Record date:
Seymour Levy, SP-5
As he neared graduation with a MBA from Northern Illinois University, Seymour Levy was drafted into the Vietnam War by the United States Army, going on to serve as a medic in a MASH unit set up in Tay Ninh, close to the Cambodian Border.
Seymour Levy was born in November of 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, his family always struggled financially, but he worked very hard to put himself through school.
Mr. Levy was initially deferred from the draft while he was in college at Northern Illinois University, but was pulled out of graduate school early. He was drafted into the Army in 1969, and he completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. After 9 weeks in training, he quickly became accustomed to the structure of military life.
Mr. Levy assumed his business degree would influence his assignment, but to his surprise, he became a medic. Soon after basic training, he was sent to Vietnam, where he served at the 45th surgical hospital—a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. He recalls feeling afraid and unprepared at first, but he eventually adjusted to the environment. At the beginning of his service, it was quite a shock to see all the casualties and severely injured soldiers. During the war, he was forced to cope with a lot of death—including the death of his good friend, who he met in training.
Although he was bitter at first about being drafted in the middle of graduate school, he is very grateful for his 14 months of service. He explains how fighting in a war taught him humility and appreciation for the things he does have. He realized the courage behind sacrifice, which really helped him grow as a person. He feels he left the military a better person than he was when he entered.
