Oral history essay

The Vietnam War effected the whole creative activity in m either ways. But when talking intimately wars in severalise only give you one perspective which is the big picture. But what around the small picture? The effect the war had on individuals and their families. Some beats earshot the story from someone who was in the war can give you a better understanding about the conditions they faced. For this oral history paper interviewed my uncle Steven mangled who was an engineer sergeant in the Vietnam War.During this time before the draft was abolished n 1 973, many troops were selected for dish up through the drafts but those who didnt hope to go to war would sometimes flee to Canada or other places. 25 percent of the troops that served in this war were draftees. These people were called draft dodgers. My uncle didnt compliments to be one of these people and wanted to do his duty as an American citizen so he joined the army in the 1 asss after graduating college. He went thro ugh NCO school, which is a course to becoming a non-commissioned officer.He then went through his training to become a sergeant and entered the U. S Army Corps of Engineers. Shortly after, around 1 970, he was direct to Vietnam. His mission in that location was to support an artillery unit that was stationed on the bunt of North and South Vietnam. He built and designed things like cleaver pads, flood protection clays, facilities for the army and many other things. During his stay he also had the opportunity to help build a hospital for the Vietnamese people.One of the things that stirred my uncle during the war was the subject of races. At this time period there was a pass out of civil rights movements going on. The Vietnam War had a genuinely high percentage of blacks more than any war before it. Blacks do up about 13 percent of the troops that served. Before connectedness the war my uncle had a multitude of prejudices about the assorted races, but started to guess dif ferently after working closely with people from all different races and ethnicities. He learned to live with them and became very(prenominal) close to a lot of them.The Vietnam War provided these African Americans and Hispanics their first experiences of white comradeship and really open up peoples eyes to the fact that they werent all that different. Of course there was bound to be occasional racial focus but they tried to keep this tension from affecting the performance of the troops. My uncle started to gain respect for Hispanics in the war. He utter that they were the hardest workers and had a great work ethic. His visions of the races totally changed.Another thing that really affected my uncle was when he was building the hospital for the Vietnamese. The hospitals in the Vietnam War were different from any other war. There wasnt a very good road system through Vietnam so transportation was very hard so closely of the hospitals were semi-permanent. Before the hospital was c ompleted they started treating patients. The patients were of all ages, from children to elderly. Since he roads werent very good the helicopter was a great help in getting patients to the hospitals and saved many lives.My uncle described the injuries as brutal and a lot of times fatal. Seeing all of the wounded really got to him. He evaluate to see some injuries but figured that because he was an engineer that he wouldnt be too close to a lot of them. He had time to talk to a lot of the Vietnamese, and was shocked at the fear that they lived in. hands his age had been living in war zones all their lives and grew up in very bad poverty. This made him appreciate where he comes from. He cognise how lucky he as to keep back grown up not scared about having his home raided or burned down or his family torn apart.The American dream was a real thing and he was glad to be living it back at home. We read about wars all the time but almost always just explore at the big picture. You he ar about mass causalities and death rates. lecture to my uncle made me see the effects of war on a little scale. I now better understand how people felt slice at war and the things they Saw. Know that he is very proud Of his service in the war, and I am too. If it werent for the brave men and women who fought for our country we wouldnt have the freedom we have now.