Farewell Party, December 1966 

The night before we shipped out, Captain Leadbetter threw us a going-away party at the local enlisted club. Loaded us all onto trucks and shuttled us over.

Then Leadbetter called me and Ioli and Voina over to his table. "Head for the stage," he commanded.

We looked at him, at one another, our faces one big question mark. It was definitely an order  So we climbed onstage.

That's me on guitar, left, Ioli on drums, and Voina on the other guitar, right.


Rock 'N' Roll Soldier: A Memoir   by Dean Ellis Kohler with Susan VanHecke, foreword by Graham Nash  •  © 2023