WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Wichita veteran drafted during the Vietnam era spent part of his service overseas in Korea. KSN shares the veteran's service, and one thing he was looking forward to returning to in Kansas. Charles Conley was born in Oklahoma but moved to Wichita at the age of 2 and has called the Air Capital home ever since. He was drafted into the army in 1968 and had a good idea of what was coming. "My brother had gotten drafted a year before that, so I felt like sooner or later I would get drafted too," he said. Courtesy: Charles Conley Courtesy: Charles Conley After basic training, Conley became a chemical and biological warfare specialist while also helping train NATO troops. "We were trained on like, mustard gas, chlorine, stuff like that. And they did experiments with VX gas," he said. Courtesy: Charles Conley Courtesy: Charles Conley Conley's next assignment was to Camp Stanley in Korea, where he ran their chemical shop. Conley says he didn't see direct combat but considered the area dangerous. He says his squadmates always had his back. "There was a camaraderie that put everybody on equal standing with each other because everyone was away from home," he said. Courtesy: Charles Conley Courtesy: Charles Conley After two years in the army, Conley was ready to return home to friends and family, which was another comfort he missed in Wichita. "The water. Fresh drinking water. The water here tastes better than water anywhere in the world as far as I'm concerned," he said. After leaving the army as an E4 specialist and returning home, Conley married the love of his life and went on to have a successful career at Boeing for more than three decades, and he credits a lot of his success to the lessons learned while he served. Courtesy: Charles Conley Courtesy: Charles Conley "Just be responsible. That's the main thing. And when you say you're going to do something, you do it. That's the whole thing, you know? Accountability," he said. If you want to nominate a veteran for our Veteran Salute, send an email to connect3news@ksn.com or fill out our online contact form! ...read more read less