-
Dennis Bidwell ’71. Oral History Interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Bidwell discusses his childhood in Denver during the 1950s and early 1960s. He then shares his Dartmouth experience through debauched dorm life, his emerging political awareness during a study abroad term in Bourges, France, his shift to majoring in government, his teaching as a Tucker Foundation intern in Jersey City, NJ, and his involvement in the antiwar movement, including with the Congressional lobbying group, Continuing Presence in Washington (CPW). He also describes watching the 1969 draft lottery, applying for Conscientious Objector (CO) status, and conflicts with his father over his CO application. Bidwell describes his post-graduation move to Boston, work in community organizing and education, and deferring his acceptance to NYU Law School in anticipation of alternative service. Bidwell describes his later career change to nonprofit funding and real estate philanthropy and his move to Northampton, MA. Finally, he offers final reflections on his activism and on healing familial rifts over the war.
-
Peter Hofman was born on November 12th, 1946 in Scarsdale, New York. Politically active at an early age, Peter worked for democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, and was heavily influenced by the Ethical Culture movement. Peter has one younger brother, and his father was a member of the Dartmouth class of 1936. Mr. Hofman attended Dartmouth as a 3-2 student at Tuck Business School, graduating in 1969 (undergraduate Class of 1968). With a 1-A draft status, Mr. Hofman joined the Peace Corps MBA program in the summer of 1969. He trained in Escondido, California before going to Tacna, Peru in 1969. While there, Peter was assigned to work with the local branch of the government's economic development agency writing reports on a factory feasibility study. After this, Peter worked for the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture on a direct farm-to-market pilot project and market research of agriculture. After a catastrophic earthquake in 1970, Peter worked alongside US Marines doing relief work for the thousands affected. Since returning home from the Peace Corps, Peter has worked in the public sector largely in environmental work.
-
Matthew J. Friedman. Class of 1961. Oral history interview with the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Friedman describes his experience at Dartmouth highlighting that he was the first math-psychology major and how he was a good student. He discusses his strong feelings about not wanting to participate in the Vietnam War as he did not support the war. Friedman attended Yeshiva University graduate school for psychology. Friedman discusses how he feared being sent to Vietnam because of his expertise in pharmacology and how he would have to participate in chemical warfare. He went to Kentucky to the Addiction Research Center and describes meeting people who were opposed to the war and living an alternative lifestyle. He studied neuroplasticity and was later accepted to Mass General Hospital where he studied for two years. Friedman completed his third year as a resident at Dartmouth. Friedman describes what it was like to live in the Upper Valley as an organic farmer and antiwar advocate. Friedman did not want to leave the area after his studies were complete and accepted a position at the Veterans Affairs hospital and has worked there for 42 years. Friedman was on the cutting edge of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) research and was asked by Congress to participate in a PTSD research project in 1984. He describes how the term PTSD came into common usage and its evolution within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Friedman explains how he became the Executive Director of the National Center for PTSD from 1989-2013. He concludes his interview by describing the future of PTSD research and care.
-
J. Donald Cohon. Class of 1965. Oral history interview with the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Cohon describes his childhood in Hartford, CT, and later being sent to the Taft School. He shares his challenges as a Jewish student at an Episcopalian boarding school. Cohon also describes the challenges he experienced growing up with an alcoholic father. He describes his Dartmouth experience to be that of the “traditional Dartmouth man.” Cohon describes his many activities as a Dartmouth student. He was an English major, was president of the fraternity Chi Phi (later named Chi Heorot), was a member of the Dragon Society, and played lacrosse under coach Aiden H. “Whitey” Burnham. Cohon describes his experience teaching English to students in White River Junction as a practicum for his English major. Cohon discusses applying to the Peace Corps and the International Voluntary Services (IVS). He chose to go to Vietnam to teach English with IVS. Cohon describes becoming very interested in learning Vietnamese and was placed in a town called Vũng Tàu. Cohon shares that after Vietnam he moved to the High Hope Farm in Plainfield, NH. He explains how he lived there for a few months and then received his draft notice. Cohon discusses enlisting in the U.S. Army Security Agency where he learned Mandarin and was then sent to Taiwan. He shares that after the Army he attended University of Southern California for his graduate and Ph.D. work in clinical psychology. His post-doc work was completed at California Pacific Medical Center where he began his Vietnamese speaking psychology work. Cohon discusses the various work he has done in his career to support Vietnamese refugees and other refugees with settlement.
-
Anthony (Tony) Thompson, Dartmouth Class of 1964, enlisted in the US Army in 1963 after taking a hiatus from college on the recommendation of his dean. He went to Vietnam to support US military advisory operations there during 1963-1964. He spent six months rotating in and out of A Loui and Tabat in the A Shau valley. During the latter part of his deployment he was attached to the decorated ARVN 1st regiment, which operated near the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. He witnessed the destruction of that unit in a battle in March of 1964. He earned a bronze star and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. In the interview, Thompson discusses the executions of civilians and prisoners that he witnessed in Vietnam. He also talks about criticism he faced from antiwar students after he returned to Dartmouth, and how this prompted him to move off campus. He eventually left the United States and spent several years in the more congenial environment of Australia, before returning to Vermont to work in business in the 1990s. Finally, Thompson discusses his current perspectives on the war and his disagreements with those who say that it was not worth fighting.
-
Ivars Bemberis. Class of 1964. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Born in Latvia, Bemberis discusses his childhood in German displaced persons’ camps as a result of World War II. He describes his journey to the United States and the influence of his mother and father on his world outlook. At Dartmouth, Bemberis reflects on his college years through the lens of being a student on scholarship. He explains his transition from undergraduate to graduate school to officer basic training at Fort Belvoir. Bemberis describes civil affairs school and his deployment to the 41st Civil Affairs Company in 1967. He details his assignment to Edap Enang Resettlement Camp, and reflects on the connection between his experience as a displaced person and his refugee work. Then, Bemberis shares his experience returning home to his wife and young son. Finally, Bemberis shares how his Vietnam service continues to facilitate his ability to forge connections.
-
Dartmouth alumnus David Aylward, Class of 1971, describes his childhood as the son of a Foreign Service officer with postings in Japan, Burma (now Myanmar), Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Washington, D.C. The interview includes his impressions of the Vietnam War as a child and young adult, his introduction to political activism as a high school student, and his involvement in antiwar protests and political organizing as a student at Dartmouth College, as well as his stint as Editor-in-Chief of The Dartmouth during 1970-1971. After graduation, Aylward worked for the presidential campaign of George McGovern and served as a junior staffer in McGovern’s Senate office before receiving a law degree from George Washington University Law School. He went on to pursue a career in law, entrepreneurship, and healthcare consulting and joined the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
-
Abstract coming soon
-
Vietnam veteran and alumn William Couser describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Couser, who served as a physician for the Army’s 1st Air Cavalry Division, further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
-
Oral history interview with Dartmouth alumnus Russell Andrews '68, MED ‘78, who served in the Peace Corps in Micronesia after graduation. He later received a doctorate in human development from Harvard University before returning to Dartmouth to attend medical school. Afterwards, Andrews served for two years (1979-1981) as a US Army Flight Surgeon in South Korea and Natick, MA. He completed his neurosurgery residency at Stanford University and went on to a career in neurosurgery that included private practice and faculty positions at several universities. He also acted as a medical advisor for the NASA Ames Research Center for 25 years. In this interview Andrews discusses his experience as a college student and young adult during the Vietnam War and his perceptions of the political climate at the time.
-
Eagan, Jeff Interview Abstract:
1. Growing Up in Milwaukee, WI
2. Dartmouth Experience and Growing Political Consciousness
3. Occupying Parkhurst and Finding Activism
4. Post-Grad Career in Community Organizing and Environmental Policy
-
De Regt, John Interview Abstract:
1. Childhood and Coming to Dartmouth
2. Navy ROTC and Campus Political Climate
3. Serving as Gunnery Officer on the USS Sarsfield
4. Service in the Mediterranean
5. Teaching and Civilian Life
-
Cross, Lon Interview Abstract:
1. Growing Up in Independence, MO
2. Time at Dartmouth
3. Joining the Army and Basic Training
4. Choosing to be a Ranger
5. Serving in Korea
6. Later Posts, Teaching, and Retirement
-
Cooper, Douglas Interview Abstract:
1. Childhood in Ohio and Time at Dartmouth
2. Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI
3. First Tour on the USS Morton and the “Third” Gulf of Tonkin Incident
4. Second Tour
5. Law School and Civilian Life
-
Lenehan, Michael Interview Abstract
1. Early Childhood
2. Time at Dartmouth
3. Basic Army Training and AIT
4. Artillery Service in I Corps
5. Post-War Life and Final Thoughts
-
Jimmy H. Zien, Class of 1969. Oral history interview documenting his experiences with activism and the Vietnam War era. Zien describes his early life in post-World War II Tennessee and his father’s job with the National Labor Relations Board, including his interactions with continuing New Deal programs such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He discusses race relations, McCarthyism, and nuclear threats during the Cold War. Zien recalls the assassination of President John F. Kennedy during his high school years, and his firsthand observations of the Watts riots in 1965. He recounts his time as a student at Dartmouth, his participation in the anti-war movement on campus, and his experiences with political activism and campaigning for Eugene J. McCarthy during the 1968 presidential campaign.
-
Peter H. Zastrow. Class of 1961. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Zastrow documents his time in the Army during the Vietnam War. He describes his childhood moving across the United States. Zastrow discusses his time as an undergraduate student at Dartmouth, and his involvement in the Glee Club and the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Zastrow shares how he received a deferment from the Army to attend graduate school, studying English at Indiana University. He describes being sent to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas after graduate school to write and proof-read field manuals for the Vietnam War. Zastrow shares how he was sent to Vietnam to write stories about the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division to be publishes in Army newsletters. After the Vietnam War, Zastrow describes how he participated in anti-war activities with Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW).
-
Curtis R. Welling. Class of 1971. Oral history interview documenting his childhood, career at Dartmouth, six years spent in the National Guard, his return to campus as a student at the Tuck School of Business, and as a Senior Fellow at the Tuck School of Business from 2013-2017. Welling lived in French Hall his freshman year and played on the freshman football team. Welling joined the college radio station, WDCR, as a sports broadcaster. While most of his time with WDCR was spent on sports, he was sent to broadcast the Parkhurst takeover in 1969. He joined Phi Delta Alpha and was an English major and a government minor. Welling describes the cultural climate in the United States and at Dartmouth leading up to the Vietnam War, postwar, and contemporary political and economic challenges. Welling describes not wanting to go to Vietnam and had anticipated being exempt because of respiratory allergies but was not given the exemption and therefore joined the National Guard.
-
Marshall F. Wallach. Class of 1965. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Wallach describes his childhood growing up in a military family. He discusses the impact 36 moves in 30 years had on him. He shares how moving made him able to adapt to new situations and have a broader perspective on the world but also made it difficult to make lasting friendships from childhood. Wallach discusses his experience attending The Hill School, a boys residential school in Pennsylvania. He describes his transition to Dartmouth and discusses his involvement in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Kappa Sigma Fraternity [now Chi Gamma Epsilon], the Tennis team, Dartmouth Mountaineering Club, the Interfraternity Council Judicial Committee, and Cask and Gauntlet. Wallach explains how he graduated as a distinguished military graduate and was able to decide between three years of service in a regular commission or two years of service as a reserve officer. He explains why he selected the reserve officer commission and was sent to Fort Knox in Kentucky for Army Officer Basic School.
He explains how he decided to defer from business school and volunteered for an additional year in Vietnam. Wallach discusses his position as the executive officer for the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. He describes the unique situation that his entire unit was sent as a group to Pleiku in Vietnam in August of 1967. Wallach describes his time in Vietnam as being mostly hot, dirty, dusty, rainy, and filled with long stretches of boredom. Wallach discusses the second part of his tour as the squadron intelligence officer for the squadron commander’s staff responsible for intelligence, located at Kon Tum, Vietnam. He shares his experience flying dawn patrols and a story when he was shot down. He also describes his other task of leading long-range patrols. In addition, he describes how he was moved from Pleiku to Kon Tum, the night before the Tet Offensive. Wallach shares that it did not take him long to realize he had made a mistake to volunteer to go to Vietnam and chose to discontinue his service after one additional year. Wallach discusses his return from Vietnam and transition to the Harvard Business School. He describes the climate on campus during his graduate studies.
-
Daniel J. Walden, Class of 1965. Oral history interview documenting his service in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Walden describes his time as a student at Dartmouth College, including his involvement with the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) mountain and winter warfare unit. He discusses his Army training at Fort Gordon, Fort Sill, and Fort Benning jump school; his assignment as a signal officer in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and his participation in the suppression of the 1967 Detroit riot; and his assignment to the 101st Airborne Divison in Vietnam, including his service during the Tet Offensive and a severe typhoon. Walden shares his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism after the war, and his perspectives on Dartmouth, his education, and his military service.
-
G. Theodore Talbot Jr., Class of 1965. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Talbot describes growing up in New Jersey and his experience attending Peddie School for his junior and senior years of high school. He describes himself as being a good student and finished third in his graduating class from high school. Talbot discusses his arrival to Dartmouth, his participation in the Outing Club, joining Phi Kappa Psi, and joining the Army ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps]. He discusses his social life as mostly revolving around Outing Club activities. Talbot describes his time after Dartmouth as a graduate student at Princeton prior to receiving his orders for Vietnam. Talbot discusses his transition from school into the Army in January of 1969. He shares that most of his work was administrative/project management desk work. Talbot describes his time in an ARPA [Advanced Research Projects Agency] field unit in Vietnam. He shares his perspective on the Army’s phrase, “win their hearts and their minds will follow” as having not been successful. Talbot describes being pro-war prior to arriving in Vietnam and very quickly became disillusioned which lead to a sense of mistrust in governments. He recounts his time after the Vietnam War and his career in market research and how he returned to a career in counseling.
-
Jeffry Stein, Dartmouth College Class of 1966. Stein shares his background, and discusses his religious identity (as Jewish vs. a human), and growing up during in the cold war. While at Dartmouth, he joined Delta Upsilon [DU] fraternity and spent a year in the Mountain and Winter Warfare Reserve Officers’ Training Corps [ROTC]. His views on the U.S. [United States] began to change through conversations with his roommate and an increasing awareness of the U.S.’s history and current political movements. Stein describes his process of getting his Masters in Education at Stanford University. His desire to dodge his enlistment in the Vietnam war prompted him to convince Stanford University to accept him into a combined program as a doctorate in Educational Communication. He describes his marriage and subsequent estrangement with his first wife, and his changing thoughts in the war during the late 60s. Stein explains how he got an exemption from the draft, and completed his Masters in Film at Stanford. He worked in Aspen, CO, Hollywood, CA, and Tennessee. He explains his feelings surrounding the motivating factors in the war, what the U.S. should have done differently, and his continued opposition to military use in an offensive capacity. He also discusses his relationships with his class today, and how his daughter came to attend Dartmouth.
-
Nicholas J. Steffen, Dartmouth College Class of 1966. Oral history interview documenting his service in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. Steffen discusses his experience at Dartmouth, including participation in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) and campus radio. He describes his military service, including service on the USS Lexington; flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola; assignment to the naval aviation squadron VXN-8 (initially known as VX-8); deployment to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam; service during the fall of Saigon; service as a designated instructor pilot, head instructor, standardization officer, and operations officer at the Naval Air Facility in Detroit, Michigan; deployment to Naval Air Station Cubi Point, the Philippines; and service at the Naval Air Facility at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. Steffen discusses his retirement from the Navy and his later work for Henson Airlines.
-
David M. Stearns, Class of 1968. Oral history interview documenting his service in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Stearns describes his experiences as a student at Dartmouth College, including his observations of the anti-war movement on campus. He discusses the military service draft and his decision to enlist in the Army. Stearns recalls training at Fort Ord; working at the Fort Hood computer center; being stationed in Long Binh, Vietnam; and maintaining a relationship with his wife and newborn child during his service. Stearns also shares his opinions on the war, the socioeconomic elements of the draft, current politics, and the treatment of veterans.
-
John G. Spritzler, Class of 1968. Oral history interview documenting the anti-war movement at Dartmouth College, with a focus on the Parkhurst Hall protest of 1969. As a leader of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter at Dartmouth at the time, Spritzler provides insight into the campus atmosphere and the deliberations of the anti-war movement from its core. Spritzler details interactions between the anti-war movement and the wider student body, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), the authorities, and the faculty of the college.