Quoting Bruce Olav Solheim (2006) and in his book, The Vietnam War Era: A Personal Journey, the slogan of any war, the Vietnam War included, can be as follows: “Pay any price, bear any burden”, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” (p. 51). War is a nightmare, a horror. Nowadays, still, there live people who have suffered this nightmare and brought this horror in their hearts. These people live among us, they are the same as we are, and they are absolutely different from us, they are veterans of the Vietnam War. Luckily, we have managed to have a talk with a veteran of Vietnam, Mr. David Locker. The interview was conducted on February, 9, 2010 in Mr. Locker’s house. This was a tête-a-tête conversation, a dialogue between an interviewer (the author of the present paper) and the interviewee (Mr. Locker). The interview was held in informal atmosphere since the participants were in friendly relationship; Mr. Locker has been our neighbor for many years already. As he stated, he took part in military action with the US forces as a private soldier in Vietnam, at the military base at Long Binh. Our interview report will be presented in the form of the summary with necessary inscriptions of direct speech of Mr. Locker.
When we asked Mr. Locker about the way he happened to take part in the Vietnam War, he said that he was drafted but, anyway, at that time he thought that it was his destiny as he wanted to serve his country. He was a “lightheaded and romantic youth” as he described himself. He said: “I had no ties, nobody to tell me not to go there. Unmarried and unattached, I was just a silly boy who was eager to become a hero. I had never suspected that war was not an adventure, it was hell on the Earth”. At that time Mr. Locker lived in Brooks, Georgia and his life seemed to be quiet and uninteresting. Thus, the draft seemed to be an interesting opportunity to try. Like the majority of young men of that time, Mr. Locker wanted to become a hero but that was everything he knew about war. When he was informed that he would serve at a military base at Long Binh, he thought that it was a perfect chance to become a hero. We asked the interviewee about his first days at service, and he answered the following: “The first days at a boot camp retained the romantic flavor that was brought by me from quiet Brooks. The mood of my fellow soldiers was practically the same. We were thirsty for heroic deeds. We never suspected that war was not romantic”. When asked to say a few words about the instructors at a boot camp, there seemed to be a warm and sad shadow in Mr. Locker’s eyes. He answered the following: “Our instructor was Lieutenant Jim Jones. He was the person who debunked the myth of heroic war. It was not that did not believe it, he himself, definitely, was a hero, but he knew the truth and he opened it to us. He said that some of us would, certainly, die, but if we had made our choice, we should go up to the end. If our country needs us, we should sacrifice our lives. Probably, Jones was the man who made a man out of me. Besides, training was very exhaustive but when at war it seemed a Paradise”.
After the questions about training experience, we asked Mr. Locker about his arrival at Long Binh. He answered the following: “When we arrived at Long Bing, our physical shape was good, but spiritually I was not sure that I wanted to become a hero any longer. I had never seen death earlier, and I was not sure that I wanted to see it. Still, we were guided by our civic duty. I knew for sure I would never betray my country, I would never betray my fellow soldiers, my friends. I was ready to fight”. We asked Mr. Locker about the memorable experience he had had in Long Bing. He answered that there was only one memorable battle experience, but it was really heroic, he took part in the First Battle of Saigon, when there was an attack of the fifth Vietcong Division at their military base at Long Binh. This battle was being fought for one month, in January-March, 1968. As the veteran stated that was that nightmare his instructor had promised them. Mr. Locker could not speak much about it as the memories were too painful for him. He only said that he had lost friends during the battle and he had been wounded. He was taken to hospital in Saigon and later he had an opportunity to return home. His war trauma left a mark on his whole life; his scars have been daily reminders of his attempt to become a hero.
Then we decided to ease the tension brought by the recollections of the battle of Saigon and asked Mr. Locker to tell us about the way he stayed in touch with his family. He said that he had not sent any letters to his mother though she had written to him. It was only once when he wrote to her: before the Battle of Saigon. He said: “I did not know why I decided to write, I just wanted her to have at least something if I died at war. Probably, it was the sixth sense that prompted me that my Battle was near”. We also asked about food supplies and the other difficulties they had. Mr. Locker said that they did not starve; the worst thing for them was the climate that was difficult to bear and the diseases too. We also asked about the photos of his fellow soldiers and Mr. Locker showed us the only photo he had. He said: “This photo is my past. These were people I loved more than anyone in my life”.
We also asked several questions about his life after service. Mr. Locker said that he returned with a new feeling, deep disgust at every thought of war. He learned how to value peace. He wanted to work for his country, but he did not want to fight any longer. We asked if he had any friends from Vietnam to continue the friendship and he said: “I tried to find my friend, my fellow soldiers but never succeeded. It would be the best pleasure for me to meet any fellow soldier of mine”.
The last thing we asked was how the War had influenced his life. The veteran said: “It thought me to value life. It showed me that war and violence are the worst things that ruin lives. I decided once and for all that I want to live in peaceful America. Still, due to the War, I understood that peace was the greatest blessing”.
Before leaving, we said: “Mr. Locker, thank you for your honesty and your heroic deeds.” The final reply was: “I have told you all that for you to prevent any possibility of such horror’s occurring again. Live in peace.”
Reference List
Solheim, B.O. (2006). The Vietnam War Era: A Personal Journey. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group.