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Joan Rachlin, born April 5, 1949, was among the first cohort of women to be educated at Dartmouth College. Her experience was marked by the political and social unrest of the 1960s and ‘70s surrounding the Vietnam War, women’s rights, and civil rights. Rachlin was a child of activist parents who encouraged her from an early age to get involved and stand up for the rights of others. As a result, she was among the few women participating in antiwar protests at Boston University and Dartmouth College. Later, Rachlin obtained her J.D. and continued her activism while practicing health, criminal, and civil rights law.
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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.
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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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Sherwood Guernsey ‘68 describes his childhood growing up in rural Schoharie, New York in a conservative and Presbyterian family. He discusses his family members’ politics and their influence upon him. He then discusses his positive high school experiences. At Dartmouth, Guernsey became interested in Spanish, and discovered a politically insightful group of friends and classmates. He describes his experiences with campus activism and his views of the Dartmouth community’s general attitude towards the Vietnam War and ROTC. After graduating cum laude, Guernsey moved to northern New Hampshire to teach, facing pushback for his progressive racial views. He later joined the Peace Corps with his wife in Panama. Afterwards, he attended Wharton School of Business and Antioch Law School before becoming a Massachusetts State
Representative. Guernsey concludes the interview by discussing work as a Peace Corps officer and his interactions with the Class of ‘68 at their 50th reunion.
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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.
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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.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn William Yaggy ‘67
describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Yaggy further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Robert Worthington ‘61 describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Worthington further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Phillip White ‘67
describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. White further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn John White ‘61
describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. White further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Peter Werner ‘68 describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Werner further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Robert E. Thebodo describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Thebodo further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn John M. Talmadge ’69 describes his experiences serving in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Talmadge further discusses his stance on the conflict, as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumna Nancy Smoyer ‘65 describes her experience as a Special Services agent Vietnam and her perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Smoyer further discusses her stance on the conflict, as well as her perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Jim Smith '68 describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Smith further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Dartmouth Professor Brenda Silver discusses her experiences with the Vietnam War, as well as her perception of the conflict from academic and individual perspectives.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Burton C. Quist ‘68 describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Quist further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn David E. Prewitt ‘61 describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Prewitt further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn James Payne ‘68
describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Payne further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Dartmouth alumnus Andrew Paul, Class of 1960, describes growing up as the child of Hungarian immigrants in New York City at the beginning of WWII; his transition to Dartmouth; and his experiences during the Cold War and after both as a soldier and a civilian. He discusses his involvement with the Army ROTC program at Dartmouth and his commissioning upon graduation as an officer in Army Intelligence. He served first as an instructor at the Army Intelligence School at Fort Holabird, Maryland, and then three years on active reserve in the 2nd Special Forces Group (Airborne), a unit with a then Cold War mission. After finishing parachute training, Paul served first as a Team leader and later as Company Intelligence Officer. During this time, Paul also completed a Masters Degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. He also served on the security team on the presidential campaign of then candidate Senator Barry Goldwater. After leaving Special Forces at the end of 1965, Paul began a civilian career in marketing, public affairs, and lobbying. He was also a political consultant to a major supplier to the U.S. Armed Forces. A substantial portion of this interview covers Paul's impressions of the Vietnam war and its political aspects both from a military and civilian aspect.
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Vietnamese-American student Ben Nguyen shares his experience growing up as part of the Vietnamese diaspora community in California, and how this aspect of his identity has shaped his experiences at Dartmouth and beyond. Nguyen also shares how his father's experiences in North Vietnam have influenced his perception of the conflict.
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In this oral history Interview, Lai Maccarone discusses her experiences in Vietnam, her perception of the war, and assimilating into the United States as a war refugee.
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Vietnam veteran and alumn Stephen E. Katz ‘56
describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Katz further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and alumn Dud [F.] Hendrick ‘69
describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Hendrick further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Vietnam veteran and alumn Stephen Hallam describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Hallam further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.