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ACIERNO, Sharon “Tommie” (b. 1949)

Military ServiceU.S. Army Vietnam Veteran

Oral Histories

OH 1647

For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. Vietnam War veteran. Childhood in Brook Park, Ohio; decisions to drop out of high school and to enlist in the U.S. Army; basic training at Ft. McClellan, Ala.,; clerical training; assignment to Ft. Huachuca, Ariz. and base in Heidelberg, Germany; “coming out” experience with self and with family; decision to volunteer for assignment to Vietnam; clerical duties with logistics unit at Long Binh, including work with Graves Registration; camaraderie among gay and straight troops; experiences with apathetic citizens and antiwar protesters upon return to U.S.; work as drill sergeant at Ft. McClellan; decision to leave Army; decision to relocate to Dallas; struggles with alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder; experience in Veterans Administration psychiatric ward; relocation; opinions regarding “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and treatment of women in the military generally; work with Vietnam Veterans of America group.