Document Type
Oral History
Interviewer
Kellie Pelletier
Interview date
7-8-1999
Interview location
Lewiston, Maine
Time
00:47:01
Files
Download Transcript (384 KB)
Streaming Media
Abstract
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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Part 1. mfc_na4493_01A
Part 2. mfc_na4493_01B
Disciplines
Military History | Oral History | United States History
Birth date
July 8, 1999
Location
Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine
Nation of origin
United States
Home state/Territory
Maine
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
European-American
Ethnic group
Franco-American
Occupation
Education Specialist, Maine State Department of Labor
Branch of service
U.S. Air Force
Service Unit
Military Assistance Command of Vietnam
Dates of service
May 1969-May 1973, Vietnam, September 1969-September 1970
Date of entry
May 16, 1969
Service entry
Enlisted
Location of Service
Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon
Wars & Conflicts
Vietnam War
Entry Rank
E-1 Airman Basic
Highest Rank
E-4 Senior Airman
Exit Rank
E-4 Senior Airman
Names
John Libretto
Locations
Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas; Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama; Long Binh; Tan Son Nhut Air Base; Hawaii; Travis Air Force Base, San Francisco; Boston
Headings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Terrorism; Culture shock; English language instruction; Cultural diplomacy; Stars and Stripes (Newspaper)
Collection name
Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History
Collection number
MF224
Item number
NA4493
Recommended Citation
Fortier, Denis, "Denis Fortier, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1" (2023). MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History. 27.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ne_vietnam_vets/27
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