Scope and Contents

The collection consists of photographs documenting Larry Racine's U.S. Army service with 3rd Platoon, 78th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Irwin (1968) and as a truck driver and gunner with the 444th Transportation Company, the 512th Transportation Company, and the 523rd Transportation Company stationed at Qui Nhon (July 1969 - March 1970).

Biographical / Historical

Larry D. Racine (aka The Stork) was born in 1949 in Pasadena, CA. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in April 1968 and took basic training at Ft. Ord. He was assigned to 3rd Platoon, 78th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Irwin. In July 1969, he deployed to Vietnam and served as a truck driver and gunner with the 444th Transportation Company running convoys on Route 19 between Qui Nhon and Pleiku. The route was dangerous and he experienced multiple ambushes and skirmishes. His truck was nicknamed The Boot. In September 1969, he was demoted from Specialist to Private First Class for a disputed incident of insubordination. Later that fall, disgruntled with leadership within the unit, he was taken off the truck and worked odd jobs including cook, mail room clerk, and tire maintenance. He then requested a transfer and served as a gunner with the 512th Transportation Company (truck nickname The Iron Butterfly) and the 523rd Transportation Company (truck nickname Hunter's Revenge). He was discharged in March 1970. After his miltary service, he legally changed his birth name of Root to his original family name of Racine (French Canadian, translated to Root). He ran his own cabinet shop and construction business, got married, and raised a son.