Vietnam Veteran still serving after other wars

News: Vietnam veteran still serving on active duty
1st Brigade Combat Team
101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs
Story by Spc. Kadina Baldwin

Staff Sgt. Robert W. Middleswarth, 61, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is scheduled to retire in December. Middleswarth, a Watsontown, Pa., native, is one of only two active duty Vietnam veterans still serving on Fort Campbell, Ky.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. —At just over 6 feet tall, a soldier from a long line of war veterans walks with a unique swagger. He has the voice of a natural leader that only comes with time. His stern facial expression might throw some people off from his truly motivating and positive attitude, but it’s his teddy bear attraction that might draw a person in.

He’s been honorably in and out of the military for the past four decades, has served in three wars and is currently assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Raised on a small farm in Watsontown, Pa., Staff Sgt. Robert W. Middleswarth is the youngest of two sons. Since childhood, he has been facsinated by the war stories he’s heard about: his great grandfather who chased Poncho Villa through the Rio Grande; his grandfather, a WWI veteran who walked alongside Gen. John J. Pershing; his father who fought in WWII; and many other relatives in his lineage who served in the U.S. military throughout American history.

In the past four decades, Middleswarth has done a double tour in Vietnam, a yearlong tour in the Gulf War and two tours in Iraq. He’s served in the Marine Corps, the Army Reserves and the Regular Army. At 61, Middleswarth is not shy to admit he is only one of two Vietnam veterans to be still serving on active duty on Fort Campbell.

read more here