This collection includes oral history interviews conducted by Bates College students as writing projects for HUM246 and HUM390G, The United States in Vietnam, 1941-1975, taught by Christopher Beam.
See also, MF224 Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project, 1999-2001, funded by the Maine Humanities Council.
Content Warning Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes, actions, or ethnic slurs that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view. Please exercise discretion.
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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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Ron Beedy, interviewed by Ryan M. Austin, Part 1
Ronald Beedy
Ron Beedy, interviewed by Ryan M. Austin in South Paris, Maine on July 29, 2000. Beedy discusses his background, the draft; his first year serving in the military; his first six months in Vietnam; his feelings toward the war; returning home; and life after the war and his views on the war now. Text: 16 pp. paper, 4 pp. administrative. Audio: mfc_na4436_01A & mfc_na4436_01B. Restrictions: None. Total time: 01:36:49
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Ron Beedy, interviewed by Ryan M. Austin, Part 2
Ronald Beedy
Ron Beedy, interviewed by Ryan M. Austin in South Paris, Maine on July 29, 2000. Beedy discusses his background, the draft; his first year serving in the military; his first six months in Vietnam; his feelings toward the war; returning home; and life after the war and his views on the war now. Text: 16 pp. paper, 4 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:36:49
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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