Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Mellinger, last Vietnam-era draftee is retiring from Army

Last Vietnam-era draftee is retiring from Army
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 3, 2011 10:26:20 EDT

ALEX BRANDON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Army Command Sgt. Major Jeffery Mellinger, 58, talks to The Associated Press about his nearly 40-year career in his office in Fort Belvoir, Va. Mellinger, a Vietnam War draftee in 1972, is believed by the Army to be the last conscripted soldier to have served continuously without a break.

FORT BELVOIR, Va. — A homemade wind chime with the word “Whining” under a red slash is made from metal parts put in his leg after a parachute accident. Every Sunday he trims his crew cut. He didn’t join the Army willingly, but as Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Mellinger prepares to retire, he’s grateful he found his calling.

Mellinger was drafted to fight the Vietnam War, and the Army believes he’s the last draftee to retire, after 39 years. Most did their two years and left. But Mellinger had found home.

“I think I’m pretty good at it, but I like it. That’s the bottom line. I love being a soldier and I love being around soldiers,” he said.

Mellinger’s motto is simple: No whining — as the wind chime attests.

When the draft notice arrived in the mail in 1972 at his home in Eugene, Ore., tens of thousands of troops had been killed. Anti-war protests were rampant. Draft notices were being set on fire and returning soldiers were treated as part of the problem. The military wasn’t a popular job.
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Last Vietnam-era draftee is retiring from Army