The Lessons of the Vietnam War

Interviewing Vietnam Veterans

This activity entails using Vietnam Veterans as resources for an in-class presentation. Advance teacher preparation is required.

1. Write three headings across the chalkboard: Pre-Vietnam, In Vietnam, After Vietnam



2. Ask students to write three questions that would elicit information about a veteran's life before going to Vietnam. Suggest that they might start with a list of those things they most want to know about the veteran and then to build these references into the questions. Allow 3-5 minutes.



3. Ask volunteers to write their questions on the board under the heading Pre-Vietnam.

Discuss with the class what kind of information the question might elicit, whether or not it is clear, how else it might be phrased, e.g., is it a "yes/no" question or an open-ended question? Are there any questions here that you would consider "sensitive"? If so, how might you rephrase them?

Once all Pre-Vietnam questions are on the board, ask the class to consider their sequence. Which of the questions would it make most sense to start with? Although several might work, get the students to agree on one and proceed to the next one. In working through this process, you can help students to identify the general topic areas that underlie the specific questions and to group the questions accordingly.



4. Next, have the students write five questions for the category In Vietnam. Again, write questions on the board. Discuss the intention and phrasing of each question.



5. For homework, have students place the questions under In Vietnam in an order that makes sense to them and write five questions for After Vietnam, also placing them in the best possible order.



6. The next day have the students share their suggested sequences for In Vietnam and their questions for After Vietnam. Establish agreement on the sequence for In Vietnam by show of hands.

For After Vietnam, you might have the class identify the most common questions and arrange them in sequence. You now have a schedule that students can use to interview a vet in class or privately.

As an alternative, collect all the student lists and type up a page each of Pre-Vietnam, In Vietnam and After Vietnam questions. Duplicate the lists for the class. In this way they can draw upon and share one another's questions.

Preparing the Veteran for Your Class Interview

1. It is best to speak directly with the potential visitor by phone before they come into your classroom. This will give you a feel for his/her needs and background and give the veteran a feel for you and your class.



2. Ask questions regarding his/her time in service, such as:
• When s/he served (years, drafted or enlisted)
• What branch of service (Army, Marines, Nurse, etc.)
• MOS (Military Occupation Specialty)-infantry, artillery, clerk, supply, mechanic, etc.
• What unit and where in country
• His/her experience growing up in the 50s or 60s and how s/he got caught up in the war. Students tend to identify with a speaker more easily if they can imagine him at their age.

If s/he considers it important, the veteran's reentry and readjustment experience also might be identified as a topic for interview.



3. Take notes during this conversation so that you can share the information with your students the day before the classroom visit or, even better, use the information to develop appropriate questions with the students for the classroom interview.



4. Provide the vet with an overview of what you are doing with your class on Vietnam and where the interview fits in. Finally, encourage him/her to speak simply in a conversational tone, as if in a living room. Remind him/her that whatever s/he shares will benefit the students because they will be hearing a first-hand account of a significant historical experience. Most vets have a story to tell that today's students need to hear.



5. Depending on the situation, you might want to inform the school administration about your visitor and how the activity will contribute to learning objectives in your curriculum.

Interviewing Vietnam Veterans

There are three main ways that students can interview a Vietnam Veteran: the student can interview the veteran outside of school, the veteran can come to the classroom and be interviewed by a class, or the veteran can make a presentation and be interviewed by a small group after class.

Advice to Teachers

Locating a veteran: a list of Vietnam Veteran speaker bureaus can be found in Resources for Teaching the Vietnam War: An Annotated Guide.

It usually is preferable to invite several veterans to your classroom. Try to vary the panel by dates of service (especially before and after the Tet Offensive), location, assignment and, if possible, gender and race. This makes it almost impossible for students to over-generalize from one vet's experiences. If you are unable to bring several vets, you can have students read oral histories of other vets and/or watch part of a tape where vets are describing their experiences. We hope to challenge and expand students' understanding of the Vietnam War rather than to reinforce what they already think.

To skip the preparation or the follow-up is to minimize the learning possibilities of the veteran's visit. If there is any way, plan at least three classes around the visit and several homework assignments. Those three days will produce some remarkable conversations.

Preparing the Class

Doing one or several of the following activities in advance will help students to maximize what they can learn from the interview and, if you are only able to get one veteran, to avoid over-generalizing about Vietnam from that one experience.

1. Gather background information over the phone from the veteran on when and where s/he served and what s/he did.



2. In class with your students look at a map of Vietnam and locate where the soldier served. Also, point out the main cities and rivers of Vietnam and describe the climate.

You also might photocopy some articles or excerpts from various sources that cover the years the veteran served in Vietnam-what was going on at home and in Vietnam.

3. A week before the interview, divide the class into groups, giving each a sample oral history to read. Samples may be found in the Teacher Trainer Handbook: Professional Development Workshops. Advise students to take notes and have them report on their readings to the class. Ask students to pick out commonalties and differences from the range of veterans' experiences represented. This procedure is efficient and it creates a seriousness of purpose around the interview.



4. Spend at least one session with students exploring what they already know about Vietnam and what they would like to know. Try to identify key controversies surrounding the war, e.g., Why did the U.S. intervene? What were some of the unique conditions American soldiers faced in Vietnam? What was the U.S. war plan and what were its main strategies? What were the Vietnamese fighting for -- North and South? Why did many U.S. soldiers and civilians come to oppose U.S. involvement? What are some of the issues vets face now, twenty years later?



5. Have students prepare questions in each category: Pre-Vietnam (e.g., What did you know about Vietnam before you went there?), During Vietnam (e.g., What do you remember about your first 24 hours in Vietnam?) and Post-Vietnam (e.g., Can you describe how you spent your first six months after you came home?). This can be done in class on the board or as a homework assignment which is then discussed in class.

Developing and discussing student questions in this way creates an opportunity to review what students already know, focus on what experiences and information the veteran might be able to contribute, work on question phrasing to ensure clarity and eliminate redundancy, think about the most effective sequencing of questions, identify potentially provocative questions and, in general, rehearse the interview experience.

Interviewing a Veteran

You might have the veteran speak to the whole class for about 5-10 minutes about when and where they served and what they did. However, be sure to leave most of the period for student questions. You might want to tape record the presentation to replay the next day during discussion. The tape also can be used for other classes. If you take a photo of the vet, you can use it for a display along with student writings.

If possible, have the veteran meet with a team of two or three student interviewers after class. These students can be prepared to do a more in-depth follow-up interview which they can summarize for the class the next day.

If you assign students to interview veterans outside of class, have them prepare an interview schedule for you to help them revise. Teach them how to record answers while asking questions. Ask them to summarize their findings for a short class presentation. If they tape record the interview, they also might play the most interesting five minute excerpt from the interview for the class.

Follow-up

For homework, have students write their responses to the vet' s visit. Ask them to share what they found most interesting and/or moving. Was there anything the vet said that confused or surprised them? How would they summarize how this particular vet felt about his/her experiences? How does this compare to other experiences they know of? Have the students discuss their responses in class the next day. See what new questions arise. This can be a good time to help students gain some insight into the variety of veteran experiences of the war and the different interpretations of those experiences.

Some Challenges to Consider

Different veterans present different points of view. How do we help students analyze these positions and not just fall back on "everyone has their own point of view"? How do we help them sort through those points of view, overcome confusion and clarify their own thinking on the issues? For example, one veteran states that every city should have a memorial to Vietnam veterans; another states that these memorials just perpetuate the same old myths about war and are a meaningless way to honor dead bodies. How can we use these differences to explore the many meanings of patriotism?

Sometimes a veteran will contradict himself or, at least, appear to do so. For instance, he might say that Vietnam was the worst experience in his life and later state that if Vietnam were now, he would advise his son to go. How do we help our students to explore these apparent contradictions and come to a deeper and broader understanding of the veteran's perspective?

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