He joined the army and was discharged as a sergeant. While in the army, he served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War for one year starting in the summer of 1966. He returned to Isleton after his tour of duty ended in the summer of 1967. During this time, he became engaged to a woman he had known before going to Vietnam. When she broke off the engagement, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, got married, and fathered a daughter. After he and his wife divorced, he moved back to Sacramento, where he found employment as a handyman.