I was born on July 7, 1951, in the U.S. Naval Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island.  The Korean War (called a "Police Action" at the time) was at its height and my father had been recalled to active duty as a Navy doctor.  He tells horrifying stories of Marines evacuated from the debacle at Chosin Reservoir in the winter of 1950/1 with their toes literally frozen solid inside their boots.  They were the lucky ones, since they returned alive.

When my father was released from active duty, he returned his home city - Albany, New York - to complete his medical training.  I grew up in Albany and the suburb of Delmar.

From the time I was five years old, I wanted to be a physicist.  Why?  It seemed to me then (and now) that physicists learn the secrets of how the world works.  I was especially interested in nuclear physics, a hot topic in the 1950's when thermonuclear weapons were first developed.  It was amazing to me that by learning the secrets of the tiniest objects, physicists were able to create explosions of such tremendous magnitude.  I wanted to learn those secrets!  Physics, math, and American history were my favorite subjects in high school, and so it was natural that I wanted to study physics in college.

In the summer of 1968, between my junior and senior years of high school, I attended a special class in physics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.  This class was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation to encourage students to become physicists.  At the time, the government believed that the country needed more physicists!  It was my first extended period away from home with no supervision.  I happened to meet a girl from Pennsylvania, Emogene (Gena) Herzog, who was studying Spanish because she had her sights set on medical school and figured she would need to speak Spanish with the patients.  I had not yet met a girl of my own age who was as focused on her career goals as I was;  naturally I was smitten.  What she saw in me is another question.  In any case, we became long-distance sweethearts.

I graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in 1969.  By then, the United States was embroiled in another war in Asia, the Vietnam War.  In a previous generation, I might have been drafted to fight in that war, but in those days students attending college were granted draft deferments until they graduated or flunked out.  The theory was that the government would get a better class of draftee by waiting for college graduation.  The reality was that young men who lacked the educational background or finances to attend college served on the front lines while those who attended college avoided the war or served lighter duty.  This is an oversimplification, of course, but in many cases it was true.

When the end of high school came, there was no doubt that I was going to college.  I wanted to become a physicist, and I had no desire to fight in Vietnam.  I am not proud that part of my reason for not volunteering for the war was to keep my fanny out of harm's way, but I had another reason for not wanting to go that proved to be correct.  Studying history, particularly military history, I was convinced that there was absolutely no way that the United States could win the Vietnam War with the strategy adopted by Defense Secretary McNamara and General Westmoreland.  It was as if we had invaded Normandy, driven the Germans back to the Siegfried Line on the German border, and then waited indefinitely for the Germans to give up.  As long as the ground forces were limited to South Vietnam, there was no military way to win the war.  Furthermore, there was no indication that the majority of people in South Vietnam cared what form of government they had.  The rapid fall of the South once the Americans withdrew proved this to be a correct assessment.  If they weren't willing to fight and die for their own freedom, why should I?

Please don't misunderstand my point.  Despite the fact that the war was a mistake and I did not volunteer to serve, I have the deepest respect for those who did, particularly those who were wounded, captured, or lost their lives.  It is a tragedy that those heroic sacrifices were for nothing.  The blame for the failure of the Vietnam War rests solely with our misguided leaders, not with the soldiers who fought.

Chapter 2 - College

Last update: June 06, 2000