MORRIS – Thomas A. McMillen, a Morris resident who completed two tours in the Vietnam War, was inducted into the New York State Veteran's Hall of Fame this year in recognition of his meritorious service to the United States.

McMillen served in the United States Army on active duty from 1967 to 1973, completing two tours in Vietnam, ascending to the rank of Captain, and becoming all too acquainted with the country's landscape: triple canopy jungles, rice paddy fields, and rubber trees.

During his first tour Cpt. McMillen was an infantry platoon commander. He later became a Chinook helicopter pilot during his second tour, logging 973 combat hours in one year without serious incident.

"The problem was when I arrived in August of '67, we had no training about Vietnam, we had no training about riding in a helicopter, the training was just how to behave as a soldier in uniform," said Cpt. McMillen. "The only thing we knew about Vietnam was what Walter Cronkite presented on the CBS Evening News. And so it was all destruction and fire and injuries––it really wasn't like that."

Cpt. McMillen's first tour in Vietnam was from August 1967 to August 1968. Over that year, he was commander of 25 men in the 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Infantry Division at just 22 years old. All 25 members Cpt. McMillen commanded survived the war.