Document Type

Oral History

Interviewee name

Warren S. Smith

Interviewer

Stephen D. Rees, Jr.

Interview date

6-26-1999

Interview location

Norridgewock, Maine

Time

00:47:43

Files

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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

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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

Rights and Access Note

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

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