Current data for Contributor

Smither, James (Interviewer)

Current data for Creator

Pittman, James

Current data for Date

2014-06-17

Current data for Description

James Pittman was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943. He grew up in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park and graduated from high school there in 1961. He went to work and got married, but lost his marriage deferment when he divorced in 1966 and was drafted in March 1967. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and advanced infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana leading to him specializing as a mortar crewman. In August 1967 he was deployed to Vietnam where he joined Charlie Company of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade stationed in the area around Long Binh. For two months he worked as a mortar crewman in Charlie Company until he was reassigned to be a rifleman carrying out search and destroy missions as well as patrols in the Dong Nai River area with Charlie Company. After four months of being a rifleman he was severely wounded and was evacuated back to the United States. Despite being a paraplegic, he went back to work as a draftsman in the Detroit area, and eventually bought a farm near Saranac, Michigan.

Current data for Source

Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)