MF224 Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project

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  Christopher “Chris” M. Beam, interviewed by Doug Rawlings

  Christopher M. Beam

  Christopher “Chris” M. Beam, interviewed by Doug Rawlings, August 29, 2000. Beam reviews his early life, attending Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, being invested in the “domino effect,” being disturbed about his fellow students seeking a way out of service, his gendered perspective of serving in the military, enlisting with the U.S. Marines feeling it was a prestigious branch of the military, feeling it was his patriotic duty to serve, signing up for three years of active duty and three year in an active reserve, his mother’s opposition to him entering the military, experiencing a change in heart as his reporting for service as he began wondering about the U.S. Government’s reasons for being in Vietnam, signing up for the officer training program, and hawkish friends evading the draft through student deferment. Beam discusses experiencing fear as he reported to Quantico because of his changing perspective spurred by hawkish right wing congressmen characterizing the Vietnam War as a battle between “the Cross” and Communism and realizing he was “in league with the wrong people,” the intake process at Quantico rendering individuals “anonymous” through homogenous haircuts and uniforms, the Marine’s organization of his class of 300 to 400 enlistees, candidates drummed out of officer training, tactics used by drill sergeants to psychologically break candidates, sergeants who told recruits what was happening in Vietnam to prepare candidates to lead, brief rhymes used by soldiers to indicate which MOS were safer than others, 20% of his class assigned to infantry, being confronted by the uniform code at party when he criticized Dean Rusk and Robert McNamara. He recounts the names of men he knew who died in Vietnam, his growing contempt for draft dodgers, the growing strain on his family relationships, feeling estranged from American society, being stationed in Okinawa, putting in for transfer to Vietnam, being stationed with the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade aboard the Tolland-class attack cargo ship U.S.S. Seminole, classism aboard ship, and the seven months he spent in country. Text: 93 pp. transcript, plus 22 pp. supplemental content, 2 pp. administrative.

  No recording; transcript only.

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  Leo Bertram Bell, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1

  Leo Bertram Bell

  Leo Bertram Bell, interviewed by Stephen Rees at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on July 29, 1999. Bell is one of the 28 Vietnam Veterans interviewed as part of the original grant project. Bell, born in Lewiston, Maine, speaks about his early life living in the Home for Boys following his parents' divorce; doing poorly in school; his belief that if he served in the Army, "all these girls would fall over us;" enlisting at age 17; his training; being the youngest in his unit and being stationed in Georgia when his unit was deployed; landing in Vietnam 8 days after his 18th birthday; serving as a trucker in the 1st Infantry Division; being wounded and returning home; getting married and being told by his father telling him, "you're not a man unless you go back to Vietnam;" re-enlisting to serve his second tour; being wounded a second time and losing his best friend in the attack; being the only U.S. Veterans to lose a war; serving at Fort Devons, Massachusetts on funeral detail for two and a half years; not being able to hold down a job due to PTSD following his discharge; earning his Associates degree; earning a BA in Criminal Justice; living and trying to find work with a disability; receiving his Master's degree in Counseling Education; starting a counseling business for Veterans in Aroostook County; teaching at the University of Maine, Presque Isle and the University of Maine, Fort Kent; being stripped of emotions by the Army; grappling with PTSD, divorce, kidney, cancer and anger; attending the dedication of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in 1983; the effects of Agent Orange on soldiers and on his youngest son; the U.S. Government's treatment of disabled veterans; the use of dioxin along roadsides in Maine in the late 1970s; race relations in Vietnam; the Domino Theory; the impact of patriotic "God, duty, country" propaganda; and the burden of preserving freedom. Text: 34 pp. transcript. Time: 01:41:56.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4491_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4491_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4491_02A

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  Leo Bertram Bell, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 2

  Leo Bertram Bell

  Leo Bertram Bell, interviewed by Stephen Rees at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on July 29, 1999. Bell is one of the 28 Vietnam Veterans interviewed as part of the original grant project. Bell, born in Lewiston, Maine, speaks about his early life living in the Home for Boys following his parents' divorce; doing poorly in school; his belief that if he served in the Army, "all these girls would fall over us;" enlisting at age 17; his training; being the youngest in his unit and being stationed in Georgia when his unit was deployed; landing in Vietnam 8 days after his 18th birthday; serving as a trucker in the 1st Infantry Division; being wounded and returning home; getting married and being told by his father telling him, "you're not a man unless you go back to Vietnam;" re-enlisting to serve his second tour; being wounded a second time and losing his best friend in the attack; being the only U.S. Veterans to lose a war; serving at Fort Devons, Massachusetts on funeral detail for two and a half years; not being able to hold down a job due to PTSD following his discharge; earning his Associates degree; earning a BA in Criminal Justice; living and trying to find work with a disability; receiving his Master's degree in Counseling Education; starting a counseling business for Veterans in Aroostook County; teaching at the University of Maine, Presque Isle and the University of Maine, Fort Kent; being stripped of emotions by the Army; grappling with PTSD, divorce, kidney, cancer and anger; attending the dedication of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in 1983; the effects of Agent Orange on soldiers and on his youngest son; the U.S. Government's treatment of disabled veterans; the use of dioxin along roadsides in Maine in the late 1970s; race relations in Vietnam; the Domino Theory; the impact of patriotic "God, duty, country" propaganda; and the burden of preserving freedom. Text: 34 pp. transcript. Time: 01:41:56.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4491_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4491_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4491_02A

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  Leo Bertram Bell, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 3

  Leo Bertram Bell

  Leo Bertram Bell, interviewed by Stephen Rees at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on July 29, 1999. Bell is one of the 28 Vietnam Veterans interviewed as part of the original grant project. Bell, born in Lewiston, Maine, speaks about his early life living in the Home for Boys following his parents' divorce; doing poorly in school; his belief that if he served in the Army, "all these girls would fall over us;" enlisting at age 17; his training; being the youngest in his unit and being stationed in Georgia when his unit was deployed; landing in Vietnam 8 days after his 18th birthday; serving as a trucker in the 1st Infantry Division; being wounded and returning home; getting married and being told by his father telling him, "you're not a man unless you go back to Vietnam;" re-enlisting to serve his second tour; being wounded a second time and losing his best friend in the attack; being the only U.S. Veterans to lose a war; serving at Fort Devons, Massachusetts on funeral detail for two and a half years; not being able to hold down a job due to PTSD following his discharge; earning his Associates degree; earning a BA in Criminal Justice; living and trying to find work with a disability; receiving his Master's degree in Counseling Education; starting a counseling business for Veterans in Aroostook County; teaching at the University of Maine, Presque Isle and the University of Maine, Fort Kent; being stripped of emotions by the Army; grappling with PTSD, divorce, kidney, cancer and anger; attending the dedication of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in 1983; the effects of Agent Orange on soldiers and on his youngest son; the U.S. Government's treatment of disabled veterans; the use of dioxin along roadsides in Maine in the late 1970s; race relations in Vietnam; the Domino Theory; the impact of patriotic "God, duty, country" propaganda; and the burden of preserving freedom. Text: 34 pp. transcript; 3 pp. administrative. Audio Recordings: mfc_na4491_01A & mfc_na4491_01B, mfc_na4491_02A. Time: 01:41:56. Restrictions: None.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4491_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4491_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4491_02A

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  Bert Brewster, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1

  Elbert R. Brewster

  Rev. Mr. Elbert R. “Bert” Brewster, interviewed by Stephen Rees in Waterville, Maine, July 7, 1999. Brewster discusses his youth and being born a month following his father's death; his brother who was 16-years older, going into World War II; admiring his brother's service but still attempting to waylay being drafted himself; gimmicks used by young men to escape the draft including gaining weight and reporting while badly hung over in order to appear unhealthy; going into the service with a group of men from around New England; reporting to Fort Dix; becoming ill with pneumonia during basic training; handling fear during training; the importance of his religion and going through 12-weeks of medical training to become a corpsman and avoid having to kill; green underwear being an early indicator you were being sent over; being bullied by other recruits; running out of food and water on the troop ship General Blaxford on the way to Vietnam; landing in Saigon; setting up an aid tent in Vietcong territory; the lack of water for bathing and laundry; repeatedly losing his rifle in camp; becoming less religious but continuing to refuse to shoot people; his routine duties; PX supplies and working in the PX; the Black market; the impact of his friend Jesse Miller's death; mail and receiving a Dear John letter; and life after returning home. Text: 34 pp. transcript. Total time: 01:07:08.

  Listen

  Part 1: mfc_na4490_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4490_01B

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  Bert Brewster, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 2

  Elbert R. Brewster

  Rev. Mr. Elbert R. “Bert” Brewster, interviewed by Stephen Rees in Waterville, Maine, July 7, 1999. Brewster discusses his youth and being born a month following his father's death; his brother who was 16-years older, going into World War II; admiring his brother's service but still attempting to waylay being drafted himself; gimmicks used by young men to escape the draft including gaining weight and reporting while badly hung over in order to appear unhealthy; going into the service with a group of men from around New England; reporting to Fort Dix; becoming ill with pneumonia during basic training; handling fear during training; the importance of his religion and going through 12-weeks of medical training to become a corpsman and avoid having to kill; green underwear being an early indicator you were being sent over; being bullied by other recruits; running out of food and water on the troop ship General Blaxford on the way to Vietnam; landing in Saigon; setting up an aid tent in Vietcong territory; the lack of water for bathing and laundry; repeatedly losing his rifle in camp; becoming less religious but continuing to refuse to shoot people; his routine duties; PX supplies and working in the PX; the Black market; the impact of his friend Jesse Miller's death; mail and receiving a Dear John letter; and life after returning home. Text: 34 pp. transcript. Total time: 01:07:08.

  Listen

  Part 1: mfc_na4490_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4490_01B

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  Dick Cross, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1

  Richard T. Cross

  Capt. Richard T. “Dick” Cross, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr. on June 30, 1999, at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. Cross discusses dropping out of college in 1965 and being drafted the following year; having no concerns about being drafted or deployment to Vietnam; volunteering for Officer Candidate School in 1967; being accepted to computer repair school but turning down the opportunity to “be a grunt” then volunteering for flight training because it paid $110 more per month; and training to become a helicopter pilot. Cross tells of arriving in Vietnam in September 1968, post Tet; arriving in Cam Ranh Bay and being assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade, B Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry; his first impressions getting off the plane in Vietnam; his first impressions of Pleiku and Phan Thiet. He describes the makeup of the squadron, typical duties; attitudes among non-commissioned officers toward commissioned officers and enlisted men; and relates a story about his first combat mission. Cross talks about returning to the states in September 1969 and being assigned to do helicopter pilot training at Fort Walters, Texas where he scheduled and set up training cycles and producing training materials; flying Scouts and OH-6s; getting married and returning to Vietnam for a second tour of duty in 1970 where he was assigned to 1st Cavalry Division, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion stationed in Phu Vinh where he was put into B Company flying Slicks; going on Night Hawk missions. He relates a story about coming under heavy fire during one mission only later finding a bullet hole in his cap; describes going on R&R. Cross provides his perspective on the perception of the media’s role in shaping public perception of the war; his frustration over how the war was managed by American leaders; the impact of post-traumatic stress; attempting to use his GI Bill to attend the University of Texas before taking a series of pilot and instructor jobs before going back into the Army and flying until retiring in 1991. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4500_01A (note: first few minutes is recorded at wrong speed). Time: 02:07:59.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4500_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4500_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4500_02A

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  Dick Cross, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 2

  Richard T. Cross

  Capt. Richard T. “Dick” Cross, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr. on June 30, 1999, at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. Cross discusses dropping out of college in 1965 and being drafted the following year; having no concerns about being drafted or deployment to Vietnam; volunteering for Officer Candidate School in 1967; being accepted to computer repair school but turning down the opportunity to “be a grunt” then volunteering for flight training because it paid $110 more per month; and training to become a helicopter pilot. Cross tells of arriving in Vietnam in September 1968, post Tet; arriving in Cam Ranh Bay and being assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade, B Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry; his first impressions getting off the plane in Vietnam; his first impressions of Pleiku and Phan Thiet. He describes the makeup of the squadron, typical duties; attitudes among non-commissioned officers toward commissioned officers and enlisted men; and relates a story about his first combat mission. Cross talks about returning to the states in September 1969 and being assigned to do helicopter pilot training at Fort Walters, Texas where he scheduled and set up training cycles and producing training materials; flying Scouts and OH-6s; getting married and returning to Vietnam for a second tour of duty in 1970 where he was assigned to 1st Cavalry Division, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion stationed in Phu Vinh where he was put into B Company flying Slicks; going on Night Hawk missions. He relates a story about coming under heavy fire during one mission only later finding a bullet hole in his cap; describes going on R&R. Cross provides his perspective on the perception of the media’s role in shaping public perception of the war; his frustration over how the war was managed by American leaders; the impact of post-traumatic stress; attempting to use his GI Bill to attend the University of Texas before taking a series of pilot and instructor jobs before going back into the Army and flying until retiring in 1991. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4500_01A (note: first few minutes is recorded at wrong speed). Time: 02:07:59.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4500_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4500_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4500_02A

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  Dick Cross, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 3

  Richard T. Cross

  Capt. Richard T. “Dick” Cross, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr. on June 30, 1999, at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. Cross discusses dropping out of college in 1965 and being drafted the following year; having no concerns about being drafted or deployment to Vietnam; volunteering for Officer Candidate School in 1967; being accepted to computer repair school but turning down the opportunity to “be a grunt” then volunteering for flight training because it paid $110 more per month; and training to become a helicopter pilot. Cross tells of arriving in Vietnam in September 1968, post Tet; arriving in Cam Ranh Bay and being assigned to the 1st Aviation Brigade, B Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry; his first impressions getting off the plane in Vietnam; his first impressions of Pleiku and Phan Thiet. He describes the makeup of the squadron, typical duties; attitudes among non-commissioned officers toward commissioned officers and enlisted men; and relates a story about his first combat mission. Cross talks about returning to the states in September 1969 and being assigned to do helicopter pilot training at Fort Walters, Texas where he scheduled and set up training cycles and producing training materials; flying Scouts and OH-6s; getting married and returning to Vietnam for a second tour of duty in 1970 where he was assigned to 1st Cavalry Division, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion stationed in Phu Vinh where he was put into B Company flying Slicks; going on Night Hawk missions. He relates a story about coming under heavy fire during one mission only later finding a bullet hole in his cap; describes going on R&R. Cross provides his perspective on the perception of the media’s role in shaping public perception of the war; his frustration over how the war was managed by American leaders; the impact of post-traumatic stress; attempting to use his GI Bill to attend the University of Texas before taking a series of pilot and instructor jobs before going back into the Army and flying until retiring in 1991. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4500_01A (note: first few minutes is recorded at wrong speed). Time: 02:07:59.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4500_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4500_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4500_02A

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  Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1

  David Elliott

  Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at Minot, Maine, June 29, 1999. Elliott discusses being drafted in 1968, the same day as two of his high school classmates, receiving jungle warfare training for the infantry, being assigned to a recon platoon with the America Division, Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade; his first impressions landing in Vietnam, landing Duc Pho village, spending his first night on bunker duty, WWII C-rations and cannibalizing Claymore mines to retrieve material to heat water for instant coffee, going to Vietnam weighing 189 pounds and returning weighing 133 pounds, the lack of housing for ground soldiers. Elliott tells about a typical day in Vietnam, setting Claymores, going on patrol, the dangers of trip wires, the VC taking apart non-detonated 105 and 155 Howitzer rounds and scavenging C-ration cans that American soldiers neglected to bury, having jungle rot, giving Vietnamese children in villages candy bars and chewing gum, trading C-rations with villagers for eggs, poor hygiene in the field, coming in from the field once a week to have their fatigues and duffel bags discarded and clean uniforms assigned, being in fire fights, his reaction to his “first kill,” the death of his friend Terry Drown from Kennebunk, Maine. He and the interviewer discuss some of his personal photos, being wounded, being concussed, and the shrapnel still in his leg. He talks about life after Vietnam, getting married, and politics. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 8 pp. supplemental documents. Time: 01:49:18.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4492_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4492_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4492_02A

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  Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 2

  David Elliott

  Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at Minot, Maine, June 29, 1999. Elliott discusses being drafted in 1968, the same day as two of his high school classmates, receiving jungle warfare training for the infantry, being assigned to a recon platoon with the America Division, Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade; his first impressions landing in Vietnam, landing Duc Pho village, spending his first night on bunker duty, WWII C-rations and cannibalizing Claymore mines to retrieve material to heat water for instant coffee, going to Vietnam weighing 189 pounds and returning weighing 133 pounds, the lack of housing for ground soldiers. Elliott tells about a typical day in Vietnam, setting Claymores, going on patrol, the dangers of trip wires, the VC taking apart non-detonated 105 and 155 Howitzer rounds and scavenging C-ration cans that American soldiers neglected to bury, having jungle rot, giving Vietnamese children in villages candy bars and chewing gum, trading C-rations with villagers for eggs, poor hygiene in the field, coming in from the field once a week to have their fatigues and duffel bags discarded and clean uniforms assigned, being in fire fights, his reaction to his “first kill,” the death of his friend Terry Drown from Kennebunk, Maine. He and the interviewer discuss some of his personal photos, being wounded, being concussed, and the shrapnel still in his leg. He talks about life after Vietnam, getting married, and politics. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 8 pp. supplemental documents. Time: 01:49:18.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4492_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4492_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4492_02A

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  Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 3

  David Elliott

  Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at Minot, Maine, June 29, 1999. Elliott discusses being drafted in 1968, the same day as two of his high school classmates, receiving jungle warfare training for the infantry, being assigned to a recon platoon with the America Division, Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade; his first impressions landing in Vietnam, landing Duc Pho village, spending his first night on bunker duty, WWII C-rations and cannibalizing Claymore mines to retrieve material to heat water for instant coffee, going to Vietnam weighing 189 pounds and returning weighing 133 pounds, the lack of housing for ground soldiers. Elliott tells about a typical day in Vietnam, setting Claymores, going on patrol, the dangers of trip wires, the VC taking apart non-detonated 105 and 155 Howitzer rounds and scavenging C-ration cans that American soldiers neglected to bury, having jungle rot, giving Vietnamese children in villages candy bars and chewing gum, trading C-rations with villagers for eggs, poor hygiene in the field, coming in from the field once a week to have their fatigues and duffel bags discarded and clean uniforms assigned, being in fire fights, his reaction to his “first kill,” the death of his friend Terry Drown from Kennebunk, Maine. He and the interviewer discuss some of his personal photos, being wounded, being concussed, and the shrapnel still in his leg. He talks about life after Vietnam, getting married, and politics. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 8 pp. supplemental documents. Time: 01:49:18.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4492_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4492_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4492_02A

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  Denis Fortier, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1

  Denis Fortier

  Denis Fortier, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at Lewiston, Maine on July 8, 1999. Fortier discusses his life prior to joining the Air Force after he lost his draft deferment for being an 8th grade English teacher, his experience in basic training, being tapped to teach English in a spring 1969 structured Fortier program for Vietnamese pilots and navigators in Saigon, being disappointed he wasn’t stationed state side or in Europe, being unprepared for the culture shock of arriving in Saigon, spending a year teaching English in Saigon, the Aural-Oral structure of the English language program. He describes his perception of Saigon, what he learned from his students about Vietnamese history, what he learned about Vietnamese culture, the students he befriended, being assigned to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama for two and a half years, his experiences returning home to anti-war sentiments, going to graduate school at Columbia using the GI Bill, graduating in May 1974, his thoughts and feelings about the Vietnam War in retrospect. Text: 30 pp. transcript. Time: 01:34:48.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4493_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4493_01B

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  Denis Fortier, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 2

  Denis Fortier

  Denis Fortier, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at Lewiston, Maine on July 8, 1999. Fortier discusses his life prior to joining the Air Force after he lost his draft deferment for being an 8th grade English teacher, his experience in basic training, being tapped to teach English in a spring 1969 structured Fortier program for Vietnamese pilots and navigators in Saigon, being disappointed he wasn’t stationed state side or in Europe, being unprepared for the culture shock of arriving in Saigon, spending a year teaching English in Saigon, the Aural-Oral structure of the English language program. He describes his perception of Saigon, what he learned from his students about Vietnamese history, what he learned about Vietnamese culture, the students he befriended, being assigned to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama for two and a half years, his experiences returning home to anti-war sentiments, going to graduate school at Columbia using the GI Bill, graduating in May 1974, his thoughts and feelings about the Vietnam War in retrospect. Text: 30 pp. transcript. Time: 01:34:48.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4493_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4493_01B

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  Ron Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters, Part 1

  Ronald Paul Frechette

  Ronald Paul Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters in Jay, Maine on June 15, 1999. Frechette discusses his time training as a combat engineer at Camp Lejeune and jungle training in California, growing up fast in the Marines, being gung ho about going to Vietnam because he wanted to be patriotic, being assigned to the 1st Shore Party, 1st Marines, never forgetting the smell of Vietnam and odors that trigger memories, being at Hill 55 and Dodge City, seeing his first KIAs and WIAs, being unprepared and frightened, Vietnamese burial customs, slang terms used by soldiers. He talks about returning to the 1st Shore Party, then volunteering for a battalion landing team, deciding he’d never volunteer for anything again, Operation Allen Brook, coming under fire, returning to ship after a 30-day ground assignment with no hygiene or change of uniform and being told by an ensign that he couldn’t come aboard his ship in that condition. He describes sleeping conditions, morale, racial conflict between U.S. soldiers, the behavior of rock apes, his plan to deal with a gunnery sergeant and a captain at An Hoa, drinking and drug use by soldiers, the feeling he was a whipping boy and the hate he still holds. Frechette speaks about breaking his ankle and being sent back aboard ship, ‘losing it’ and being sent to the sick bay, and eventually ending up in the Newport Naval Hospital psych unit for three months, being discharged with no job and no place to go, learning about the VA from his father who was a WWII veteran, his father helping him get disability, learning his mental health diagnosis then about PTSD, feeling like “that kid that got slapped by Patton,” and his life after returning home. Text: 42 pp. transcript, 2 pp. supplemental. Time: 02:10:29. Restrictions: No restrictions.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4494_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4494_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4494_02A

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  Ron Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters, Part 2

  Ronald Paul Frechette

  Ronald Paul Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters in Jay, Maine on June 15, 1999. Frechette discusses his time training as a combat engineer at Camp Lejeune and jungle training in California, growing up fast in the Marines, being gung ho about going to Vietnam because he wanted to be patriotic, being assigned to the 1st Shore Party, 1st Marines, never forgetting the smell of Vietnam and odors that trigger memories, being at Hill 55 and Dodge City, seeing his first KIAs and WIAs, being unprepared and frightened, Vietnamese burial customs, slang terms used by soldiers. He talks about returning to the 1st Shore Party, then volunteering for a battalion landing team, deciding he’d never volunteer for anything again, Operation Allen Brook, coming under fire, returning to ship after a 30-day ground assignment with no hygiene or change of uniform and being told by an ensign that he couldn’t come aboard his ship in that condition. He describes sleeping conditions, morale, racial conflict between U.S. soldiers, the behavior of rock apes, his plan to deal with a gunnery sergeant and a captain at An Hoa, drinking and drug use by soldiers, the feeling he was a whipping boy and the hate he still holds. Frechette speaks about breaking his ankle and being sent back aboard ship, ‘losing it’ and being sent to the sick bay, and eventually ending up in the Newport Naval Hospital psych unit for three months, being discharged with no job and no place to go, learning about the VA from his father who was a WWII veteran, his father helping him get disability, learning his mental health diagnosis then about PTSD, feeling like “that kid that got slapped by Patton,” and his life after returning home. Text: 42 pp. transcript, 2 pp. supplemental. Time: 02:10:29. Restrictions: No restrictions.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4494_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4494_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4494_02A

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  Ron Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters, Part 3

  Ronald Paul Frechette

  Ronald Paul Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters in Jay, Maine on June 15, 1999. Frechette discusses his time training as a combat engineer at Camp Lejeune and jungle training in California, growing up fast in the Marines, being gung ho about going to Vietnam because he wanted to be patriotic, being assigned to the 1st Shore Party, 1st Marines, never forgetting the smell of Vietnam and odors that trigger memories, being at Hill 55 and Dodge City, seeing his first KIAs and WIAs, being unprepared and frightened, Vietnamese burial customs, slang terms used by soldiers. He talks about returning to the 1st Shore Party, then volunteering for a battalion landing team, deciding he’d never volunteer for anything again, Operation Allen Brook, coming under fire, returning to ship after a 30-day ground assignment with no hygiene or change of uniform and being told by an ensign that he couldn’t come aboard his ship in that condition. He describes sleeping conditions, morale, racial conflict between U.S. soldiers, the behavior of rock apes, his plan to deal with a gunnery sergeant and a captain at An Hoa, drinking and drug use by soldiers, the feeling he was a whipping boy and the hate he still holds. Frechette speaks about breaking his ankle and being sent back aboard ship, ‘losing it’ and being sent to the sick bay, and eventually ending up in the Newport Naval Hospital psych unit for three months, being discharged with no job and no place to go, learning about the VA from his father who was a WWII veteran, his father helping him get disability, learning his mental health diagnosis then about PTSD, feeling like “that kid that got slapped by Patton,” and his life after returning home. Text: 42 pp. transcript, 2 pp. supplemental. Time: 02:10:29. Restrictions: No restrictions.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4494_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4494_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4494_02A

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  Hank Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day, Part 1

  Henry Fuller

  Henry “Hank” Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day at Lisbon Falls, Maine, June 10, 1999. Fuller discusses his youth in Connecticut and moving to Maine, growing up feeling patriotic and anticipating the day he would join the service, feeling “duped by the system” after serving in Vietnam, now questions authority, the divisiveness of the war, attending college for the deferment, graduating and qualifying for a commission in the Marines. He talks about his experience in Basic School, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King while in Basic School, being assigned to the Third Marine Division infantry located in the northwest corner of South Vietnam a little over four months before reassignment to his tank unit, his belief that the service was just looking for bodies resulting in weak Marine Corps leaders, dealing with soldiers from McNamara’s Project 100,000, recruits with developmental delays who received low scores in cognitive aptitude, the soldiers in his platoon, losing four men at Hill 162, and the guilt he continues to feel about the eight men who were killed. Fuller speaks about arriving in Vietnam, feeling a blast of heat when the airplane door was opened, the smell of the place, the White Elephant in Da Nang, war correspondents, his first exposure to combat, leading by example to earn respect, his pride in fulfilling his duty without cracking, knowing the exact dates he knew the war was wrong, the importance of Hill 162, the physical demands of going on patrol, the U.S, strategy to only wound VC soldiers to specifically create a burden for the North Vietnamese to manage, the Vietnamese culture valuing age over youth opposed to American culture, incidents of theft from U.S. soldiers by ARVN non-coms, the Army being issued higher quality, newer weapons than the Marines who received WWII era weapons and gear, receiving outdated maps of the DMZ and stumbling across a bunker complex as a result. He talks about contracting jungle rot in his arms and the lack of basic hygiene in the field, going on R and R then returning to receive his first lieutenant’s warrant and Purple Heart on the same day, getting wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade, being medevacked on July 13, 1969 from Charlie Two after tearing his knee apart running for a bunker under fire, going to the Third Medical Battalion to be put in a cast and requesting to see his men again to say good-bye before being taken to Da Nang by jeep, his experiences at Yokosuka Naval Hospital and Chelsea Naval Hospital, returning home to recuperate then reporting to Buffalo, New York to spend 16-months as the casualty assistance officer being responsible for death notifications. Fuller explains suppressing his psychological pain until one Christmas season in the early 1980s when he began dreaming about Vietnam, his father’s death occurred two days before Christmas a few years earlier and the four men killed at Hill 162 happened two weeks before Christmas, the treatment he received from civilians after the war, rubbings he made at the Vietnam wall memorial, and his career as an Occupational Therapist working with disabled children. Text: 57 pp. transcript, 11 pp. supplemental. Time: 02:04:03.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4495_01A
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  Hank Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day, Part 2

  Henry Fuller

  Henry “Hank” Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day at Lisbon Falls, Maine, June 10, 1999. Fuller discusses his youth in Connecticut and moving to Maine, growing up feeling patriotic and anticipating the day he would join the service, feeling “duped by the system” after serving in Vietnam, now questions authority, the divisiveness of the war, attending college for the deferment, graduating and qualifying for a commission in the Marines. He talks about his experience in Basic School, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King while in Basic School, being assigned to the Third Marine Division infantry located in the northwest corner of South Vietnam a little over four months before reassignment to his tank unit, his belief that the service was just looking for bodies resulting in weak Marine Corps leaders, dealing with soldiers from McNamara’s Project 100,000, recruits with developmental delays who received low scores in cognitive aptitude, the soldiers in his platoon, losing four men at Hill 162, and the guilt he continues to feel about the eight men who were killed. Fuller speaks about arriving in Vietnam, feeling a blast of heat when the airplane door was opened, the smell of the place, the White Elephant in Da Nang, war correspondents, his first exposure to combat, leading by example to earn respect, his pride in fulfilling his duty without cracking, knowing the exact dates he knew the war was wrong, the importance of Hill 162, the physical demands of going on patrol, the U.S, strategy to only wound VC soldiers to specifically create a burden for the North Vietnamese to manage, the Vietnamese culture valuing age over youth opposed to American culture, incidents of theft from U.S. soldiers by ARVN non-coms, the Army being issued higher quality, newer weapons than the Marines who received WWII era weapons and gear, receiving outdated maps of the DMZ and stumbling across a bunker complex as a result. He talks about contracting jungle rot in his arms and the lack of basic hygiene in the field, going on R and R then returning to receive his first lieutenant’s warrant and Purple Heart on the same day, getting wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade, being medevacked on July 13, 1969 from Charlie Two after tearing his knee apart running for a bunker under fire, going to the Third Medical Battalion to be put in a cast and requesting to see his men again to say good-bye before being taken to Da Nang by jeep, his experiences at Yokosuka Naval Hospital and Chelsea Naval Hospital, returning home to recuperate then reporting to Buffalo, New York to spend 16-months as the casualty assistance officer being responsible for death notifications. Fuller explains suppressing his psychological pain until one Christmas season in the early 1980s when he began dreaming about Vietnam, his father’s death occurred two days before Christmas a few years earlier and the four men killed at Hill 162 happened two weeks before Christmas, the treatment he received from civilians after the war, rubbings he made at the Vietnam wall memorial, and his career as an Occupational Therapist working with disabled children. Text: 57 pp. transcript, 11 pp. Time: 02:04:03.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4495_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4495_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4495_02A
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  Hank Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day, Part 3

  Henry Fuller

  Henry “Hank” Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day at Lisbon Falls, Maine, June 10, 1999. Fuller discusses his youth in Connecticut and moving to Maine, growing up feeling patriotic and anticipating the day he would join the service, feeling “duped by the system” after serving in Vietnam, now questions authority, the divisiveness of the war, attending college for the deferment, graduating and qualifying for a commission in the Marines. He talks about his experience in Basic School, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King while in Basic School, being assigned to the Third Marine Division infantry located in the northwest corner of South Vietnam a little over four months before reassignment to his tank unit, his belief that the service was just looking for bodies resulting in weak Marine Corps leaders, dealing with soldiers from McNamara’s Project 100,000, recruits with developmental delays who received low scores in cognitive aptitude, the soldiers in his platoon, losing four men at Hill 162, and the guilt he continues to feel about the eight men who were killed. Fuller speaks about arriving in Vietnam, feeling a blast of heat when the airplane door was opened, the smell of the place, the White Elephant in Da Nang, war correspondents, his first exposure to combat, leading by example to earn respect, his pride in fulfilling his duty without cracking, knowing the exact dates he knew the war was wrong, the importance of Hill 162, the physical demands of going on patrol, the U.S, strategy to only wound VC soldiers to specifically create a burden for the North Vietnamese to manage, the Vietnamese culture valuing age over youth opposed to American culture, incidents of theft from U.S. soldiers by ARVN non-coms, the Army being issued higher quality, newer weapons than the Marines who received WWII era weapons and gear, receiving outdated maps of the DMZ and stumbling across a bunker complex as a result. He talks about contracting jungle rot in his arms and the lack of basic hygiene in the field, going on R and R then returning to receive his first lieutenant’s warrant and Purple Heart on the same day, getting wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade, being medevacked on July 13, 1969 from Charlie Two after tearing his knee apart running for a bunker under fire, going to the Third Medical Battalion to be put in a cast and requesting to see his men again to say good-bye before being taken to Da Nang by jeep, his experiences at Yokosuka Naval Hospital and Chelsea Naval Hospital, returning home to recuperate then reporting to Buffalo, New York to spend 16-months as the casualty assistance officer being responsible for death notifications. Fuller explains suppressing his psychological pain until one Christmas season in the early 1980s when he began dreaming about Vietnam, his father’s death occurred two days before Christmas a few years earlier and the four men killed at Hill 162 happened two weeks before Christmas, the treatment he received from civilians after the war, rubbings he made at the Vietnam wall memorial, and his career as an Occupational Therapist working with disabled children. Text: 57 pp. transcript. Time: 02:04:03.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4495_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4495_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4495_02A
  Part 4. mfc_na4495_02B

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  Hank Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day, Part 4

  Henry Fuller

  Henry “Hank” Fuller, interviewed by Craig Day at Lisbon Falls, Maine, June 10, 1999. Fuller discusses his youth in Connecticut and moving to Maine, growing up feeling patriotic and anticipating the day he would join the service, feeling “duped by the system” after serving in Vietnam, now questions authority, the divisiveness of the war, attending college for the deferment, graduating and qualifying for a commission in the Marines. He talks about his experience in Basic School, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King while in Basic School, being assigned to the Third Marine Division infantry located in the northwest corner of South Vietnam a little over four months before reassignment to his tank unit, his belief that the service was just looking for bodies resulting in weak Marine Corps leaders, dealing with soldiers from McNamara’s Project 100,000, recruits with developmental delays who received low scores in cognitive aptitude, the soldiers in his platoon, losing four men at Hill 162, and the guilt he continues to feel about the eight men who were killed. Fuller speaks about arriving in Vietnam, feeling a blast of heat when the airplane door was opened, the smell of the place, the White Elephant in Da Nang, war correspondents, his first exposure to combat, leading by example to earn respect, his pride in fulfilling his duty without cracking, knowing the exact dates he knew the war was wrong, the importance of Hill 162, the physical demands of going on patrol, the U.S, strategy to only wound VC soldiers to specifically create a burden for the North Vietnamese to manage, the Vietnamese culture valuing age over youth opposed to American culture, incidents of theft from U.S. soldiers by ARVN non-coms, the Army being issued higher quality, newer weapons than the Marines who received WWII era weapons and gear, receiving outdated maps of the DMZ and stumbling across a bunker complex as a result. He talks about contracting jungle rot in his arms and the lack of basic hygiene in the field, going on R and R then returning to receive his first lieutenant’s warrant and Purple Heart on the same day, getting wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade, being medevacked on July 13, 1969 from Charlie Two after tearing his knee apart running for a bunker under fire, going to the Third Medical Battalion to be put in a cast and requesting to see his men again to say good-bye before being taken to Da Nang by jeep, his experiences at Yokosuka Naval Hospital and Chelsea Naval Hospital, returning home to recuperate then reporting to Buffalo, New York to spend 16-months as the casualty assistance officer being responsible for death notifications. Fuller explains suppressing his psychological pain until one Christmas season in the early 1980s when he began dreaming about Vietnam, his father’s death occurred two days before Christmas a few years earlier and the four men killed at Hill 162 happened two weeks before Christmas, the treatment he received from civilians after the war, rubbings he made at the Vietnam wall memorial, and his career as an Occupational Therapist working with disabled children. Text: 57 pp. transcript. Time: 02:04:03.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4495_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4495_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4495_02A
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  Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer, Part 1

  Christos J. Gianopoulos

  Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine, July 6, 1999. Gianopoulos speaks about his early life growing up in Sanford, Maine, enrolling in the ROTC in college, enlisting in 1964 knowing nothing about Vietnam, going to Fort Benning for training as an infantry officer and being assigned to be an instructor, his views of military service, and the general public perception of the military during Vietnam. Gianopoulos talks about working for the Agency for International Development and his view of the war and politics of the 1960s. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Time: 01:58:10.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4496_01A
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  Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer, Part 2

  Christos J. Gianopoulos

  Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine, July 6, 1999. Gianopoulos speaks about his early life growing up in Sanford, Maine, enrolling in the ROTC in college, enlisting in 1964 knowing nothing about Vietnam, going to Fort Benning for training as an infantry officer and being assigned to be an instructor, his views of military service, and the general public perception of the military during Vietnam. Gianopoulos talks about working for the Agency for International Development and his view of the war and politics of the 1960s. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Time: 01:58:10.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4496_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4496_01B
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  Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer, Part 3

  Christos J. Gianopoulos

  Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine, July 6, 1999. Gianopoulos speaks about his early life growing up in Sanford, Maine, enrolling in the ROTC in college, enlisting in 1964 knowing nothing about Vietnam, going to Fort Benning for training as an infantry officer and being assigned to be an instructor, his views of military service, and the general public perception of the military during Vietnam. Gianopoulos talks about working for the Agency for International Development and his view of the war and politics of the 1960s. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Time: 01:58:10.

  Listen

  Part 1. mfc_na4496_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4496_01B
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  Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer, Part 1

  Roger Hamann

  Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer at Hamman's home in Greene, Maine, June 24, 1999. Hamann discusses his family’s views of the military when he was growing up in Lewiston, volunteering for the Air Force when it became clear he would likely be drafted, learning that he was to be deployed because he could speak French, survival, and POW training, meeting other Mainers at Hau Bon Royal Thai Air Force Base, and his experiences being stationed in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:59

  Listen:
  Part 1: mf_na4433_01A
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  Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer, Part 2

  Roger Hamann

  Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer at Hamman's home in Greene, Maine, June 24, 1999. Hamann discusses his family’s views of the military when he was growing up in Lewiston, volunteering for the Air Force when it became clear he would likely be drafted, learning that he was to be deployed because he could speak French, survival, and POW training, meeting other Mainers at Hau Bon Royal Thai Air Force Base, and his experiences being stationed in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:59
  
  Listen:
  Part 1: mf_na4433_01A
  Part 2: mf_na4433_01B
  Part 3: mf_na4433_02A

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  Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer, Part 3

  Roger Hamann

  Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer at Hamman's home in Greene, Maine, June 24, 1999. Hamann discusses his family’s views of the military when he was growing up in Lewiston, volunteering for the Air Force when it became clear he would likely be drafted, learning that he was to be deployed because he could speak French, survival, and POW training, meeting other Mainers at Hau Bon Royal Thai Air Force Base, and his experiences being stationed in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:59

  Listen:
  Part 1: mf_na4433_01A
  Part 2: mf_na4433_01B
  Part 3: mf_na4433_02A

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  Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1

  John W. Libby

  Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending "charm school" before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 45 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:57:49

  Listen
  Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
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  Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2

  John W. Libby

  Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending "charm school" before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 45 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:57:49

  Listen
  Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
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  Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 3

  John W. Libby

  Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending "charm school" before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 45 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:57:49

  Listen
  Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A

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  Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1

  Donna Loring

  Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, June 15, 1999. Loring discusses her early schooling, her family history serving in the military, her MOS (72B-20) as a communications specialist, and working with early computers. She talks about being stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, California. She tells about putting in for Vietnam, being told women were not allowed in combat, receiving orders to go a few months later, knowing it was a mistake but no one caught it until she was in Vietnam, being assigned to the 44th Signal Battalion, being billeted with a WAC detachment, being stationed at Long Binh, handling all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia; experiencing the start of the Tet Offensive; being rebellious and never being granted R&R, returning home in November 1968, her life after the war, becoming a police chief, and using her GI bill. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Time: 01:51:05. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.

  Listen

  Part 1 mfc_na4478_01A
  Part 2 mfc_na4478_01B
  Part 3 mfc_na4478_02A

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  Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 2

  Donna Loring

  Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, June 15, 1999. Loring discusses her early schooling, her family history serving in the military, her MOS (72B-20) as a communications specialist, and working with early computers. She talks about being stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, California. She tells about putting in for Vietnam, being told women were not allowed in combat, receiving orders to go a few months later, knowing it was a mistake but no one caught it until she was in Vietnam, being assigned to the 44th Signal Battalion, being billeted with a WAC detachment, being stationed at Long Binh, handling all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia; experiencing the start of the Tet Offensive; being rebellious and never being granted R&R, returning home in November 1968, her life after the war, becoming a police chief, and using her GI bill. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Time: 01:51:05. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.

  Listen

  Part 1 mfc_na4478_01A
  Part 2 mfc_na4478_01B
  Part 3 mfc_na4478_02A

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  Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 3

  Donna Loring

  Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, June 15, 1999. Loring discusses her early schooling, her family history serving in the military, her MOS (72B-20) as a communications specialist, and working with early computers. She talks about being stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, California. She tells about putting in for Vietnam, being told women were not allowed in combat, receiving orders to go a few months later, knowing it was a mistake but no one caught it until she was in Vietnam, being assigned to the 44th Signal Battalion, being billeted with a WAC detachment, being stationed at Long Binh, handling all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia; experiencing the start of the Tet Offensive; being rebellious and never being granted R&R, returning home in November 1968, her life after the war, becoming a police chief, and using her GI bill. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Time: 01:51:05. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.

  Listen

  Part 1 mfc_na4478_01A
  Part 2 mfc_na4478_01B
  Part 3 mfc_na4478_02A

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  Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer, Part 1

  Wayland Magoon

  Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on June 22, 1999. Magoon discusses his early years growing up in Skowhegan, Maine and when he first learned about Vietnam, attending Thomas College and receiving a deferment, playing in a garage band, dropping out, and being drafted into the Army, feeling that serving was something he had to do. He tells of receiving his draft notice and being sent to Fort Bragg the next day, being hassled by drill instructors for being a draftee instead of a volunteer, going through basic training and combat engineer training, being assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, qualifying for officer candidate school, regretting that he didn't choose flight school, going home for Christmas prior to his deployment and seeing body counts on the news, traveling by ship from San Francisco to Okinawa and then Vietnam, arriving at Black Horse Base Camp, the smell of diesel and human waste, duty as a driver for officers, volunteering to run the Officers' Club, and his feelings looking back on the war. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:34

  Listen
  Part 1: mfc_na4479_01A
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  Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer, Part 2

  Wayland Magoon

  Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on June 22, 1999. Magoon discusses his early years growing up in Skowhegan, Maine and when he first learned about Vietnam, attending Thomas College and receiving a deferment, playing in a garage band, dropping out, and being drafted into the Army, feeling that serving was something he had to do. He tells of receiving his draft notice and being sent to Fort Bragg the next day, being hassled by drill instructors for being a draftee instead of a volunteer, going through basic training and combat engineer training, being assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, qualifying for officer candidate school, regretting that he didn't choose flight school, going home for Christmas prior to his deployment and seeing body counts on the news, traveling by ship from San Francisco to Okinawa and then Vietnam, arriving at Black Horse Base Camp, the smell of diesel and human waste, duty as a driver for officers, volunteering to run the Officers' Club, and his feelings looking back on the war. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:34

  Listen
  Part 1: mfc_na4479_01A
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  Part 3: mfc_na4479_02A

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  Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer, Part 3

  Wayland Magoon

  Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on June 22, 1999. Magoon discusses his early years growing up in Skowhegan, Maine and when he first learned about Vietnam, attending Thomas College and receiving a deferment, playing in a garage band, dropping out, and being drafted into the Army, feeling that serving was something he had to do. He tells of receiving his draft notice and being sent to Fort Bragg the next day, being hassled by drill instructors for being a draftee instead of a volunteer, going through basic training and combat engineer training, being assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, qualifying for officer candidate school, regretting that he didn't choose flight school, going home for Christmas prior to his deployment and seeing body counts on the news, traveling by ship from San Francisco to Okinawa and then Vietnam, arriving at Black Horse Base Camp, the smell of diesel and human waste, duty as a driver for officers, volunteering to run the Officers' Club, and his feelings looking back on the war. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:34

  Listen
  Part 1: mfc_na4479_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4479_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4479_02A

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  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1

  Jon Oplinger

  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53

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  Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
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  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2

  Jon Oplinger

  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53

  Listen
  Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
  Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
  Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
  Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B

• 

  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 3

  Jon Oplinger

  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53

  Listen
  Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
  Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
  Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
  Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B

• 

  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 4

  Jon Oplinger

  Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53

  Listen
  Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
  Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
  Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
  Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B

• 

  Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1

  Beth Parks

  Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker on June 11, 1999. Parks speaks about her early life, education, and marriage; becoming an “obligated volunteer” in 1966 for 24-months; the mistake of believing the Army recruiter’s promises; being trained for medical field service at Fort Sam Houston; going to Vietnam early in the war; mistakenly believing her husband was stationed near the DMZ, then learning he was in Thailand; asking to serve a unit near the action; receiving her duty assignment at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon before being moved to the 7th Surgical Hospital (a MASH unit) in the Mekong Delta, and her permanent duty assignment with the 12th Evac.; feeling disoriented in Tan Son Nhut; using a Vietnamese rest room for the first time. She explains a typical day as an operating room nurse with the 7th Surg; operating on canvas litters supported by sawhorses; sometimes working up to 72-hours straight on their feet without food. Parks describes what it was like working in a mass casualty setting and recalls patients she operated on; how a “hooch” was constructed; bartering for bamboo and matting to create privacy curtains between bunks; the male to female ratio and how soldiers who wanted to impress the women allowed the nurses to drive tanks and fly airplanes. She explains the tactics used by the 7th’s chief nurse to secure supplies from other units; going on R&R; discovering the unit’s own supplies were being diverted to the Asian black market; couples using the bunkers at the 12th Evac. to have sex; nurses who were dating doctors finding privacy for sex in an operating room closet; how morale was high at the start of the war when the medical unit lacked military structure and operations were ‘fly by the seat of [your] pants’ and declined as the military-imposed structure and discipline in the form of behavioral and procedural changes. She speaks about working with Vietnamese nationals, not knowing who was with the Viet Cong and who was civilian, and concerns about nationals aligned with the VC creating or using the tunnels and trap doors that ran under the camp to lay booby traps using grenades; poisoning toothpaste, food, or drink; stealing medical supplies; and having a Vietnamese woman steal a ring from the pocket of the fatigues hanging in her hooch. Parks tells of being apolitical at the time of the war and still not understanding the point of the war; believing that Americans were in Vietnam to protect the wealth of capitalists; leadership ensuring the camp was unnaturally clean when dignitaries visited; witnessing Charlton Heston interact with the wounded; going to the open-air market; contracting dysentery; the prevalence of parasites in Vietnamese children who were treated; the handling of bodies and amputated limbs; coming under mortar attack; an adjunct who tripped on the duck board when running for the bunker during an attack receiving a scratch and putting himself in for a Purple Heart; talk of the Tet offensive and wanting out before it happened. She tells of her flight home and the poor treatment received in San Francisco; being turned away from the Top of the Mark and having to find a public bathroom to change out of their uniforms to avoid being shunned and denied service; spending three years in Germany; using her GI Bill to go to college at Wake Forest, then UMaine Orono. Text: 43 pp. transcript. Time: 01:28:40.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4482_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4482_01B

• 

  Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2

  Beth Parks

  Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker on June 11, 1999. Parks speaks about her early life, education, and marriage; becoming an “obligated volunteer” in 1966 for 24-months; the mistake of believing the Army recruiter’s promises; being trained for medical field service at Fort Sam Houston; going to Vietnam early in the war; mistakenly believing her husband was stationed near the DMZ, then learning he was in Thailand; asking to serve a unit near the action; receiving her duty assignment at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon before being moved to the 7th Surgical Hospital (a MASH unit) in the Mekong Delta, and her permanent duty assignment with the 12th Evac.; feeling disoriented in Tan Son Nhut; using a Vietnamese rest room for the first time. She explains a typical day as an operating room nurse with the 7th Surg; operating on canvas litters supported by sawhorses; sometimes working up to 72-hours straight on their feet without food. Parks describes what it was like working in a mass casualty setting and recalls patients she operated on; how a “hooch” was constructed; bartering for bamboo and matting to create privacy curtains between bunks; the male to female ratio and how soldiers who wanted to impress the women allowed the nurses to drive tanks and fly airplanes. She explains the tactics used by the 7th’s chief nurse to secure supplies from other units; going on R&R; discovering the unit’s own supplies were being diverted to the Asian black market; couples using the bunkers at the 12th Evac. to have sex; nurses who were dating doctors finding privacy for sex in an operating room closet; how morale was high at the start of the war when the medical unit lacked military structure and operations were ‘fly by the seat of [your] pants’ and declined as the military-imposed structure and discipline in the form of behavioral and procedural changes. She speaks about working with Vietnamese nationals, not knowing who was with the Viet Cong and who was civilian, and concerns about nationals aligned with the VC creating or using the tunnels and trap doors that ran under the camp to lay booby traps using grenades; poisoning toothpaste, food, or drink; stealing medical supplies; and having a Vietnamese woman steal a ring from the pocket of the fatigues hanging in her hooch. Parks tells of being apolitical at the time of the war and still not understanding the point of the war; believing that Americans were in Vietnam to protect the wealth of capitalists; leadership ensuring the camp was unnaturally clean when dignitaries visited; witnessing Charlton Heston interact with the wounded; going to the open-air market; contracting dysentery; the prevalence of parasites in Vietnamese children who were treated; the handling of bodies and amputated limbs; coming under mortar attack; an adjunct who tripped on the duck board when running for the bunker during an attack receiving a scratch and putting himself in for a Purple Heart; talk of the Tet offensive and wanting out before it happened. She tells of her flight home and the poor treatment received in San Francisco; being turned away from the Top of the Mark and having to find a public bathroom to change out of their uniforms to avoid being shunned and denied service; spending three years in Germany; using her GI Bill to go to college at Wake Forest, then UMaine Orono. Text: 43 pp. transcript. Time: 01:28:40.

  Listen:

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4482_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4482_01B

• 

  Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters, Part 1

  Charles Runnels

  Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters in Abbot, Maine on June 22, 1999. Runnels discusses growing up in Bethel, Maine and attending Gould Academy; being recruited to play football at UMaine but losing the offer due to a low SAT score; graduating on June 13, 1965, and going on active duty with the Marine Corps on August 30, 1965. He relates his experience meeting his new drill sergeant and wondering “when the bad stuff starts;” and taking comfort in the rule that “even if they do kill you they aren’t allowed to eat you…;” graduating as an infantry rifleman; and going through tactical training. Runnels tells of being assigned to the 1st MP [Military Police] Battalion; going through MP training in California; receiving physical training in a steam-filled hold aboard ship; landing off Red Beach at Danang; feeling the soles of his boots sticking to the hot steel of the ship’s deck; and the smell of Vietnam; the process of setting up the battalion base camp; the difficulty men faced adjusting to the climate, heavy work, and disrupted sleep cycles; staking “scud showers;” going on patrol near the Danang River and frequently being appointed to walk point. Runnels speaks extensively about reassignment of Charlie Company following Prairie One and being sent to occupy Hill 43 and the surrender of a group of North Vietnamese soldiers sick with typhus; the use of signal flares—green flares marking friendlies and red marking enemy troops; his feelings about the ARVN in comparison to “Montagnard” troops; being sent to Okinawa to refit; going to the Philippines; his experience in Operation Deckhouse IV and Operation Beacon Hill; and memories of the White House Bar. Text: 61 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4506_01A&B, mfc_na4506_02A&B. Time: 02:19:28. Restrictions: No restrictions.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4506_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4506_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4506_02A

• 

  Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters, Part 2

  Charles Runnels

  Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters in Abbot, Maine on June 22, 1999. Runnels discusses growing up in Bethel, Maine and attending Gould Academy; being recruited to play football at UMaine but losing the offer due to a low SAT score; graduating on June 13, 1965, and going on active duty with the Marine Corps on August 30, 1965. He relates his experience meeting his new drill sergeant and wondering “when the bad stuff starts;” and taking comfort in the rule that “even if they do kill you they aren’t allowed to eat you…;” graduating as an infantry rifleman; and going through tactical training. Runnels tells of being assigned to the 1st MP [Military Police] Battalion; going through MP training in California; receiving physical training in a steam-filled hold aboard ship; landing off Red Beach at Danang; feeling the soles of his boots sticking to the hot steel of the ship’s deck; and the smell of Vietnam; the process of setting up the battalion base camp; the difficulty men faced adjusting to the climate, heavy work, and disrupted sleep cycles; staking “scud showers;” going on patrol near the Danang River and frequently being appointed to walk point. Runnels speaks extensively about reassignment of Charlie Company following Prairie One and being sent to occupy Hill 43 and the surrender of a group of North Vietnamese soldiers sick with typhus; the use of signal flares—green flares marking friendlies and red marking enemy troops; his feelings about the ARVN in comparison to “Montagnard” troops; being sent to Okinawa to refit; going to the Philippines; his experience in Operation Deckhouse IV and Operation Beacon Hill; and memories of the White House Bar. Text: 61 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4506_01A&B, mfc_na4506_02A&B. Time: 02:19:28. Restrictions: No restrictions.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4506_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4506_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4506_02A

• 

  Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters, Part 3

  Charles Runnels

  Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters in Abbot, Maine on June 22, 1999. Runnels discusses growing up in Bethel, Maine and attending Gould Academy; being recruited to play football at UMaine but losing the offer due to a low SAT score; graduating on June 13, 1965, and going on active duty with the Marine Corps on August 30, 1965. He relates his experience meeting his new drill sergeant and wondering “when the bad stuff starts;” and taking comfort in the rule that “even if they do kill you they aren’t allowed to eat you…;” graduating as an infantry rifleman; and going through tactical training. Runnels tells of being assigned to the 1st MP [Military Police] Battalion; going through MP training in California; receiving physical training in a steam-filled hold aboard ship; landing off Red Beach at Danang; feeling the soles of his boots sticking to the hot steel of the ship’s deck; and the smell of Vietnam; the process of setting up the battalion base camp; the difficulty men faced adjusting to the climate, heavy work, and disrupted sleep cycles; staking “scud showers;” going on patrol near the Danang River and frequently being appointed to walk point. Runnels speaks extensively about reassignment of Charlie Company following Prairie One and being sent to occupy Hill 43 and the surrender of a group of North Vietnamese soldiers sick with typhus; the use of signal flares—green flares marking friendlies and red marking enemy troops; his feelings about the ARVN in comparison to “Montagnard” troops; being sent to Okinawa to refit; going to the Philippines; his experience in Operation Deckhouse IV and Operation Beacon Hill; and memories of the White House Bar. Text: 61 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4506_01A&B, mfc_na4506_02A&B. Time: 02:19:28. Restrictions: No restrictions.

  Listen:

  Part 1: mfc_na4506_01A
  Part 2: mfc_na4506_01B
  Part 3: mfc_na4506_02A

• 

  Tony Scucci, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1

  Tony Scucci

  Tony Scucci, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier on July 1, 1999, at Mt. Vernon, Maine. Scucci discusses his early life in school and attending trade school where he studied auto mechanics for four years, graduating in 1966; being drafted into the Army in 1968; believing he would serve as a mechanic but being assigned to the infantry after completing his training. He explains his experience training at Fort Polk, Louisiana; using kerosene-filled tin cans to prevent cockroaches from crawling up the legs of the beds; the phases of belief he experienced leading up to his deployment; being assigned to the 9th Infantry Division north of Saigon then being moved to the Mekong Delta. He tells about his typical day-to-day experience being deployed for missions from Navy vessels that operated on the Mekong River and returning to the vessels every couple of weeks and limiting his personal combat equipment to two canteens, ammunition, his weapon and cigarettes; living like an animal; walking in the rice paddies because the dikes were unsafe; always being wet and carrying valued items—toilet paper, matches, cigarettes—in the band of his helmet to attempt to keep them dry. Scucci talks about arriving in Vietnam on his 20th birthday in March 1968, the heat and the smells, having no control in decision making, and the boredom of waiting to be assigned to a unit; ending up in Dong Tam. He explains that walking established paths and trails was unsafe because of booby traps; walking behind a villager on a path was the only assurance that a path was safe; types of booby traps; learning hyper vigilance and living in constant anxiety that remained with him for years. He describes C-rations food drops from helicopters and the ascribed value of certain rations compared to others—such as peanut butter, which could be burned to heat food—fellow soldiers descending into uncivilized, animalistic behavior fighting over limited rations to survive juxtaposed with standing in line, holding a tray in the chow line to receive hot food “and lots of it;” experiencing free-dried rations for the first time; using C-4 explosives to heat canned food one Thanksgiving. He speaks of having limited contact with Vietnamese civilians; enjoying seeing the children and giving them candy; recognizing the people lived a subsistence lifestyle; feeling conflicted about the lack of American respect for the Vietnamese culture; his feelings on being dragged “kicking and screaming into this whole thing” but being too young to know he had choices; the impact on his parents for not helping him identify those choices; his view of Vietnamese scouts assigned to his units and their lack of dependability. Scucci talks about the difference in the perception of danger between sailors stationed aboard ship and soldiers sleeping aboard ship between patrols when alarms sounded; slack discipline in the field; the “whole approach to combat was to…survive;” his leadership approach; leaving the service with “foot rot” but otherwise uninjured; returning home following the premature birth and subsequent death of his son; requesting reassignment stateside and training to become a drill sergeant to stay remain at Fort Dix; using the GI Bill to go to college; becoming involved in Vietnam Veterans Against the War then getting out of it; feeling he didn’t ‘fit in’ with Veteran groups or student groups; seeking social isolation; ending up going into Social Work. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 3 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4501_01A & mfc_na4501_01B, mfc_na4501_02A. Time: 01:51:04. Restrictions: No restrictions

  Listen:

  Part 1. mfc_na4501_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4501_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4501_02A

• 

  Tony Scucci, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 2

  Tony Scucci

  Tony Scucci, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier on July 1, 1999, at Mt. Vernon, Maine. Scucci discusses his early life in school and attending trade school where he studied auto mechanics for four years, graduating in 1966; being drafted into the Army in 1968; believing he would serve as a mechanic but being assigned to the infantry after completing his training. He explains his experience training at Fort Polk, Louisiana; using kerosene-filled tin cans to prevent cockroaches from crawling up the legs of the beds; the phases of belief he experienced leading up to his deployment; being assigned to the 9th Infantry Division north of Saigon then being moved to the Mekong Delta. He tells about his typical day-to-day experience being deployed for missions from Navy vessels that operated on the Mekong River and returning to the vessels every couple of weeks and limiting his personal combat equipment to two canteens, ammunition, his weapon and cigarettes; living like an animal; walking in the rice paddies because the dikes were unsafe; always being wet and carrying valued items—toilet paper, matches, cigarettes—in the band of his helmet to attempt to keep them dry. Scucci talks about arriving in Vietnam on his 20th birthday in March 1968, the heat and the smells, having no control in decision making, and the boredom of waiting to be assigned to a unit; ending up in Dong Tam. He explains that walking established paths and trails was unsafe because of booby traps; walking behind a villager on a path was the only assurance that a path was safe; types of booby traps; learning hyper vigilance and living in constant anxiety that remained with him for years. He describes C-rations food drops from helicopters and the ascribed value of certain rations compared to others—such as peanut butter, which could be burned to heat food—fellow soldiers descending into uncivilized, animalistic behavior fighting over limited rations to survive juxtaposed with standing in line, holding a tray in the chow line to receive hot food “and lots of it;” experiencing free-dried rations for the first time; using C-4 explosives to heat canned food one Thanksgiving. He speaks of having limited contact with Vietnamese civilians; enjoying seeing the children and giving them candy; recognizing the people lived a subsistence lifestyle; feeling conflicted about the lack of American respect for the Vietnamese culture; his feelings on being dragged “kicking and screaming into this whole thing” but being too young to know he had choices; the impact on his parents for not helping him identify those choices; his view of Vietnamese scouts assigned to his units and their lack of dependability. Scucci talks about the difference in the perception of danger between sailors stationed aboard ship and soldiers sleeping aboard ship between patrols when alarms sounded; slack discipline in the field; the “whole approach to combat was to…survive;” his leadership approach; leaving the service with “foot rot” but otherwise uninjured; returning home following the premature birth and subsequent death of his son; requesting reassignment stateside and training to become a drill sergeant to stay remain at Fort Dix; using the GI Bill to go to college; becoming involved in Vietnam Veterans Against the War then getting out of it; feeling he didn’t ‘fit in’ with Veteran groups or student groups; seeking social isolation; ending up going into Social Work. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 3 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4501_01A & mfc_na4501_01B, mfc_na4501_02A. Time: 01:51:04. Restrictions: No restrictions

  Listen:

  Part 1. mfc_na4501_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4501_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4501_02A

• 

  Tony Scucci, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 3

  Tony Scucci

  Tony Scucci, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier on July 1, 1999, at Mt. Vernon, Maine. Scucci discusses his early life in school and attending trade school where he studied auto mechanics for four years, graduating in 1966; being drafted into the Army in 1968; believing he would serve as a mechanic but being assigned to the infantry after completing his training. He explains his experience training at Fort Polk, Louisiana; using kerosene-filled tin cans to prevent cockroaches from crawling up the legs of the beds; the phases of belief he experienced leading up to his deployment; being assigned to the 9th Infantry Division north of Saigon then being moved to the Mekong Delta. He tells about his typical day-to-day experience being deployed for missions from Navy vessels that operated on the Mekong River and returning to the vessels every couple of weeks and limiting his personal combat equipment to two canteens, ammunition, his weapon and cigarettes; living like an animal; walking in the rice paddies because the dikes were unsafe; always being wet and carrying valued items—toilet paper, matches, cigarettes—in the band of his helmet to attempt to keep them dry. Scucci talks about arriving in Vietnam on his 20th birthday in March 1968, the heat and the smells, having no control in decision making, and the boredom of waiting to be assigned to a unit; ending up in Dong Tam. He explains that walking established paths and trails was unsafe because of booby traps; walking behind a villager on a path was the only assurance that a path was safe; types of booby traps; learning hyper vigilance and living in constant anxiety that remained with him for years. He describes C-rations food drops from helicopters and the ascribed value of certain rations compared to others—such as peanut butter, which could be burned to heat food—fellow soldiers descending into uncivilized, animalistic behavior fighting over limited rations to survive juxtaposed with standing in line, holding a tray in the chow line to receive hot food “and lots of it;” experiencing free-dried rations for the first time; using C-4 explosives to heat canned food one Thanksgiving. He speaks of having limited contact with Vietnamese civilians; enjoying seeing the children and giving them candy; recognizing the people lived a subsistence lifestyle; feeling conflicted about the lack of American respect for the Vietnamese culture; his feelings on being dragged “kicking and screaming into this whole thing” but being too young to know he had choices; the impact on his parents for not helping him identify those choices; his view of Vietnamese scouts assigned to his units and their lack of dependability. Scucci talks about the difference in the perception of danger between sailors stationed aboard ship and soldiers sleeping aboard ship between patrols when alarms sounded; slack discipline in the field; the “whole approach to combat was to…survive;” his leadership approach; leaving the service with “foot rot” but otherwise uninjured; returning home following the premature birth and subsequent death of his son; requesting reassignment stateside and training to become a drill sergeant to stay remain at Fort Dix; using the GI Bill to go to college; becoming involved in Vietnam Veterans Against the War then getting out of it; feeling he didn’t ‘fit in’ with Veteran groups or student groups; seeking social isolation; ending up going into Social Work. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 3 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4501_01A & mfc_na4501_01B, mfc_na4501_02A. Time: 01:51:04. Restrictions: No restrictions

  Listen:

  Part 1. mfc_na4501_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4501_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4501_02A

• 

  Warren S. Smith, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1

  Warren S. Smith

  Warren S. Smith, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Norridgewock, Maine, June 26, 1999. Smith briefly reviews his background as the son of an American World War II Veteran and English war bride, growing up in Skowhegan, Maine, knowing around age 13 that he would be entering the military after high school graduation, and enlisting in October 1962. Smith explains he attended flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama and had to go to the library too look up where Vietnam was located when he received his orders. He talks about being assigned to the 611th Transport Company in Vung Tao, flying helicopters for special forces and troop transports, flying into combat and coming under fire, ARVN soldiers living their entire lives at war, and being assigned to UTT Helicopter Company. He discusses his “John Wayne” attitude going in before watching friends killed and being shot himself and describes his experiences in combat. Smith tells of leaving the service in 1965 but feeling restless and unsettled and returning to Vietnam as a civilian chopper pilot in 1968, one day after the start of the TET offensive. He describes getting in trouble for not writing home after his mother sought Red Cross to find out if he was alive. He speaks about his perspective on protestors, the war, and American policy. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 3 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4497_01A & mfc_na4497_01B, mfc_na4497_02A. Time: 01:50:03. Restrictions: No restrictions

  Listen:

  Part 1. mfc_na4497_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4497_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4497_02A

• 

  Warren S. Smith, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 2

  Warren S. Smith

  Warren S. Smith, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Norridgewock, Maine, June 26, 1999. Smith briefly reviews his background as the son of an American World War II Veteran and English war bride, growing up in Skowhegan, Maine, knowing around age 13 that he would be entering the military after high school graduation, and enlisting in October 1962. Smith explains he attended flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama and had to go to the library too look up where Vietnam was located when he received his orders. He talks about being assigned to the 611th Transport Company in Vung Tao, flying helicopters for special forces and troop transports, flying into combat and coming under fire, ARVN soldiers living their entire lives at war, and being assigned to UTT Helicopter Company. He discusses his “John Wayne” attitude going in before watching friends killed and being shot himself and describes his experiences in combat. Smith tells of leaving the service in 1965 but feeling restless and unsettled and returning to Vietnam as a civilian chopper pilot in 1968, one day after the start of the TET offensive. He describes getting in trouble for not writing home after his mother sought Red Cross to find out if he was alive. He speaks about his perspective on protestors, the war, and American policy. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 3 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4497_01A & mfc_na4497_01B, mfc_na4497_02A. Time: 01:50:03. Restrictions: No restrictions

  Listen:

  Part 1. mfc_na4497_01A
  Part 2. mfc_na4497_01B
  Part 3. mfc_na4497_02A