the suit weighed so much I could hardly stand up and jump off the side of the boat.

It was late in 1964 before I returned home my job at the family printing company. I settled down to being a part time college and the role of ''weekend warrior''. I did a quick diving gig to Cuba laying an underwater cable for the Navy working for a local civilian contractor Misner Marine. I thought that would be the nearest to combat that I would ever see. ‘Man, was I wrong’.

At the reserve meetings we did very little. The goal was to get as much sleep in the supply room as possible so we would be ready for beer drinking and shooting pool after the meeting. Little did we know what was about to happen to our easy way of military life.

I married my rock and roll sweet heart Linda in 1966 and we were blessed with a Son, Michael Thomas Twitty in April 67. We bought our first home later that year with a GI loan and my dad and I borrowed some big bucks to expand our printing and publishing business to multiple locations. “’Life was good’’. Reserve meetings were once a month and it gave us married guys an excuse to get out of the house. .

One day in May 1968, I was driving to work when a news flash came on my car radio, ‘’President Johnson has just activated 20,000 reserve troops to booster the Vietnam War effort”. The announcement went on to announce units that were being called which included the 231st Water Transportation Unit of St. Petersburg on the top of the list. Well Blow Me Down Mate!!

After I recovered control of my car, I pondered the reality and running to Canada or getting my “Ass Blown Off”. I decided it was my time to serve our country as had my Dad 25 years earlier. So I would take my chances. After all we had about 200 thousand guys in Vietnam and only several hundred a week were getting whacked.

Four Months later (Aug. 1968) I was deep in the Mekong Delta, aboard our 74 foot LCM8 Mike Boat hauling around a load of ammunition and beer. We considered both to be equally important to the war effort and therefore did our best to deliver the goods less our share as “Combat Boat Drivers”. Our typical mission was 50 to 200 clicks up a 150’ wide canal or river to base camps and outposts. I might add that much of the 200 clicks was enemy controlled so it was natural to pee in your pants on occasion. We endured fire fights, sniper attacks, B52 strikes, Agent Orange dousing, lousy food, bad dope and hot beer. “But we did have Beer!

Most of our casualties were from accidents and mental breakdowns. The short version is ‘ we were heroes because we were the Original Beer Men on the Mekong Delta'. Delivering Beer to our troops was kind of like being as popular as the Bob Hope Show without the good looking babes.

The Good Side - We received many medals and accommodations for a job well done and brought every man home (182) more or less alive. (Is this a movie or not?).

The war was over for the 231st after serving a year in the combat zone. Our unit returned to Tampa Bay and we were released without fanfare to civilian life. Tink and I never had to use Hard Hat suit while in Vietnam. The only diving we did was to change or untangle a prop every now and then and check out hulls for damage. My main MOS was Engineer and machine gunner on our 6 man crew. We did learn how to fire a 50 Cal machine gun and many other weapons just to survive. We ate a regular diet of c-rations and LURPS plus some other native dishes like Mekong river ducks and whatever food we could trade among the villages and fishermen on the rivers. Our 79 grenade launchers were a great duck gun. We could get a whole flock in one shot and drop the ramp to pick them up. We were all instilled with memories of war some good and some bad. Many of the guys had loved ones waiting and as many did not. War was hard on relationships and mental anguish among the 231st troops was common. So was live as a 231st Reserve Trooper n 1968-69.

Meanwhile, I tried to pick up the pieces of our family printing business that was DOA when I returned. I took a job with another printing company and tried to avoid thinking about Vietnam and the Anti War protest that were ripping the nation apart. The war lasted another 4 years. I was the typical un-appreciated Vietnam Vet that kept my mouth shut did my job and tried to blend in with the civilians. The war finally ended.

Skip ahead to: 30 years, Sept. 1998: Roy Livingstone, a WWII EX-POW golfing buddy of mine called to consult about taking over production of the monthly American EX-POW Bulletin. Man, I felt like he had called up the reserves. I was trying to launch a Internet Business and this was a real project that I could focus on for the 21 century. The late 80’s had not been kind to me as a real estate developer and that is another story.

I lived in a country club condo with my original rock and roll bride Linda. We are empty nesters with two grown children and 3 grand kids. I was playing two rounds of golf a week to stay fit which included drinking several 6 packs just like on the Delta. (Except it was several a week and not several a day like when we ran the beer runs.

Now being the Son of a New York Herald Tribune War Correspondent, I had been brought up on the stories of the GI’s, and events of World War II. As I looked into how the current publication was being produced, Roy and I concluded that much more could be done with this organization’s material. I jumped on board with a mission to make the Bulletin a publication worthy of the organization. We put in a year and brought the American Ex-Prisoners of War into the 21st Century with improved print quality plus the introduction of an interactive website. This was monumental improvements in 1998-99. The organization is still active but the WWII vets are dieing at a rate of 1500 per week or more. I made no money but it was worth it.

Today April 19th I am updating this bio.

I have survived so far a bout with Prostate Cancer discovered in 2002. Our boats traveled up and down miles of defoliated rivers and canals. Was the cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange or not? Who knows but at least the Government is stepping up and assuming that many cancers are automatically admittedly caused by the defoliants used during the war. We continue to publish articles and news to help Vets in dealing with ailments like this. Many of my comrades have fallen ill and some have died not only from cancers but from parasites that were contracted from various food while living on the Delta during our tour of duty. I invite all Combat Veterans to join, support the CombatVets Network and share experiences, seek medical checkups and care if needed. Many have been able to receive medical and disability compensation from the VA for certain conditions. We are particularly lucky in that St. Petersburg, Florida’s Bay Pines VA Hospital has some if the latest state of the art diagnostic equipment and offer excellent services to Veterans. I presently receive 60% service related disability due to my prostate cancer and underwent radiation pellet insertion as well as external radiations in order to arrest it and prolong and quality of life. I might add that the VA did not offer this type of treatment. I was lucky to have medical insurance via my wife’s employer and sought more state of the art procedures than the VA offered. I recognize however that it was the VA who discovered my cancer and stepped up to the table and paid me for the (time served) of which I am thankful. Keep in touch via this website if you are a Vet. All of us need to fight for continued services or we will be forgotten.

After the Sept. 11th 2001 attack on America everyone should be thankful that the U.S. Reserves were ready when needed. Please support all of our veterans if you can and publish their story on our website if possible. The price our troops are paying against terrorist world wide is a giant job and will not end soon. The after affects in terms of health issues will go on for duration. All Vets and Vet families should be active in demanding services for our government. If not they will soon be forgotten and discarded for the sake of the budget cut. Supporting our Vets is the cause I am dedicated to till the end.

I might add at Glen (Tink Crosby) my fellow roommate and Hard Hat Diving Partner passed away from liver cancer Aug. 30th 2008. We were able to get DIC for Glen's widow by having the death certificate read death contributed by Diabetes type 2. His liver cancer was not covered under the present Agent Orange Assumptions. Why ?

God Bless our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tom Twitty, Publisher
CombatVets Network
727 588-2412
Updated 04/19/2009

Last Name: TWITTY	First Name Middle Initial: THOMAS		Nick Name: TOM
Street: 3 Country Club Dr.	City & State: LARGO, FL		E-Mail: editor@combatvets.net
Zip: 33771	Phone: (727) 588 - 2412		Spouse: LINDA J.
Conflict: Vietnam War	Service Branch: ARMY		Unit: 231st Army Tranportation Reserves (St. Petersburg, FL )
Theater:	Basic Training:		Date Entered Service: 8/18/64
Bases Stationed: Vung Tau South Vietnam			Length Of Service: 1993 days
Discharged / Retired: Honorable	Date Left Service: 2/01/70		Age When Enlisted: 21
Medals Received: National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with 1 bronze service star; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon w/Device (1960); Expert Badge with Auto Rifle Bar, with Rifle Bar;
Military Job: Diver, Marine Eng.		Occupation After War: Printing Broker, Marketing, Real Estate Broker, Developer,, Retired
Primary Civilian Employer: Self - Twitty & Company Ltd. Real Estate
Date This Site First Published:		Date Last Edited: 3/26/2009


Phil Skeleton, Tom Twitty, Russ King pick up our Mike Boat off freighter (our home for 12 months)	Top L; Roger Kennedy, Russ King, Big John Cameron, Phil Skeleton, Bottom Lt;Tom Twitty, Bobo Reid	Tom Staff Photo AX-POW Bulletin Editor, 1999


Action on the river	Gotahaw bridge blown up by enemy under repair again.	Mekong Delta Village


Emilio Lopez, Bob Cole, George Davis On A Mission	Close Action River Edge	Return Trip From Dong Tam 1969


Tom & Linda 8/99 Jackson Hole Wy vacation	Linda & Michael (photo from home 1968)	Who Is Watching Our Backs? Vietnam Memorial digital photo by T.J. Twitty 1999