How Did Joe Skoczen's Life In The Vietnam War?

In 1965, Joe Skoczen had decided, when he was twenty years old, to volunteer to fight for our country during the Vietnam War era. He had wanted to join the army, but his friend, Jack McSweeney, wanted to join the Marine Corps Reserves. It was decided over a game of pinball which branch the men would enter, and Joe lost, meaning they would both join the Marines. On the first day, volunteers and those drafted, including Joe and Jack, were put onto an old, decrepit plane set out for Parris Island in South Carolina for boot camp training. When they arrived at the terminal, the men were loaded onto a bus filled with civilians. Sergeants stormed onto the bus and began yelling and swearing at the men, which scared them, but would prepare them for what was to come in the following weeks. Joe and Jack were assigned to Platoon 1000 as riflemen. On the first night at Parris Island, a man was missing from the ranks and every man in the barracks was awoken in the middle of the night and
Reserve meetings occurred on one weekend each month, which Joe believed to have been the worst part of his time in duty. After his time in the Marines, Joe was a firefighter for thirty-eight years and does not regret his service.
Joe did not approve of the Vietnam War, as in his opinion, the United States did not belong there, let alone kill innocent people. He believes the United States was there because of the Domino Theory, popularized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, stating that if one nation falls to Communism, the surrounding countries will as well. Joe concluded that if Vietnam wanted a Communist government, they should’ve been able to have one.
Although he did not agree with the war, Joe still believes the United States had, and still has, “the best military in the world.” He is not apart of any veteran organization or reunions today. Joe has no regrets, and says he would do it all over