Document Type
Oral History
Interviewer
Marija Randall
Interview date
6-14-2003
Interview location
Winship Green Nursing Center, Bath, Maine
Time
00:32:57
Files
Download Transcript (19.9 MB)
Streaming Media
Abstract
Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall at Winship Green Nursing Center, Bath, Maine on June 14, 2003. Railton provides short responses to questions from the interviewer about his early life, growing up in Middletown, New Jersey; his father’s suicide; his family's history of serving in the military; working as a mechanic; and his limited knowledge of the war in Vietnam, but enlisting rather than waiting to be drafted believing he had a better chance at surviving if he enlisted. Railton enlisted in the Marines and served as a mechanic with the 3rd Marine Division. Railton speaks about the difficulty telling the enemy apart from civilians, knowing Viet Cong soldiers were in the city, knowing some Vietnamese wanted the Americans to leave. Arriving in Da Nang, Railton immediately went to work as a mechanic repairing truck and tanks, wanting to do a good job so no one driving one of his vehicles got killed. Text: 19 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4464_01A, mfc_na4464_01B, mfc_na4464_02A. Time: 01:03:55.
Listen:
Part 1. mfc_na4464_01A
Part 2. mfc_na4464_01B
Part 3. mfc_na4464_02A
Disciplines
Military History | Oral History | United States History
Birth date
October 24, 1947
Location
Newark, Essex County, New Jersey
Death date
September 23, 2006
Location
Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine
Nation of origin
United States
Home state/Territory
New Jersey
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
European-American
Occupation
Mechanic
Branch of service
U.S. Marine Corps
Service Unit
3rd Marine Division
Dates of service
May 11, 1966-May 2, 1968
Date of entry
May 11, 1966
Service entry
Enlisted
Location of Service
Da Nang, Vietnam
Wars & Conflicts
Vietnam War
Battles & Engagements
Tet Offensive, 1968
Entry Rank
E-1 Private
Highest Rank
E-3 Lance Corporal
Exit Rank
E-3 Lance Corporal
Names
Ngô Đình Diệm; Madame Nu
Locations
Middletown, N.J.; Newark; Korea; Parris Island, South Carolina; Da Nang, Vietnam; Huế, Vietnam, China Beach
Headings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Collection name
Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project
Collection number
MF224
Item number
NA4464
Recommended Citation
Railton, Robert, "Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall, Part 1" (2024). MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History. 62.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ne_vietnam_vets/62
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