The Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico has made the evening news a few times in the past years because the civilian population has been protesting the presence and activities of the military there. This idyllic little island with its pristine beaches and marvelous climate always seemed ideal to me for locating a tourist Mecca. It was in 1968 when I spent the last four months of my three years in the United States Marine Corps on Vieques as Operations Officer in charge of scheduling, safety and maintenance of all the firing ranges. It was there I met Corporal John Drais, an unassuming young black man whom I shall never forget.

John Drais was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in an area which could unflatteringly but realistically be termed a slum. He endured an inner city education, which could charitably be called insufficient. From early childhood, John managed to avoid most of the brutality of his surroundings and successfully avoided the neighborhood pressures to join the local gang. The Viet Nam War was entering the American build-up plan when John joined the Marine Corps in 1965 at the age of only seventeen. He needed his mother’s written permission because he was underage. His father was not available.

Contrary to the attitudes of a lot of well-off suburban middle-class boys, John Drais didn’t view the war as an inconvenience to be avoided but as an opportunity to better his circumstances. He had dropped out of high school to join, but he felt he could get his high school equivalency certificate through the Marine Corps, and the circumstances he left behind in Detroit were anything but conducive to study anyway.

John Drais soon became Private Drais, infantryman. In 1966 he began his tour of duty in Viet Nam in the Danang area. He saw a lot of action without personal injury until his tenth month in country when his company came under heavy fire during an operation. Drais, by then a Lance Corporal, was a member of the platoon designated to assault a tree-line enemy position across an open rice patty. Half way across the platoon came under machine-gun fire and Lance Corporal Drais was hit twice. One bullet mangled the middle finger on his left hand and ricocheted off the rifle he was holding. If the rifle stock hadn’t been in the right position, the bullet probably would have killed him. The other bullet tore through his right calf severely damaging the muscle and tendons. Lance Corporal Drais was medevaced to the Repose, a hospital ship off the coast, and sent back to the states shortly after.

When I met Corporal Drais, he was nearing the end of his enlistment and was assigned to light duty as a clerk in the intelligence section on Vieques. He had endured three operations on his leg by then and still walked with a limp. He had pain every day and had to visit our military doctor frequently. What I remember most about Corporal Drais was his cheerful attitude. He never complained about anything. On the contrary, he was finishing his GED requirements for his high-school equivalency certificate and was looking forward to entering an electronics school after his discharge. We talked about how he could take advantage of his education benefits to complete school, and our doctor was diligent in pursuing disability benefits for him.

John Drais was the kind of man who went out of his way to help others and asked for nothing for himself. He constantly strove to overcome the adversities he encountered and maintained a positive, cheerful attitude through all his difficulties. Men like Corporal Drais made me proud to be a Marine.