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This oral history explores the life and Vietnam War service of Jeff Danziger, award winning cartoonist who currently resides in Brattleboro Vermont. Danziger, a New York native, attended the University of Denver before moving to Plainfield, Vermont. Danziger was drafted into the US Army in 1966, and tried to avoid deployment to Vietnam by attending language school and by becoming an officer. He served in Vietnam from 1970-1971, where he worked in various capacities for the First Cavalry Division and also served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Army during the period of the “Vietnamization” of the war. In addition to discussing his wartime experiences in Vietnam, Danziger also reflects on postwar writings and films about the war, American attitudes towards veterans, and his return to Vietnam as a journalist years later.
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Oral History Interview with William Donahue, who served in the Vietnam War. He first recounts his upbringing in Washington, D.C., and his higher education at Colby College. Donahue shares his path to enlisting in the Marine Corps after being denied a student deferment for law school. He describes the various training camps he attended before arriving in Vietnam, where he began as an infantry officer in 1967. Just as the Tet Offensive began in 1968, he was transferred to the Military Police Corps but soon returned to his infantry position. He describes his experiences on and off the battlefield and the relations between the men in his battalion, especially concerning race. Post-Vietnam, he continued his service as an instructor at Camp Lejeune, a training camp in North Carolina, and ended his active duty as a soldier in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Donahue closes out the oral history by detailing life after the war and how his perspective on the war has changed over time. Currently, he is writing a memoir about his war experiences.
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Steve Fowle begins with his family history. Coming from several generations of New Hampshire and Massachusetts residents, he reflects on his family’s deep New England roots and his father’s journey to achieving social mobility. He recounts dropping out of high school and enlisting as an Army Photographer, remembering basic training at Fort Jackson, Florida, and photography training at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. He recalls arriving in Long Binh in June 1967 and learning he would be a medical illustrator in the morgue for the 9th Medical Laboratory, 44th Medical Brigade in Saigon. He describes daily life in Saigon and taking photographs for pathologists. He reflects on Saigon and his memories from the Tet Offensive. He returned home in June 1968 and discusses reintegration into everyday life, including his travels out West. He talks about his entry into journalism and journey to becoming the lead editor for The New Hampshire Gazette.
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Michael James Beahan (GR’97) was born in Towanda, Pennsylvania, in December 1945. Beahan went to high school on a military base in Kaiserslautern, Germany before enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, where he joined the advanced ROTC program. Upon graduating in 1967, Beahan was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He spent eighteen months at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama before completing six months of intelligence training at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. In 1970, Beahan was assigned to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, Vietnam, spending three days before transferring to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand to complete his one year tour. He later secured a position with the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron (ABCCC). Working as an intelligence officer in an airborne command post over the Plain of Jars region, he flew over 95 twelve-hour combat missions over Laos. Following his military service, he pursued a career in media and technology, including 20 years as Director of the Jones Media Center at Dartmouth College. At the time of this interview, Beahan was retired and living in Lyme, New Hampshire.
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Dartmouth alumnus Robert W. "Obie" Holmen, Class of '72, served in Vietnam between 1968 and 1970. In this oral history interview, he describes his early childhood in rural Minnesota and his journey to Dartmouth, initially as part of the Class of '70. In light of personal challenges, he took a leave of absence from Dartmouth and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968. First assigned as an infantryman in Charlie Company, 3rd battalion, 8th infantry, Obie was re-assigned into the Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) unit in the 75th Infantry Battalion Rangers. Finishing his service in December 1970, he returned to Dartmouth in January 1971 and graduated as part of the Class of ‘72 with a degree in History. He went on to receive a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota, pursued a career in law, engaged in theological studies, and became a freelance writer.
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Oral history interview with James Harlow, resident of the Upper Valley currently residing in Thetford, VT. He was drafted into the army, and was deployed in Vietnam from 1971 until medical issues sent him home in 1972. He briefly lived a regular civilian life, but re-enlisted into the military in 1973 – marking the beginning of a career that would last until 1992. Jim was a combat engineer and spent time as a minesweeper in a modified bulldozer after the prior operator was injured. In this interview he discusses his experiences in Vietnam, the Gulf War, and his perceptions of society, religion, and drugs during the Vietnam war era.
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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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Jim Smith was born on April 5th, 1946 in Norfolk, VA. Smith’s father graduated from the Naval Academy in 1940 and later worked in the rocket division at Chrysler. Growing up, Smith traveled around the country due to his parents’ work. Attending Dartmouth as a member of the class of 1968, Smith went to the “Confront the War Makers” march on Washington in November 1967. After graduation, Smith joined the Peace Corps briefly before being injured in Hawaii in a car crash and being medically discharged in August of 1968. On February 14th, 1969 Smith enlisted in the Army and went through basic training, infantry OCS, Airborne School, and Ranger School in Fort Benning, GA. Arriving in Vietnam in October 1970 and remaining there until October of 1971, Smith was an infantry rifle platoon leader in the First Cavalry Division operating in Binh Long, Phuoc Long, and Tay Ninh provinces along the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon. While there, Smith worked on interdiction of enemy forces along the Ho Chi Minh trail. After returning home, Smith became a lawyer and resides today in North Carolina.
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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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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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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.