Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
6:23 | What was a day like in the life of a chaplain? In Vietnam, it was likely to include a memorial service or a visit to a unit in the field for Carter Tucker, who flew around so much, they gave him an Air Medal. His second tour was different, but, like so many others, he was getting a bit weary of Vietnam.
Keywords : Carter Tucker chaplain Vietnam chapel memorial service funeral Air Medal close call Phu Bai rocket attack
After the first patrol, Carter Tucker's submarine returned to California and to it's home port. While on leave he got married, but he also injured his leg, so his time aboard submarines came to an end. Pursuing his calling as a minister led to a renewed desire to serve, this time as an Army chaplain.
Because of his earlier experience in the Navy, new Army chaplain Carter Tucker was chosen as a leader at the chaplain's basic course. They tried to send him to Europe but he insisted that he joined to go to Vietnam and minister to men in combat. Once there, he passed on the safe assignment and joined an infantry outfit.
He saw plenty of forward base camps in Vietnam when he went into the field with his unit. Chaplain Carter Tucker had to be prepared to go into danger at a moment's notice and then he tried to stay out of the way as much as he could.
As a chaplain, Carter Tucker did not carry a weapon. On his first tour of Vietnam, they issued him a .45, but he gave it to his assistant. Between his tours, serving at Fort Sill, he drew duty that was harder for him than being in combat.
On his second Vietnam tour, Army chaplain Carter Tucker was with an aviation unit, which meant that he was safely traveling by air, but because the aircraft were a prime target, his base was often under mortar and rocket attack. It wasn't all combat. There was talking soldiers out of marrying local girls and there were mercy missions to help civilians.
Carter Tucker describes the chaos of a mortar and rocket attack. A round could land 50 yards away and it was like it was right next to you. As a chaplain, he rushed to help the wounded in any way he could and was even pressed into duty in the operating room. Then there were the cases where men would lose it psychologically.
The Korean War had started when he graduated high school, and though he had started college, Carter Tucker felt the call to join the Navy. At first he was with the Seabee school but he wanted to go further than California so he volunteered for the unique world of submarine duty.
He had joined because of it, but the Korean War ended while Carter Tucker was in submarine school. Without a shooting war, the vessels were used for intelligence gathering and this nearly led to an icy disaster for him on his first patrol off the coast of Russia.
It was an odd life aboard a submarine. Carter Tucker describes the unique challenges and dangers faced by the crew on an old diesel ship. You could even be done in by your own batteries.
After two tours in Vietnam, Army chaplain Carter Tucker served in Germany and at Fort Benning. In Germany, he was also chaplain to a large civilian population of dependents, who could have it rough in a strange country. Even with all his time as a chaplain, and with his previous service in the Navy, he wonders if he'd done enough.
