Gerard P. Moran

Gerry Moran was born in 1941 in Orange, New Jersey, into a family of veterans. His father served in World War I, as well as there were two older brothers, one who served in the Philippines during World War II and another who served in the Korean War. Prior to his own service, Moran worked for a pharmaceutical company, selling newly invented pregnancy tests to hospitals.

After graduating from college, Moran became eligible for the military draft. Rather than be drafted, he joined the New Jersey National Guard at Sea Girt, in March 1963, as a member of a Supply and Transport unit. He went to Fort Dix for basic training, and from there to Fort Polk, Louisiana for Advanced Individual Training. Fort Polk was hot. The weather became so unbearable at times, that when it was 110°F or hotter, soldiers had the “privilege” of removing their fatigue pants from inside of their boots to allow for ventilation.

Moran wanted to be an officer; he completed the National Guard Officer Candidate School course in August of 1965. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the 250th Supply and Transport Battalion in Long Branch. Moran then was transferred to the 141st Transportation Company, where he eventually became the company commander. As the Selected Reserve Forces program began, the 141st increased its drill weekends from one to two a month.

Moran and his fellow soldiers had a false sense of security, believing that since the 141st had been called to active duty for the Berlin Crisis in 1961, it would not be called up again for the growing Vietnam conflict, which entered an expanded phase in 1965. That would change. Moran was called to a private meeting with a National Guard colonel in Orange, New Jersey. In November 1966, he was advised that his unit was going to Southeast Asia. The 141st initially received activation orders to go to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, yet there was no room to house the unit there; so, the destination was changed to Fort McClellan, Alabama. In the process, the 141st transitioned from a C1 to a D1 status, meaning that the company was not going to Southeast Asia as a unit, but that individuals would be sent to Vietnam.

The activation date for the 141st was May 13, 1967, and Moran had 30 days prior to that date to prepare. After he and his unit spent a week at the West Orange Armory, a local news article was published reporting that they had lunch every day in Eppes Essen Delicatessen in Orange, a locally well-known dining venue. On May 20, Moran flew to Atlanta and took a bus to Fort McClellan.

Before overseas deployment orders began to arrive for individuals, some people in the 141st told Moran that they could not go to Vietnam. Their reasons were creative. One soldier, a sergeant E-5 who was the son of a judge, presented Moran with documents from three different doctors stating that if he went on active duty, his wife “would not survive” as she might take her own life due to the ensuing stress. Moran found this dubious, but those higher up in the chain of command overruled him, and ordered him to grant exemption to the soldier, who was then promoted to Sergeant E-6. Another soldier told him that he was ineligible to go because he was suffering from alcoholism, and although this excuse bewildered Moran, he was ordered to exempt this soldier as well.

At Fort McClellan, Moran had a “different experience” from his National Guard service. The regular army soldiers did not appear to respect his unit’s talents. Moran felt this attitude demeaning, but it changed when the 141st earned their respect in athletic competition and won the “Best Mess” award while there. His Jewish soldiers found a Jewish delicatessen in Birmingham, Alabama, an hour away from base. They were also active as members of a group of seventy-seven people protesting the unit’s “Call-up.” Some soldiers in his unit organized a hunger strike, because Fort McClellan required that they practice riot control training, which was viewed by many as busy work, since the company would never have to assist in quelling a riot. As company commander, Moran was blamed for the hunger strike, was relieved of command, and transferred to the 2nd Chemical Battalion.

While at Fort McClellan with him, Moran’s wife gave birth to their second child, a daughter, who proudly boasts to this day that she was “born in Alabama.” In March 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced a massive addition to the in-country American force in Vietnam. It included Moran, who left from California for Vietnam that month. He landed at Tan Son Nhut Airport in Saigon and went from there to Long Binh, a massive logistics facility along the Dong Nai River northwest of Saigon. It was the largest U.S. Army Base in Vietnam, and was administered by the First Logistical Command and garrisoned by 60,000 soldiers. Moran was assigned to the 266th Supply Services Battalion. Long Binh contained a military prison, referred to colloquially as “LB Jail” or “LBJ,” not coincidentally the president’s initials. Present too was a massive ammunition dump, which exploded due to sabotage in 1967. 

The more mundane aspects at Long Binh included a craft shop and a Chinese restaurant, which was known as having the best food on base. The University of Maryland held extension classes, and there was a Chase Bank, a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, a golf range, bowling alleys, laundry services, a massage parlor, and nightclubs with live music, including singers who performed songs like “Green, Green Grass of Home” and “I Wanna Go Home.”

Moran’s assignment was to organize convoys, escorted by military police, to move ammunition, weapons, and food to forward fire bases. His company’s convoys were repeatedly interrupted by Vietcong activity. While he did not personally engage with the enemy, his mission was hindered by the enemy Vietcong’s main strategy of destroying bridges and obstructing traffic.

There were multiple attacks on Long Binh itself, particularly during the Tet Offensive of 1968. Moran remembered that he was also exposed to Agent Orange, which he said was “all over” Long Binh and permeated the base’s airspace with a “gaseous smell.” Although he was not personally harmed by it, his son, born after his service, suffers from Crohn’s disease, which Moran believes is a result of the chemical.

In November 1969, Moran rotated back to the United States, landed at Fort Ord, California and then flew from Oakland to Newark, New Jersey wearing his Class A uniform. He was offered a National Guard captain position, which he turned down. Moran was discharged on December 12, 1969, and soon began work in the private sector with Xerox.

On August 21, 1990, the Star Ledger newspaper reached out to several Vietnam veterans, including Moran. The resulting article was a comparison between the soldiers deployed to Vietnam with the soldiers going to Kuwait and Iraq at the time, as it was the first time since Vietnam that American soldiers were called into action. Moran responded that he had a few small reunions with his fellow soldiers, but as many soldiers, the 141st veterans group fell apart. He noted that he still maintained a close friendship with Chuck Guariglia, who accompanied him to also be interviewed.

Moran concluded that he valued his deployment in Vietnam. He thought the country and its people were beautiful, and the deployment shaped him into the man he is today.