Veteran Salute: From mechanic to gunner

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Volunteering for the draft in 1969, Larry Duch would serve in Vietnam for 17 months.

While overseas, he constantly looked for ways to improve in leadership and on the battlefield. Growing up in a military family, with his father stationed at Fort Riley, values like duty and selflessness were high priorities.

“My mom and dad said at some point you’re going to have to repay your debts to society," Larry Duch said. "Part of that was joining the military.” 

After basic and filed artillery mechanics training, Duch was sent off to Vietnam with the Army.

“I went over as an Artillery Mechanic," he said. "Mostly what I did was work on the hydraulics of big guns. 175 millimeter guns and a eight inch howitzer, there’s a lot of hydraulics that are associated with those. That was my job, working on those, keeping those up and able to maneuver.” 

While it wasn't a position he chose, Duch found the role fulfilling, constantly keeping him on his toes.

“Every day I was doing something new, we had four guns on our firing battery, so every day there was something, some minor leak that needed to be repaired," Duch said. "A lot of times when we would send a gun or two out on a fire mission away from our main battery, I would go with them to make sure they’d be able to maneuver and shoot.”   

Duch would serve in that Artillery Mechanics role for about 10 months before helming the gun himself.

“I was able to get promoted to Sergeant and ended up being the gunner and then the crew chief before I left country," he said.

His unique background made a unique difference on the battlefield.

“When our gun was sent out on a fire mission away from the main battery, they didn’t need to send an artillery mechanic with them, because I was there to help out with that," Duch said.

Even with taking on those new leadership positions, Duch never hesitated to embrace the challenges and responsibilities.

“I don’t think it was a thing, a pathway that I had said 'well this is going to be my end goal here'" Duch said. "I really didn’t know how long I was going to be in the military. I didn’t know what the outcome of Vietnam was going to be. We talked about going home, and that was the goal.”  

After returning stateside, Duch graduated from Kansas State University, using his degree to help fellow service members as a counselor in drug and alcohol abuse, and inpatient psychiatry.