Bruce "Scotty" Morrison of Lehighton considers himself more fortunate than many Vietnam veterans.

Morrison served in the Navy during the conflict and spent most of his eight-month tour on a ship, the USS Strong which was a destroyer ship."Our main job was harassment intradiction," he said.He enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 12, 1966, six days before his 18th birthday.There were two times that Morrison had tense moments.He was in Vietnam during the seizing of the USS Pueblo by the North Vietnamese.At the time, he was on leave in Taiwan and ordered to bet back to duty."We escorted the USS Enterprise, a nuclear carrier, to the area, then went back to Vietnam," he said.The other tense moment for Morrison was when his and two other ships were dispatched to take out a more than 70 unit tank convoy."We shot up the road in front of them, shot up the road in back, then shot up and down the line," he said. "They were attacking this truck convoy."Although never hit by incoming fire, there was fire directed at them.Morrison said his ship was equipped with high explosive ammunition. This included armor piercing and anti-aircraft.The ship also had white phosphorous star shells, which could either set fires near the enemy or illuminate nighttime areas."We used flashless powder at night and smokeless powder during the day," he said.One of the things Morrison's tour of Vietnam let him do was eventually visit a longtime pen pal in Japan, which he termed "my most memorable moment." A girl there had been his pen pal since a sophomore in high school.She liked Andy Williams so he managed to find an Andy Williams jacket and gave it to herAfter leaving the military, he attended Community College in Monmouth, New Jersey. There he helped form a veterans' college fraternity.When the Kent State incident occurred in which some college students in Kent State, Ohio were shot and killed during a war protest, his fraternity gathered with anti-war students and all agreed, "there will be no incidents on this campus."The fraternity received a letter of commendation from then Vice President Spiro Agnew.Morrison, a native of New Jersey, moved to his South First Street address in Lehighton 13 years ago.He and his wife, Susan, have been married 18 years. He tries to attend reunions of his "Tin Can Sailers" veterans group whenever he can.The Navy veteran admits he had suffered from post traumatic stress disorder.He said he recalls soon after he returned home, he went to a fireworks show. At one point, when the fireworks got exceptionally loud, "I panicked and wanted to dig a fox hole," he said.Since then, he has learned to enjoy such displays. "I love loud fireworks now," he said.He explained that the PTSD might not be totally attributed to Vietnam. "I grew up in an abusive, alcoholic family," he said.Morrison is employed as a property manager in New Jersey and commutes daily from his Lehighton residence.Scotty Morrison, LehightonU.S. NavyAge 65Rank: Sonar Technical General Seaman.In the Navy: October 1966 to October 1969In Vietnam: November 1967 to June 1968