Frank DelPriore

Jessica Lizama

Gene Rasmussen

Navy

Service: 3 years

King High Remembers: Gene Rasmussen

Gene Rasmussen was born in Harlan, Iowa and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Growing up he lived with just his mother alone in an apartment. At seventeen, being a high school drop out, he was not the most obedient kid around and found himself in trouble constantly. Consequently, he was given two choices: go to a reform/correctional school, or to join the military. The military was the course he took (which was probably the best choice for him being the troubled teen that he was). A friend of his was also joining the military specifically the Army, and Gene wanted to follow in his footsteps. However, having failed the physical training his friend was not fit to join the Army. As a result of this Gene chose a different direction...the Navy. This is when his life began to change.

At only seventeen, the first experiences in boot camp for the Navy were tough for Gene. There was a particular time in training that he clearly remembers. He was given an order and instead of replying with the compulsory “sir, yes sir,” he replied “okey, doke.” From then until the end of boot camp, he was assigned to clean a specific toilet. “That toilet was mine for the rest of boot camp... and I made it shine, let me tell you!” This was one of many humorous stories Gene had experienced first hand in San Diego, California. He had gone to two trainings: the basic training (boot camp) in San Diego, and additional training camps in Coronado and Warner Springs, California. He was later stationed in San Diego in 1966 as a recruit trainer and then re-stationed in Oxnard, California in 1966-1967. In 1968 was when he saw the REAL action.

In 1968-1969 is the time in which Gene had fought in Vietnam. He fought in places such as Da Nang, Dong Ha, Perfume River, and Qua Viet River. He got married before Vietnam, and had no real communication with family there. The only forms of communication were letters in which he got about every two weeks, and relaying messages on the radio (not use often). The closest thing he had to family overseas were the friends he made there. They were practically family because they had to look after each other constantly due to routinely being fired at. Gene saw combat often when boating, and often never saw who shot at him. Although he had experienced being shot at and returning fire, he never saw if he killed anyone. Until this day, he doesn’t know if he actually did kill anybody. “I was better off not knowing who I shot, or if I ever shot anybody because it would have been hard to kill a person.” Through these times of panic and fear, there were also times of laughter and amusement with his comrades. On their down time, they didn’t have much to entertain themselves so they played pranks on each other and watched movies. There were a couple memorable pranks that Gene had pulled and was targeted on. There were showers on the outside of their hut that they stayed in. To get warm water, someone would have to light a flame under the water tanks. Gene and his comrades had taken turns to light the flames for everyone’s showers and when one of the guys had forgotten to do so...the group took advantage. They put Kool-Aid in the top of the water pipes so when someone would take a shower, they would be rinsing themselves in red, sticky liquid. Another prank that was pulled had targeted Gene. Gene had gotten drunk one night and walked off out of the hut. While he was out, the guys had hidden his mattress on top of the lockers they had and when he returned he went on a drunken rant because his bunk was missing. Other forms of entertainment for them were limited. The only other activities that they could do were watch movies and give out “Dear John Letter of the Month” awards to they guys whose girlfriends had broken up with them. Other than these activities, there were no ways of dealing with the pressure of being at war. “There were no real ways of getting through the pressure of war other than just dealing with it the best that you could.” Gene had a hard time describing the ways he dealt with it because there were no ways of escaping it. Having friends definitely helped him though. He remembered a couple of names, but the most memorable to him was his best friend in Vietnam: Jeff or “Dirty Ernie.” He got real close to Jeff and his family in Minnesota sent them Beef Jerky often. Jeff wasn’t the only guy with a nickname though. Gene’s nickname was “Moose.” Though he didn’t know why he was called that. Gene spent some time on base at Vietnam but most of his time was on small boats where he served as harbor security. After spending most of his time on riverboats in Vietnam, Gene spent his last six months of service on a boat named the USS Bennington. On the boat he was able to have a close friendship with five of the guys. Overall, the year in Vietnam was a most memorable experience for Gene Rasmussen.

When Gene Rasmussen returned from Vietnam in 1969, he lost contact with a lot of his friends that he made. He wasn’t discriminated against in any way like others had been. Others had been spit on and called “baby-killers.” Fortunately, these things never happened to him. Probably one of his toughest times coming back was going to visit the Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington DC. Aside form that his comeback was a great success, he used the GI bill to buy a house and go to college. He received his GED and got a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, then became a probation officer. He remained a probation officer for thirty years and currently works part-time for the sheriff’s department. He is living a happy life and gets thanked for his service often today. Even more so than when he first returned from Vietnam. His story is truly a tale of success. He went from being a high school drop out, juvenile delinquent to being a Vietnam war veteran with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. “I would definitely say that I owe everything I have to the military. I wouldn’t be here today without it.” This is probably true because he found out that while he was in Vietnam, his best friend Joe had been arrested for armed robbery. Joe was the kid in the neighborhood that he hung around most. Gene Rasmussen has been to King High remembers four times and shares his story with kids every year since 2009. He is forever grateful for the United States Navy. “Who knows? I could have been the one in jail if I hadn’t joined the Navy.”