Veterans Day: Maurice Root reflects on time in Vietnam

Veterans Day is a time when civilians of all ages show their gratitude and support to those who proudly wore a military uniform and served our country.

Some veterans fought on the front lines while others served in other capacities, such as working on the communications and network divisions.

Adams County is home to numerous veterans, one being Maurice Root.

Root currently lives between Ritzville and Odessa. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion posts in Ritzville.

Root, who grew up in Oregon, enlisted in the U.S Army in December 1968 when he was a student at Portland State University. He said he enlisted in hopes of acquiring skills and training he could use later in life.

Root completed his basic training at Fort Lewis, which is southwest of Tacoma. After completing basic training, Root went to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey where he earned the military occupational specialty of Specialist Fourth Class dial central office repairman.

After his time at Fort Monmouth, Root was deployed for his first tour of Vietnam. He was assigned to the 160th Group Telephone Operations Company at Long Binh Post, a former U.S. Army base located in the Long Bình ward between Biên Hòa and Saigon. At one time, the base had 60,000 active personnel.

“It was the largest base in Vietnam,” Root said. “You could drive for miles and still be on base.”

Root said he worked nights in the base’s dial telephone exchange for a year. Following a 30-day leave, he went on his second tour of Vietnam.

During this time, Root completed training for Emergency Action Console certification. He also worked in the switching equipment room in the The U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam (USARV) Headquarters in Long Binh. In addition to his work, Root also built relationships with his serivcemen he worked with at the base.

Root worked in the headquarters for this remaidner of his tour and he was discharged from the Army in September 1971.

Following his time in the Army, Root moved back to Oregon.

He worked for his father’s fertilizer company for a year, then attended Columbia Basin College in Pasco where he earned an Associate Degree in Applied Science in Agri-business. Root said he was able to pay for his college tuition through the G.I. Bill.

He came to Ritzville and he spent 18 years working for a fertlizer company and would later earn an Associate Degree from Big Bend Community College. He currently works at East Adams Rural Healthcare.

Root said he joined the VFW and American Legion post about three years ago and has been active in the Honor Guard, by participating at local events. He enjoys being on the Honor Guard because he has the opportunity to participate in ceremonies, as well as serving the community.

Root said being in the Army gave him the opportunity to learn new skills and work with people from different backgrounds. He also enjoyed the friends he made and the work he did while he was in Vietnam.