The Veteran Experience

“America in the World” Comes Home

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

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

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

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

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.”

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

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/

Rutgers Oral History Archives

– 546 interviews– Letters– Diaries– Memoirs– Photographs

http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

University of Tennessee Center for the Study of War and Society

• Over 80 interviews

http://web.utk.edu/~csws/faculty.html

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/

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?

CLASSROOM PROJECT: Compare veteran interviews with literature on the war

experience• Books on the World War II

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

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

Class Project: War Memorials• Compare or contrast how the war is remembered with

the soldier’s experience

War Films Class Project• Compare and contrast how the war is presented

on film with the soldier’s experience

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

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

The Wages of War

World War II and Vietnam Veterans

Compared

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

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

“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

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

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

G.I. Bill of Rights, 1944

• WWII Veterans receive:– Education benefits– Health care– Farm , Home, and

business loans– Unemployment• “52-20 Club”

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

• “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.

U.S. Combat frustrations

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

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”

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

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

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”

Vietnam Vets Come Home• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder– Many return with service-related mental

problems • Finally recognized as a clinical disorder in 1981

**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

“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

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

Segregated Combat Units

Coming Home

• “The Double V”– Veterans demand

for the full benefits of citizenship

• Become excellent litigants in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund

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

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

Muhammad Ali “I ain't got no quarrel with the Vietcong.

No Vietcong ever called me Ni@*er”

“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”

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

Army Nurse Corps• 98% sought overseas

service– Eventually served in

every combat theater

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”

WAACS WAVES

‘WASPS’ Women’s Air Force

Service Pilots

Women pushed to the periphery of Lawmaking concerns

• Given access to G.I. Bill – But could not claim

husbands as dependents

• WASPS denied veteran status until 1977!

Women in Combat Today• Since 2002, women have served nearly 170,000 tours of

duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.• Pentagon rules dictate that women may not be assigned

to ground combat units. That means they are not allowed to serve in the infantry or as special operations commandos.

• But women are serving in support units as truck drivers, gunners, medics, military police, helicopter pilots and more. – NPR Report, 2007

Iraq Veterans--According to a 2005 VA study of 168,528 Iraqi veterans, 20 percent were diagnosed with

psychological disorders, including 1,641 with PTSD

-- The Marines and Army were nearly four times more likely to report PTSD than Navy or Air Force because of their greater exposure to combat situations.

-- 8 percent to 10 percent of active-duty women and retired military women who served in Iraq suffer from PTSD.

-- Studies show that U.S. women serving in Iraq suffer from more pronounced and debilitating forms of PTSD than their male counterparts.

-- Only 23 percent to 40 percent sought professional help, most typically because they feared it would hurt their military careers.