OCEAN CITY – A Vietnam veteran says his new job as a tram conductor keeps him active.
Four days a week, Fred Coston, 73, makes his way from Salisbury to Ocean City to work on the Boardwalk trams. Starting from the town’s staging facility at 2nd Street and St. Louis Avenue, he spends his workday selling tickets, collecting money and ensuring passenger safety.
But what many may not know is that Coston comes to the town’s transportation department with years of service under his belt. After a 21-year stint in the U.S. Army and 30 years as a local driver, he said he was eager to find a job that got him out of his house.
“It was a summer job, and I didn’t want to stay in the house and get bored,” he said. “If I keep moving, I keep going. I don’t feel like being done yet.”
Following his high school graduation in 1969, Coston, a Snow Hill native, joined the U.S. Army. After attending basic training at Fort Dix, he advanced to airborne ranger school.
“From there, they sent me to Vietnam,” he said.
Over the next three years, Coston would serve as a “tunnel rat,” uncovering and clearing a network of small, underground passages used by the Viet Cong. He said his slight build allowed him to fit into tight spaces where others could not.
“When I got there, they said we need someone as a tunnel rat. The only thing I knew was that they paid more. So I volunteered,” he explained. “The whole platoon would go to a site, and they’d call for a tunnel rat. I’d throw a grenade in there and go in.”
Coston said being a tunnel rat was dangerous work, as soldiers often encountered lethal explosives and venomous snakes.
“They would booby trap the lids of the tunnels with snakes,” he recalled. “We called them two-steps. That’s why we first threw grenades into the tunnels.”
Coston said he saw many things during his years in Vietnam, including the deaths of close friends. He also had his own near-death experience in the tunnels.
“One day I crawled into a tunnel, and when I got to other side, a Viet Cong threw a grenade that hit me in the chest,” he said. “They sent me to Hawaii to get patched up and sent me back.”
Tram Supervisor Craig Coleman said Coston’s story is deserving of recognition.
“He’s a hero,” he said.
Coston, however, said he is simply sharing his experience to honor those who died in Vietnam.
“I’m doing this for the ones that didn’t make it back with me.”
Following his service in the U.S. Army, Coston spent the next 30 years driving for both Perdue and Shore Transit. Now in his first season as a tram conductor, Coston said he enjoys the challenges that come with the new job.
“When the season is over, I’m going to miss it,” he said.
