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Joseph
John Wasko Jr. was born in Pittsburgh, PA on August 1st, 1946. He grew up in
Bedford, Ohio with his
father Joe, mother Mary, and his siblings Jerry, Mary Ann, Jeanne, and
Valerie. Joe started school at Central Elementary and then went to Moody Jr.
High. When Joe finished high school at Bedford High, he was
drafted by the US Army, but enlisted in the Navy to try and avoid going into Vietnam. He was 19
when he enlisted. Before they called his name to be drafted, Joe hadn’t
really thought about being in the military before. The war had been going on
for a few years before he entered the Navy. Despite the fact that Joe had
never thought about the military before, he was very proud to be fighting for
his country in the waters of Vietnam. Joe went to
receive his basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois. After basic
training Joe went to Boat Handling School where he
learned how to be a boat hand/boat captain. In training he lived in a wooden
barrack with 80-100 people in it! In his free time Joe worked out, hung out
at the club in the base, and watched the one TV channel that he had. Joe left
for Vietnam in October,
1968. He was on the plane for about 20 hours with a stop in Hawaii. This was not
his first time in a foreign country. He had been to Japan, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. His unit was
called the Insure Undersea Warfare Group (IUWG) 1, Unit 3. His ship was a
towing vessel named the Tawakoni.
When
he first arrived in Vietnam he landed in
the port city of Cam Ranh Bay and he was overwhelmed and in awe. Being
only 19 years old at the time this was a huge experience for him. The weather
was very hot, and during monsoon
season it was very rainy. Joe was
stationed in Quy Nang, on
the eastern coast of Vietnam halfway
between Cam Ranh Bay and Da Nang. His primary job was commanding a small boat
that patrolled the coastline and rivers.
He commanded 3-4 other shipmates including a Gunners Mate, Engine Mate
and Seaman. Joe’s job was to patrol the waters between Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay. He and his crew would switch shifts
periodically. Since he was on the coast, and near civilization, Joe didn’t
really know who the enemy was. To be safe, his crew had to assume everyone
was the enemy. Nothing horrible happened to Joe and his crew, but he always
had a fear of what could happen, especially for his first two weeks and his
last two weeks. Joe’s job was pretty routine, with
some exceptions of occasional overnight upriver patrols, which were extremely
exhausting, and board and search. This is one thing that he absolutely hated.
He and his crew had to go on shore and look for possible threats. When
looking at a scrap or something washed up on shore there was a possibility of
a booby trap. And Joe had to be very cautious when doing this.
During
this time at war, Joe was in regular contact with his fiancée, Shirley. They
wrote to each other often until, one day Joe received a Dear John letter,
meaning the relationship was over. There was a period of time when Joe
actually got to leave the war because his mother was having heart surgery.
Joe had to go back in 10 days, but he enjoyed the time he spent out of Vietnam. When he got
back he experienced some funny moments with his crew. One of his shipmates
decided to go water skiing on the back of the patrol boat. Joe also attended
USO shows, but didn’t see anyone famous. There were a lot of Australians in
these shows. When his tour finally ended in May of 1970, he was very
relieved. His highest rank when he left was an E-6 Boatswains mate 1st
class. Joe also received a service medal, base captain, and
commendations. He flew from Cam Ranh Bay to Seattle, then to Treasure
Island, then to Cleveland where he was
welcomed home by his family. This was his most exciting experience.
After
the war Joe did not return to the military, but instead got his job back at Goodrich Chemical,
and went to school at Akron University.
Joe eventually met his spouse, because he lived next door to a friend of
hers. They married on October 2nd,
1971. They had two children, Joseph Wasko
III, and Kristen. Joe has been in the polymer industry for 40 years. He’s
lived in Stow, Bedford, Macedonia, and Chicago. Today he
enjoys baseball, classic cars, motorcycles and reading. He also keeps in
touch with his old veteran friends by e-mail and phone.
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