Eugene was born in Colon, Panama on December 16, 1943. On February 10, 1966 he completed basic training and AIT at Fort Polk, Louisiana and volunteered for Special Forces. He graduated Airborne School and reported to Fort Bragg training as a radio operator with Company C, 6th Special Forces Group (Abn). Eugene also cross-trained in intelligence and as an assistant medic, along with weapons proficiency and small-unit tactics.
In Vietnam, Eugene served with 5th Special Forces Group under SOA, operating with MACV-SOG on OPS-35 reconnaissance missions into denied areas. Assigned to C&C Detachment, FOB-4 in Da Nang, he joined Recon Team Asp, leading missions and disrupting operations along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The missions were focused on intelligence collection and POW capture, often under compromise. Serving under Captain Richard “Dick” Meadows, they lived by one priority: survive, win, and give no quarter.
Eugene served 3 years, 2 months and 25 days and was honorably discharged on May 3, 1969.