Fifty years after the fact, the Vietnam War remains part of our collective national consciousness. For the veterans who served during this era, this conflict has particular meaning. Each of these veterans experienced the war in a unique, individual way; no two stories are the same. As veteran Tom Hagel has explained, “When we think of wars – whether it’s Vietnam or any other war – we think of it as a unitary subject … but there are millions of Vietnam Wars.” To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War, in 2012 the Veterans History Project highlighted a series of collections from this era. They are but a few of the “millions of Vietnam Wars” embodied by the stories of Vietnam veterans. These interviews represent a wide variety of branches, service locations, and military roles; collectively, they illuminate the dramatic—and ongoing—effects of the war on those who participated.
Vietnam War: Looking Back
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personal narrativeFrank Ibanez Aceves Collection Electrician's Mate Second Class, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - San Diego, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Coronado, California; Alameda, California; Midway Island; Vietnam.
- Contributor: Dreier, David - Sleeth, Keith - U.S. House of Representatives/David Dreier - Aceves, Frank Ibanez
- Date: 1966
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personal narrativeRichard Lyman Bates Collection Major, Air Force, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Edwards Air Force Base and Sacramento, California; Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand; Germany.
- Contributor: Library of Congress - Veterans History Project - Clyburn, Vera - Bates, Richard Lyman
- Date: 1970
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 00:41:01.3
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personal narrativeFrancis J. Bayer Collection Chief Warrant Officer 3, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Blackhorse Base, Vietnam; Central Highlands, Vietnam; Ban Me Thuot, Vietnam; Cambodia; Laos; Fort Knox, Kentucky; New York; North Carolina; Delaware; Nevada. Army, Persian...
- Contributor: Bayer, Francis J. - Adult Learning Programs of Alaska - Morse, Rebecca D. - Betts, Amy J.
- Date: 1967
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 01:36:25.0
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personal narrativeCarl E. Bergman Collection Captain, Marine Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975.
- Contributor: Passaro, Sean R. - Bergman, Carl E. - Catherine Passaro
- Date: 1965
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Video - 00:47:58.1
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personal narrativeCole Black Collection Captain, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Great Lakes, Illinois; Newport, Rhode Island; Pensacola, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; San Diego, California; Pacific Ocean; Vietnam; Mexico City, Mexico; Washington, DC.
- Contributor: Black, Cole - Mit-Chelle, Sandra - Veterans History Project - Library of Congress
- Date: 1950
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personal narrativeMark Ryan Black Collection Lance Corporal, Marine Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - San Diego, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Philippines; Cam Lo, Vietnam; Dong Ha, Vietnam; Hue, Vietnam.
- Contributor: Lugar, Richard - Black, Mark Ryan - Black, Paul - U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
- Date: 1966
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personal narrativeSteven L. Bobb, Sr. Collection Corporal, Marine Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Quantico, Virginia; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Da Nang, Vietnam.
- Contributor: Bobb Sr., Steven L. - Brooks, Marta - Northwest Regional Esd
- Date: 1968
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 01:02:57.0
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personal narrativeNan Borg Collection Colonel, Army Nurse Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Korea; Fort Lewis, Washington; Vietnam; Washington, DC; Denver, Colorado.
- Contributor: Hansford, Michele - Powers Museum - Borg, Nan - Pittman, Marti
- Date: 1962
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personal narrativeCurtis R. Bowers Collection Colonel, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Korea; Japan; Germany; Vietnam.
- Contributor: Bitler, Don A. - Bowers, Curtis R. - Hill, Barry S. - Sue Paul - Warhawk Air Museum
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Video - 01:13:21.1
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personal narrativeMary Elizabeth Breed Collection First Lieutenant, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Da Nang, Vietnam; Quang Tri, Vietnam; Fort Jackson, North Carolina.
- Contributor: Heikkila, Kim - Peters, Andria - Breed, Mary Elizabeth - Anoka Ramsey Community College
- Date: 1969
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 01:34:36.0
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personal narrativeFrances Buckley Collection Rear Admiral, Navy Nurse Corps, Korean War, 1950-1953. Vietnam War, 1961-1975.
- Contributor: Jacobs, Louise D. - Buckley, Frances
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personal narrativeMichael Thomas Burns Collection Second Lieutenant, Air Force, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Ubon, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam.
- Contributor: Lugar, Richard - Stuart, R.J. - Burns, Michael Thomas - U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
- Date: 1966
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 00:46:59.0
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personal narrativeNathaniel Glover Butler Collection Lieutenant Junior Grade, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Pacific Ocean; California; Vietnam.
- Contributor: American Veterans for Equal Rights (Aver) - Butler, Nathaniel Glover - Hebert, Marcie - Ballard, Lara
- Date: 1968
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Video - 01:16:05.6
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personal narrativeAllan Russell Carpenter Collection Commander, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Vietnam.
- Contributor: Library of Congress - Carpenter, Allan Russell - Veterans History Project - Graham, Reid
- Date: 1955
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 01:07:10.0
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personal narrativeThomas Richard Carper Collection Captain, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Pensacola, Florida; Corpus Christi, Texas; North Island, California; Moffett, California; Pacific Ocean; South China Sea; Gulf of Thailand.
- Contributor: Carper, Thomas Richard - Winkler, David F. - David A. Taylor - Veterans History Project - Library of Congress
- Date: 1968
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personal narrativeGeorge Paris Davis, III Collection Major, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Fort Benning and Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Holabird and Fort Meade, Maryland; Washington, DC; Thailand; Da Nang and Hue Phu Bai, Vietnam; Fort Wolters and Fort...
- Contributor: West Virginia University School of Journalism - Davis III, George Paris - Beeson, Joel - Samsell, Martha
- Date: 1967
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personal narrativeRichard R. DeLeon Collection Specialist, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Vietnam.
- Contributor: New York Public Library - McLoughlin, Cathleen T. - Muller, Maura - Deleon, Richard R.
- Date: 1968
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personal narrativeWalter James Dexter Collection E-4, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Pleiku, Vietnam.
- Contributor: Dexter, Walter James - Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (Rsvp) of Macomb - Gary Miglio - Siemaszko, Susan M. - Brusseau, David
- Date: 1966
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personal narrativeGeorge E. Dunn Collection Lieutenant Colonel, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Washington, DC; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Vietnam; Germany; Fort Riley, Kansas.
- Contributor: Dunn, George E. - Shaull, Philip A. - U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar - Lugar, Richard
- Date: 1961
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 01:11:43.0
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personal narrativeMartin L. Fackler Collection Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Da Nang, Vietnam; Yokosuka, Japan; Memphis, Tennessee. Colonel, Army, Cold War - San Francisco, California.
- Contributor: Fackler, Martin L. - University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program - Ortiz, Paul
- Date: 1960
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 01:27:33.0
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personal narrativeMichael Patrick Felker Collection Hospital Corpsman Third Class, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Great Lakes, Illinois; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Vietnam; San Francisco, California.
- Contributor: Felker, Michael Patrick - Draper, Mark - Matthew Bleistein - Free Library of Philadelphia
- Date: 1968
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personal narrativeCarl Les Fordahl Collection Specialist Five, Army, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Washington, DC; Germany; Vietnam.
- Contributor: Fordahl, Carl Les - Hakala, Amanda - Anoka Ramsey Community College
- Date: 1967
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personal narrativeRalph Anthony Garcia Collection Staff Sergeant, Marine Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); North Carolina; Camp Pendleton and San Diego, California; Turkey; Germany; England; Vietnam; Laos.
- Contributor: Lugar, Richard - Shaull, Philip A. - U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar - Garcia, Ralph Anthony
- Date: 1959
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 00:53:01.1
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personal narrativeGail A. Gutierrez Collection Captain, Navy Nurse Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Corpus Christi, Texas; Sigonella, Sicily; Portsmouth, Virginia; Guam (Mariana Islands); Long Beach and San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Washington, DC; Bethesda, Maryland. Persian Gulf...
- Contributor: Roni Dunford - Dombrowski, Esther E. - Gutierrez, Gail A.
- Date: 1968
- Resource: Interview / Recording - Audio - 00:52:38.0
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personal narrativeJulia M. Haskell Collection First Lieutenant, Army Nurse Corps, Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Tuy Hoa, Vietnam; Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.
- Contributor: Lugar, Richard - Casasanta, Naomi E. - U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar - Haskell, Julia M.
- Date: 1968