TRANSCRIPTION
When you graduated high school, and you went to college for electronic school, did you know for a fact you were going to join the military, or that you had to join the military?
I pretty much figured that I would be going one way or the other. So um, I just volunteered after I finished electronic school.
Did you ever get a draft letter requiring or requesting for you to join?
No. I never got drafted
What was it like to travel overseas?
It was a new experience for me. And I got to like it, the traveling part.
How did you travel?
Bus, train, air.
Did you ever travel by boat, ship, or submarine?
No. I did a lot of helicopter flying, you know… the airlines that took us back and forth.
Were you scared to travel by helicopter?
Only when we were getting shot at. (Laughing)
How often was that?
Just happened maybe about 4 or 5 times.
Did the shots ever hit the plane?
Yes.
What did it feel like or what did it sound like?
That part was scary, but as long as the chopper was still going, you know we were okay.
When you arrived in Vietnam, What was your first impression?
Well my heart starting beating really fast. And we arrived at night and the captain of the plane says “If you look towards your left Gentlemen that is Vietnam.” And we looked out the window, and it just looked like the 4th of July. It was like fireworks everywhere we saw. Throughout the night until we landed.
When you landed, did you land in a safe zone?
ummm, yes it was a safe zone. But we were transferred to a different location after that.
Once you got settled in Vietnam, did you have a bucket list on what you wanted to do in Vietnam?
No, not really. I don’t even think I thought about it at that time. Except but come back alive.
Did the equipment in the communication department work adequately?
It worked but there were so many pieces, like a giant puzzle. And there was always something going wrong. And my job was to keep those lines of communication working. To fix the equipment when it broke. And get everything up and running because of the bombing and shootings and things like that destroyed a lot of the equipment that we had to immediately find a way to establish communications again.
While in Vietnam, were you able to sleep adequately?
For the most part I did sleep. But there were many times that we were up all night. And didn’t sleep until the next day, not really a full night of sleep. Then we would have to get up again. But uh, I slept okay a lot of the times.
Was there anything that would interrupt your sleep?
Yes, a lot of things happened. And sometimes they need a person to do something or anything. And they would wake us up in the middle of the night to go do whatever, you know, they wanted us to do.
What was the food like?
As far as the American food, a lot of it was dehydrated food. A lot of our drinks were powder drinks.
Did you have to mix the powder drinks with water?
Yes.
Did you have clean water?
Most of the time I had access to clean water.
Where did you get your water from?
We had tanks that the Army had provided.
What about the Vietnamese food?
The Vietnamese food was very good. I enjoyed most of it. There were a very few things I did not like. They had a lot of bitter tasting foods that I didn’t care for. Mainly those.
When you were in Vietnam, did you miss home?
Yes. Always, but I just tried to concentrate on what I was doing.
In your owns words, for the people who will read your interview, what do you want them to know?
About why I was in Vietnam?
Anything you want them to know.
I feel that it was my duty to serve in the military. And at that time I knew no matter where I went that I would eventually end up in Vietnam. And um I’m glad for those who didn’t have to go. (Becomes emotional) Because a lot of bad things happened. And those things I put it on the back of my… I did what I felt what I had to do.
And most importantly you are home!
And I am glad that I made it home safe.
