8 February 2024
EL DORADO, Kan. (KSNW) — David McCoy graduated from El Dorado High School in 1958 and went to work as a mechanic at a Cadillac garage.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the President at the time, and a good five years passed before McCoy was drafted into the U.S. Army. It seems his draft papers had been lost in the shuffle.
“My papers got laid on top of a stack of papers, and it was going in and out. So, then after that, about two weeks, I was on my way up for a physical in Kansas City,” said McCoy.
He said there was no room on the bus, so he and the other new draftees had to stand all the way to Kansas City. McCoy was made a platoon leader, and after passing his physical, he was bused to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for basic training.
“We got there late in the morning, and everybody was asleep,” said McCoy. “They just took us through barracks after barracks. ‘Just pick out an empty bed and take it.'”
Upon completion of basic training, McCoy was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for, of all things, typing school.
Courtesy: David McCoy
“One day, we was sitting in the room typing, and they come in and shut the door, turned the TV on, and showed us that Kennedy had been shot. So, we drew our weapons, everything. We were up all night long. We thought we was probably going to Cuba because the missile deal was going on at that time. But we didn’t do nothing,” he said.
Soon, McCoy was on the move again, this time across the state of Georgia to Fort Benning.
“So, they put me in the division signal office, and we ran the radio and communications they run on,” he said.
Courtesy: David McCoy
This was in early 1965, and the Army was building up in South Vietnam.
“It (Vietnam War) was just getting wound up. When I got down to 58 days, they generally give you your clearance papers somewhere around 30 days,” said McCoy. “I had 58 days to go, and they took the 2nd Infantry Division and sent it to the 1st Cavalry, which is helicopters, and sent them to the front (lines), and I had my Oldsmobile headed for Kansas.”
McCoy said he thought about re-upping with the Army but had a bad feeling about Vietnam.
Courtesy: David McCoy
“I got back in town on a Friday and Monday, I went back to my old job as a mechanic,” he said.
McCoy said he often thinks about what might have happened and the friends he may have lost had he stayed in the Army longer.
“If I had been able to do more, I’d have probably done it. But I was pretty proud. I wear my Army hat and get a lot of thank you’s and everything to this day. I’m pretty proud I’m a veteran,” he said.
McCoy opened his own gas station in El Dorado in 1970 and ran it for three years. After that, he worked at the local refinery for ten years and hauled hot asphalt for his brother, Larry.
McCoy is 84 years old and still lives in El Dorado.
If you want to nominate a veteran for our Veteran Salute, email KSN reporter Jason Lamb at [email protected].