Michael T. Ruane

Michael Ruane was born in the Bronx Borough of New York City in July 1942 and moved to Jersey City, New Jersey as a child. He attended Seton Hall University and graduated with a BA degree in accounting in 1963, as well as a commission as an army second lieutenant from the university’s ROTC program. Ruane later attended Brookdale Community College and received a degree in computer science. He had two uncles in the army as well as some cousins in other branches of service, which inspired him to join the army. Ruane entered the service in November of 1963. He completed his Officer Basic course as an Armor officer at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Ruane then was sent to Munsan, Korea for a year, a tour he recalled fondly.

On his return to the United States, Ruane was assigned to a tank company in Fort Devens, Massachusetts as a platoon leader and then executive officer. During this time, he also got married. That summer, Ruane became a company commander. In late summer, he learned that the 196th Light Infantry Brigade was training at Fort Devens for service in Vietnam. Ruane switched from his tank company to the Brigade, becoming an infantry officer. On July 15, 1966, he sailed out of Boston with the brigade on the USS Patch. They stopped briefly in California, and on August 14, docked in Vung Tau, Republic of Vietnam. Vung Tau was a safe space for soldiers to disembark, and was also an “in-country” rest and relaxation site.

After arriving in Vung Tau, Ruane and his company took air transport to Tay Ninh, west of Saigon and near the Cambodian border. On arrival, they cleared a space for their base camp in an area with a lot of fields filled with termites, other insects, and snakes. Ruane recalled demolishing the termite mounds with C-4 explosives, and watching animals scurry everywhere at the sound of the blast. For the first month of their deployment, the men of the 196th Brigade patrolled around the base camp and surrounding area. Ruane was chosen to replace an officer who was relieved for incompetence as company commander of Charlie Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry on January 6, 1967. Ruane met Sergeant Kitchen, the company radio/telephone operator, who would become a close, lifelong friend.

During Ruane’s time in Tay Ninh with his new company, the 196th went on several large missions in War Zone C in the III Corps Tactical Zone, often in conjunction with the 1st and 25th Divisions. They included Operations Cedar Falls, Junction City and Attleboro. One of these missions was around Nui Ba Din, a large mountain in the middle of a flat landscape. The Army controlled the middle of the mountain, while the Viet Cong (VC) were at the top.

In October 1966, during Operation Junction City, a large enemy camp was discovered along the Cambodian border, initiating a massive firefight. Ruane recalled that it went on for hours. He was wounded by shrapnel and spent a week in the hospital. On his return, Ruane was told his battered company would be conducting platoon-sized ambushes. One night while on an ambush, he got a call from a platoon leader saying that he heard noise from every direction. Ruane waited for the sound of fire, then received a call saying, “don’t worry; they were monkeys!”

In April 1967, General William Westmoreland ordered the formation of a division sized Army task force to reinforce American Marines in the I Corps Tactical Zone. The 196th was selected to form a part of the task force, which became operational on April 20, 1967, when troops from the 196th landed at Chu Lai Base Area in I Corps.

Ruane and his company flew from Tay Ninh to Chu Lai, then headed to a post on the South China Sea to relieve a company of Marines. The base was on a cliff and had a large area around it cleared to keep the Viet Cong at a good distance. The camp had the nickname “Paradise” because of its location overlooking the sea. During Ruane’s time at the base, most operations were company, platoon, or squad-sized operations, differing from the large multi-battalion operations near Tay Ninh.

In 1967, Ruane was in the biggest firefight he was ever involved in, in a village near Chu Lai. A fellow captain and his company were in the village on a Pacification mission when they were attacked by Viet Cong guerrillas. Ruane and his company took thirty-five minutes to reach the village; upon arrival, they found a chaotic scene, with grenades and bullets flying everywhere, and soldiers and VC scattered all over the village. They managed to eject the VC after a severe firefight. After the fight was over, the Division Commander would not let anyone go back to that village. This made Ruane feel like all the time trying to build a rapport with the villagers was wasted.

On his return to the United States, Captain Ruane was stationed at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. In 1970, he left active duty and assumed a Civil Service civilian job at Fort Monmouth. Ruane joined the New Jersey Army National Guard, where he became a battalion maintenance officer, tank company commander, and a headquarters company commander over the next five years. He commented that he was proud that he had over eight years of company command time, five in the National Guard and three in the army. After his time in the National Guard, Ruane transferred to the Army Reserve, where he conducted exercises at Fort Knox, Kentucky as a Major from 1976 to 1985, when he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel. As a colonel, he ran a Reserve exercise for the 187th Separate Infantry Brigade. There were 5,000 reservists involved in this training, and Ruane recalled it fondly, saying; “It worked out exceptionally well; it was a great time.”

In 1995, Ruane became Fort Monmouth’s transition coordinator at Camp Evans in New Jersey. He retired from the Civil Service in 2000 and joined the Board of Trustees at InfoAge Science and History Museum, located at the former Camp Evans. Later, Ruane became the Chairman of the Infoage Board of Trustees. At the time of his interview, he was still very much active with InfoAge and enjoying the rich history of the site. Ruane also touched on the importance of the Veterans Administration (VA) for veterans, as well as the comfort that veterans’ groups bring when dealing with hard memories. After Fort Monmouth closed, he became the Executive Director for the Monmouth County Division on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services. While there, Ruane oversaw the county veteran’s services office and realized just how helpful it was.

Additional Resources:

• NJVVMF VetChat: Michael Ruane
  
• InfoAge Science and History Museum Profile 
• Patch.com Article 
• Michael Ruane Story by Joseph Bilby