Project Lima

After attending college for two years, Robert enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman. After boot camp, he was assigned to Dental Technician School in San Diego, where he attended Basic and Prosthetic Schools. Upon graduation, he received orders to the Fleet Marine Force, 3rd Marine Division Vietnam. Prior to shipping out, he attended Field Medical School at Camp Pendleton for Marine corpsman training. He arrived in Vietnam in early 1968, as the Tet Offensive was still Active. He served as a Dental Technician near the DMZ. His duties included fabricating prosthetic devices, oral surgery assisting, triage of the wounded, as well as forensic identifications on Marines who were killed in action. During his deployment, he was sprayed with Agent Orange. He spent the rest of his four years active duty at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina where he was also exposed to toxic chemicals in the water supply and has had residual medical issues ever since. His military awards include The Navy Achievement Award w/combat valor device, Combat Action Ribbon, Vietnam Service Award w/Fleet Marine device, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Valor Cross, and Civil Action medal. He has been married for 35 years, has two grown children. He provides a home for several rescue dogs, and is still working as a dental tech to provide for his family.