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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.
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Richard (Rick) Crabtree was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on November 12th, 1946. His father was a WWII veteran and Tuck student, and Richard’s first home was Middle Fayerweather dorm. Crabtree has three younger brothers. Crabtree graduated from Staples High School in Westport, CT in 1965 and continued on to Pierce College in Southern California. He was soon drafted by the Bridgeport, CT draft board and signed up to be a two-year naval reservist in late 1965. After completing basic training at the San Diego Naval Recruit Training Center (class 669), Crabtree then continued on to Balboa Naval Hospital for Class A Navy Corpsmen training. From there, Crabtree went to Oakland Naval Hospital to work on a neurosurgery ward, before being transferred to Camp Delmar Field Medical Service School at Pendleton Base Camp. In March 1967, Crabtree flew from Travis Air Force Base to Da Nang, Vietnam, where he joined Kilo Company 3rd battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, as part of Operation Desoto in Duc Pho working as a corpsman. Moving to Dai Loc a few months later, Crabtree sustained a severe injury on September 7th, 1967, with permanent spinal damage. Returning after 6 weeks, Crabtree remained in Vietnam for much of the Tet Offensive before returning home in March of 1968. After working briefly as a corpsman in Guyana in 1968-1969, Crabtree then returned to Colorado to work as a police officer. Crabtree has suffered serious PTSD and has been on full VA disability compensation since 1999 for effects stemming from his injuries incurred while in Vietnam.
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Susan E. Tavela. Wife of John E. Tavela, Class of 1964. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Tavela explains that she participated in the project because her husband is in a nursing home for dementia and is unable to tell his own story. She describes her childhood growing up across the country and how she met her husband. She describes herself as a civil rights activist and provides a few examples of how she and John participated in protests, marches, and political campaigns. She describes her marriage to John while he was attending Dartmouth. She explains how John was drafted after he completed his graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. She describes John’s involvement in the Medical Service Corps. Tavela reads a number of excerpts from letters that John sent to her during his time during the Vietnam War. Tavela describes how she believes John’s dementia is a result of his participation in the war. She explains that John had a difficult time transitioning back from the Vietnam War. She shares that John was depressed after he returned home and discusses the impact it had on him personally and on their family.
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Juanita F. Ramsey-Jevne, wife of William Jevne Class of 1966 and Tuck 1967. Oral history interview with the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Ramsey-Jevne begins by sharing her experience growing up in a home with a schizophrenic mother. She describes her experience marrying a Vietnam veteran many years after the war ended. Ramsey-Jevne discusses how she never felt like a part of the Army but very much served the country by supporting a Vietnam veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Ramsey-Jevne shares how being a wife or family member of a veteran feels like her years of service are not recognized.