This collection includes oral history interviews conducted by Bates College students as writing projects for HUM246 and HUM390G, The United States in Vietnam, 1941-1975, taught by Christopher Beam.
See also, MF224 Maine Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project, 1999-2001, funded by the Maine Humanities Council.
Content Warning Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes, actions, or ethnic slurs that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view. Please exercise discretion.
-
Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer, Part 3
Christos J. Gianopoulos
Christos Gianopoulos, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine, July 6, 1999. Gianopoulos speaks about his early life growing up in Sanford, Maine, enrolling in the ROTC in college, enlisting in 1964 knowing nothing about Vietnam, going to Fort Benning for training as an infantry officer and being assigned to be an instructor, his views of military service, and the general public perception of the military during Vietnam. Gianopoulos talks about working for the Agency for International Development and his view of the war and politics of the 1960s. Text: 39 pp. transcript. Time: 01:58:10.
Listen
Part 1. mfc_na4496_01A
Part 2. mfc_na4496_01B
Part 3. mfc_na4496_02A -
Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer, Part 1
Roger Hamann
Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer at Hamman's home in Greene, Maine, June 24, 1999. Hamann discusses his family’s views of the military when he was growing up in Lewiston, volunteering for the Air Force when it became clear he would likely be drafted, learning that he was to be deployed because he could speak French, survival, and POW training, meeting other Mainers at Hau Bon Royal Thai Air Force Base, and his experiences being stationed in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:59
Listen:
Part 1: mf_na4433_01A
Part 2: mf_na4433_01B
Part 3: mf_na4433_02A -
Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer, Part 2
Roger Hamann
Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer at Hamman's home in Greene, Maine, June 24, 1999. Hamann discusses his family’s views of the military when he was growing up in Lewiston, volunteering for the Air Force when it became clear he would likely be drafted, learning that he was to be deployed because he could speak French, survival, and POW training, meeting other Mainers at Hau Bon Royal Thai Air Force Base, and his experiences being stationed in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:59
Listen:
Part 1: mf_na4433_01A
Part 2: mf_na4433_01B
Part 3: mf_na4433_02A -
Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer, Part 3
Roger Hamann
Roger Hamann, interviewed by John Springer at Hamman's home in Greene, Maine, June 24, 1999. Hamann discusses his family’s views of the military when he was growing up in Lewiston, volunteering for the Air Force when it became clear he would likely be drafted, learning that he was to be deployed because he could speak French, survival, and POW training, meeting other Mainers at Hau Bon Royal Thai Air Force Base, and his experiences being stationed in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Text: 40 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:59
Listen:
Part 1: mf_na4433_01A
Part 2: mf_na4433_01B
Part 3: mf_na4433_02A -
Maj. Gen. John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1
John W. Libby
Major General John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending “charm school” before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 46 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4476_01A, mfc_na4476_01B, mfc_na4476_02A. Time: 01:57:49.
Listen:
Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A -
Maj. Gen. John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2
John W. Libby
Major General John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending “charm school” before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 46 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4476_01A, mfc_na4476_01B, mfc_na4476_02A. Time: 01:57:49.
Listen:
Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A -
Maj. Gen. John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 3
John W. Libby
Major General John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending “charm school” before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 46 pp. transcript. Audio: mfc_na4476_01A, mfc_na4476_01B, mfc_na4476_02A. Time: 01:57:49.
Listen:
Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A -
Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1
John W. Libby
Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending "charm school" before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 45 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:57:49
Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A -
Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2
John W. Libby
Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending "charm school" before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 45 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:57:49
Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A -
Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 3
John W. Libby
Maj. Gen. John W. Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending "charm school" before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; fear of dying late in his tour; the North Vietnamese infiltrating his home base; shutting out Vietnam after returning home; being ordered to wear civilian clothing while on an ROTC assignment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; his realization American democracy would not work in Vietnam; interpersonal relationships; the meaning of the term "fragging;" having no contact with the South Vietnamese military; the surreal experience of going on R&R then returning to combat; being able to call home using the Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS); the role of religion while deployed; the slack discipline among his men but the professionalism of their work; the danger of ground attacks; the difficulty distinguishing members of the Viet Cong from 'friendlies'; carrying a picture of a man he killed and the impact of the man's death on him; the accuracy of the movie Platoon; wearing civilian clothes to fly home; deciding he wanted to get out of the Army; turmoil in the Army because of the War; life after Vietnam; managing emotions; his visits to the Wall memorial in Washington, D.C.; his view on politics and looking back on Vietnam. Text: 45 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:57:49
Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4476_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4476_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4476_02A -
Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 1
Donna Loring
Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, June 15, 1999. Loring discusses her early schooling, her family history serving in the military, her MOS (72B-20) as a communications specialist, and working with early computers. She talks about being stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, California. She tells about putting in for Vietnam, being told women were not allowed in combat, receiving orders to go a few months later, knowing it was a mistake but no one caught it until she was in Vietnam, being assigned to the 44th Signal Battalion, being billeted with a WAC detachment, being stationed at Long Binh, handling all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia; experiencing the start of the Tet Offensive; being rebellious and never being granted R&R, returning home in November 1968, her life after the war, becoming a police chief, and using her GI bill. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Time: 01:51:05. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4478_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4478_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4478_02A -
Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 2
Donna Loring
Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, June 15, 1999. Loring discusses her early schooling, her family history serving in the military, her MOS (72B-20) as a communications specialist, and working with early computers. She talks about being stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, California. She tells about putting in for Vietnam, being told women were not allowed in combat, receiving orders to go a few months later, knowing it was a mistake but no one caught it until she was in Vietnam, being assigned to the 44th Signal Battalion, being billeted with a WAC detachment, being stationed at Long Binh, handling all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia; experiencing the start of the Tet Offensive; being rebellious and never being granted R&R, returning home in November 1968, her life after the war, becoming a police chief, and using her GI bill. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Time: 01:51:05. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4478_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4478_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4478_02A -
Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier, Part 3
Donna Loring
Donna Loring, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, June 15, 1999. Loring discusses her early schooling, her family history serving in the military, her MOS (72B-20) as a communications specialist, and working with early computers. She talks about being stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, California. She tells about putting in for Vietnam, being told women were not allowed in combat, receiving orders to go a few months later, knowing it was a mistake but no one caught it until she was in Vietnam, being assigned to the 44th Signal Battalion, being billeted with a WAC detachment, being stationed at Long Binh, handling all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia; experiencing the start of the Tet Offensive; being rebellious and never being granted R&R, returning home in November 1968, her life after the war, becoming a police chief, and using her GI bill. Text: 37 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Time: 01:51:05. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4478_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4478_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4478_02A -
Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer, Part 1
Wayland Magoon
Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on June 22, 1999. Magoon discusses his early years growing up in Skowhegan, Maine and when he first learned about Vietnam, attending Thomas College and receiving a deferment, playing in a garage band, dropping out, and being drafted into the Army, feeling that serving was something he had to do. He tells of receiving his draft notice and being sent to Fort Bragg the next day, being hassled by drill instructors for being a draftee instead of a volunteer, going through basic training and combat engineer training, being assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, qualifying for officer candidate school, regretting that he didn't choose flight school, going home for Christmas prior to his deployment and seeing body counts on the news, traveling by ship from San Francisco to Okinawa and then Vietnam, arriving at Black Horse Base Camp, the smell of diesel and human waste, duty as a driver for officers, volunteering to run the Officers' Club, and his feelings looking back on the war. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:34
Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4479_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4479_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4479_02A -
Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer, Part 2
Wayland Magoon
Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on June 22, 1999. Magoon discusses his early years growing up in Skowhegan, Maine and when he first learned about Vietnam, attending Thomas College and receiving a deferment, playing in a garage band, dropping out, and being drafted into the Army, feeling that serving was something he had to do. He tells of receiving his draft notice and being sent to Fort Bragg the next day, being hassled by drill instructors for being a draftee instead of a volunteer, going through basic training and combat engineer training, being assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, qualifying for officer candidate school, regretting that he didn't choose flight school, going home for Christmas prior to his deployment and seeing body counts on the news, traveling by ship from San Francisco to Okinawa and then Vietnam, arriving at Black Horse Base Camp, the smell of diesel and human waste, duty as a driver for officers, volunteering to run the Officers' Club, and his feelings looking back on the war. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:34
Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4479_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4479_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4479_02A -
Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer, Part 3
Wayland Magoon
Wayland Magoon, interviewed by John Springer at the Muskie Archives, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine on June 22, 1999. Magoon discusses his early years growing up in Skowhegan, Maine and when he first learned about Vietnam, attending Thomas College and receiving a deferment, playing in a garage band, dropping out, and being drafted into the Army, feeling that serving was something he had to do. He tells of receiving his draft notice and being sent to Fort Bragg the next day, being hassled by drill instructors for being a draftee instead of a volunteer, going through basic training and combat engineer training, being assigned to the 31st Engineer Battalion, qualifying for officer candidate school, regretting that he didn't choose flight school, going home for Christmas prior to his deployment and seeing body counts on the news, traveling by ship from San Francisco to Okinawa and then Vietnam, arriving at Black Horse Base Camp, the smell of diesel and human waste, duty as a driver for officers, volunteering to run the Officers' Club, and his feelings looking back on the war. Text: 36 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:44:34
Listen
Part 1: mfc_na4479_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4479_01B
Part 3: mfc_na4479_02A -
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1
Jon Oplinger
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B -
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2
Jon Oplinger
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B -
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 3
Jon Oplinger
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B -
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 4
Jon Oplinger
Jon Oplinger, interviewed by Laura Tucker in Farmington, Maine on June 8, 1999. Oplinger tells about enlisting with the Army after receiving his draft notice; being assigned to the infantry; basic training, infantry training; enlisting in Officer Candidate School; going to Primary Helicopter School as executive officer of a headquarters company; receiving his orders to go to Vietnam in January 1968 but not departing until May of 1968; hoping the Tet Offensive may have signaled an end to the war; attending Jungle School for two weeks in Panama to acclimatize to tropical weather; being assigned to the 9th Division before being reassigned to Delta Company, Second Infantry Battalion. He briefly describes how night ambushes and combat assaults were physically staged; being in the field two and a half months before being shot. He responds to questions about living conditions and unit discipline. He speaks about his return home and recovery; returning to college at Kent State; witnessing the shootings, feeling the National Guard was out of control; his sense of social exhaustion at the end of the war in 1975. Text: 52 pp. transcript, 2 pp. administrative. Total time: 01:50:53
Listen
Part 1 mfc_na4480_01A
Part 2 mfc_na4480_01B
Part 3 mfc_na4480_02A
Part 4 mfc_na4480_02B -
Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 1
Beth Parks
Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker on June 11, 1999. Parks speaks about her early life, education, and marriage; becoming an “obligated volunteer” in 1966 for 24-months; the mistake of believing the Army recruiter’s promises; being trained for medical field service at Fort Sam Houston; going to Vietnam early in the war; mistakenly believing her husband was stationed near the DMZ, then learning he was in Thailand; asking to serve a unit near the action; receiving her duty assignment at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon before being moved to the 7th Surgical Hospital (a MASH unit) in the Mekong Delta, and her permanent duty assignment with the 12th Evac.; feeling disoriented in Tan Son Nhut; using a Vietnamese rest room for the first time. She explains a typical day as an operating room nurse with the 7th Surg; operating on canvas litters supported by sawhorses; sometimes working up to 72-hours straight on their feet without food. Parks describes what it was like working in a mass casualty setting and recalls patients she operated on; how a “hooch” was constructed; bartering for bamboo and matting to create privacy curtains between bunks; the male to female ratio and how soldiers who wanted to impress the women allowed the nurses to drive tanks and fly airplanes. She explains the tactics used by the 7th’s chief nurse to secure supplies from other units; going on R&R; discovering the unit’s own supplies were being diverted to the Asian black market; couples using the bunkers at the 12th Evac. to have sex; nurses who were dating doctors finding privacy for sex in an operating room closet; how morale was high at the start of the war when the medical unit lacked military structure and operations were ‘fly by the seat of [your] pants’ and declined as the military-imposed structure and discipline in the form of behavioral and procedural changes. She speaks about working with Vietnamese nationals, not knowing who was with the Viet Cong and who was civilian, and concerns about nationals aligned with the VC creating or using the tunnels and trap doors that ran under the camp to lay booby traps using grenades; poisoning toothpaste, food, or drink; stealing medical supplies; and having a Vietnamese woman steal a ring from the pocket of the fatigues hanging in her hooch. Parks tells of being apolitical at the time of the war and still not understanding the point of the war; believing that Americans were in Vietnam to protect the wealth of capitalists; leadership ensuring the camp was unnaturally clean when dignitaries visited; witnessing Charlton Heston interact with the wounded; going to the open-air market; contracting dysentery; the prevalence of parasites in Vietnamese children who were treated; the handling of bodies and amputated limbs; coming under mortar attack; an adjunct who tripped on the duck board when running for the bunker during an attack receiving a scratch and putting himself in for a Purple Heart; talk of the Tet offensive and wanting out before it happened. She tells of her flight home and the poor treatment received in San Francisco; being turned away from the Top of the Mark and having to find a public bathroom to change out of their uniforms to avoid being shunned and denied service; spending three years in Germany; using her GI Bill to go to college at Wake Forest, then UMaine Orono. Text: 43 pp. transcript. Time: 01:28:40.
Listen:
Part 1: mfc_na4482_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4482_01B -
Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker, Part 2
Beth Parks
Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker on June 11, 1999. Parks speaks about her early life, education, and marriage; becoming an “obligated volunteer” in 1966 for 24-months; the mistake of believing the Army recruiter’s promises; being trained for medical field service at Fort Sam Houston; going to Vietnam early in the war; mistakenly believing her husband was stationed near the DMZ, then learning he was in Thailand; asking to serve a unit near the action; receiving her duty assignment at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon before being moved to the 7th Surgical Hospital (a MASH unit) in the Mekong Delta, and her permanent duty assignment with the 12th Evac.; feeling disoriented in Tan Son Nhut; using a Vietnamese rest room for the first time. She explains a typical day as an operating room nurse with the 7th Surg; operating on canvas litters supported by sawhorses; sometimes working up to 72-hours straight on their feet without food. Parks describes what it was like working in a mass casualty setting and recalls patients she operated on; how a “hooch” was constructed; bartering for bamboo and matting to create privacy curtains between bunks; the male to female ratio and how soldiers who wanted to impress the women allowed the nurses to drive tanks and fly airplanes. She explains the tactics used by the 7th’s chief nurse to secure supplies from other units; going on R&R; discovering the unit’s own supplies were being diverted to the Asian black market; couples using the bunkers at the 12th Evac. to have sex; nurses who were dating doctors finding privacy for sex in an operating room closet; how morale was high at the start of the war when the medical unit lacked military structure and operations were ‘fly by the seat of [your] pants’ and declined as the military-imposed structure and discipline in the form of behavioral and procedural changes. She speaks about working with Vietnamese nationals, not knowing who was with the Viet Cong and who was civilian, and concerns about nationals aligned with the VC creating or using the tunnels and trap doors that ran under the camp to lay booby traps using grenades; poisoning toothpaste, food, or drink; stealing medical supplies; and having a Vietnamese woman steal a ring from the pocket of the fatigues hanging in her hooch. Parks tells of being apolitical at the time of the war and still not understanding the point of the war; believing that Americans were in Vietnam to protect the wealth of capitalists; leadership ensuring the camp was unnaturally clean when dignitaries visited; witnessing Charlton Heston interact with the wounded; going to the open-air market; contracting dysentery; the prevalence of parasites in Vietnamese children who were treated; the handling of bodies and amputated limbs; coming under mortar attack; an adjunct who tripped on the duck board when running for the bunker during an attack receiving a scratch and putting himself in for a Purple Heart; talk of the Tet offensive and wanting out before it happened. She tells of her flight home and the poor treatment received in San Francisco; being turned away from the Top of the Mark and having to find a public bathroom to change out of their uniforms to avoid being shunned and denied service; spending three years in Germany; using her GI Bill to go to college at Wake Forest, then UMaine Orono. Text: 43 pp. transcript. Time: 01:28:40.
Listen:
Listen:
Part 1: mfc_na4482_01A
Part 2: mfc_na4482_01B -
Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall, Part 1
Robert Railton
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 -
Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall, Part 2
Robert Railton
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 -
Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall, Part 3
Robert Railton
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