Oral+History+Questions

__**ORAL HISTORY BY REGAN CARY**__ **Interviewed:**  **__Questions:__ ** = =
 * Greg Neal (My Uncle)
 * Served in Vietnam War
 * 1)  What were you doing at the time?
 * 2) What was your purpose as a soldier in the war?
 * 3) What struggles or battles did you face?
 * 4) What was your view on the segreation?
 * 5) If you could go back and change anything to make our country a better place today, what would you change and why? How do you think that would change and effect people?
 * 6) When do you belive that the nation started to become more free and open to people of differnt races?
 * 7) How long were you in country?
 * 8) Where you drafted or volunteer? If you were drafted do u remember you number?

__**Answers:**__ ** 1) I was a college student. 2) My purpose as a soldier was to serve my country and its efforts to stop a communist invasion of a free country. It is always easier to do nothing-you see people make that decision everyday and countries do it as well. I despise bullies -some countries are that as well. I served in the infantry, a helicopter gunner , a reconnaissance ranger and lastly on the staff of the commanding general of the 1st Infantry division 3)Struggles & battles- My struggles were personal. Such things as overcoming fear and comprehension of the brutality of the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese allies that were Russian supported . I also could never understand the naive opinions, demonstrations and desecration of our Flag at home while we were there fighting for the freedom of these people. There were no economic motivators. Battles-I was envolved in several in the area called the Iron Triangle . This was the the part of the country between Saigon and Cambodia- Our goal was to protect the people from the communist forces and stop the supply of Russian support. 4) What would I change to make our country better? I wish there was some way to lenghten the memory and increase the accountability of the American population.That war began as the right thing to stop the spread of Communism and atrocities against their people. Many have already put 9/11 out of their mind because it is easier than to realize and plan our defense against an insidious enemy. Everyone wants freedom but its always just a few that are willing to be accountable and fight for it as well as remember it will never be a given. That would clearly enhance the integrity of the individual ,personal strength in making decisions for themselves and as well as self worth. 5) I was incountry for 11 months. 6) I volunteered draft because it seemed inevitable ,the right thing to do and gave me a finiancal aid to finish college when I returned. 7)Major events I remember: - A beautiful tropical country - The people of the country -simple in their wants to live in peace and innocence. - Men women and children brutally tortured and killed by communist forces without reason other than intimidation and sport - The biased reporting of the media stirring the population of America into a frenzy. - Four US presidents and both our political parties that may have lost focus. - Returning home and being taunted in the San Francisco airport by the same types thatI stopped from burning our flag on my college campus . 8) I was in the Army for almost two years and in the war for 11 months **<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(245, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(59, 20, 250);">

<span style="line-height: normal; font-size: 120%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(48, 250, 20);">__**Research:**__ <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;"> <span style="line-height: normal; font-size: 120%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">The Vietnam War took place in three places Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The war was fought my the communist government of north Vietnam who was supported by the other communist believing countries, and the governments of South Vietnam and the United States. It was the longest war in American history and the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. It resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths. Even today, many Americans still ask whether the American effort in Vietnam was a sin, a blunder, a necessary war, or a noble cause, or an idealistic, if failed, effort to protect the South Vietnamese from totalitarian government. From 1968 to 1973 efforts were made to end the conflict through diplomacy. In January 1973, an agreement reached and U.S. forces were withdrawn from Vietnam and U.S. prisoners of war were released. In April 1975, South Vietnam surrendered to the North and Vietnam was reunited. From 1956-1960, the Communist Party of Vietnam desired to reunify the country through political means alone. Accepting the Soviet Union's model of political struggle, the Communist Party tried unsuccessfully to cause Diem's collapse by exerting tremendous internal political pressure. In 1961, President Kennedy sent a team to Vietnam to report on conditions in the South and to assess future <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">American aid requirements. <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-collapse: collapse;"> <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">This is a poor country that has been trying to be independent for over a thousand years.They finally broke away from China in the 10th century an have literally been fighting to retain their independence since. Napoleon sent expeditions there in the 1850s. The French wanted to colonize and protect it.The French gave the country its freedom in 1946. Thats when war broke out again as the communist party of the north invaded.The invasion was unprovoked and brutal in its assault on civilians as well. The brutality caused the free world to denounce the action and unite in theory. The United States began sending advisers in 1955 to help and increased its role toover 500,000 service men by 1967 - when I was there. I gave you abit of the background because what was originally supported by our population became an unpopular war. Keep in mind this was the time of the "cold war". The free world was angry at the communist invasions of Hungary and Poland.The Russians wanted to use Cuba as a base, just to point out a few reasons the US thought enough with the aggression. In addition, you just returned from our capital and should be clear on our country"s founding principles. <span style="line-height: normal; font-size: 120%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">Just a couple more points to consider. Over 58,000 Americans died there,about 400,000 were wounded and another 2,000 are still missing. <span style="line-height: normal; font-size: 120%; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(48, 250, 20);"> <span style="line-height: normal; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(101, 56, 143);"> Reflection: I believe that i learned a lot from my uncle about the war. I found out he was a collage when he entered the Vietnam War. I learned about how he struggled with personal battles. It was sad to find out people taunted and made fun of him when he got home from protecting there lives and there country. Also that people were burning flags on his collage campus. I feel bad that he worked so hard to help our country and us and no one gave him the respect he deserved. <span style="line-height: normal; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">

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<span style="line-height: normal; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; color: rgb(101, 56, 143);">__**Sources:**__

[|Source 1]
** [|Source 2]

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