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Ernest Paul "Rusty" Sachs was born 7 May 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri. Rusty's father was in the Army and served in Normandy as a battalion surgeon. After Rusty's father left the Army in 1946, his family spent time in Normandy and France before returning to the United States. The majority of his childhood was spent growing up in Norwich, Vermont, where he graduated from Hanover High School. In 1961, Rusty moved to Gernoble, France after being waitlisted at Harvard. He attended L'Externat Notre-Dame, Université de Grenoble until he was accepted at Harvard the following year. After two years, Rusty left Harvard and joined the United States Marine Corps. He made his way into the Marine Aviation Cadet Program (MARCAD), a unique program where enlisted Marines with two years of college experience could become pilots and earn a commission as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Rusty was sent to Vietnam in July of 1966 as a replacement pilot and was assigned to H-34 helicopter squadron HHM-362, which at the time was based out of Ky Ha. During Rusty's time in Vietnam, he flew 725 combat missions with his primary role being the medical evacuation of wounded soldiers and Marines. After returning from Vietnam, Rusty went back to Harvard to finish his bachelor's degree. He became involved with the group known as Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) as a speaker and organizer. In 1974, Rusty returned to Norwich, Vermont, and attended Vermont Law School in 1975. After one term in the Vermont House of Representatives, Rusty practiced law until 1999. Once he stopped practicing law, he returned to training flight instructors. He served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors until 2007. Rusty and Marlene Sachs are now retired and live in Norwich, Vermont.
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Robert Munson, a Vietnam veteran, discusses his childhood moving around the United States with his military family. He then discusses his military service beginning with his training at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and his experience as an army engineer. He goes on to talk about his time in Vietnam, beginning with his chaotic introduction to the war in Saigon and Cam Ranh Bay. He goes on to talk about his experiences during the Tet Offensive, and how he earned his Purple Heart. After this, he goes on to speak about his experiences in the latter half of his tour, featuring interactions with his commanding officers and Marines in Hué. After Vietnam, Munson talks about his transition back into civilian life and his career and family relationships. At the end of the interview, he discusses his move to the Upper Valley of Vermont/New Hampshire, his current views on the war, and his interactions with younger veterans.
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This interview, conducted on October 27, 2020 with Mr. Michael Heaney for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project, begins with Heaney’s childhood. He discusses how his father’s service in WWII influenced him from a young age. While a fighter pilot in the pacific theater, his father kept a detailed combat diary, which Heaney recalled reading very closely in his early years. He discusses his activities in school, where he maintained multiple peer leadership positions. He goes on to describe his ROTC program at Middlebury College, which led him to enlist in the US Army. After joining the Army, Heaney participated in several training camps, including ROTC, basic infantry training, Ranger school, and jump school. He then discusses his arrival in Vietnam, the men with whom he became acquainted, and ultimately the ambush he experienced on May 16-17, 1966. Heaney discusses the hours-long firefight where he was wounded in the right calf. From this point in the interview, he transitions to discussing the experience of telling the traumatic story of the ambush during multiple interviews in which he has taken part over the ensuing decades. He recounts that upon returning home from the hospital, his parents asked to read his combat diary rather than discuss his experiences openly. The interview ends with Heaney’s reflections on the experience of being interviewed for the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick documentary series, The Vietnam War, and its role in establishing the collective memory of the Vietnam War.
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Jack "Doc" Cassidy was born on June 18, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, into a blue-collar family. During his teenage years, Cassidy focused on his budding football career and spending time with friends in his neighborhood. Cassidy failed in his first attempt at college, leading him to join the Navy Reserve as a Hospital Corpsman in early 1966. Cassidy attended Basic and Hospital Corpsman Training, where he contracted a dental infection that delayed his graduation. This delay altered his service trajectory: Cassidy now had to attend Combat Corpsman School in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and would eventually be deployed to Vietnam. Cassidy arrived in Vietnam during the late summer of 1968, where he was attached to Kilo Company, of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, who at the time were in Thuong Duc, an area in I Corps near the Laotian border. Cassidy went on to serve in the “Arizona Territory” near An Hoa as well. During his interview, he speaks of racial tensions in his unit, opinions of officers and fellow enlisted men, “euphoric recall,” wound care, booby traps, drug use, an eventful R&R trip to Singapore, reunions, and the overall Corpsman experience in Vietnam.
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Henry (‘Hank’) Billings was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 21st, 1941. He has three siblings, two older sisters and one younger brother who served in the National Guard. After graduating high school, Hank attended Wentworth College, Northeastern University, and UMASS Amherst in ROTC to study economics and history. After graduating in 1964, Hank deferred service to hitchhike around Europe for a year before arriving at Fort Benning, GA in April of 1965 for Basic Infantry Training. He continued on to Fort Holabird, MD where he trained as an intelligence specialist, and joined the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Arriving in Saigon in December of 1965, Hank served in the research and analysis branch at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. While there, Hank worked as an expert on, and wrote reports about, B52 bombing efficacy, Cambodian incursions, and Viet Cong soldier morale. Returning from Saigon, Hank finished his duty as a first lieutenant at Fort Devens, MA. After service, Hank participated in antiwar protests, and attended UMass Amherst for graduate school in education, eventually becoming a teacher. Hank returned to Vietnam in 2001 for a country bicycling tour.
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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.
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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.
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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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Neal Stanley ‘64 describes his traditional childhood growing up in New Jersey. He goes on to talk about his experiences in ROTC at Dartmouth College, and then discusses becoming a second lieutenant and attending airborne training. He describes his experiences as a communications platoon officer in Nuremberg, Germany, and talks about how he dealt with the complexities of discrimination and conflict among other soldiers he was stationed with. He then discusses his attempt to resign his
post, and his eventual assignment to Vietnam just after the Tet Offensive. Stanley then recalls several anecdotes, detailing his interactions with other officers and with Vietnamese culture and people, as well as his experience with clandestine operations in Cambodia. He then discusses his difficulties transitioning back into civilian life. He concludes by talking about his current perspective on the war, his post-military career path, and the importance of Dartmouth in his life experiences.
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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 John McNally, III describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Mcnally further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Phuoc Le discusses his experiences in Vietnam, his perception of the war, as well as the process of assimilating into the United States as a refugee from the war.
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Vietnam veteran and Dartmouth alumn Stephen Landa ‘67 describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Landa further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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James T. Kloppenberg ’73 discusses his experience as a Dartmouth Professor during the Vietnam War era, as well as his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. In this interview, Kloppenberg also explores how America's post-World War II belief in its global dominance and the purging of experts during the McCarthy era contributed to a simplified understanding of the struggle against global communism and a lack of understanding of the situation in Asia, especially in Vietnam.
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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.
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Vietnam veteran and alumn Trudell H. Guerue, Jr. ‘74 describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Guerue further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Jane Griffith, an antiwar activist, describes how she came to oppose US involvement in the Vietnam War. Her opposition led her to volunteer to serve as director of the humanitarian programs of the American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers) in Vietnam from 1970 to 1973. In this capacity, she oversaw a rehabilitation center for Vietnamese war victims in Quang Ngai province in South Vietnam.
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Vietnam veteran and alumn Weaver Gaines describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Gaines 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 Warren Cook describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Cook 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 Jay Butterfield describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Butterfield 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 Ronald Brown describes his experience in Vietnam and his perception of the socio-political climate of the time. Brown further discusses his stance on the conflict as well as his perception of the Vietnamese while on-ground.
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Donovan, John Interview Abstract
1. Growing Up in Boston
2. ROTC at Holy Cross
3. Initial Impresisons of Vietnam
4. Riverine Warfare
5. Losing Faith in Vietnam and Subsequent Reading
6. Post-Navy Transition Period
7. Working in Education and Outdoor Programs
8. Consulting in Southeast Asia and Philanthropy in Vietnam
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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