Karen Trotter
Growing up in Oregon, Karen Trotter dreamed of traveling the world. So, when an Army Special Services recruiter tabled at her college, Trotter knew this was her opportunity. She fit the three qualifications– “21-years-old, college graduate, and single”— and packed her two suitcases for Vietnam. Retrospectively, Trotter thinks her lust for action and adventure was naive. In Vietnam, Trotter worked for two service clubs, one in Pleiku and one in Binh Long, in which she ran various programs (games, movienights, etc.) and provided morale support for the soldiers. After her tour in Vietnam, she was transferred to Germany where she met her husband, a helicopter pilot during the war. Trotter recounts her wartime experiences, her disdain for the horrific treatment of Vietnam veterans, and her personal reflections of the war today.