Document Type
Oral History
Interviewer
Kellie Pelletier
Interview date
6-29-1999
Interview location
Minot, Maine
Time
00:47:36
Files
Download Transcript (2.6 MB)
Streaming Media
Abstract
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
Disciplines
Military History | Oral History | United States History
Birth date
September 25, 1949
Location
Rumford, Oxford County, Maine
Nation of origin
United States
Home state/Territory
Maine
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
European-American
Occupation
Lineman, Central Maine Power
Branch of service
U.S. Army
Service Unit
Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade
Dates of service
September 17, 1968-September 17, 1970; Vietnam, February 1969-February 1970
Date of entry
September 17, 1968
Service entry
Conscription
Wars & Conflicts
Vietnam War
Entry Rank
E-1 Private
Highest Rank
E-5 Sergeant
Exit Rank
E-5 Sergeant
Names
Harry Everett (Terry) Theriault; Stephen Smith; John Wayne; Terry Drown; Lt. Meachum; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Frank Hall; Robert Friend; Hanoi Hannah (Trịnh Thị Ngọ); Ron DeGaulia; Terry Richards
Locations
Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam; Chu Lai; Duc Pho; Quang Ngai Province; Sydney, Australia; Bong Son Valley; Da Nang; Fort Worth, Texas
Headings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Guard Duty; Operational rations (Military supplies); Booby traps; Jungle survival; Prisoner of War; Rest and recreation; Military casualties; Military payment certificates
Collection name
Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History
Collection number
MF224
Item number
NA4492
Recommended Citation
Elliott, David, "Dave Elliott, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1" (2023). MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History. 24.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ne_vietnam_vets/24
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