A Minnesota PBS Initiative
The draw down period and the heroin problem
I served at the Army HQ in Long Binh in the Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation Office from Aug. of 1971 to April 1972. This was during the “drawdown” period, a drastic reduction in troops, the period of time when many of the soldiers were clearly aware of the futility of the Vietnam War effort, and the period of time when use of heroin by enlisted men was somewhere between 25 and 30%.
I did not use smack, but several of my good friends did. Had I desired to, it would have been extremely easy to get. $5.00 would buy a vial of 95% pure heroin a few cubicles down from mine in the hooch. I had several friends who did. Once they started, our friendships were affected.
The rift was not the same as between juicers and dopers, but nevertheless, I was no longer their intimates. I could still sit in their circle at night, but watching some of them nod off was not what I sought their companionship for.
I told them what I had seen: alcohol, marijuana, speed, LSD, opium, heroin... They could not believe these soldiers could abuse drugs this way and be reliable soldiers every day. I told them I saw it every night.
My job as a clerk typist required me to type all the proposals regarding how the Army planned to deal with the growing number of men who tested positive for heroin use. My roommate was in the office where the results of the urine analysis tests were processed.
The pressure from Congressmen and Senators to solve this problem greatly increased as the word of the prevalent use of heroin spread in the U. S. Amnesty, recidivism, detoxification, urine analysis, false positives, rehabilitation, dishonorable discharges. . . .
A vial of heroin is visible in this picture to the left of the pack of Kools.
The Deputy Chief Staff Personnel and Administration struggled to find an answer.
Then, I was assigned to help two newly created Drug Education Teams develop scripts for their presentations to troops throughout Vietnam. One officer and one senior enlisted man per team.
They knew nothing about what the first and second year enlisted men were doing every night after work. Their drug education had been watching Reefer Madness, the outdated, comedy about the evils of marijuana use.
I liked these four guys. As I typed drafts of their presentations, I shuddered at the reception they would receive from the troops.
They were clueless, had never used anything but alcohol, and did not want to make asses of themselves.
In my view, the U.S. Army made a sincere effort to deal effectively with the heroin problem.
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I tried to tell them what a typical night in the enlisted man’s world could be like. I told them what I had seen: alcohol, marijuana, speed, LSD, opium, heroin all commonly used by soldiers who would be at work the next day. One used alcohol and marijuana; one heroin and marijuana; one speed, marijuana, and alcohol; one LSD; another opium laced marijuana and alcohol, the list went on and on.
They were stunned. They could not believe these soldiers could abuse drugs this way and be reliable soldiers every day. I told them I saw it every night.
They wanted to know how to connect with the soldiers. They did not want to see them shipped home to the VA hospital nearest their home town as a heroin addict. Neither did I, but what was so hard to understand is how many soldiers used heroin recreationally and could stop when their DEROS approached. I watched it happen.
Stopping 48 hours before a urine analysis test was pretty sure to pass the test as a non user. 72 hours was a certainty. The proof was in the telling statistic that only 5% of the soldiers taking their test before shipping for home tested positive. Yet the research clearly showed that soldiers returning home were admitting to having used while in Vietnam at a rate of 25 to 30%.
The difference was the fact that the overwhelming majority of heroin users smoked it. I watched them create their cigarettes which could be smoked anywhere and be undetected. First, a filtered cigarette was rolled between the fingers, loosening the bond between the paper and the filter.
The filter was pulled out and a small portion was ripped off and discarded. This reduced filter was then reinserted into the paper. Then the vial of heroin was opened and the cap filled. The tobacco end of the cigarette was then inserted into the cap and the smack was sucked into the tobacco. Thus the heroin was burned with the tobacco and inhaled.
Apparently, this ingestion of heroin was not as addicting as injected it as is proven by the statistics regarding how many soldiers were able to quit when they needed to in order to avoid testing positive, missing their DEROS date, and running the risk of a dishonorable discharge.
I suggested to the Drug Education Teams that they start with the song “Sister Morphine” by the Rolling Stones. They could perhaps discuss the lyrics and then try to start a presentation about the risks of using heroin. I told them to avoid telling the soldiers what they knew from experience was not true--marijuana did not make you crazed. I told them to focus on being in full command of their faculties when others depended on them.
My own DEROS date arrived after eight months in country. This was the drawdown phase, and I had been in country longer than others with my MOS, so I was shipped home before the two Drug Education Teams began to make presentations to soldiers all over the country.
In my view, the U. S. Army made a sincere effort to deal effectively with the heroin problem. They were dealing with a new phenomenon and offered amnesty to soldiers who would voluntarily turn themselves in. They tried therapy.
My own DEROS date arrived after eight months in country. This was the drawdown phase, and I had been in country longer than others with my MOS, so I was shipped home before the two Drug Education Teams began to make presentations to soldiers all over the country.
In my view, the U. S. Army made a sincere effort to deal effectively with the heroin problem. They were dealing with a new phenomenon and offered amnesty to soldiers who would voluntarily turn themselves in. They tried therapy.
Most heroin users were right--they did quit when they needed to. However, 5% did not and ended up evacuated to a VA Hospital.
Unannounced company wide urine analysis test were conducted; however, it was hard to make an unannounced visit to a company when the company clerk found out about it ahead of time.
It was a period of time when most soldiers resented the futility of it all. Why were we here? What was the point?
Most heroin users were right--they did quit when they needed to. However, 5% did not and ended up evacuated to a VA Hospital--not the DEROS they had in mind.
That was the unfortunate soldier John Prine’s “Sam Stone” was about.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Fergus Falls, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Long Binh, Vietnam 
Story Subject: Military Service
Military Branch: U.S. Army
Dates of Service: 1971 - 1972
Veteran Organization: None
Unit: U. S. Army Headquarters, Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel and Administration, Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation
Specialty: 71B20
Story Themes: 1971, 1972, Addiction, Army, Art, Coming Home, DEROS, Drugs and Alcohol, Fergus Falls, Heroin, Long Binh, Lowell Carpenter, Music, Pop Culture, Read
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