Interview, Nicholas DeLeo, USA

Nicholas DeLeo (b. 1952) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1972 and entered active service on January 8, 1973. He completed basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and went on to specialize in construction engineering. DeLeo was stationed in New Jersey, Missouri, Colorado, and Alaska. He was not sent to Vietnam because the Paris Peace Accords were signed while he was still in basic training. Having married before he entered the service, DeLeo brought his wife with him to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, where she gave birth to their first child. He spent three years in the Army and was honorably discharged in 1976. After leaving the military, DeLeo became a systems support engineer at Harris RF Communications, in Rochester.

In this interview, DeLeo discusses what it was like to have his family stationed with him in Alaska, recalling that the military doctors at Fort Wainwright did not do a good job caring for his wife during childbirth. DeLeo reports that his favorite duty station was Fort Carlson, Colorado, because the area was beautiful and he learned how to ski while he was there. Although he says he struggled with accepting authority while he was in the service, DeLeo believes that the military gave him a sense of purpose and he thinks that everyone should serve their country in some capacity, whether through the military or a volunteer organization.