EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series published each Monday between Memorial Day and Veterans Day honoring local veterans. To nominate a veteran, email metro editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com.

BOARDMAN — Kenneth Drombosky remembers the time he was in a car accident while in college, which put him in a body cast as a result of hairline fractures to his spine.

As a result of his injury, Drombosky had to drop out of college and was drafted into the U.S. Army, leading to an interesting military experience for the Boardman resident.

“I had only one year of college and the Army decided to keep me. They let me sleep on a board and I had an open prescription of pain medicine and muscle relaxant. It was August of 1966 and the draft was taking everyone. We teased about ‘the mirror test.’ The draft board put a mirror under your nose and if it fogged up, you were ‘good to go,'” Drombosky recalled.

Drombosky, now 74, had a fractured back, 20/500 vision and was supposed to be noncombat arms. He said he tested high and was asked if he wanted to attend Officer Candidate School even though he had only one year of college.

“There is no Quartermaster OCS, so after basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Advanced Infantry at Fort Lewis, Washington, I was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, in the Infantry OCS. I did not pay close attention because I was not going to see combat. Then graduation came and I was told I would be infantry, leading a platoon in combat, in the jungle. I was able to take a ‘drop’ and do OCS all over again. This time, I paid close attention because I realized the lives of my men would depend on it,” Drombosky said.

Drombosky went to Instructor Training School after OCS, which enabled him to teach. Drombosky said arming and disarming foreign mines and booby traps, and recording a mine field were his areas of expertise.

“I taught for a year. Then life got serious. I made the mistake of volunteering for the First Cavalry. I felt they had the helicopters and I would fly over the jungle, rather than walk through it. I did not know they saw the most combat, had the highest casualties and went where the action was,” Drombosky said.

Drombosky was assigned to attend Panama Jungle School before he went to Vietnam. Drombosky remarked that his wife has mentioned to him that if everything stopped, he would be the one she would want to be with because he knew how to survive.

“I actually gained weight in the jungle training. You just cannot be picky about what you eat. I was an honor graduate of my class of 200 second lieutenants, all combat infantry and heading to Vietnam,” Drombosky said.

Drombosky got to Vietnam in September 1968 and was assigned his first platoon. He said he took no chances with his men, because he realized that, even then, they had no clear mission as to why they were there.

“First, it was the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Next, it was to stop communism and when that no longer worked, it was to win the hearts and minds of the people,” Drombosky said.

He said during this time, he lost some men, but he did not feel much guilt because he knew he did not have the soldiers do anything he would not do.

“They knew we left no one behind. They knew I valued each life as if it were my own,” Drombosky said.

During his time in Vietnam, Drombosky witnessed a lot of combat and was shot at many times. He said he never thought he would make it home because combat lieutenants had a short life expectancy.

“I figure it was somewhere between 100 and 200 times. They missed. My ears ring constantly from a 122-mm rocket that landed 10 feet away. I have issues with Agent Orange and just a little post traumatic stress disorder. Back then, there was no viable Veterans Administration and it took me many years to decompress. Now I treat every day as a bonus day from God. Thank you, Lord, for giving me this extended life,” Drombosky said.

After being discharged from active duty in August 1969 — nearly one year to the day he arrived in Vietnam — Drombosky joined the Army Reserve for a number of years in nondescript roles. He then made the rank of captain and left the military.

“Imagine a draftee with one year of college as a captain in the Army,” Drombosky said.

In January of this year, Dombrosky finally got the chance to share his experiences with the world through his book, “Free Fire: 365 Days in The Kill Zone.”

“It is not a ‘blood and guts’ book, but tells of how we lived in the jungle. We drank out of bomb craters and went months without bathing. I got anxiety attacks for the first few revisions, but later, found it to be therapeutic,” Drombosky said.

He has been a guest on local talk radio shows and has been interviewed by local news stations.

“I also have been invited to give talks on my experiences. I really enjoy opening up the world of that time to those who did not get to experience it firsthand. Soon, there will be none of us left to tell that story. Unfortunately, Agent Orange is taking more of us every day. When we drank out of bomb craters because we could not get resupplied with water, we were drinking Agent Orange,” Drombosky said.

He said he is very thankful he still is able to work full time in sales, working in the construction trade selling steel “skin” for post frame and light commercial buildings.

“I have been in sales all my life and I enjoy getting paid to visit with my friends. I work with retailers I have known for many years. I have been blessed in that my job is fun.”

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