Oral History Interview with Jack Cassidy
Title
Oral History Interview with Jack Cassidy
Narrator (written)
Jack Cassidy
Narrator First Name
Jack
Narrator Last Name
Cassidy
Interviewer
Dominic Repucci
Abstract
Jack "Doc" Cassidy was born on June 18, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, into a blue-collar family. During his teenage years, Cassidy focused on his budding football career and spending time with friends in his neighborhood. Cassidy failed in his first attempt at college, leading him to join the Navy Reserve as a Hospital Corpsman in early 1966. Cassidy attended Basic and Hospital Corpsman Training, where he contracted a dental infection that delayed his graduation. This delay altered his service trajectory: Cassidy now had to attend Combat Corpsman School in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and would eventually be deployed to Vietnam. Cassidy arrived in Vietnam during the late summer of 1968, where he was attached to Kilo Company, of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, who at the time were in Thuong Duc, an area in I Corps near the Laotian border. Cassidy went on to serve in the “Arizona Territory” near An Hoa as well. During his interview, he speaks of racial tensions in his unit, opinions of officers and fellow enlisted men, “euphoric recall,” wound care, booby traps, drug use, an eventful R&R trip to Singapore, reunions, and the overall Corpsman experience in Vietnam.
Date of Interview
February 13, 2020
Subject
Military Service (Navy)
Upper Valley Resident
Vietnam Veteran
Language
English
Rights
Interview Audio Source (MP3)
//rcweb.dartmouth.edu/DDHI/histories/cassidy_jack/cassidy_jack.mp3
Interview Transcript Source (PDF)
//rcweb.dartmouth.edu/DDHI/histories/cassidy_jack/cassidy_jack_transcript_final.pdf
HTML
//rcweb.dartmouth.edu/DDHI/histories/cassidy_jack/cassidy_jack_transcript_final.html