Proof of vaccination was valued bargaining chip in Vietnam era
A front line medical worker receives a vaccination against COVID-19 at Providence Little Company Mary. Similarly to today, vaccinations during the Vietnam era gave soldiers freedom to travel between countries. Photo by Kevin Cody by John Cody In 1968, the last step in officers’ training was to get the Yellow Shot booklet. I had almost finished three months at introductory army at Fort Sam Houston during a brutally hot summer in San Antonio, Texas. I told the Army they could send me anywhere, just get me out of San Antonio. But before shipping us out, we had to get the dreaded Yellow Shot booklet. The Army did not know where we were going to be sent, so we had to get vaccines for every possible location. The Yellow Shot booklet had pages that verified you had received shots for malaria, yellow fever, dengue, and typhoid among other possible diseases. Under the hot Texas sun, we lined up before a large tent, dressed in T- shirts, fatigue pants and boots. In the tent, medics were lined up in two rows, armed with vaccine shot guns. We were told to march between the rows of medics as they pressed the vaccine guns into our arms. The medics administered six shots, three in each arm. When…
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