HHS Students Discuss the Vietnam War

India- Since you were in the Vietnam War and experienced such terrible things, did you try to block it out and do you feel comfortable speaking about it?

Mr. Johnson- I'm ok, but you have to move on. I still get nightmares, but you can't dwell on it.

Mr. Coles- My way of dealing with it is talking about it.

Tim- There will always be threats against free nations. When should we decide fight against oppression and help others who want to be free?

Mrs. Roberts- You're totally right and that is a difficult call. But I don't think Vietnam was the place for that.

Ella- How did it feel to see the Vietnamese in their surroundings and to be in their land knowing you might have to kill them?

Mr. Coles- When you first kill someone it is a difficult thing. But you get used to it. It is either you or him. But we don't carry a grudge. I feel sorry about what took place between our nations.

Sean (l)- How did you react when President Thieu of South Vietnam said that the U.S. betrayed South Vietnam at the end of the war when we did not send our bombers back, as President Nixon promised we would in 1973 if North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam again, which they did in 1975?

Mr. Johnson- I understand why he thinks that. But as I said, we were done with that war.

Kazim (r)- Is terrorism and communism the same? What is the link between them?

Mr. Johnson- They are similar, but the USSR is gone, but we will be fighting the war on terror for a long, long time.

Alexa- how did you feel about killing other humans?

Mr. Coles- It will always have an effect on a person who kills. But if you stop fighting just for a second, you risk being killed.

Jen (r)- Now that the Vietnam War is over, do you think it was worth it?

Mr. Johnson- The cause was worth fighting for, but because of all the lives lost, it was not worth it.

Mr. Mack, Mrs. Roberts and Mr. Coles- No, it was not worth it.

Parker (l)- Mr. Johnson, were you confident about winning the war when you entered the war?

Mr. Johnson- Yes. Very confident.

Tara- Sgt-Major Green, what did you wife think when you told her you were going to Vietnam?

Sgt-Major Green- SHE WAS MAD!!! The rest of my family cornered me in a room and tried to convince me not to go.

Jaspreet (l)- What was going through your mind while you were on the plane getting closer and closer to Vietnam?

Mr. Coles- I was scared! Anyone tells you they were not scared is either lying or their is something wrong with them.

Mr. Johnson- I was nervous and thinking, "what am I getting myself into?"

Devin (r)- Mrs. Roberts, what do you think about our war foreign policy whether it is Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq?

Mrs. Roberts- It does depend on the war. After 9/11 my views have changed.

Lindsey- Mrs. Roberts, did you agree with what President Nixon said about the students in college "...you see these bums, you know, blowing up the campuses. Listen, the boys that are on the campuses today are the luckiest people in the world"?

Mrs. Roberts- I did not agree with what he said and I have never believed a word Nixon said. But I will say that one was privileged if they were able to go to college.

Patrick- What kinds of weapons did you use?

Mr. Johnson- M16's, mortars, 105 howitzers, tanks, helicopter gunships....

Mr. Mack- They also used napalm which was a jellied gasoline that would burn whatever it landed on. That generated a lot of controversy.

Heather- What did you think about the media and the Johnson administration implying that we were winning the war before the Tet Offensive?

Mrs. Roberts- I never believed them. I saw the TV and all those people dying. I didn't believe them for one second.

Abeera- Mrs. Roberts, what were the main reasons why you protested?

Mrs. Roberts- The Vietnam War was not our war. I had a bumper-sticker "The Vietnamese did not interfere in our Civil War".

Ralph- If you could have said one thing to a communist leader in Vietnam what would you have said?

Mr. Johnson- Stop it! Stop this nonsense right now!