Vietnam Veteran Interview
I had the opportunity to interview my grandfather and my great uncle about their experience in the Vietnam war. Their stories were very interesting, and I was lucky to have heard about their views on the war.
My grandfather had not fought in the Vietnam war, but he was in the army. My grandfather had been in the National Guard, his unit, the one hundred and fourth cavalry, was oftenly called to help in emergencies such as strikes, protests, fires, and floods. At the time of the Vietnam war, my grandfather was in his early twenties, and in college. He wanted to continue studying in college, and definitely did not want to be drafted. My grandfather made it clear that he thought the draft was “terrible”, he told me about …show more content…
My uncle choose to join the navy because he thought it would be safer than fighting on the ground, he soon found out that that was not the case. If my uncle had waited for the draft and been drafted, he would have a good chance of not returning to America. He had thought that he would have a bigger chance of survival if he joined the navy. My uncle felt that the draft was “watery” you basically had as much chance of going to war as the next guy. He did not feel that it was right, if you had money or connections you could get out of being drafted. He stated that it was a “political war vs saving the country”. He was in a unit called the Seabees, the word "Seabee" comes from the initials "CB", this stands for "Construction Battalion". He was a construction electrician in the navy. My uncle Alan was also “master of arms” he stated “I was chosen to be put in the position of arms, and I was put in charge of many groups while I was in boot camp, they choose me because of my former activities as a child, I was a boy scout”. He also had received his spy clearance while he was in Vietnam, which benefited him later in life, applying for different jobs. I had asked my uncle what he thought of the political leaders, their decisions, and how he felt when the nation decided to leave Vietnam, not accomplishing its goal? He responded with “ Nothing, I did not care about what they did(Nixon and Johnson)the war was a
I had the opportunity to interview my grandfather and my great uncle about their experience in the Vietnam war. Their stories were very interesting, and I was lucky to have heard about their views on the war.
My grandfather had not fought in the Vietnam war, but he was in the army. My grandfather had been in the National Guard, his unit, the one hundred and fourth cavalry, was oftenly called to help in emergencies such as strikes, protests, fires, and floods. At the time of the Vietnam war, my grandfather was in his early twenties, and in college. He wanted to continue studying in college, and definitely did not want to be drafted. My grandfather made it clear that he thought the draft was “terrible”, he told me about …show more content…
My uncle choose to join the navy because he thought it would be safer than fighting on the ground, he soon found out that that was not the case. If my uncle had waited for the draft and been drafted, he would have a good chance of not returning to America. He had thought that he would have a bigger chance of survival if he joined the navy. My uncle felt that the draft was “watery” you basically had as much chance of going to war as the next guy. He did not feel that it was right, if you had money or connections you could get out of being drafted. He stated that it was a “political war vs saving the country”. He was in a unit called the Seabees, the word "Seabee" comes from the initials "CB", this stands for "Construction Battalion". He was a construction electrician in the navy. My uncle Alan was also “master of arms” he stated “I was chosen to be put in the position of arms, and I was put in charge of many groups while I was in boot camp, they choose me because of my former activities as a child, I was a boy scout”. He also had received his spy clearance while he was in Vietnam, which benefited him later in life, applying for different jobs. I had asked my uncle what he thought of the political leaders, their decisions, and how he felt when the nation decided to leave Vietnam, not accomplishing its goal? He responded with “ Nothing, I did not care about what they did(Nixon and Johnson)the war was a