WAUPUN – A Waupun man has had two, 20-year careers in his life, the first in the military and the second with the United States Postal Service. William Linke Jr. began serving in the Army during the Vietnam War and made a career out of his military service He served in Vietnam for one year. A Fox Lake native, he volunteered for the draft by asking to have his number moved up. He joined the Army and traveled to Fort Campbell in Kentucky for boot camp. He said that one of his reasons for volunteering was because it was hard to get a job in the late 1960s. His family had a history of military service, both of his parents served during World War II, and his oldest brother had gotten out of the military in 1966. Linke opted to be in artillery rather than infantry. Linke said he was in Vietnam for about a month when the Tet Offensive began. He remembers helping carry the wounded to Medevac helicopters, and the sound made by the incoming helicopters. "We got overrun," Linke said. "We were all young. I was fresh off the street." He served in Vietnam for a year before returning to the United States. He said he did a lot of rambling around in 1970 and 1971, but wound up going back into the Army. When he rejoined, he went back to serving in the artillery, because that was what he knew. Eventually, he learned to weld and began working as a pipeline welder. His early service took him to Panama, Japan and then to Fort Benning, Ga. "It’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from there," Linke said of Fort Benning. He asked for a transfer, a life-changing decision. He met his wife while serving at Fort Drum in New York. Linke said he spent his first 10 years in the military on his own, and the last 10 years with his wife "If I hadn’t had her support, I would have had a harder time," Linke said. He re-enlisted and was sent to Germany to work in a construction battalion "It’s a pretty nice tour," Linke said. He left for Greece 21 days after his wife arrived in Germany, but he was able to get back in time for the birth of his son. Both his son and daughter were born in Europe. Linke continued to serve his country through the 1980s, serving in Louisiana and Viriginia, back to Panama, and a hardship tour to Korea. He retired from the Army in 1989. "I had a good time," Linke said. "I met a lot of people and am still in touch with friends." Linke and his family moved to Waupun so they could be close to his parents and because there were more job opportunities there than there were in New York, where his wife’s family lived. He eventually began working for the United States Postal Service, and has been there for nearly 20 years. "It’s all up to you as to how far you really want to go," Linke said of military service. "You have to learn to think on your feet and have to learn how to get along." alutey@ capitalnewspapers.com