Daniel Aparicio Garcia
What was your childhood life like?
My childhood life was a little rough cause I grew up without my dad and I had to go sell tamales down the street with my mom and it was embarrassing for me cause I was fifteen years old and when I finished high school I was drafted a year later into Vietnam. Went into basic training in El Paso then I went to Fort Huachuca Arizona for AIT and from then I went to Vietnam.
What is a AIT?
How old were you when you were drafted to Vietnam?
When I was drafted into Vietnam I was nineteen.
Where exactly in Vietnam were you stationed?
I was stationed in Quang Ngai.
What was your job?
My second job was a radio oporator to give coordinates for where the artillery was to be sent but my first job was to be a soldier.
What was your experience like being drafted into the War?
Being drafted into the Vietnam War was scary cause I knew some friends of mine from high school were drafted and about two months after they got there one of them got killed and it could of happened to me too. I was just lucky enough not get hurt but I knew it was scary when I got drafted I was pretty sure I was going over there too.
Where were you when you recieved the news that you were going to be drafted?
When I got the letter that I was going to be drafted I was working at Joske's downtown as a bus boy and my mother was real scared cause there was a time in the war when it was going real strong and alot of soldiers were dying.
Did you communicate with anyone at home when you were in Vietnam?
Yes I communicated with my mother and a couple of friends that were back here in San Antonio. I use to record my voice on a cassette and send it in the mail to my mother.
Did you make any friends when you were in Vietnam?
Yes I made about three or four friends from Texas, one from San Marcos, one from New Braunfels, and one from Kingsville...and another one from Galveston. I didn't meet anyone from San Antonio over there but those were the four closes friends that I met in Vietnam but they were from other parts of Texas.
Did you make any local vietnamese friends?
Yes I made friends with a couple of interpreters cause I was attached to a south vietnamese infantry unit when I was in Vietnam. I was with MacV; MacV is advisors for the south vietnamese we teach them how to run the government. We assist them the south vietnamese how to manuevor in the military over there.
What did you eat over there?
I ate alot of rice and fish with chopsticks but it was only when I was I got invited by the vietnamese to the village I would eat that but in the army we ate regular food.
SO you didn't eat no MREs?
In the time of Vietnam there were no MREs they were called C-rations.
What was your worst memory from the Vietnam War?
Well the worst memory, well I wouldn't call it a memory I call it a tramatic event. There were a couple when I was......I had to go to the field and stack dead bodies in body bags and then put them on top of the chopper and then I was told to sit on top of them. Then there was another time that we had to...after we caught some north vietnamese and we interegate them, I was instructed to take them up into the chopper; I wasn't driving the chopper but I was told to go in the back of the chopper and get rid of them and push them out.
Where any of them alive?
They were alive....I'll just never forget the screaming and hollering when they were falling out cause they were blind folded and they had their hands tied behind their back. Thats probably those two and then also when I had bullets zip by my ears, I never had bullets zip by my ears but I guess I'm lucky cause if I would have moved my head to the left or the right I probably wouldn't be here today.
How long were you in Vietnam?
I was there from November of 1968 to January 1970.
How much were you paid in Vietnam?
I wasn't paid that much around two-hundred dollars a month.
Was was your ranking?
I was a speck four but I got busted one time because I didn't salute an officer and then he reported me but thats a different story.
Whats the story on why you got reported?
Because I didn't salute him but your not suppose to salute in a war zone because you salute that pin points to the enemy that they are a high ranking officer and they try to kill them.
If you had not been drafted into the war do you think your like would have been different?
I think my life probably would have been different, probably would of been better cause right now I am diagnosed with PTSD and I developed lumps on my body that I believe is related to the agent orange...I just think my life would of been better if I had not been drafted.
How do you think you got agent orange?
I got agent orange because I was in the field and I think I brush against the vegitation because that agent orange was spread in a wide area of Vietnam...I think over 50 million gallons of a agent orange was spread in the field and I think I got it when I was going through the field.Cause when I went to Vietnam I didn't have those lumps but when I came back I had those lumps; and I was told by a friend of mine who had them that it was agent orange.
How did agent orange effect your life?
It effected my life by having these lumps all over my body and whenever I accidently rub against them they hurt but the VA(Veterans Affairs) has not diagnosed them related to agent orange but I know that they are the cost of agent orange.
How was your life after coming back from Vietnam?
People were calling us baby killers and we didn't get a welcome back parade the way they are given to the military right now from Iraq.
Did you have any other war experiences after Vietnam?
Yes in operation iraqi freedom. I was in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
What was your job when stationed in Kuwait?
I was in supplies and was taking in the merchandise that was coming in from the field unit they reported the stuff that they needed to turn in or they needed parts for a new item I would get it for them.
How long were you in Kuwait for?
Six months. I was in Kuwait for six months.
Do you feel that there is a similar connection between the Vietnam War and the Iraqi War?
Oh no these wars do not compare. The Vietnam war was fought in a vegitated area and there is alot of jungle and this war here is nothing but sand.Its entirely different.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
It was a sad experience but I was proud to serve my country.
Vietnam is a map from the website The History Place presents the Vietnam War.
