This is the story of Edmund Weinberg who served as a captain, Veterinary Corps, attached to Army Munitions Command, Ford Detrick, Frederick Maryland, 1966-1968. I write this to point out that everyone who served was not selected by or subject to the lottery; rather, some were selected without the lottery to fill a specific need for a professional specialty known as a "MOS." My MOS was uncommon, requiring a doctorate level education. I was selected for induction as an officer at the end of my senior year as a married veterinary student at the University of Pennsylvania. The army needed a veterinarian and they picked me. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only one selected in my class. They picked me over all others, possibly because I volunteered for ROTC as an undergraduate at Penn. State University. I guess they figured that I already expressed an interest in the military and I was half trained- I knew the manual of arms and the like. I guess they were right because I considered serving an honor and an adventure, To this day I consider my service to be one of my life’s proudest achievement. I am part of an honorable brotherhood with lifetime membership.
After service for two years I came to the University of Wisconsin (1968-1972) on the GI bill as a PhD canditate in Veterinary Science under Professor Barney Easterday. He served at Fort Detrick before me and later was chairman of the Department of Veterinary Science at the Madison campus and after I left, was the first Dean of the Wisconsin Veterinary School.
I came to Madison just in time for the anti-Vietnam campus riots. It was the time of Kent State and national unrest because of the war. One day I learned that there was a terrorist attack on the Army Math Center and after the explosion I helped to recover scientific research equipment from the rubble.
I will be very pleased to hear from my fellow alumni who served in the Army. Send me a personal email if you wish at: velocipederider@aol.com
I presently live in Freehold NJ.