Jimi initially joined the United States Navy from 1964 – 1968. He served in several roles in the medical field, including 22 months on shore duty, in Da Nang, Vietnam as part of a medical logistics team. For Jimi, the Navy lacked the excitement he was seeking and in 1968 he joined the United States Army.

With his outstanding skills and fitness, it was not long before Jimi made it into the 5th Special Forces Unit and found himself back in Vietnam as part of the war effort. He spent six months supporting the Civilian Irregular Defense Group on their missions.

He then moved to the highly regarded Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (SOG), for eight months, leading high-risk missions deep into southeast Asia.

In total, Jimi served 3 years and 4 months in Vietnam!