The Veteran Experience “America in the World” Comes Home

1. The Veteran Experience“America in the World” Comes Home

2. Why are veterans’ stories important? • “Through their eyes” – They are living history • Their stories reveal the cost of American overseas ventures and war • Shows how America’s interaction with the world has shaped American society in individuals

3. Veterans Museum: Veterans in the Classroom program • The Veterans in the Classroom project maintains a database of veterans throughout the state who have volunteered to participate in the project. • Veterans who are interested in participating in the project should download and print a sign-up form here. Return the form via: • Mail or fax to the address or fax number listed on the form. • Email the requested information. • Call the Reference Archivist at (608) 267-1790 or toll-free at 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387). • Schools or Teachers who would like to invite veterans to their schools can contact the Reference Archivist at (608) 267-1790 or toll-free 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387). http://museum.dva.state.wi.us/Education.asp

4. Oral Interviews • Wonderful primary sources living among us • “Too often we think of history as something done by “great” generals and politicians. But it is equally important to tell the story of war from the perspective of those who served in the enlisted ranks and in the junior officers corps.” ~ University of Tennessee Center for the Study of War and Society

5. Issues to consider with interviews • Student knowledge and maturity level • Needs a lot of preparation • Pre-interview questionnaire • Closeness to subject • Sometimes a family member will be more guarded • Do not just go after war stories • Advantage of life-course interviews • It is not just about soldiers • America's military experience is far broader

6. Wisconsin Veterans Museum • The Wisconsin Veterans Oral History Program • “With a current collection of over 1000 oral history interviews with Wisconsin veterans, this growing project is used by military historians and researchers throughout the country.”

7. Oral History Training Packet for Interviewers • The Wisconsin Veterans Museum has a training packet to encourage and teach others about conducting oral history interviews of Wisconsin veterans. After reading through the packet, prospective interview volunteers are encouraged to contact the Archives Collection Manager. • Interview materials are in an Oral History Training Packet Adobe Acrobat PDF file. This file contains all the below listed titles with bookmarks to each. When the Acrobat file opens, click on the Bookmarks tab, click on the desired title ("bookmark"). You may also access each individual title by clicking on the desired one below. • Introductory Letter • Overview Information Sheet • Program Statement • Procedures for the Interview • Tips for a Good Interview • Setting Up the Room for an Interview • Instructions for Transcribing • Veteran Interview Questions • Oral History Interview Request Form • Donor Form • Audio Recording Log & Summary • Choosing an Archives • A Few Reminders • Additional Questions for Latino-Hispanic Veterans • Additional Questions for Women Veterans • Tips for a Good Sound Recording http://museum.dva.state.wi.us/RC_OralHistory.asp

8. Library of Congress Veterans History Project (since 2000) • The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. • The Project collects first-hand accounts of U.S. Veterans from the following wars: • World War I (1914-1920) • World War II (1939-1946) • Korean War (1950-1955) • Vietnam War (1961-1975) • Persian Gulf War (1990-1995) • Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present) • In addition, those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also invited to share their valuable stories. http://www.loc.gov/vets/

9. Rutgers Oral History Archives • 546 interviews • Letters • Diaries • Memoirs • Photographs http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

10. University of Tennessee Center for the Study of War and Society • Over 80 interviews http://web.utk.edu/~csws/faculty.html

11. Texas Tech Vietnam Center and Archive, Oral History Project • Hundreds of interviews • Teaching and research resources • “There is no political agenda in the development of the Archive or the Oral History Project. Anyone can participate, whether an American veteran, a former ally or enemy of the U.S., an anti-war protester, a government employee, a family member of a veteran, etc. The more breadth and depth the OHP has in its participants, the better and more authentic the collection and preservation of the history of the wars will be.” http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/

12. Comparing the experiences of veterans from different wars • Use memoirs or online oral histories to see change over time in the veteran experience • How has America’s ‘mission’ changed? • How has war changed? • How has war affected society and individuals at different times?

13. CLASSROOM PROJECT: Compare veteran interviews with literature on the war experience • Books on the World War II

14. Books on Vietnam Tim O’Brien – “If I die in a Combat Zone,” “The Things They Carried”

15. We Were Soldiers Once … And Young, Joseph Galloway and Harold Moore

16. Class Project: War Memorials • Compare or contrast how the war is remembered with the soldier’s experience

17. War Films Class Project • Compare and contrast how the war is presented on film with the soldier’s experience

18. Veterans Panel, Tuesday, June 15 • James Foseid - Marines - Vietnam - 1967-68 • James Kurtz - Army - Vietnam - 1966-67 • Brian Bienek - Army - Iraq - 2005-06, 2009-10 • William Schuth - Marines - Iraq - 2004

19. What affects the Veteran Experience? • The nature of their mission • The nature of their service • The nature of their homecoming experience • Variables: Race, Class, Gender, Region

20. The Wages of War World War II and Vietnam Veterans Compared

21. World War II G.I. • 60% drafted 40% volunteered • The Mission: • This was “the good war” against the dark forces of totalitarianism • Clearly defined goals • Clearly defined enemy

22. Battle Fatigue • “Combat stirs up a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Feelings of exhilaration, love, hatred, guilt, rage, helplessness, disgust, and fear race through the minds of soldiers in battle. Sixteen million Americans served in World War II. Of those, perhaps one million were exposed to extended periods of combat. These men often suffered deep emotional pain as a result of their battle experiences, and the effects lasted for years. Some carried the pain for the rest of their lives.” ~ Mark Van Ells

23. “The Evolution of a Soldier” • Killing and the fear of death become the norm • The soldier must think of himself as "essentially a dead man" so he can "function as he ought to function under fire” – James Jones “Marines Call It That 2,000 Yard Stare” – Artist Tom Lea, Life Magazine, 1944

24. Stress factors • Fear of death • Watching friends die • Guilt over killing the enemy • Many come home with psychological problems • Nervousness, heightened senses, nightmares

25. The WWII Welcome Home • Soldiers come home on ships, usually in units

26. WWII Veterans receive: Education benefits Health care Farm , Home, and business loans Unemployment “52-20 Club” G.I. Bill of Rights, 1944

28. American soldier in Vietnam • Nearly 70% were volunteers (not a draft army) • 70% approval for the war in 1965 • The Mission: • ‘Saving a small nation from communist tyranny’ • Brought up on images of John Wayne, WWII heroes

29. “We believed sincerely that if we did not stop the communists in Vietnam, we would one day have to fight them in San Diego. I had no reason up to that point in my life to doubt either my government or my high school teachers or the New York Times.” William Ehrhart.

30. U.S. Combat frustrations • No battle lines • Hard to locate the enemy • “You Couldn’t tell who your friends and enemies were” • “Danger was pervasive and chronic … every peasant might be a Vietcong terrorist” • Stanley Karnow

31. Constant threat of booby traps: 11% of U.S. combat deaths

32. Tim O Brien - If I Die in a Combat Zone • “When you are ordered to march through areas such as Pinkville ... you do some thinking. You hallucinate. You look ahead a few paces and wonder what your legs will resemble if there is more to the earth in that spot than silicates and nitrogen. Will the pain be unbearable? Will you scream or fall silent? Will you be afraid to look at your own body, afraid of the sight of your own red flesh and white bone”

33. Rotation system • Soldiers sent to Vietnam for one year only. • Prevented the establishment of ‘buddy groups’ • Many were just counting down the days until they went home

34. Soldiers’ mentality • Frustration with the Vietnamese people • “Why are we fighting for you when you don’t even want us here” • Frustration with the war effort • No clear objective, no end in sight

35. Faith in the mission erodes by the late 1960s • Government lies about the war are exposed • Morale fades • ‘Fragging’ • Drug taking • Mutiny • “I don’t want to be the last one to die in Vietnam”

36. Vietnam Vets Come Home • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder • Many return with service-related mental problems • Finally recognized as a clinical disorder in 1981

37. **Lack of a welcome home** • Come home alone • Few parades held for returning veterans • Americans had lost faith in the war effort • No documented case of veterans being ‘spat upon’ (most anti-war protesters were pro-soldier) … but most Americans just did not want to know about the soldiers’ experiences

38. “Nobody ever called me any bad names, but I had damn near killed myself; I had bled in that country, I had wept in that country; I lost friends, saw friends crippled; I had a friend die in my arms. You can’t live through that kind of experience and come back to that kind of reception without getting angry. We didn’t want much—just someone to say ‘thank you … good job.’” – Vietnam Veteran, John Young

39. African American Veterans • 2.4 million African Americans in WWII • 16% of personnel, 10% of the population • Most in logistical support • Mechanical, engineering skills

40. Segregated Combat Units

41. Coming Home • “The Double V” • Veterans demand for the full benefits of citizenship • Become excellent litigants in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund

42. African Americans and the G.I. Bill • Between 1946 and 47 Black colleges expand 26% compared with 12.5% nationally • Degrees awarded by black colleges doubles between 1940 and 1950 from 5,707 to 13,108

43. African Americans in Vietnam • Racial tensions reflected America’s Civil Rights struggle • More militant African Americans questioned participation in what they saw as a racist war

44. Muhammad Ali “I ain't got no quarrel with the Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me Ni@*er”

45. “We are fighting and dying in a war that it not very popular in the first place, and some stupid people are still fighting the Civil War”

46. Women Veterans • 350,000 in World War II • Denied combat roles • Nurses and auxiliary roles • Women fought against the limits placed on them • Strong sense of patriotism and civic duty

47. Army Nurse Corps • 98% sought overseas service • Eventually served in every combat theater

48. Suffered from the same effects of the “Evolution of the Soldier” • Profound and constant moments of loss, grief, despair, and triumph • 1947 poll: 33% suffered “continuous tension”

49. WAACS WAVES

50. ‘WASPS’ Women’s Air Force Service Pilots