T. Harry Williams Center for Oral
History Collection
ABSTRACT
INTERVIEWEE NAME: Ronald D. Posey #
4700.0976
IDENTIFICATION: Vietnam veteran
INTERVIEWER: Dudley R. Meier, Jr.
PROJECT: Americans in Vietnam
DATES: 5/12/75
FOCUS DATES: March 19, 1968-April 13, 1970;
Oct. 13, 1968-Aug. 18, 1969
ABSTRACT:
Tape 1425, Side A
Born in Philadelphia, Mississippi; conservative, law-abiding
upbringing; education; drafted in March, 1968, right out of
college; looked upon his service as an adventure; basic training
at Fort Polk, LA; didn't expect to get infantry position;
military discouraged individualism; arrival in Vietnam; terror of
being maimed; fighting guerilla war against Viet Cong, no front
lines; WWII was a more clear cut war; back in college now; poor
American military leaders in Vietnam; Hamburger Hill;
expendability of soldiers; military doesn't tell you reasons for
its actions; description of battle of Hamburger Hill, site,
weaponry; strategy at Hamburger Hill; realized what a mess US was
making in Vietnam; Vietnam is a beautiful country, but less
beautiful after 20 years of war; worked as door gunner; worked on
supply ship; description of pilots; respected bravery of pilots;
importance of helicopters in Vietnam war; intelligent people in
military; Medevac pilots; weaponry in Vietnam, preferences in
rifles; effectiveness of gunships; opinion of ARVNs; ARVNs left
fighting to Americans; war could have been over much sooner.
Tape 1425, Side B
Had little contact with black market; prevalence of prostitution,
prices; families forcing daughters into prostitution; marijuana
use among enlisted men and officers; military waste ; envied
people that had better jobs than him in military; "mad
minutes; "test firing weapon for entertainment; Vietnamese
military was very wasteful; contact with higher ranking officers;
impressions of Vietnamese people; US damaged a lot of Vietnam,
Vietnamese rightfully resented US; majority of Vietnamese are
primitive, don't care about ideologies; ignorance can lead to
dictatorships; travels in Vietnam, R&R; children in Vietnam,
not much education; saw girl killed by land mine; never went to
Saigon; American bases he visited in Vietnam, amenities; didn't
know if US in Vietnam was right or wrong, didn't care; believed
that fighting war was just the American way of life; Vietnamese
were just as confused as him, but they had a purpose; Communism
will be good for Vietnamese; no longer believes US needed to be
in Vietnam; would never choose to return to military; got news of
anti war demonstrations while in Vietnam; no one tried hard to
win war, just went through motions of fighting; North Vietnamese
Army superior to South Vietnamese; NVA were outstanding soldiers;
Viet Cong; NVA were perfectly willing to die; Vietnamese didn't
understand democracy; Vietnamese orphans; refugees are a leech on
America; advantages of Communism to Vietnamese; doesn't expect
Communists to conduct mass slaughter; Vietnamese aren't
interested in their leadership in Saigon; speculation on future
of Southeast Asia; simple desires of Vietnamese peasants; people
don't know good from bad in Vietnam, Communism will help them.
TAPES: 1
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 1 ½ hours
# PAGES TRANSCRIPT: 3 page index
RESTRICTIONS: none