Retired professor poet and writer Vince Gotera, 72, of Waterloo, was the guest. The event was held in the Leisure Resource Center in Malloy Hall. He is in his second year as Iowa’s poet laureate and serves on the board of Humanities Iowa.

He has published more than 300 poems and four books of poetry, according to Catherine Noble, IVH librarian, who introduced Gotera. He was stationed at the former Fort Ord, near Monterey Bay, Calif. during the Vietnam War, but emphasized that he did not serve in Vietnam.

“I have my old field jacket from years ago … It still fits and zips up,” he said jokingly as he prepared to read from one of his books. “I don’t know if I could fit into my uniform.”

In the poem “My Father’s Business,” Gotera recited the “drill” on how things were done “the Army way” at his home in San Francisco.

U.S. Army veteran and Iowa Poet Laureate Vince Gotera answers a question from a resident at the Iowa Veterans Home on Tuesday afternoon.

“There were many ways to do things, but the right way was the ‘Army way,'” he said. “How to make a bed, how to sweep and wax the floor … how to spit shine shoes and how to peel potatoes.”

Gotera recalled in poem and prose format how long it took to peel a bushel or two of potatoes using a paring knife.

“I learned the hard way that peeling spuds in KP (Kitchen Patrol) was not a myth and not a joke,” he said. “We would start in the day and work into the night.”

There was more.

“The Army way was learning how to march for hours in the hot sun on the parade grounds … rifle at shoulder arms … how to run for miles with a rifle held diagonally in front of you,” he said. “Additionally, ‘the Army way’ was learning about honor, tradition, respect, defense for democracy and securing freedom by giving up one’s life … my father’s business … ‘the Army way.'”

Gotera later joked that his father must have been laughing at him because he arrived for the 1 p.m. event a few minutes late.

“While growing up everything ‘was hurry up and wait,'” he said. “We would always arrive somewhere 20 minutes early … ‘hurry up and wait.'”

Gotera followed with a poem based on experiences in basic training in 1972.

“Being a soldier meant a lot of noise,” he said. “Rifles at the range … yells of ready on the left … ready on the right … fire at will … an M-16 barrage by lonesome boys … live grenades … marching cadences.”

Gotera said he is the third generation in his family to serve in the U.S. Army. His brother is a Vietnam war combat veteran.

His grandfather served in the Army in World War I and World War II. His father — also an Army veteran — served with his grandfather in World War II as Filipino scouts in the Philippine Islands during WWII.

The Philippine Islands were captured by Japanese forces during the early days of the conflict. His father and grandfather were captured and survived the brutal Bataan Death March – where thousands of Americans and Filipinos died from brutal treatment at the hands of their Japanese captors.

“My grandfather was in his 50s during captivity, but my father helped him survive because they were in the concentration camp,” Gotera said.

However, other family members were not as fortunate. Gotera’s maternal uncle and another man were beheaded by Japanese soldiers who believed they were spies.

Gotera later recalled a story of blatant disrespect and discrimination toward his father by an Army enlisted man after WWII. Gottera said his father had risen to the rank of lieutenant after the war.

He once encountered a private or corporal at the Presidio Army base in San Francisco who did not salute because his father was Filipino and therefore referred to as a “monkey” in some circles and not worthy of a salute. Gotera’s father took off his jacket and hung it on a bush. He then ordered the enlisted man to salute the Army uniform he was wearing repeatedly, and the enlisted man complied.

Gotera is professor emeritus of English at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. He is former editor of the North American Review and Star Line. His books, among others, include “Dragons and Rayguns,” “The Coolest Month,” and “Flying Kite.”

T-R PHOTOS BY MIKE DONAHEY — Iowa Veterans Home Librarian Catherine Noble introduces U.S. Army veteran and Iowa Poet Laureate Vince Gotera to attendees at the Malloy Leisure Resource Center on Tuesday afternoon.