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thedrifter
11-05-07, 09:04 AM
Published November 04, 2007 10:18 pm - When John Amato enlisted in the service as a teen-ager, he was following the legacy of his father and grandfather, both of whom served in the military.

Veterans share experiences at annual salute
By Jane Smith

11/05/07 —

When John Amato enlisted in the service as a teen-ager, he was following the legacy of his father and grandfather, both of whom served in the military. Gene Wisinski described himself as a “smart-alec teen” when he enlisted in the Marines and marched off to Vietnam. And Jamestown’s John Palmer didn’t enlist, he was drafted — along with his twin brother — and narrowly missed going down with the ship.

All three said their military service changed their lives for the better — and they have powerful descriptions to prove it.

They will be among 13 local veterans who will share their stories in a local three-day forum this week. “Through a Veteran’s Eye” will be presented Nov. 8 through 10 at the Community Center of Crawford County, 1034 Park Ave.

Wisinski found his vocation from experiences he had as a Marine serving in Vietnam. Nervous about the possibility of being drafted, Wisinski describes how he and two friends said, “We are going to join the Marine Corps and we’ll end this war.”

“We were smart-alec teens,” he can say with a laugh today. But almost 40 years ago, Wisinski recalls how he showed up for boot camp training — all alone. His two friends didn’t go. That was Feb. 27, 1969.

Soon after that date, more men were needed, and the nation’s first Vietnam military lottery draft was held on March 15, followed closely by the second on April 15. One by one, dates were randomly chosen; if your birthdate was drawn as an “early number,” there was a good chance you would be going off to war. The high number chosen for Wisinski’s birthdate wasn’t called into action. “I would never have gone,” he laughed, pondering the irony of the situation.

His fate already decided, he soon found out that he and his friends “didn’t have a clue” — remembering what he learned after joining the Marines, as opposed to what he thought he knew as a teen.

His service led him to his career of helping children. One day, while fighting the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam, he fell down a hill while carrying a machine gun, badly dislocating his shoulder. The injury landed him in a medivac station for three weeks — away from the fighting. “I was bored,” he said of his daily routine there.

He discovered a children’s orphanage in the area and began visiting every day. He soon was tossing a football (with his good arm) and playing ball with the children. It was then he discovered he liked working with children and had a good camaraderie with them.

Before he could think about working with them as a career, though, he first had to finish his tour of duty.

He remembers his calendar that hung on the wall. It was used by Marines to mark off the days until he would go home. His had a picture of Porky Pig with “That’s All Folks” on the 365th day. But the closer he got to the date he was to go home, the more frightened he became. With two months to go, he said the fear he would not make it out alive became more real. “I can’t do this any more,” he recalled thinking one day.

And those feelings intensified when his station was being bombarded with artillery and he couldn’t find a place he thought was safe. “I had rockets hitting 10 feet either way,” he noted of the situations. But survive he did, and eventually he was homeward bound.

After returning to the States, he received his degree in social work and education, deciding to get involved with the teaching of children. Today he is chief executive officer of Bethesda Children’s Home in Meadville, a position he’s held for 22 years.

He said it is important for the younger generation to know about their history — and that’s why he agreed to be one of the speakers for Meadville’s Through a Veteran’s Eye program later this week.

At the age of 57, Wisinski said he recalls returning home to the protests and feeling guilty that he made it home alive. “I’ve been blessed,” he says today of his life, citing his wife, his children and knowing he still has the rest of his life ahead of him. Noting his “new found appreciation” for those who served, he said, “We lost 50,000 kids in Vietnam,” noting that is 50,000 who did not get to live the same life he now has.

Ellie