When he enlisted, he was 18 years old and used to northern winters and cool summers. Stepping off the aircraft in Vietnam just a few months later in 1967 felt like stepping into a blast furnace.

“It was really scary,” said Missoula resident Ron Skinner. “At 18, what a young man is interested in is chasing girls, driving fast cars and drinking beer. In a very short period of time, I’m having live bullets shot at me and people are trying to kill me. You wake up and mature instantly. I missed a block of my life. I went immediately to learning how to stay alive in dangerous situations. I had to be on alert, 24/7, 365 days in the jungle.”

Skinner, who had spent time in special improvised explosive device training during boot camp, served as a minesweeper in the 1st Cavalry Division, the Army’

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