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Vietnam

Stories with interview subjects from our Vietnam collection. Browse all stories to see subjects across all Voces collections.

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Subject	Collection	Story	Interviewed by
German Abadia-Olmeda $Germán Abadia-Olmeda E-4 (Specialist 4). This photo was taken in Vietnam in 1969. German was standing in front of a bunker.\Bunkers used to protect ourselves from any attack; were made of wood and sandbags; at my side some banana trees.\"-German"$	Vietnam	By Ximena Mejorado Cal State, Fullerton When he got his draft notice at the age of 18, Germán Abadía’s first thought was to go into hiding. The Puerto Rican native said he did not understand why he needed to go to Vietnam... Read More	Manuel Aviles-Santiago
Eugenia González Alemán	Vietnam	By Joshua Barajas As a spouse whose husband was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War, Eugenia “Jennie” González Alemán couldn't just sit at home waiting for him to come back: She wrote letters for mortally wounded American... Read More	Joshua Barajas
John & Eugenia Aleman $Captain and Mrs. John Aleman, 1967 in the PI 1967. This was a Christmas photo.\I missed the arrival in the USA of the Beatles.\""$	Vietnam	By Haley Dawson When John Aleman became one of very few Latinos to graduate from Sam Houston State University in 1963, he not only overcame the poverty of his youth, but went on to succeed in his subsequent military service and post-Vietnam... Read More	Haley Dawson
José Luis Aliseda	Vietnam	By: Voces Staff José Aliseda's family was uprooted by the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, leading them to relocate to Mexico City. He would later move to the U.S., serve in the Army in Vietnam, and become an anesthesiologist in Texas.... Read More	Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Antonio Flores Alvarado	Vietnam	By Kassandra Balli “I know I pulled him back to the safe area, but I don’t remember how I did it," said Vietnam veteran Tony Alvarado, recalling the day he rescued a fallen comrade during the battles for Hills 861 and 881. When... Read More	Kassandra Balli
Daniel Thomas Archuleta	Vietnam	By Jonathan Woo War can affect people in ways that no one can anticipate. Daniel Archuleta, a Vietnam War medic and Bronze Star recipient, might understand what Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn meant when he wrote: "Even if we are... Read More	Henry Velez
Adan Daniel "Dan" Arellano	Vietnam	By Jennifer Monsees Once a migrant worker, Dan Arellano became a realtor; once a struggling student he turned into an author. Arellano had a way of taking life’s difficult lessons and making the most of them. The Navy veteran used... Read More	Manuel G. Aviles-Santiago
Uriel Robles Bañuelos	Vietnam	By Stephanie De Luna At around 1 a.m. on Jan. 10, 1969, gunner Uriel “Ben” Bañuelos and other soldiers were roused from their sleep at Fire Support Base Pershing, 40-50 miles northwest of Saigon. Bañuelos and the other men were in an... Read More	Samantha Salazar
Bobby G. Biers	Vietnam	By Emily Macrander Marine veteran Robert "Bobby" Biers recalls more distress as a drill instructor dodging comments from mothers than when he was on the frontlines in South Vietnam. "I had these mothers calling me up, asking me, '... Read More	Marc Hamel
Richard Brito	Vietnam	By Priscilla Pelli Missing the birth of his two daughters was one of the many sacrifices Richard Brito had to make when he saw that a war threatened the national security of the United States in 1965. While Vietnam spurred controversy... Read More	Manuel G. Aviles-Santiago
Rita Abeytia Brock-Perini	Vietnam	By Ben Wermund As a captain in the U.S. Air Force Nursing Corps, Rita Brock-Perini provided care to thousands of soldiers, as well as guidance to hundreds of nurses in the largest Air Force hospital in the United States during... Read More	Samantha Salazar
Isaac Camacho	Vietnam	By Anna Kavich Army Capt. Isaac Camacho vividly recalled the terrible night when he was captured by Viet Cong. It was the night of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Texas. He was held for nearly two years until... Read More	Robert Rivas
Robert L. Cardenas	World War II, Korean Conflict, Vietnam	By Rachel Platis In 1939, National Guard Pvt. Robert Cardenas was in the final stage of obtaining a full scholarship to the California Institute of Technology, having just completed two years of pre-engineering study at San Diego State... Read More	Marc Hamel
Fred Castaneda	Vietnam	By Ednna Solis “For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know,” reads a flier carefully placed in a Vietnam War photo album. The album belongs to Fred Castañeda, a Mexican citizen from... Read More	Manuel G. Aviles-Santiago
Manuel Cavada	Vietnam	By Lena Price It was an evening like any other in Saigon in April 1968, Manuel Cavada, an Air Force crew chief, was doing the routine maintenance on C-121’s aircraft. His job was to make sure the engines were free of metal debris... Read More	Olivia Puentes-Reynolds
Juan Espinosa De La Garza	Vietnam	By the Voces Staff Gunshots peppered the ground around Cpl. Juan De La Garza. The mud of the rice paddies filled his boots. He did not know where the shots were coming from, just that he had to get his men back to Hill 327, a base camp... Read More	Taylor Peterson
José Antonio Dodier	Vietnam	By Adam Keyrouze Both his father and his grandfather had served their country proudly during World War I and World War II, respectively. So José Antonio “Tony” Dodier didn't think twice about joining the Army. Dodier’s first... Read More	Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Jim Estrada	Vietnam	By Lindsey Craun Jim Estrada, a 17-year-old high school dropout, showed up for Air Force technical training in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was surrounded by college students. But within several weeks, Estrada's intelligence emerged,... Read More	Lindsey Craun
Eduardo Fierro	Vietnam	By Gilbert Song “All gave some, some gave all” is an old adage that captures the sense of duty and honor Eduardo M. Fierro felt about his service in Vietnam. Around noon one Sunday in May 1968, while on a sweep-and-destroy mission,... Read More	Frank L. Hernandez
Armando Oscar Garcia	Vietnam	By Grant Abston In August 1945, Armando O. Garcia and his family gathered around the radio and listened to the news: The United States had just dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. Although the destruction took place far away, it was a... Read More	Frank Hernandez
Servando & Mrs. Garcia	Vietnam	By Mosettee Lorenz Servando Garcia's 20-year military career allowed him to spend time in numerous countries, including France, Germany, Japan and Vietnam. Before joining the military, Garcia had only left the United States to visit... Read More	Mosettee Lorenz
Gabriel Garcia	Korean Conflict, Vietnam	By Ruben Espinoza When Gabriel Garcia left his family’s home in Mercedes for Army basic training in the summer of 1952, it was the first time he had ever been away from South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. California’s Camp Roberts was... Read More	Cheryl Smith Kemp
Raymond Garcia	Vietnam	By Andres Salinas Raymond Garcia, a proud Mexican-American who grew up in a small, segregated Texas town, enlisted in the U.S. Army to help support his family and to help his country. He fought as a heavy machinegun specialist during the... Read More	Andres Salinas
Arnold Garcia	Vietnam	By Jonathan Woo Arnold Garcia Jr. had never felt more powerful in his life. The West Texas native sat by himself in the barracks on base in Illesheim, West Germany, when a fellow soldier named Horton -- who never hid his disdain... Read More	Jonathan Woo
Eduardo Cavazos Garza	Vietnam	By Emily Macrander "I'm a new man." Eduardo Cavazos Garza was speaking to himself, or out loud. He wasn't sure and didn't really care. He was on a boat, floating down another South Vietnam river. It was the summer of 1969. He... Read More	Emily Macrander
Richard Geissler	Vietnam	By Joshua Avelar For Richard Geissler Jr., a U.S. Army veteran who became a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, passion for community activism shaped his life despite the many different communities he served and the overbearing... Read More	Frank Trejo
Juan Carlos Gonzales	Vietnam	By Lindsey Craun As a child, Juan Carlos Gonzales felt destined to fight for his country. He grew up in a home surrounded by a father and four uncles who were World War II veterans, and he remembered feeling that patriotism and strategic... Read More	Valerie Martinez
Herlinda Gutierrez $2 A/E Nurses at the Tachi\O\"Club in 1967.\"By the order of the base/hosp commander - all officers on base are attending a dinner at the\"O\"Club in\"Dress Mess\"Uniforms.\""$	Vietnam	By Teresita Amaya, California State University, Fullerton What began as a harmless bet led to the opportunity of a lifetime for U.S. Air Force veteran Herlinda Gutierrez - "I enlisted on a dare," she said. Gutierrez remembered one day... Read More	Laura Barberena
Jorge B. Haynes Jr.	Vietnam	By Katherine Heighway As a student at the community college in his hometown of Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, Jorge Haynes Jr. was looking for direction in his life. “I majored in flag football and in going to Nuevo Laredo to... Read More	Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Alex J. Hernandez	Vietnam	By Tarrah Miller “Baby killer!” were the words Alex Hernandez heard when he returned to the United States after 19 months in Vietnam, and he remembered it was a small boy, about 4 or 5 years old, who yelled them. The Army veteran... Read More	Rudy Padilla
Jesse Herrera	Vietnam	By the Voces Staff Jesse Herrera grew up on the South Side of Chicago in a working-class neighborhood where many of his peers went straight from high school to jobs in the steel mills. That wasn't the future he wanted for himself.... Read More	Manuel Aviles-Santiago
Daniel M. Hinojosa	Vietnam	By Amy Bingham As the first rays of sun peeked over the horizon, Daniel Hinojosa slowly opened his swollen, mosquito-bitten eyelids. The familiar sight of thick, damp jungle surrounded him. Inside his Army boots, Hinojosa felt the... Read More	Amy Bingham
Hernan E. Jaso	Vietnam	By Alex Loucel “You can follow around and ask anyone 50 to 100 miles about Hernan Jaso, and you’ll find that somebody knows the kid,” Jaso said of himself. After his tour of duty in Vietnam, Jaso turned to public policy and a goal of... Read More	Tina Hughes
Charles Paul Jones	Vietnam	By Catherine Murphy Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, Charles Paul Jones was no stranger to diversity. Jones’ neighborhood on the west side of town included Belgians, Germans, Hispanics, Italians and Lebanese. “It was a Brooklyn... Read More	Catherine Murphy
Luis J. Landin	Korean Conflict, Vietnam	By Brett Alexander "When you get ambushed, you're supposed to get killed." That's what the Army tells every soldier during training, Luis Landin said. "But for me," he added, "my life consisted of events that weren't normal, so... Read More	Raquel Garza
Rudolph Lopez	Vietnam	By Stephanie De Luna Growing up in Phoenix, Rudolph “Rudy” Lopez knew that he was destined to serve in the military. Born in 1946, Lopez grew up in a close-knit family with a long line of military war heroes. “We were very... Read More	Valeria Fernandez
Richard Manriquez	Vietnam	By Jordan Haeger Richard Manriquez served one tour in Vietnam, and he came back a changed man. He saw dead Americans, 15-year-old Vietnamese prostitutes and young suicide bombers. It took him a long time to begin to heal. "War... Read More	Jordan Haeger
John Edward Martinez	Vietnam	By Tarrah Miller “It’s a neat experience because you get to meet people from all over the United States, and we are working for the common good and a common goal.” That’s how John Martinez described his service aboard a submarine.... Read More	Tarrah Miller
Mercurio & Mrs. Martinez	Vietnam	By Vidushi Shrimali Mercurio Martinez Jr. has never served in the armed forces, but both he and his hometown of Laredo, Texas, have been touched by veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Martinez said his... Read More	Frank Trejo
Ricardo Leon Martinez	Vietnam	By Mosettee Lorenz By the time he was 22, Kansas native Ricardo León Martinez had dropped out of high school, gotten married and had four children, and he was at risk of going to prison for fighting and drinking. But when he... Read More	Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Frank Martinez	Vietnam	By Julia Bunch Frank Martinez, a Colorado native, was a family man and a college student in the mid-1960s. Surely, he wouldn’t be sent to Vietnam. But then he got the letter from the Army. “I didn’t think I would get... Read More	Rea Ann Trotter
Guadalupe Martinez	Vietnam	By Andrea Carpena CSU, Fullerton For many Hispanics, the Vietnam War era often led to conflicts between their deep loyalty for the United States and the emerging civil rights movement in barrios across the country, even as the... Read More	Maggie Rodriguez-Rivas
Camilo Moreno Medrano	Vietnam	By Ali Vise The clock read 4:30 when an explosion shook Camilo Medrano awake and sent him sprinting in the darkness toward the moans and calls for help. He felt around with his hands, he grabbed the limbs of the men scattered on the... Read More	Ali Vise
Elva Alicia Medrano Rodriguez	Vietnam	By Jazmin Sanchez, California State University, Fullerton When loved ones go to war, it is not easy for those who are left behind. Religious faith helps some endure the experience. Elva Alicia Medrano Rodriguez's brother, Camilo,... Read More	Laura Barberena
Edward Daniel Morin	Vietnam	By Destinee Hodge In 1965, after two weeks at sea aboard the USS Gordon, Eddie Morin heard the captain declare over the loudspeaker for the first time that he and his fellow soldiers were headed to Vietnam. It was something they already... Read More	Henry Mendoza
Oscar C. Muñoz	Vietnam	By Jordan Haeger It's 3 a.m., and Oscar C. Muñoz wakes up to make sure his doors and windows are locked in his Chula Vista, Calif., home. It's been this way every day for more than 40 years. Muñoz enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on... Read More	Elida Chavez
Blas Ortiz	Vietnam	By Jordan Haeger Blas Ortiz had served as an adviser in Okinawa for a few months in 1963 when his unit, Co. E, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division, was rounded up, issued live ammo and told they would be... Read More	Catherine Shepherd
Paz Peña	Vietnam	By Wes Hamilton Paz Peña was a small-town kid in every way. Growing up in Mathis, Texas, he was the oldest of four siblings and always felt destined to leave his town to make an impact in the world. Peña was born July 5, 1944, in... Read More	Wes Hamilton
Richard G. Perez	Vietnam	By Alexandra Loucel U.S. Marine Corps veteran Richard Perez, the son of a World War II veteran, was in Vietnam for three months, from December 1966 to February 1967. But those three months altered his life forever and led him to advocate... Read More	Alex Loucel
Robert Lee Polanco Sr.	Vietnam	By Kevin Bradley, St. Bonaventure University Robert Lee Polanco Sr. sat on the plane, nervously biting his nails. The flight had left Texas nearly three hours earlier. They would be passing over the Pacific Ocean on their way to the other... Read More	Taylor Peterson