A Night at the Local VFW

We’ve all got an opinion about America’s wars, politics, and place in the world. On the heels of the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan and ahead of Veterans Day 2021, Northern Express thought it a worthwhile time for all of us to pause the bickering and — in honor of those who chose to serve and sacrifice for all Americans — simply listen.

By Al Parker

Over the course of the nation’s history, 41 million Americans have served in the military, with more than 16 million serving in World War II alone.

Northern Express recently pulled up a chair alongside six northern Michigan veterans at VFW Post 2780 in Traverse City to learn about their lives, time in the military, and feelings on today’s armed forces. Veterans Day is Nov. 11, but we encourage you to seek out a veteran you know and say thanks any day of the year.

Bill Volkening, U.S. Army

“I was a farm boy from New Baltimore when I got my draft letter in 1959,” says Bill Volkening. “I was off to Fort Wayne in Detroit, then on to basic training at Fort Knox.”

He served stateside for two years before leaving the Army in 1961, then in 1982 reenlisted in the Army Reserves. In 1990, Volkening was deployed to the Middle East, where he drove trucks and trained truck drivers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. He finally retired from the Army in 2000.

“Looking back, I remember the camaraderie,” says the 81-year-old Kingsley resident.

After ending his active-duty career, Volkening continued to be involved with veterans through VFW Post 2780 in Traverse City. He served as post commander twice and as long-time captain of the post’s Honor Guard, which visits senior care homes and schools and assists at funeral services for veterans.

“I always wanted to serve veterans and their families,” says Volkening, who was chosen as the VFW post’s Veteran of the Year in 2016.

What does he think of today’s military?

“I gotta give those young folks a lot of credit,” he says. “There’s no draft, and still they step up and serve their country.”

Bill Seater, U.S. Army

Bill Seater was drafted into the Army in 1966, just as the U.S. presence in Vietnam was building. After basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he went to tech school in Virginia, taking generator mechanics classes.

Soon he was on his way to Southeast Asia.

“I arrived in Vietnam on Sept. 21, 1967,” recalls Seater, who grew up in the tiny Emmet County town of Brutus. “We landed at Tan Son Nhut air base.”

Later he was driven to “a little bitty compound,” the Phu Lam Signal Facility, a key communications base on the west side of Saigon. In one month in 1967, the tiny compound processed 1 million messages over 55 teletype circuits, and the number of troops there approached 800.

Seater was working the midnight shift on Feb. 8, 1968, when a sergeant burst in and shouted that the base was under attack.

“I was headed out to the bunker when a blast went off nearby,” says Seater. “It numbed my ears, and I couldn’t hear my own footsteps. The only injury I got over there was that night.” In the dark, he ran into something and suffered a nasty cut on the palm of his hand. Seater considers himself lucky. He later had a chance to change jobs and became one of the base’s overseas switchboard operators. “I lived off base, in a hotel,” he remembers with a smile. “It was pretty nice compared to some guys.”

John W. Milks, U.S. Marine Corps

John W. Milks had a big problem with authority when he was younger. So what did he do in July 1967?

Enlist in the Marine Corps.

“I was full of hatred and animosity,” says Milks, who lives in Benzie County. “I do better now — with adult supervision.”

Nevertheless, growing up, Milks had always wanted to be a Marine. When he signed up, he was told to report to Fort Wayne in Detroit. Unfortunately, he arrived at the historic fort on July 24, 1967, right in the middle of the violent and chaotic Detroit Riots and found the gate locked shut because of the rioting.

“There were two guys there, and I told them I was here to enlist in the Marines, and if they didn’t open the gate, I was gonna climb over it,” he says.

After a little discussion, he was let in and started his military service, which began with basic training in San Diego and highlighted by a hellish tour in Vietnam.

“I met some good people and learned the blessings of good health, good air, clean water,” says Milks.

Coming home, he struggled with problems that were common among Vietnam veterans, including work stability. “I was a painter, did landscaping, had probably 50 different jobs,” he says. “I think my kids [three daughters and a son] really got me through it.”

Eventually Milks went to work for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians where he oversaw grounds maintenance.

Looking back on his service?

“I was thankful and proud to serve, proud to be a Marine,” says Milks.

What does he think of today’s armed forces?

“I think it helps young people do the best for themselves. The military builds selfdiscipline, channels their energies, and helps in their maturing.”

Tim Luckey, U.S. Air Force

In the late 1970s, Traverse City native Tim Luckey was an energetic teen when District Court Judge Richard Benedict “suggested” he consider serving in the military.

Luckey enlisted in the Air Force in 1978 and went off to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for basic training. He became a military police officer, eventually serving in 26 countries before his discharge in 1998.

“I spent four years in Germany and five years in Japan,” says Luckey. “The worst place? That was Korea, I hated it with a passion. It was a stinky country.”

After his service, Luckey became a criminal investigator in Pina County, Arizona, before returning to Traverse City where he served as a reserve city police officer.

Rich Long’s family has a long history of military service.

“My great-grandfather was in World War I, my dad was in World War II, and my brother was in Korea and Vietnam,” says Long, who enlisted in the Army in 1983, then later served in the Army Reserves for a total of 25 years. In 2004 and 2005, he served in Iraq.

He was sent to the Middle East as an army cook, but he ended up with several duties, including truck driving.

“It was a culture shock,” says Long, but his time in the desert is not something he regrets. In fact, he says, he gained a lot.

“I miss the camaraderie of the guys,” says Long. “We became like a family over there. And I learned the old lesson that there are no atheists in foxholes.”

Today, Long continues another mission. He serves as a chaplain at VFW Post 2780.

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Mike Smith, U.S. Army

Growing up in the Detroit suburb of Wyandotte, Mike Smith went into the Army, just like his dad did years before.

After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Smith was sent — like many other young men of his generation — off to Vietnam in early 1968. While much of Michigan was focused on the Detroit Tigers’ march toward the World Series, Smith’s attention was focused on survival.

“I spent 52 years trying to forget that son of a bitch,” says Smith of the war.

He got to South Vietnam in February 1968 as a member of a mortar crew. Smith’s arrival was rude, to say the least.

“When I got to Long Binh, they were rocketing the airport when we landed,” he recalls.

At the time, Long Binh was the largest U.S. Army base in South Vietnam. It sat between Bien Hoa, a large air base, and Saigon, the nation’s capital. Long Binh was a key logistics and command center that came under attack during the Tet Offensive, a series of surprise attacks by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops against American forces and their allies.

After a long, grueling year in the jungle, Smith returned to the U.S. in March 1969, only to be met with taunts — and worse. “When I came back, I got spit at and called ‘baby killer,’ he says.

What are his feelings about the recent U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan?

“It was terrible,” he says. “It was like sneaking out the back door. Totally mishandled.”

These days, Smith, who is commander of VFW Post 2780, is one of the 22 member of the post’s Honor Guard. So far this year, the all-volunteer group has appeared at 117 funerals and 17 other events, like school visits or senior citizen gatherings. The group serves a six-county region: Grand Traverse, Antrim, Kalkaska, Benzie, Leelanau, and Wexford.

The appearance of the Honor Guard is usually coordinated through a funeral home at the request of the deceased veteran’s family.

The Honor Guard will play taps, perform a gun salute, and present a folded American flag to the veteran’s kin.

“The toughest part is presenting the flag,” says Volkening, his voice wavering just a bit. It’s really, really hard.”

Smith and Milks silently nod in agreement.

By the Numbers:

• The median age of veterans is 65 years. • There are roughly 18 million Americans – about 7 percent of the adult population – who were veterans in 2018. Ranging from 18 to over 100 years old, they served in conflicts from World War II to the Global War on Terrorism. • About 9 percent of veterans, or 1.7 million, are women. By 2040 that number is expected to be 17 percent. • The largest group of vets (6.4 million) served during the Vietnam Era from 1964 to 1975. The second largest group (4 million) served in peacetime, from 1955 to 1964 and 1975 to 1990. • The number of veterans declined by a third, from 26 million to 18 million between 2000 and 2018. • There are fewer than 500,000 WWII vets alive today, down from 5.7 million in 2000. — U.S. Census Bureau

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