Bill Farnie

Veteran of the Month, September 2005





Brief Bio: dob, service, occupation now, family

I was born July 27, 1948 in Kingston Pennsylvania but my parents along with my older brother and sister made their home in Newark, New Jersey in the Little Italy section of the 1st Ward. To this day I still live in the Newark area and only a five minute drive from the neighborhood I grew up in.

My wife, Maria, and I have been married for 34 years and believe me I don?t know how she has put up with me all these years. She is truly the love of my life. We have two sons. Anthony is the oldest at 33 and Bill Jr. is 30. They both live out of state but come home at most holidays, announced and unannounced. Anthony just got engaged and my wife and I are looking forward to being grandparents. I can go on and on about my family but I was told to make this brief.

Spent two years active duty and four years in the IRR (standby) USAR. I did BCT right at home in N.J. at Ft. Dix and AIT at Ft. Polk La. While at Polk, myself and a few other trainees were asked to stay after fallout one evening and we were told that we were picked to go to NCO school. Don?t know why but it never happened, at least for me and after AIT like thousands of others I received orders to report to Oakland after leave.

Up until January of this year I worked for Siemens Communications. They had a ?workforce reduction? and after a little more then 20 years with Siemens, I was reduced. As of my writing this, I?m still unemployed but not for lack of trying.


Why did you decide to join the Armed services?

I didn?t join, although the week before I received my ?greetings from? letter from my Uncle Sam me and a good friend from the neighborhood decided to join the Navy under the buddy system. We made it all the way to the Federal Building in downtown Newark where the recruiting station was before he chickened out.


Where were you assigned during your tour?

I was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at the 90th Replacement in Long Binh. Those of us going to the 101st were sent to Camp Ray at Bien Hoa, the 101st Airborne Divisions in country training camp called SERTS. SERTS was an acronym for Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School.


What was your first assignment?

After SERTS I went to the 3rd Brigades HHC at Phuoc Vinh and was assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, who at the time, were Opcon to the 25th Infantry Division at Cu Chi. I joined my company somewhere in the field near Trang Bang.


Where did you go next?

We went back to Phuoc Vinh at the end of September and the 3rd Brigade moved to Camp Eagle in I Corp to join the rest of the 101st. We changed places with the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division. The 3rd Brigade made another move to Camp Evans and we replaced the 1st Air Cavalry Division who moved down to south. Spent the rest of my tour in I Corp, mostly in Thua Thien Province, which included the last four months of my tour in the NVA stronghold, the A Shau Valley. I left Vietnam on August the 29th 1969.


What were your most memorable experiences in the military?

I have many memories, some good and some bad but when I was assigned to the 101st Airborne when I got to Vietnam it was one big shock and something I'll never forget. I thought they had made a mistake ?. a big mistake, for I wasn't a paratrooper. When I questioned my orders I was promptly told that the Army never makes mistakes. Turns out they were right, for the 101st had changed from an all paratrooper division to an Airmobile division so they were taking legs as replacements.


How did you feel about going into combat?

I was afraid a lot of the time and anyone who says they weren't are not being truthful. After I was made a squad leader, the added responsibility felt overwhelming at times.


What was your homecoming like?

My homecoming to Newark was great. My parents and the people of the neighborhood I lived in had a block party for me and it made me feel like somebody, besides my family, really cared but outside of the neighborhood it was a different story. If someone found out that I had served in Vietnam the reaction was anything from scorn to no acknowledgement at all.


What do you consider your greatest achievements?

Getting married and staying married in spite of a lot of big time problems, majority of them mine. And also, that my wife and I were able to put our two sons through college.


What are some of the highlights of your life since the war?

The birth of our kids is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.


Are you active in veterans' organizations?

I belong to the VFW but not really active in my post.


Do you keep in contact with your military comrades?

Yes and on a regular basis. There are 30 former members of our old company who I?m in contact with. When I worked for Siemens Communications, once a year I would setup a multi party conference call and we would BS and catch up on each others goings on.


What can be done to improve public awareness of foreign policy and military and veterans' affairs?

As Vietnam Vets, I think we know first hand what challenges are faced by the returning serviceman/woman and I feel it?s our obligation to make sure that they are treated correctly by the Veterans Administration and if not then make sure that the public knows about any issues or injustices the new veterans of OEF and OIF may be facing to force the government to act and correct any problems.


Are there any messages you would like to communicate to your fellow veterans?

Just a simple ?? Welcome Home

Bill Farnie