Remembering the keepers of freedom

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Editor's note: As we take time this weekend to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday with friends and family, let us also be sure to remember the thousands of men and women serving in our armed forces who work every day to safeguard our independence and way of life. Let us also remember and be grateful for the service and sacrifices made by the countless Americans who, throughout our history, have fought to secure freedom for ourselves and for the people of many nations.

Blaine Havice Jr., formerly of Milroy, is one of those Americans. This is his story.

LEWISTOWN - All Blaine Havice Jr. ever wanted to do was join the Army. After graduating from Milroy High School in 1949 at the age of 18, he got his wish, and would spend the next 21 years of his life serving the nation at home and abroad.

Havice enlisted in the Army and completed his basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., then received additional training at Fort Belvoir, Va., for two years, studying military communications.

During the time of the Korean War, Havice was stationed in Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. As a platoon sergeant in Germany, Havice said he was responsible for training soldiers to use the military's communications equipment.

"We provided communications for some of the different branches of the U.S. military in Germany and we also provided communications for the German army," Havice said, adding that the communication systems in use at the time were radio and wireless.

Havice said he also studied VHF, or very high frequency, equipment for the military while serving in Germany. After four years there, he was transferred back to the United States where he re-enlisted in the Army and was sent to Fort Knox, Ky.

Havice was then reassigned from Fort Knox to Fort Hood, Texas, where he became a senior instructor of communication at the noncommissioned officer school. For the three years Havice was stationed at Fort Hood his duties consisted of teaching students about radio and wireless communication systems, he said.

From Fort Hood, Havice was posted to Germany for the second time in his military career, and for the next three years he was in charge of 16 repair teams that dealt with various types of communication equipment. Havice said some of the repair shops he worked from dealt with aviation and telephone systems along with other types of equipment.

Havice was then transferred to Fort Monmouth, N.J. During that time he traveled frequently between New Jersey and other military bases throughout the country, training military personnel on new communications equipment.

Havice said his duties also took him to numerous European countries where the U.S. maintained a military presence, such as Austria, England, France, Italy, Ireland and even Iran.

In 1965, Havice was sent to Iran as part of a yearlong mission to teach Iranians how to use communication equipment. Havice said his job was to teach the Iranian army how to use the radio equipment installed in their tanks.

Although he doesn't speak Farsi, the language commonly used in Iran, Havice said he didn't have a particularly difficult time teaching Iranians how to use the equipment, as he was able to utilize hand motions to communicate.

After the mission in Iran, Havice came back to the United States and was stationed at Fort Gordon, Ga., until he was deployed to Vietnam for two years. Havice said during his time in Vietnam he primarily served with with two different units - the 23rd Infantry and the 1st Signal Brigade.

The 1st Signal Brigade was tasked with installing, operating and maintaining a complex communication system that fused tactical and strategic communications in Southeast Asia into a single, unified command, according to a U.S. military Web site.

Havice said he was responsible for taking care of the communication systems used during combat operations, and he was serving with the 23rd Infantry when their camp was overrun by enemy soldiers during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

"During the New Year holiday there wasn't supposed to be any action, but then the Viet Cong completely overran our camp," Havice said. "We had to fight like the devil to regain control of the camp."

Havice said he had another run-in with Viet Cong soldiers while he was working with an Australian unit. He and the Australians were out gathering equipment when they were ambushed. Fortunately, a unit of South Korean soldiers conducting a search-and-destroy mission nearby saved their "rear-ends," he said.

After Vietnam, Havice was reassigned to Fort Knox, where he became a senior communications instructor at the U.S. Army Armor School and taught junior officers about communication equipment. Havice said he was at Fort Knox for about a year before retiring from the military. He was 39, and had achieved the rank of Sgt. 1st Class after more than two decades of service.

During his career, Havice was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), Vietnamese Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal.

Havice said after retirement he returned to Pennsylvania and took up residence in Snyder County, where he put his Army training to use by working for the state as a specification writer - a person who writes instructions for different communication equipment.

Havice's family has established a tradition of serving in the military. His father, Blaine Havice Sr., was an Army private stationed in the South Pacific during World War II, and his cousin, Jack Havice, was a seaman in the Navy. Havice's brother, John, joined the Air Force shortly after Havice enlisted in the Army.

Havice said his son, Alan, also made a career of the military, serving with the 1st Infantry Division during the Gulf War before receiving a medical discharge after 17 years of service. His grandson, Jeremy Havice, also enlisted in the Army and is now serving in Afghanistan, Havice said.

Since retiring from the military, Havice, now 78, has earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in American Studies from Penn State University. He resides with his wife, Ann, in Carlisle.