This collection contains interviews with veterans of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, lasted from 1954-1975. Though involved beginning in 1955, the United States did not deploy active combat units until 1965.
Interviewee: Thomas V. Ashworth
Interviewer: John Ashworth
Date of Interview: April 14, 1996
Ashworth signed up to join the military in 1966 and went into the Marine Corps in 1967 after graduating from Arkansas Tech. He went to Vietnam in 1969, serving primarily as a helicopter pilot. In 1971 he was promoted to the rank of Captain. He left the military in August 1971.
Interviewee: Robert S. Heaton
Interviewer: Scott Mann
Date of Interview: April 11, 1990
Heaton joined the Texas National Guard in September of 1965. In late 1967 he decided to transfer to Special Forces where he remained for the rest of his military career.
Interviewee: Randy James
Interviewer: Dorothy Bambrick
Date of Interview: March 26, 1995
James joined the Army in the summer of 1966. He was promoted to the rank of specialist fifth class by the end of his military career. He left the Army in 1968.
Interviewee: Thomas E. Lee (booked with Heaton)
Interviewer: Michael T. Gardner
Date of Interview: March 7, 1990
Lee joined the June 21, 1954 and was discharged in May of 1958. He reentered into the Navy in 1961. In 1968 he boarded the U.S.S. Hancock and sailed off to Vietnam.
Interviewee: A. Douglas Odom, Jr.
Interviewer: Patrick Ralston
Date of Interview: March 19, 1990
Odom volunteered for the draft in December of 1964. He entered the Army and was scuba, HALO, and Special Forces qualified. He was part of the Green Berets until 1970. After coming back from Vietnam, he became a training officer at the Airborne Department. He left the Army in 1972.
Interviewee: Charles A. Parker
Interviewer: Alan B. Parker
Date of Interview: February 21-22, 1996
Parker entered the Army in 1946 and left two years later. He entered the Air Force in 1951 after the Korean War began. In 1968 he went to Vietnam as an aircraft pilot. He left the Air Force in May of 1969.