Document Type
Oral History
Interviewer
Stephen D. Rees, Jr.
Interview date
6-26-1999
Interview location
Norridgewock, Maine
Time
00:47:43
Files
Download Transcript (404 KB)
Streaming Media
Abstract
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
Disciplines
Military History | Oral History | United States History
Birth date
December 18, 1944
Location
Taunton, England
Home state/Territory
Maine
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
European-American
Ethnic group
English
Occupation
Police Officer, Snowplow driver
Branch of service
U.S. Army
Service Unit
611th Transport Company (Vũng Tàu); 11th Air Assault Division (Fort Benning, GA); 119th Assault Helicopter Company (Pleiku), 155th Assault Helicopter Company (Ban Me Thuot)
Dates of service
October 1962 – December 1965, Vietnam, June 1963-December 1965
Date of entry
October 1, 1962
Service entry
Enlisted
Location of Service
Vũng Tàu, Pleiku, Ban Me Thuot
Awards & Ribbons
Purple Heart, February 1964; Purple Heart, April 1964
Wars & Conflicts
Vietnam War
Entry Rank
E-1 Private
Other
Specialist 5 / Sergeant
Other
Specialist 5 / Sergeant
Locations
Fort Rucker, Alabama; San Francisco; Saigon; Vũng Tàu; Fort Benning, Georgia; Pleiku; Ban Me Thuot; An Khê, Plei Djereng; Plei Me; Sacramento
Headings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Military helicopters; Bell H-13 Sioux (Helicopter); OH-23 Raven (Helicopter); Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (Helicopter); Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw (Helicopter); Bell UH-1B Iroquois (Helicopter); Sikorsky H-37B Mojave (Helicopter); Piasecki H-21 Workhorse (Helicopter); Operational rations (Military supplies); Race relations; Recreational drug use; Anti-war demonstrations; Discrimination; Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD)
Collection name
Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History
Collection number
MF224
Item number
NA4497
Recommended Citation
Smith, Warren S., "Warren S. Smith, interviewed by Stephen D. Rees, Jr., Part 1" (2023). MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History. 36.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ne_vietnam_vets/36
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