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Charlotte Albright, freelance journalist and writer for Dartmouth communications. This oral history interview documents her experience growing up during the height of the Vietnam War. Albright describes her early life, growing up in Pennsylvania, the death of her parents at a young age, and her undergraduate studies at Bennington College. She discusses her involvement in guerilla theater as a form of antiwar activism at Bennington as well as the impact the draft had on many of her male friends in theater. Albright also reflects upon her participation in an antiwar protest in Washington, DC and discusses how she views the war 50 years later.
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Stephen Le was born in 1974 in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Through the Amerasian Homecoming Act, Stephen moved to Burlington, VT, in 1992 with his Amerasian sister, two younger brothers, and mother. His family left Vietnam because of Stephen’s Amerasian sister, his mother’s former support for the Americans, and the opportunity available in the US. Six months after arriving in the US, Stephen moved to Boston, MA, where he attended school for English and received his license to work in the nails business. In Boston, he went from working in a nail salon to owning his own nail business. At age 21, he married his first wife, Hien Tran, with whom he had three daughters. After owning his business in Boston for 15 years, Stephen moved to Hanover, NH, where he took over Nefertiti Nails, a local nail salon. He married his second wife, Thuy “Mary” Hong, whom he met in Saigon on his way to visit Nha Trang. After their marriage, in 2013, Mary immigrated to the US and joined Stephen at Nefertiti Nails. Mary and Stephen have two daughters together and currently live in Lebanon, NH.
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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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Walter O. Cottrell reflects on his experiences during the Vietnam War era in an interview for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. He recounts his early life growing up in a military family in Frederick, Maryland and later Arkansas and California. He discusses his decision to attend the University of Michigan for a year and a half before dropping out to join the Marines in 1967. He details his participation in various training programs such as Navy ROTC, Parris Island boot camp, and Officer Candidate School. Cottrell describes his service in Vietnam as a platoon commander, executive officer, and briefly a company commander with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, discussing the challenges of combat, leadership, and camaraderie. He recounts the physical and mental toll of war, including his injuries, and shares his mixed feelings on military and political leadership decisions. Cottrell discusses his struggle to reintegrate into civilian life after the war and his eventual pursuit of a career as a veterinarian, reflecting on how his military experiences shaped his life.
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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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Abstract coming soon
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Abstract coming soon
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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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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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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.
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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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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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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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Oral history interview with Nancy Smoyer for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Smoyer recounts her early life and education, growing up in Princeton, New Jersey and attending University of Colorado, Boulder. While at the University of Boulder she studied abroad in France. She describes her experiences as a Red Cross “Donut Dollie” during the Vietnam War, entertaining and boosting morale for American troops stationed in Vietnam. She discusses running recreation centers and visiting remote fire bases in combat zones and encountering mortar attacks during the Tet Offensive. Smoyer recounts how her brother, a Dartmouth graduate ('67), was killed in action after she returned to the U.S. She details her continued efforts to support veterans by working in recreation at a military hospital and as a counselor helping veterans cope with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). She also describes her volunteer work at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial supporting visiting veterans and their families.
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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.