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Mike Schlitz

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Mike Schlitz is very proud of being a Ranger and stands by everything that that stands for. At the end of the day, he is glad that he served his country and would do it again in a heartbeat. (2:35)

Mike Vining

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Mike Vining details his early life growing up in rural Michigan. Members of his family had been serving in the U.S. military in different capacities dating back to the Revolutionary War, and his love of science would lead him to be a career soldier. (9:06)

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While he was finishing high school in 1968, the war in Vietnam had taken a major turn. Mike Vining details the state of the world when he decided to enlist and volunteer to see it for himself. He also discusses his cousin who went over before him, and some of the men from back home who didn’t make it back. (5:46)

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When he put in for EOD school, Mike Vining was taught how to maintain the ammunition supplies and how to dispose of unsafe materials. He also discusses a major safety hazard that came with allowing unqualified people into the program. (4:18)

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EOD School was not as physically tough as it was one of the more educationally difficult. Mike Vining describes the phases of his EOD training, including the in depth education on nuclear weapons, the threat of which loomed during the height of the Cold War. (9:18)

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In 1970, Mike Vining would make his first deployment to serve in Vietnam. The war in the beginning phases of winding down, but that didn’t mean he would be short of work with the 99th Ordnance Detachment in III Corps. (6:06)

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During the Cambodian Incursion, the 1st Cavalry Division was flown in to secure a massive cache of Vietnamese weapons and ammunition. As part of their EOD detachment, Mike Vining was brought in to destroy it, but getting out would be much more difficult. (13:38)

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Incoming mortars and rockets were a threat all over Vietnam, no matter where you were. Mike Vining describes one such event where an ammo dump had caught fire and was burning dangerously. (6:24)

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The booby traps in Vietnam were prolific and killed and wounded many. Mike Vining discusses some of the techniques the VC and NVA would employ against American forces, as well as American efforts to do the same to them. (8:49)

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Working around explosives is naturally a dangerous endeavor, and American EOD experts suffered a number of casualties over the years. Mike Vining discusses some of the bombs that were WWII relics and the transition to, and legacy of, the BLU-82 “Daisy Cutter”. (3:17)