Jim McCoy

Jim was born in Santee, California in 1951. After Jim graduated from high school in 1969, he decided to beat the draft and enlist in the United States Army. He was sent to Vietnam in May 1970 and worked as a base guard at Bien Hoa. After some time, he was reassigned to 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 1/506th, 101st Airborne Division out of Camp Evans. In July, his company was inserted near Firebase Ripcord in hopes of securing some of the hills near the base to relieve enemy pressure on it. Instead, they encountered heavy opposition and had to be evacuated two days later. After getting out of the army, Jim joined the California Highway Patrol and served for twenty eight years. After retirement from the CHP, Jim went to Iraq and Afghanistan and worked as a police advisor to local police departments.