Freedom, Wis. (WFRV) – The summer of 1967 was a turning point for Jerry Weyers. That summer, the 19-year-old attended his first two military funerals, hearing the sounds of the honor guard.
It was then that he decided to leave his father’s farm and join the Army.
“I knew the draft was getting hot and heavy, and they’re probably going to get me. So, I went and talked to my Army recruiter, and he says, ‘Let’s send you down to Milwaukee, you can take the test and we’ll see how you do,’” Weyers recalled.
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That test landed Weyers in electronics school, where he was trained to be a microwave radio repairman and operator. But once he got to Vietnam, that job description wasn’t exactly on par.
“They didn’t tell us that for every radio, you need a tower to send a signal. And they’ve got me up 30 feet in the air painting a water tower for them and what are they looking for? They’re looking for somebody who’s not afraid of heights,” Weyers said.