During the time of the Vietnam War, when his student deferment ended, Zuker enlisted in the United States Army. He attended basic training at Fort Campbell, KY, trained in military intelligence, and was sent to Korea. His stories of those days will have you marching with his unit to the rhythm of common cadences, struggling through the obstacles on the confidence course, using Kentucky windage to aim a rifle accurately, eating a midnight snack at the mess hall, sitting through class, dealing with a shakedown, and proudly taking the battalion honor company prize. At subsequent duty stations, he learned bits of spy tradecraft and prepared to destroy classified records if the enemy threatened. His nerdy, military intelligence cohorts’ flag football team played the elite airborne soldiers and his unit’s volleyball team played against the South Korean soldiers that kept guard along the North-South Korean DMZ. He talks about the hooches and parties on an Army base in South Korea. He describes his weeks of required paperwork and military counseling that took place before his wedding in South Korea so he could marry his Korean sweetheart. And of course, there are stories of his work as a soldier in military intelligence. His insights into the nature and goals of military training and leadership are offered alongside his anecdotes of his life before joining up that, as he says, prepared him for the service life. He talks about growing up in the South during the late 1950s and early 1960s, attending a Catholic high school, lifting weights during the beginning of the steroid craze, and playing football in both high school and college. He talks about his trips while in the Army when he visited the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN, attended the celebration of the Emperor’s Birthday in Japan, and watched Sumo wrestling in Japan. This is Zuker’s story of his days learning to be a soldier and living overseas. A history enthusiast, Zuker wraps his story in the current events of the day, events leading up to and during the Vietnam War, and how those world-changing events affected his immediate activities and continue to influence his life
