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Francis X. Oscadal, Librarian at Dartmouth College Library, 1982-2016. Oral history interview documenting his experience as a conscientious objector (CO) during the Vietnam War. Oscadal describes the process of becoming recognized as a CO, his reasoning for pursuing CO status, and his work as a military draft counselor. He discusses the educational and career paths that led him to his position at Dartmouth.
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Denis R. O’Neill, Dartmouth College Class of 1970. He played baseball, soccer, and hockey varsity sports at Dartmouth, until senior year during which he only played varsity Hockey. O’Neill discusses political climate at time in Westport, Connecticut and his father’s political engagement and anti-war activism with friends such as Theodore Geisel [“Dr. Seuss”]. He pledged Chi Phi Heorot [now Chi Heorot], was a member of Casque and Gauntlet senior society. He discusses how being in a fraternity shaped his views of the war, something which Billy Smoyer’s (Class of 1967) death did as well: as a catalyst for more war protests. O’Neill talks about the accuracy of reporting by journalists versus the government and various perceptions on campus. He describes the Parkhurst Protest of the war, led by the SDS [Students for a Democratic Society]. O’Neill discusses the campus climate during the lottery and his exemption. After graduating, he served as a seaman aboard the S.S. Mobil Fuel, then became a folk singer. Then, O’Neill attended Boston University’s School of Journalism and wrote a memoire titled WHIPLASH: When the Vietnam War Rolled a Hand Grenade into the Animal House.
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Francis C. “Bud” McGrath. Class of 1964. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. McGrath shares details about his childhood in Massachusetts. He describes his transition to Dartmouth. He explains how he began as an engineering major and quickly began looking for a new major and became an English major. He discusses his participation in Alpha Theta fraternity, the Newman Club, and playing on the hockey team. He describes his involvement with the Army ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps]. McGrath explains how he went directly into the Army after graduation. McGrath discusses why he selected to take a regular commission and his time spent in the Army. He explains how he began in Germany for two years, went to Fort Huachuca in Arizona to train soldiers going to Vietnam, and finally was sent to Vietnam for one year beyond his initial commitment to the military. He discusses his job as a company commander and his experience in Vietnam. McGrath shares how he became disillusioned and untrusting of the Army during his year in Vietnam. He describes his transition back to the United States after his tour in Vietnam. He describes how he became involved in antiwar activities as a graduate student at the University of Texas, Austin. McGrath describes his career path after graduate school. McGrath describes his involvement with Professor Edward Miller’s course at Dartmouth.
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David C Johnston, Dartmouth Class of 1966. Johnston shares home of his family: his parents background and his various siblings. He considered attending a military academy, but eventually settled on Dartmouth and was recruited for football, but quit shortly after joining. He also joined a fraternity, and majored in Government. He founded the Negro College Exchange Fund at Tucker Foundation (now The Tucker Center). Joined the U.S. Air Force ROTC [Reserve Officers Training Corps]. Attended University of Madison Wisconsin at Madison for a Masters in Urban Planning. He was part of the Dow Chemical riot of 1966. Discusses the trend of war in U.S. history, and international politics. He then describes his later life: meeting his wife and working for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Johnston describes his retirement and creation of his own organization, the Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence. He also teaches college at Eastern Connecticut State University.
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John D. Isaacs. Dartmouth Class of 1967. Oral history interview documenting his work with the United States Foreign Service during the Vietnam War. Isaacs describes his undergraduate years at Dartmouth College, including a brief enrollment with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), and his experience as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, including involvement in the antiwar movement. He recounts his deployment to Vietnam in 1970 and his assignment working with refugees in Binh Tuy Province, Bien Hoa, and Saigon through CORDS (Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support). Isaacs describes his later work in Washington, D.C., including his contributions to help pass the War Powers Resolution of 1973, and his work with the Indochina Resource Center. Isaacs discusses U.S. foreign policy and the country’s role in contemporary conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and with the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL).
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Paul Hodes, Class of 1972. Oral history interview documenting Paul Hodes’ activism in the popular movement against the Vietnam War, during his time at Dartmouth College. Hodes details the occupation of the administrative building, Parkhurst, by Dartmouth College student activists, and his role as bearing a bull horn to warn the occupants of the arriving police force. Hodes recalls the impact of the 1970 Kent State shootings, and his decision to participate in the March on Washington in the same year. Hodes also narrates his involvement with SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), his childhood in New York City, and his decision to run for Congress in New Hampshire in 2006.
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Hinman, Jeffrey H. Dartmouth College Class of ’68. Oral history interview documenting his experiences growing up in Rome, New York, near Fort Stanwix; living among military personnel; the ROTC protests in Dartmouth; getting drafted into the US Army; his time at Fort Dix; rejecting military pressure to buy Savings Bonds; his service as an infantryman in the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne in Vietnam, then as an photographer/correspondent in the 25th Infantry Division; his receipt of a "Congressional Inquiry" regarding his suitability for infantry service; racial relations within his infantry company, and the predominantly African-American mortar platoon; interactions with local Vietnamese in villages; experiencing little war action but learning about U.S. soldiers hurting themselves through their own military mistakes; watching the interrogation and waterboarding of a NVA/VC soldier; being ordered to photograph dead enemy soldiers; service as an assistant battalion legal clerk at Fort Carson; coming home from the war and his experiences with the Veterans Reading Group.
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Green, David Interview Abstract
1. Childhood in Baltimore
2. Sports and Activism at Dartmouth
3. The Parkhurst Takeover
4. Jail Time and Expulsion
5. Continued Activism in Maryland and Cuba
6. Life and Career After College
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Gene R Garthwaite, Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth College. St. Olaf College Class of 1955. At St. Olaf, Garthwaite majored in English, was the feature editor of the college newspaper, and served in ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps]. He married after going into the Air Force. After flying B-47s over the Soviet Union, he was awarded a Wilson Fellowship and enrolled in University of Chicago to obtain his Ph.D in English literature. After a year and a half, he delayed taking his prelims to go on an archaeological dig to Iran. Upon returning, he found a job in the management division of Aerojet General [Corporation] in Sacramento, California. He then transferred fields, and schools, and went to study Middle Eastern studies at UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] to complete his Ph.D. He began to work at Dartmouth College in 1968, upon completion of his doctorate. He was part of a younger, liberal group of professors which formed to socialize and discuss the Vietnam war, and other issues such as civil rights. Garthwaite discusses the campus’ climate and how it changed, the admittance of women into Dartmouth, as well as Anti-war protests such as the Parkhurst sit-in in 1969. He participated in sit-ins and protests around civil rights and the war, and discusses those events as well.
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Frank, Justin Interview Abstract
1. Early Childhood and Political Consciousness in California
2. Undergraduate Education
3. Med School and Early Activism in Louisville
4. Securing Conscientious Objector Status
5. C.O. Status and Faith, Patriotism
6. Political Engagement and Writing Career in Adulthood
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Long history of patriotism and military service on his fathers side of the family. Dates back to 1635 in New England.
Growing up in Gardner Ma, diversity in town –
Applying to Dartmouth
Choate dorms
Freshmen beanies
Coxswain crew
Freshmen teams vs varsity teams
President of Dartmouth rowing club
Beta
Happy as all male school – all male campus culture
Coached freshman crew as a student
Undergraduate Judiciary Committee
ROTC freshman year only
Lived in Casque & Gauntlet
Didn’t know what to do after college so joined peace corps
Honduras
New Mexico for training
Honduras – setup a clinic – went to Caribbean to setup a track & field event for kids
Organized student protests while at Michigan
Marched in Belzoni Mississippi
Freedom Now movement to Black Power movement - At the event in Greenwood Mississippi
Got in touch with PBS Eyes on the Prize series – they wanted to know about transition to Black Power – only white witness they could find
Protesting the war
Dinner with McNamamara
Worked for Warren Wiggins in Chicago
Wrote a book about the Vice Lords
Got a grant from Rockefeller Foundation to improve life with Vice Lords
Returned to Mass and began working for the state/governor
Worked at Dartmouth in development office
Guilt of not going
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Brelsford, John Interview Abstract
1. Early Childhood and Adolescence
2. Coming to Dartmouth and Academic Acclimation
3. Joining SDS and Protesting Guest Speakers
4. Growing Anti-ROTC Sentiment at Dartmouth
5. SDS Demands leading to Parkhurst Takeover
6. Staging the Takeover and Public Opinion
7. Removal from Parkhurst and Sentencing
8. Time Spent in Prison
9. Next Year at Dartmouth and Dropping Out
10. Jobs and Education After Dartmouth
11. Family Life and Current Pastimes
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Professor Colin C. Blaydon. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Professor Blaydon describes growing up in Newport News, Virginia as the son of a Naval architect and engineer. Blaydon discusses his school experience, race relations, and segregation in Virginia during his childhood. Blaydon describes attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. He shares that West Point was a difficult experience and was able to transfer to University of Virginia as a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Blaydon discusses being commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers after graduation, however, he attended Harvard University for graduate school and did not go into active duty until 1966 after he completed graduate school. He shares his experience at Harvard studying modern control theory and later received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics. He was commissioned by the Atomic Energy Commission for a nuclear technology fellowship. Blaydon shares how he was able to use his Ph.D. work while on active duty. He describes meeting Alain C. Enthoven after a class at Harvard and as a result of their conversation, Blaydon describes how he was assigned to Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara’s staff. He details his involvement with Army intelligence during the Vietnam War. Specifically his work with drone technology. He describes being sent to the strategic target operations center at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Professor Blaydon describes returning from Vietnam and working in academia. He worked at Harvard Business School as an Assistant Professor teaching quantitative analysis and finance. He discusses the climate on campus after the war and the difference between graduate and undergraduate student attitudes towards the Vietnam War. He details the events of the Kent State shooting and Harvard’s decision to suspend classes and remove the ROTC from campus. Blaydon describes his involvement with Vietnamese resettlement in the United States after the war. He discusses his career as the Dean of the Tuck School of Business and describes the Tuck School’s participation in establishing a business school for the Vietnam National University during the 1990s. He describes the kind reception of the American’s received in Vietnam during this time.
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Bien, Peter Interview Abstract
1. Early Childhood in Queens and Education at Deerfield
2. Transferring from Harvard to Haverford
3. Introduction to Quakerism
4. Obtaining CO Status
5. Return to Europe and Marriage
6. PhD at Columbia and Coming to Dartmouth
7. Campus Atmosphere in the Sixties
8. Debating ROTC Programs at Dartmouth
9. SDS and the Parkhurst Occupation
10. Reactions to the Occupation: Personally, in the Quaker Community, on Campus
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Beach, Paul Interview Abstract:
1. Childhood and Adolescence in Pennsylvania
2. Coming to Dartmouth
3. Budding Political Consciousness on Campus
4. Post-Grad Anti-War and Labor Activism
5. Arrest and Time in Prison
6. Medical Career and Final Thoughts
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David P. Barton. Class of 1966. Oral history interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Barton describes growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland. Barton shares that he attended Dartmouth because his brother was a student when he applied. He describes being very interested in sports as a child and continued playing tennis as a student at Dartmouth. He also discusses his involvement in the Dartmouth Christian Union, Delta Upsilon fraternity, Cask and Gauntlet, and the foreign study abroad program in France his junior and senior years. He describes his involvement with anti-Vietnam War activism on campus with events such as film screenings and teach-ins. Barton describes a breakfast he shared with Malcolm X when he was living in Cutter Hall at Dartmouth. Barton discusses his experience as a teaching fellow at Philips Andover Academy and as a graduate student at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He explains how he became involved with the American Friends Service Committee where he and his wife were sent to Quảng Ngãi Province in Vietnam. Barton describes the relationships he had with the Vietnamese people during the war. He discusses how the CIA was torturing political prisoners near the rehabilitation center where he worked. Barton describes how he was called to testify before Lee [H.] Hamilton’s subcommittee in Congress about what he knew of the torture of the political prisoners in Vietnam. Barton explains his involvement in the House-Senate Joint Inquiry into the 9/11/2001, attacks and his relationship with democracy in the United States and U.S. foreign policy.
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Hoyt S. Alverson, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Dartmouth College. Oral history interview documenting his experience of the anti-war movement at Dartmouth during the Vietnam War. Alverson describes his early life, including undergraduate studies at George Washington University, graduate studies at Yale University, and graduate research in South Africa. He discusses anti-war initiatives at Dartmouth, including the student occupation of Parkhurst Hall in 1969, as well as the back-to-the-land movement.
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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