53 Year Old Vietnam Vet Called Up for Iraq

A 53-year-old Vietnam veteran from western Pennsylvania has been called up for active service with the U.S. military in the Iraq war, The Tribune Review of Greensburg, Pennsylvania reported on Wednesday.

Paul Dunlap, a sergeant in the Army National Guard, will join an armored division next month as a telecommunications specialist in Kuwait, and expects to be there for at least a year, the newspaper reported.

Dunlap, who has not been in combat since serving as a 19-year-old Marine in Vietnam, could not be reached for comment. He will leave behind his wife Mary, four children and three grandchildren.

"I don't think any of them want me to go," Dunlap told the paper. "I'm thinking it's a long time since I've been in war."

Dunlap, from the town of Pleasant Unity, near Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said he received a call from his sergeant major and was told to report for a soldier readiness program, the newspaper said.

Dunlap's wife was quoted as saying the entire family "prayed that he wouldn't pass his physical."

"It's very, very scary," she said. "He's been a soldier since I met him, but there's a part of me that wonders at 53: Is he going to be up to doing what he needs to do over there?

Koenigsegg said:
while i'm pretty sure i'm just making light of the situation (in fact, i am pretty certain of it):

if they're calling 53 year olds into active service, then why would you be worried about a draft? the way i see it, they'd just keep on reinstating old fogies, while you and your ilk would still be free to burn flags and harp on about ohio recounts on internet message boards

From PittsburghLIVE.com

Familiar territory: 53-year-old veteran to serve in Middle East
By Paul Paterra
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Paul Dunlap served 11 months in Vietnam. He knows what it's like to be in a war, not sure who the enemy is.

It's something he didn't think he would face again. But it appears he will.

Dunlap, 53, is a first sergeant in the Army National Guard Company C 28th Signal Battalion, based in Torrance, Derry Township. The thought of going to war was in the back of his mind, but he hadn't been in combat since he was a 19-year-old Marine in the Vietnam War.

The Pleasant Unity man has been called to active duty for Operation Dragoon, part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"I'm thinking I'm going to be away for at least a year from my family and my grandchildren, friends," Dunlap said. "I'm thinking it's been a long time since I've been in war."

He leaves for Fort Bliss, Texas, on Monday. After two to three weeks there, he will catch up to the 1st/103rd Armor in Kuwait. He expects to be there until at least December 2005.

Dunlap is a signal systems specialist. His unit will handle radio retransmissions.

"My mission over there will probably be running a (communications) center," he said. "We work on radios. We set up retransmissions between a station that you can't get a signal far enough for communication and you set up a jump station. We repair some of the equipment at a lower-level maintenance."

Dunlap will leave behind his wife, Mary; four children, Thomas, 34, Tammy, 31, Timothy James, 19, and Nicole, 18; and three grandchildren, Audrey, 9, Dylan, 3, and Laura, 1.

"I don't think any of them want me to go," Dunlap said.

His two oldest children think of their mother, who died in an automobile accident four or five years ago. They fear losing their father.

Other relatives remember his time in Vietnam and again face life with him at war.

"His sister said, 'I don't know if I can go through this again,'" Mary Dunlap said.

Dunlap's family has a long military history, dating back to the Civil War. Plans to develop an album documenting that history will have to wait.

Dunlap was informed of his possible deployment while on the job as a machinist at Hydro Carbide Corp. in Latrobe in early November.

"I was working second shift," Dunlap said. "I got a message that I was to call my sergeant major and that it was an urgent message. I got the word right there. It was sort of a shock."

Dunlap was told to report for a soldier readiness program at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County.

"The 19-year-old just doesn't want him to go," Mary Dunlap said. "He prayed and prayed that he wouldn't pass his physical, just like the rest of us. There were many prayers going around that weekend he went there. Everyone I work with was praying he wouldn't pass."

It's tough for Dunlap to leave his family.

"The thing that gets to me is how are the people behind going to handle it," he said. "I'm not thinking about me. I know I can handle it. I'll have days when it's going to be a long day and you'll be thinking (of) home. I'm more worried about how they'll be dealing with it because they can't visually see what I'm doing or where I'm at or if I'm OK. I think it's going to be tougher on them than it is on me."

Mary Dunlap has the obvious range of emotions for someone whose spouse is going to war: fear, concern, sadness.

"It's very, very scary," she said. "I know that he's fit. I know that he's a soldier. He's been a soldier since I met him, but there's a part of me that wonders at 53: Is he going to be up to doing what he needs to do over there?

"He takes care of a lot of things (around the house). That's a scary thought. If something goes wrong with the car, he deals with it. If something goes wrong with the house, he deals with it. Even if he couldn't fix it, knowing he's there is everything. The thought of him not being there for a year just horrifies me."

She admits she has slept little since receiving the news of her husband's deployment. She told him that there would be no squabbles between them before he left. They take advantage of every moment together.

"It sure puts a whole different light on things," she said. "The things you don't take advantage of. The times you don't tell each other you love each other. The little things."

"We haven't had a harsh word or thought about anything," her husband added. "We've been making sure we're spending all of our time together.'

Paul Dunlap has been doing things he enjoys before his departure.

He went pheasant hunting with a buddy on Monday.

There are plans to go to Overly's Country Christmas at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds with his grandchildren. Several family members will get together at the Dunlaps' home for Thanksgiving. A going-away party is planned for Saturday at Latrobe Hose Company No. 5.

"I've been spending a lot more time with my wife and my children," Dunlap said. "I'm going to spend every minute I can with my family."

troglodyte said:
Can anyone say "overextended"?

666Irish said:
He is a 53 year old veteran, still in the active reserves. His JOB is to be called if he is needed.

naja_haje said:
Yeah, why would they when we have a nearly inexhaustible supply of retirees? I mean people are getting older each day right?

Gramps, we're moving you into a retirement village. In Falluja. Here's your rifle.

reprobate said:

You know you can take his place, Mr. Kent State is a laugh riot.

InfernoMDM said:
I cant say for everyone but the AF is filling up positions in the states. However we do get sent over to the sandbox with the rest.

DrStinkypants said:

You know you could make a point that relates to the topic instead of acting snotty Mr.Takeshisselfwaytoofuckingseriouslyontheinternet

[Edited on Nov 24, 2004 by DrStinkypants]

Koenigsegg said:
while i'm pretty sure i'm just making light of the situation (in fact, i am pretty certain of it):

InfernoMDM said:
All right Reprobate excuse me but Im going to be a fucking ass for a minute.

You are more wrong then two boys fucking in a church on Easter!

somegrunt said:
national guardsmen are getting called up to go to Iraq?! No fucking way!!!!