While stacks of propaganda leaflets, pages of photographs and yellowed, hand-written accounts of missions all serve as reminder of Don Engelbrecht’s two years of service during the Vietnam war, he maintains that “unless you were there, you have no idea what it was like.”

Engelbrecht of Monroe joined the service in 1966 via Selective Service and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the 9th Infantry division of the U.S. Army. Engelbrecht trained all over the United States, from his home state of Illinois to Lousiana, before heading overseas to Germany and, eventually, South Vietnam.

As a heavy equipment engineer, Engelbrecht’s duties included maintaining Army machinery — on the occasion that it was necessary.