Book by Quincy native about military experiences during Vietnam era truly a gift

Every life has pivotal moments. Some are over in the blink of an eye, while others span years. However long they last, these seemingly random disruptions of our expectations have one thing in common.

They change everything.

Serving in the U.S. Air Force during the confluence of the late-1960s Cold War years and the Vietnam “conflict” (Vietnam never really wasofficially declared a war) was such a moment for Quincy-born Ted Ridder, a retired school psychologist now living in Ionia, Mich. He captures the essence of this life-shaping coming-of-age moment in a profound yet often-humorous way in his recently released collection of short stories, “A Reluctant Lieutenant at Bitburg Air Base.”

“A Reluctant Lieutenant” is available in eBook or paperback formats through leading online book distribution outlets. Ridder is donating half the proceeds of every paperback bought through the BookBaby store at bookbaby.com — a donation of $12.48 per book —to the residents’ activities fund at Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. To date, donations have topped $250.

The inevitability of the military

Ridder grew up the youngest of six kids in a Quincy family. He attended Christian Brothers High School (now Quincy Notre Dame), worked his way through Quincy College and graduated with honors in 1966.

The turbulent late 1960s was an especially horrific time when every young American’s life was clouded by the fear of far-off death and the reality of polarizing at-home contention about the never-declared  Vietnam “war.” This cloud was especially dark for young American men subject to the draft.

At the height of the Vietnam era  (from 1964 to 1973), 2.2 million American men were drafted into military service out of a pool of 27 million. More than 536,000 Americans were stationed in Vietnam in 1968. While the more affluent and politically-connected could often escape frontline action by joining the National Guard, draftees — who tended to be men of lower socioeconomic status and few (if any) connections — were likely to face the brutality of no-holds-barred guerilla warfare in the steamy jungles of southeast Asia.

Aware of the hapless fate of most draftees, many young American men chose to enlist in the military, believing they would have more choice of their assignments. Indeed, 2.5 million men enlisted during the Vietnam era rather than subjecting themselves to the draft.

Ridder was one of these men.

Leaving Quincy to begin graduate school in clinical psychology at Western Michigan University after college, he remembers sitting in a bar on the south side of Chicago with a friend in 1968. 

“We didn’t have much control over our lives,” he recalls. “We were asking ourselves whether we should go to Canada. We both decided to enlist instead.”

Ridder secured a place in U.S. Air Force’s Officer Training School and headed to San Antonio. The next four years and three months made an indelible impression — one he would finally capture in stories some 50 years later.

Marching to a different drummer

“The military was a foreign experience for me,” said Ridder, who said his father was a pacifist. “I hadn’t even been a Cub Scout, hadn’t even marched in the high school band. Now it was not just about marching but learning to lead.”

After OTS in San Antonio and a short but abandoned pilot training stint in Laredo, Texas, Ridder was sent to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver for six months of advanced training in munitions management. Ridder recalls this time as among the happiest and most carefree of his life. He met the love of his life during this time. Cindy, a lab technician with a biology degree, just happened to move to Denver and take an apartment in the same complex where Ridder was living.

Although the couple quickly forged a bond, they (like so many other Vietnam-era couples) didn’t dwell on the future.

When munitions training ended, Ridder expected to be sent to a U.S. Air Force base for a year and then to Vietnam. Instead, he was assigned to serve at Bitburg Air Base in Germany’s picturesque Eifel Mountains, an hour from Luxembourg City and 30 minutes from Trier and the Mosel River.

Cindy followed him to Germany, where they were married in a civil ceremony.

“The raw coincidences. The most important things in your life. They’re just random,” Ridder muses. 

A compilation of characters

“A Reluctant Lieutenant” is more than an enjoyable read on a cold winter’s day. This compilation of eight stories — each capable of standing on its own — captures the pulse and the breadth of emotions of one of the most pivotal times in recent history. With the deep observation skills of a gifted storyteller who later spent 30 years as a school psychologist, Ridder brings a panoply of unforgettable characters to life. 

Who hasn’t suffered a Capt. Strickland-like officer in charge — a self-important, title-obsessed boss who engages in disheartening nit-picking while abdicating responsibility to a level of gross negligence? 

Who hasn’t learned to count on the Master Sgt. Burdick-like underling, who actually knows what is going on and does his level best to pick up the pieces Strickland drops? 

Who hasn’t flourished under leaders like “Mac” or Capt. MacAllister, a humble, hard-working, creative, in-the-trenches visionary who transforms chaos into order, inspires the best in others and even finds the time to plan a surprise wedding reception for the just-married Ridders?

These stories strike a chord that resonates far beyond the military — a chord than echoes deep in the heart. They are a reminder that the most unwelcome disruptions sometimes can bring life’s greatest rewards.

Do yourself a favor and benefit those who have served our country and are now living at Illinois Veterans Home. Buy the book at bookbaby.com and go to the “Bookshop” link.

Martha Brune Rapp is a certified spiritual director, writer and contributor to Muddy River News.