Ryan, Bo OH1107

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center Transcript of an Oral History Interview with William “Bo” Ryan Military Police Officer, U.S. Army 2007 OH 1107 1 OH 1107 Ryan, William “Bo”, (1947- ). Oral History Interview, 2007. User Copy: 1 sound cassette (ca. 41 min.); analog, 1 7/8 ips, mono. Master Copy: 1 sound cassette (ca. 41 min.); analog, 1 7/8 ips, mono. Transcript: 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder) Abstract William “Bo” Ryan, a Chester, Pennsylvania native, describes his stateside experience as a military police officer in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Born in 1947, Ryan relates growing up always knowing the possibility of military service as his father received a Bronze Star in World War II veteran and his uncle was an Army Ranger in the Korean War. Ryan details how prevalent the Cold War was; relating a story of a neighbor who built a fallout shelter. After graduating high school in 1965, Ryan describes attending Wilkes University. While there he strived for good grades in order to avoid being drafted out of college and because he would be the first in his family to obtain a four year degree. Upon graduation in 1969, Ryan describes obtaining a high-paying job with ARCO only to be drafted several weeks later. Ryan recounts that he took his draft in stride; trying to make the best of the situation. Ryan explains completing basic training at Fort Bragg (North Carolina) where he achieved the highest PT test scores and becoming a platoon guide. Ryan describes several ways to evade military service; such as eating peanut butter to affect blood pressure. He also mentions playing basketball at night with special operative members after most in his platoon had gone to sleep. After completing basic training, Ryan was assigned to the military police at Fort Gordon (Georgia) where he attended Advanced Individual Training and won a pistol as the top graduate of his class. Ryan tells that he was assigned to work with prisoners as a correctional specialist to provide counseling and perform guard duties. He tells of transporting some “bad characters” to prison at Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) via commercial airline. Ryan describes Army prisoners; saying some had done tours in Vietnam, but that most went AWOL or deserted before they went over. He claims the biggest reason for desertion was their perception that their wife or girlfriend was cheating on them. He speaks to the time as “trying to be a kinder, gentler Army;" in that somebody who went AWOL or deserted a little bit could still serve and receive an honorable discharge if they completed their assigned duty while in prison. Ryan addresses going to town to take care of the drunks who were “over served.” He speaks of being on alert on “the day the eagle dropped”(payday) and several encounters he had with the neck of a broken beer bottle. After completing his service duties, Ryan speaks of his decision not to return to ARCO, but to go back to school for coaching and teaching. Ryan then tells of using government funding to go back to school and also his use of the GI Loan to purchase a home in Madison, Wisconsin. Ryan describes his experience in the military as positive, as well as feeling that it was his responsibility as an American citizen. 2 Biographical Sketch William “Bo” Ryan is the current head coach of the top-ranked University of Wisconsin – Madison Men’s Basketball Team. As head coach he has lead his team to two Big Ten Tournament Championships, three Big Ten Regular Season Championships. He was also the recipient of the Big 10 Coach of the Year award for two consecutive years, the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award in 2007, and the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year for the 2007 – 2008 season. He is the author of three books on coaching basketball, and he and his wife, Kelly, are the parents of five children. Interviewed by Jim Kurtz, 2007 Transcribed by Cheryl Hoover, Wisconsin Court Reporter, 2008. Transcript edited by Brooke E. Perry Hoesli, WVM staff, 2008. 3 Interview Transcript Jim: September 14, 2007. My name is Jim Kurtz, and I'm interviewing Bo Ryan in his office at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Bo, when and where were you born? Ryan: I was born in 1947, December 20th, in Chester, Pennsylvania. Jim: Okay. And where did you grow up? Ryan: In Chester, a town at that time of about sixty thousand. Jim: And what part of Pennsylvania is it in? Ryan: Just outside of south Philadelphia. Jim: Okay. And when you were growing up there, were World War II veterans and Korean War veterans conspicuous in your community? Ryan: Pretty much so. My — kind of like a brother to me, was an uncle who lived with us when he wasn't in the service. He was in the Rangers in Korea, and then after he finished his tour of duty in the Rangers during the Korean War he then joined the Air Force. He became — never really figured out what he did in the Air Force, but they came back and interviewed all his elementary teachers. He had top security clearance. Very good with technical things. He made his own TVs; he was pretty sharp. And so that was my — he was actually like my roommate in the house when he would come home. My dad was in World War II in the Navy, has a Bronze Star, was hit by kamikazes and thrown into the ocean and survived on a life raft for 15 days. And I was about 12 when I realized that other people helped in the war. I thought he was the only one. Jim: (Laughing) So did he talk — did your uncle and your dad talk much about their military experience? Ryan: My uncle didn't. My dad would talk about — never about the kamikaze planes, never about seeing people die, never — you know, when I read Flags of Our Fathers I understand that Bradley never talked about Iwo Jima. Did you read the book? Jim: Yes. Ryan: So my dad would talk about what the islands were like, but he never talked about death or gory details, so to speak. But he would talk about the experience about being in the South Pacific, what it was like being 4 disciplined by being in the Navy, what he learned. Jim: Was the Cold War evident in your life? Ryan: Oh, sure, because there was a neighbor who did a bomb shelter. And we didn't laugh at him, we just said, What are you doing that for? Well, the Russians were going to bomb us. We were going to be the only ones surviving. So, yeah, the Cold War was very evident. As a matter of fact, my high school and college coach was delayed by one year coaching in my high school because he went over to Berlin. Jim: That's the Berlin crisis. Ryan: (Inaudible) Jim: When Kennedy gave his inaugural speech, that "Ask not what you can do for your country but what you can do for your country (sic)," did that make any impression on you? Ryan: Yeah. I thought it was words, and it was said by a person who I really didn't know. You don't get as much information as you do now; there's not a 24-hour news station. What I saw of Kennedy, he seemed like a decent guy. So when he made the statement, it's kind of pretty much the way I was raised. I ended up becoming president of my class and had to give a speech. I didn't use that quote, but I basically said, you know, I'm here to help serve you at the school. Don't worry so much about what the school can do for you but how can you make the school better, but I didn't give it that way. So, to me, it just made sense, a believer being somebody who's saying how can you help. And like being a captain of the basketball, football, baseball team, I just don't (inaudible). It ain't the coach (inaudible) if you strike out. Let's not blame the coach. Let's see what we can do to get better to be a better team. So that's how I was raised. So Kennedy's speech to me was typical conversation. Jim: It fit into with your context of your life. Ryan: Absolutely. Jim: When you were growing up, did you have an expectation that you may have to go into the military? Ryan: Sure. It seemed like that was always a possibility, because as you're going through high school and then into college, the draft is on in ‘65, and that's when I graduated from high school. 5 Jim: Okay. So you graduated from high school in ‘65 in Chester, right? Ryan: Chester. Jim: So did you go on to college then? Ryan: Yes. Jim: Where did you go? Ryan: Wilkes University. Jim: Whereabouts is that? Ryan: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Jim: Okay. Ryan: Coal mining region. Jim: And did they have ROTC there? Ryan: They did not have it on our campus. Jim: Okay. Ryan: And if they did, it was — no one I knew was in ROTC. Jim: Okay. Ryan: I don't think we had because it was a private — small, private college. Jim: Okay. Ryan: But there was an armory there. There was — because I played ball in it.

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