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Authors’ Response To Review Of "Untold: Northeastern Ontario’S Military Past. Volume One And Two", Dieter K. Buse, Graeme S. Mount

Canadian Military History

Letter to the Editor

Authors’ Response to Review of Untold: Northeastern Ontario’s Military Past. Volume One, 1662 - World War I and Volume Two, World War II - Peacekeeping.

Robert L. “Bob” Towle, Interviewed By John J. Springer, Part 1, Robert L. Towle

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

NA4503 Robert L. “Bob” Towle, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine on July 7, 1999. Towle talks about entering the military before finishing high school at the suggestion of a judge who offering one of two options; going into basic training, advanced training, then jump school to prove himself; serving 20 months in the 82 Airborne stateside before being sent to the 509th 82nd Airborne Germany, then to the 25th Infantry in Vietnam. Towle speaks at length about his training experiences; being rendered “a non-person” within 90 minutes of reporting for basic training; compares enlistment with a jail …

Robert L. “Bob” Towle, Interviewed By John J. Springer, Part 2, Robert L. Towle

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

NA4503 Robert L. “Bob” Towle, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine on July 7, 1999. Towle talks about entering the military before finishing high school at the suggestion of a judge who offering one of two options; going into basic training, advanced training, then jump school to prove himself; serving 20 months in the 82 Airborne stateside before being sent to the 509th 82nd Airborne Germany, then to the 25th Infantry in Vietnam. Towle speaks at length about his training experiences; being rendered “a non-person” within 90 minutes of reporting for basic training; compares enlistment with a jail …

Robert L. “Bob” Towle, Interviewed By John J. Springer, Part 3, Robert L. Towle

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

NA4503 Robert L. “Bob” Towle, interviewed by John J. Springer in Lewiston, Maine on July 7, 1999. Towle talks about entering the military before finishing high school at the suggestion of a judge who offering one of two options; going into basic training, advanced training, then jump school to prove himself; serving 20 months in the 82 Airborne stateside before being sent to the 509th 82nd Airborne Germany, then to the 25th Infantry in Vietnam. Towle speaks at length about his training experiences; being rendered “a non-person” within 90 minutes of reporting for basic training; compares enlistment with a jail …

Charles Runnels, Interviewed By Gary Waters, Part 1, Charles Runnels

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters in Abbot, Maine on June 22, 1999. Runnels discusses growing up in Bethel, Maine and attending Gould Academy; being recruited to play football at UMaine but losing the offer due to a low SAT score; graduating on June 13, 1965, and going on active duty with the Marine Corps on August 30, 1965. He relates his experience meeting his new drill sergeant and wondering “when the bad stuff starts;” and taking comfort in the rule that “even if they do kill you they aren’t allowed to eat you…;” graduating as an infantry rifleman; and …

Charles Runnels, Interviewed By Gary Waters, Part 2, Charles Runnels

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters in Abbot, Maine on June 22, 1999. Runnels discusses growing up in Bethel, Maine and attending Gould Academy; being recruited to play football at UMaine but losing the offer due to a low SAT score; graduating on June 13, 1965, and going on active duty with the Marine Corps on August 30, 1965. He relates his experience meeting his new drill sergeant and wondering “when the bad stuff starts;” and taking comfort in the rule that “even if they do kill you they aren’t allowed to eat you…;” graduating as an infantry rifleman; and …

Charles Runnels, Interviewed By Gary Waters, Part 3, Charles Runnels

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Charles Runnels, interviewed by Gary Waters in Abbot, Maine on June 22, 1999. Runnels discusses growing up in Bethel, Maine and attending Gould Academy; being recruited to play football at UMaine but losing the offer due to a low SAT score; graduating on June 13, 1965, and going on active duty with the Marine Corps on August 30, 1965. He relates his experience meeting his new drill sergeant and wondering “when the bad stuff starts;” and taking comfort in the rule that “even if they do kill you they aren’t allowed to eat you…;” graduating as an infantry rifleman; and …

Robert Railton, Interviewed By Marija Randall, Part 1, Robert Railton

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall at Winship Green Nursing Center, Bath, Maine on June 14, 2003. Railton provides short responses to questions from the interviewer about his early life, growing up in Middletown, New Jersey; his father’s suicide; his family's history of serving in the military; working as a mechanic; and his limited knowledge of the war in Vietnam, but enlisting rather than waiting to be drafted believing he had a better chance at surviving if he enlisted. Railton enlisted in the Marines and served as a mechanic with the 3rd Marine Division. Railton speaks about the difficulty telling …

Robert Railton, Interviewed By Marija Randall, Part 2, Robert Railton

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall at Winship Green Nursing Center, Bath, Maine on June 14, 2003. Railton provides short responses to questions from the interviewer about his early life, growing up in Middletown, New Jersey; his father’s suicide; his family's history of serving in the military; working as a mechanic; and his limited knowledge of the war in Vietnam, but enlisting rather than waiting to be drafted believing he had a better chance at surviving if he enlisted. Railton enlisted in the Marines and served as a mechanic with the 3rd Marine Division. Railton speaks about the difficulty telling …

Robert Railton, Interviewed By Marija Randall, Part 3, Robert Railton

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Robert Railton, interviewed by Marija Randall at Winship Green Nursing Center, Bath, Maine on June 14, 2003. Railton provides short responses to questions from the interviewer about his early life, growing up in Middletown, New Jersey; his father’s suicide; his family's history of serving in the military; working as a mechanic; and his limited knowledge of the war in Vietnam, but enlisting rather than waiting to be drafted believing he had a better chance at surviving if he enlisted. Railton enlisted in the Marines and served as a mechanic with the 3rd Marine Division. Railton speaks about the difficulty telling …

Maj. Gen. John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), Interviewed By Laura Tucker, Part 1, John W. Libby

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Major General John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending “charm school” before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; …

Maj. Gen. John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), Interviewed By Laura Tucker, Part 2, John W. Libby

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Major General John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending “charm school” before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; …

Maj. Gen. John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), Interviewed By Laura Tucker, Part 3, John W. Libby

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Major General John W. “Bill” Libby (Ret.), interviewed by Laura Tucker, in Waterville, Maine on May 27, 1999. Libby speaks about graduating from ROTC at UMaine; field artillery training; volunteering for Vietnam; his view of protesters; being excited when he received his orders; attending “charm school” before deploying; shipping out; his two vivid memories of stepping off the plane in Vietnam; requesting to join the 1st Cavalry Division; being assigned to an artillery division; life on base in An Khe; serving as a liaison officer to an infantry battalion and as a battery commander; the Fishhook area north of Saigon; …

Beth Parks, Interviewed By Laura Tucker, Part 1, Beth Parks

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker on June 11, 1999. Parks speaks about her early life, education, and marriage; becoming an “obligated volunteer” in 1966 for 24-months; the mistake of believing the Army recruiter’s promises; being trained for medical field service at Fort Sam Houston; going to Vietnam early in the war; mistakenly believing her husband was stationed near the DMZ, then learning he was in Thailand; asking to serve a unit near the action; receiving her duty assignment at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon before being moved to the 7th Surgical Hospital (a MASH unit) in the Mekong …

Beth Parks, Interviewed By Laura Tucker, Part 2, Beth Parks

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Beth Parks, interviewed by Laura Tucker on June 11, 1999. Parks speaks about her early life, education, and marriage; becoming an “obligated volunteer” in 1966 for 24-months; the mistake of believing the Army recruiter’s promises; being trained for medical field service at Fort Sam Houston; going to Vietnam early in the war; mistakenly believing her husband was stationed near the DMZ, then learning he was in Thailand; asking to serve a unit near the action; receiving her duty assignment at the Third Field Hospital in Saigon before being moved to the 7th Surgical Hospital (a MASH unit) in the Mekong …

Christopher “Chris” M. Beam, Interviewed By Doug Rawlings, Christopher M. Beam

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Christopher “Chris” M. Beam, interviewed by Doug Rawlings, August 29, 2000. Beam reviews his early life, attending Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, being invested in the “domino effect,” being disturbed about his fellow students seeking a way out of service, his gendered perspective of serving in the military, enlisting with the U.S. Marines feeling it was a prestigious branch of the military, feeling it was his patriotic duty to serve, signing up for three years of active duty and three year in an active reserve, his mother’s opposition to him entering the military, experiencing a change in heart as his …

Ron Frechette, Interviewed By Gary Waters, Part 1, Ronald Paul Frechette

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Ronald Paul Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters in Jay, Maine on June 15, 1999. Frechette discusses his time training as a combat engineer at Camp Lejeune and jungle training in California, growing up fast in the Marines, being gung ho about going to Vietnam because he wanted to be patriotic, being assigned to the 1st Shore Party, 1st Marines, never forgetting the smell of Vietnam and odors that trigger memories, being at Hill 55 and Dodge City, seeing his first KIAs and WIAs, being unprepared and frightened, Vietnamese burial customs, slang terms used by soldiers. He talks about returning to …

Ron Frechette, Interviewed By Gary Waters, Part 2, Ronald Paul Frechette

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Ronald Paul Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters in Jay, Maine on June 15, 1999. Frechette discusses his time training as a combat engineer at Camp Lejeune and jungle training in California, growing up fast in the Marines, being gung ho about going to Vietnam because he wanted to be patriotic, being assigned to the 1st Shore Party, 1st Marines, never forgetting the smell of Vietnam and odors that trigger memories, being at Hill 55 and Dodge City, seeing his first KIAs and WIAs, being unprepared and frightened, Vietnamese burial customs, slang terms used by soldiers. He talks about returning to …

Ron Frechette, Interviewed By Gary Waters, Part 3, Ronald Paul Frechette

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Ronald Paul Frechette, interviewed by Gary Waters in Jay, Maine on June 15, 1999. Frechette discusses his time training as a combat engineer at Camp Lejeune and jungle training in California, growing up fast in the Marines, being gung ho about going to Vietnam because he wanted to be patriotic, being assigned to the 1st Shore Party, 1st Marines, never forgetting the smell of Vietnam and odors that trigger memories, being at Hill 55 and Dodge City, seeing his first KIAs and WIAs, being unprepared and frightened, Vietnamese burial customs, slang terms used by soldiers. He talks about returning to …

Frank Soares Iii, Interviewed By Kellie Pelletier, Part 1, Francis C. Soares Iii

MF087 Vietnam Veterans Oral History

Francis C. “Frank” Soares III, interviewed by Kellie Pelletier on June 22, 1999, in Augusta, Maine. Soares speaks about his early life; joining the U.S. Army in 1965; attending boot camp at Fort Dix; applying for Officer Candidate School and being accepted while in infantry training; wanting to go into Special Forces and ending up in helicopter training before having his orders changed to report back to Fort Knox, Kentucky to form the new 7th Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment; becoming a cavalry scout using LOHs, light observation helicopters (OH6A); deploying to Vietnam as a squadron; the experience flying …