Interviewed by:

Becca Stevens and Alicia Horn

"It was about power."
~ Richard Stevens (25:34)

Richard Stevens' Story:

Richard Stevens was born in Newton, Massachusetts but moved to Natick early on. His father had been a World War II veteran, so Richard was encouraged to join the military even though he didn't believe in war.

Richard was drafted when he was 21 years old to go be a part of the war in Vietnam. When Mr. Stevens arrived at boot camp he was given an aptitude test, and it was found that he was best suited to be a radio teletype telephone operator. For this job he had to learn Morse code and about a KW7 machine, which were both used to communicate with other units.

Richard was stationed in Germany during his two years in the service. He never had to witness firsthand any fighting because the war took place in Vietnam. Fortunately he did not have to use any of the combat skills he learned in boot camp, including throwing grenades, firing weapons, cleaning weapons, preparing for gas attacks, among others.

After returning from Germany Richard took refresher courses in Boston and Newton. He ended up getting his degree at Cape Cod Community College. He now lives in Brewster, Massachusetts with his three daughters.