Otis Romans

Otis “Butch” Romans was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1945. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan and in 1966 he volunteered for the draft. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, advanced infantry training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and paratrooper training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division where he first served with the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Ia Drang Valley and later with Bravo Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Cavalry Regiment in the area around An Khe. During Operation Pershing in Bong Son he was wounded and was medically evacuated. After recovering he completed his service at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia and was ultimately discharged from the Army at Fort Lee, Virginia in 1969.