Correspondent photo / Buck Gillispie Larry Dyett, 75, who lives at Lake Vista in Cortland, is a member of the Cortland American Legion Honor Guard.

CORTLAND — When the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam ended in 1971, Larry Dyett’s military service was just beginning.

He had just graduated from Champion High School in May 1966 and enrolled in drafting school. His career path might have led him to become a draftsman had it not been for the likelihood that he would be drafted into the U.S. Army.

“Many companies did not want to take the risk of hiring people my age. I was drafted and began my military service in January 1971,” Said Dyett.

After basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he completed artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and later served at Fort Lewis, Washington.

“One of the most enjoyable training missions was when I was asked to lead a special weapons unit,” Said Dyett. “I was told to read the procedures in the manual, assemble my team and train them in all the steps.”

He said he must have passed the test because he had spent much of his time in the artillery unit, where he was responsible for fire control.

“Anyone firing howitzers at targets needs help with accuracy. I drove in a personnel carrier to a point between the artillery position and the target, made several calculations to determine the necessary trajectory of the shells, and then communicated with those firing the guns. Compared to today, we had simpler computers to do some of this work, but I was good at math. In a way, it was easier and faster for me to solve the equations in my head and work them out with pencil and paper,” Said Dyett.

He added an anecdote about a leader of a nearby troop who came to him and said: “The captain needs your computer, you’ll be faster without it anyway.”

Another task was to visit schools to show the students the personnel carrier, our computers and some artillery weapons.”

When he was shipped to Germany, he had already reached the rank of Specialist 4.

“I have had good and less good experiences at this place of work,” he said. “I remember my first week at the Army base near Frankfort when our captain came to me and said, ‘Go get a 45mm gun and drive me around the base as my pay guard.’ So we did and got two briefcases full of American money and German marks. We got in the car and the captain said to me, ‘Do you know what to do if someone comes to the window?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir, I know.’ The captain asked, ‘What is that?’ I told him, ‘I’m giving them those briefcases because of the money only $100 has my name on it and I’m not going to get holes in myself for $100.'”

The town closest to the base was the village of Giesen.

“Most people there were friendly to us and I got to know and appreciate their culture,” Said Dyett.

Overseas bases are designed to house, train and equip military personnel and encourage leadership development. Dyett said the programs can be intensive in terms of training with weapons, maintaining combat readiness and being ready to deploy to other locations where they are needed. He said there were radical groups in Germany in the 1970s and his base always received military intelligence reports about potential terrorists in the area. Soldiers often wore civilian clothes when they went into town.

“This may have helped us to be accepted by the locals and to enjoy the people and their culture. Sometimes we would go out officially and observe suspicious activities where the secret service ‘expected nothing’, but I would go out, often with a weapon, and then report to a superior,” Said Dyett.

Of course, they were prepared for situations that were developing around the world. One international incident that is etched in Larry’s memory is the Olympic Village massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

“This happened only about three hours away from our base,” he remembered. “The terrorist group ‘Black September’ targeted the Israeli Olympic team – they killed 11 athletes and coaches and another hostage. We were on high military alert, although most of them were local police forces and Olympic security teams.”

In November of the same year, he left Germany after completing his active military service in his country and returned to the United States to start a new chapter in his life.

Upon returning to Northeast Ohio, he married Eileen Feeney, to whom he had been married for 50 years. Together they raised twin sons, Andrew and Matthew, both of whom still live in the Cortland area. Before she died in 2023, she and Dyett were involved in the lives of four grandchildren, with whom he still enjoys spending time. He attends St. Robert Catholic Church in Cortland, is retired from Sears, and recently married JoAnn.

“I was glad to be drafted into the Army and am grateful for the experience. I am thankful that I still get opportunities to tell people about our military and its values ​​and to participate in veterans programs that promote respect for others who have served,” Said Dyett.

He said that when veterans get together to reminisce, the old question comes up: “What did you do in the Army?” Most talk about it proudly. But one said he was “only” an employee and another said he was “only” a cook.

“I tell them never to hear me say ‘I was just’ again; all military duties are important. That goes for public and private jobs too.” he said.

Dyett said he was once asked what he did in the Army that made him better at what he does as a civilian.

“My answer”, he said with a giggle, was “Assembling nuclear weapons or training a person to disassemble and reassemble a howitzer has never occurred in my daily work.”

He joined the Masons 46 years ago and is a member of the Cortland Masonic Lodge. He is also a longtime member of the American Legion Post in Cortland and serves in the post’s honor guard at military funerals. The first week after joining the Cortland American Legion, Dyett began attending these services.

“A friend asked me to help out. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I followed our team’s lead and did well. I was very impressed with this service at a funeral home in Niles. Afterward, our post commander, Roger Gardner, said, ‘We have two more funerals tomorrow. Will you help again?’ Without hesitation, I said yes. That’s how it started and that’s how it never ends. Since then, I’ve attended more than 1,000 Honor Guard services in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.” Said Dyett.

His father, Ronald, served in the Navy and worked for Disabled American Veterans after his military service. In retirement, he volunteered for the DAV, helping veterans get the compensation they deserve.

Larry Dyett

AGE: 75

APARTMENT: Cortland

SERVICE AREA: Army

OCCUPATION: Retired from Sears in Warren. He started in the automotive department, then worked in appliance sales and the men’s clothing department. When he retired, he was manager of the tire service department.

MILITARY AWARDS: Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

FAMILY: First wife Eileen, married for 50 years, died in 2023; second wife JoAnn; twin sons, Andew and Matthew; four grandchildren.