Oral History Interview with Peter Barber
Title
Oral History Interview with Peter Barber
Narrator (written)
Peter D. Barber '66
Narrator First Name
Peter
Narrator Last Name
Barber
Interviewer
Riley E. Carbone '18
Abstract
Peter D. Barber. Class of 1966. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Barber discusses his childhood living on the Main Line outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He discusses his father, a Dartmouth alum and his involvement in sports prior to his time at Dartmouth. Barber describes his participation with athletics at Dartmouth. He shares stories about his time on the soccer, baseball and basketball teams. Barber describes his relationship with Alden H. “Whitey” Burnham, an influential coach of his. Barber discusses how he struggled with academics and details his relationship with William “Bill” Smoyer, Class of 1967. Barber discusses his marriage four days after graduation and his time spent in graduate school at University of Pennsylvania School of Education. He describes how he had planned to continue on to a PhD program but was drafted instead. Barber describes being sent to Fort Dix and Fort Carson for training. He describes his experience in Vietnam and emphasizes that “everyone’s war is different.” He explains how a mortar round exploded on his unit and how he became permanently injured. Barber describes how his severed spinal cord impacted his life and his feelings about the Vietnam War. Barber shares how he left Vietnam and his experience with the Veterans Affairs hospital in Massachusetts. Barber discusses his depression immediately following his return home. He describes how he and his wife moved to California after he was released from the hospital. Barber explains his participation in antiwar protests with Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He explains how he began working for the Social Security Administration. He shares an account about an antiwar event he participated in with John Kerry and Alan Cranston at Stanford University. Barber mentions his article “Life Support” he wrote in the July-August 2015 Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/life-support
Date of Interview
2016-09-29
Subject
Dartmouth Alumni
Military Service (Army)
Protest/Antiwar Activism
Vietnam Veteran
Language
English
Rauner ID
DOH-521
Rights
Interview Audio Source (MP3)
//rcweb.dartmouth.edu/DDHI/histories/barber_peter/barber_peter.mp3
Interview Transcript Source (PDF)
//rcweb.dartmouth.edu/DDHI/histories/barber_peter/barber_peter_transcript_final.pdf
HTML
//rcweb.dartmouth.edu/DDHI/histories/barber_peter/barber_peter_transcript_final.html