T. Harry Williams Center for Oral
History Collection
ABSTRACT
INTERVIEWEE NAME: Oliver F. Rodrigue, Jr. #
4700.0980
IDENTIFICATION: Vietnam veteran
INTERVIEWER: Donald Pierce
PROJECT: Americans in Vietnam
DATES: 2/1/75
FOCUS DATES: Dec. 15, 1967-Dec. 14, 1971;
June, 1968-June, 1969
ABSTRACT:
Tape 1429
Born and raised in Raceland, LA, had normal childhood; graduated
from Central Lafourche high school; worked at Avondale for a
year; got married; joined Air Force to avoid being drafted;
didn't want to be known as a draft evader; basic training in
Amarillo, TX; assigned to technical school, learned to be
aircraft mechanic; stationed at Nha Trang, landed at Cam Ranh
Bay; pleasant at Cam Ranh Bay, not dangerous; assigned as
aircraft mechanic to 9th, special operations squadron,
also known as "bullshit bombers"; dropped propaganda
leaflets on Vietnamese; Nha Trang was an R&R center; beach on
South China Sea; got mortar rounds every now and then, about 12
attacks over the course of his year there; terrain surrounding
base; Vietnamese civilian personnel at base; disgusting habits of
the Vietnamese; Rodrigue put in jail for violating curfew;
prevalence of marijuana; prevalence of prostitution; demographics
of Nha Trang; only saw one NVA soldier, and he was dead;
preparations for attack, sounding alarm; GIs used ration cards to
buy things, sell for twice the price; soldier who almost got
killed in combat; VC shot arrows at planes when they ran out of
ammunition; racial tension between black and white soldiers;
entertainment at air club; movies; propaganda leaflets; didn't
want to go to Vietnam, but couldn't think of excuse to not go;
probably would have joined Navy if he was single; probably never
would have left US otherwise; hoped the US government knew what
it was doing; was glad to be stationed where he was fairly safe;
Air Force had no weapons; description of Nha Trang.
TAPES: 1
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 40 minutes
# PAGES TRANSCRIPT: 2 page index
RESTRICTIONS: none