"I was an inside guy." (Audio interview, 13:58)

Ralph Garcia

War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Marine Corps Unit: Company L, Marine Support Battalion, Marine Corps Headquarters; 3rd Marine Division Service Location: Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); North Carolina; Camp Pendleton and San Diego, California; Turkey; Germany; England; Vietnam; Laos Rank: Staff Sergeant Place of Birth: East Chicago, IN

Growing up in the 1950s, Staff Sergeant Ralph Garcia was impressed by the sharp uniform worn by his cousin, a decorated Marine veteran of the Korean War. His enlistment in the Marines in 1959 led him to a career in intelligence, first with the Marines and then later for the Central Intelligence Agency. As a "spook" working covert operations in Vietnam, and in undercover assignments with the CIA, he drew on his multi-lingual skills and multicultural background to help him blend in with his surroundings.