Vietnam War Interview Forum

Guest

>1. How were you involved in the war?

I was assigned to a combat infantry unit and walked point about every third day we were out in the  jungle.

>2. What plans did you have before the war? How did these plans change because of the war?

I came home and finished what I'd planed.  I married my fiancee, finished college, got a good job, built a new home and went to church every week.  It all seemed shallow and empty after Vietnam though.

>3. How were you received by the Vietnamese or other people native to the area?

We had little contact with Vietnamese civilians.

>4. How do you feel your experience with the war affected your views of todays society?

My view is a little bigger than most.  My expectation for people include the fact that war is part of our human nature.  There will always be those individuals or countries who will take what they want from others until stopped by force.  Some will stand up and fight for justice at some point while others are ready to take advantage of both sides for personal gain.

I also know that good is stronger than evil and truth is not relative to each situation and that God just wants to have an intmate relationship with us.

>5. What were your views before, during, and after about the war?

The war seemed necessary after years of watching Communist expansion during the Cold War.  Thoughts about the right and wrong of the war disappeared as soon as bullets strated flying.  After coming home, I was very disappointed that we abandoned the South Vietnamese after spending the lives of so many young kids to keep it from the Communists.

>6. Did you have any close friends during the war? How did having friends with you affect your experience there?

We had to be close to survive.  We laughed and cried, lived and died togetehr 24/7 for months on end.  We were committed to keeping one another alive as best we could so each of us could go home.  It didn't always work out though.

>7. How were you received when you came home? Was it hard to readjust to the culture in America?

Most people didn't realize or car that we was gone.  Life back home coninued as usual with everyone persuing the American Dream.  I was hard to come from a place where everyone suffered together, supported one another and exhibited self sacrifice to "normal" society which was entirely self absorbed.    

>8. Was the war what you had expected? Why or why not?

I didn't expect it to challange everything I grew up with then focus the short commings of the American Dream.  I was disillusioned by both.

>9. How did you become involved in the war?

I volunteered to be drafted a few months early to get it over eith.

>10. What are some significant memories you have from the war?

Leading our company into a terrible ambush. lossing my entire squad on two seperate occations and seeing so many kids killed or wounded.