Gilbert, Charley James
Charley James Gilbert, Jr.: Vietnam War
Interviewed by Kelly Von Gretchen Gilbert (Student interview)
Interview date April 14, 2004
Abstract
Charley James Gilbert, Jr. served as a private soldier in the United States Army from 1961 to 1967. He served in the Vietnam War for fourteen months. He discusses being on active military status when the Vietnam War began. Mr. Gilbert painfully recalls his experience in combat, his opposition to and disbelief at the United States’ involvement in the war, his living conditions, correspondence from family back home, and his fellow soldier’s death in the line of duty. Mr. Gilbert also comments on his homecoming concerning the anti-war protestors, his psychological problems, which made it difficult to embrace his family upon his return.
Q: When and where were you born?
A: October 12, 1940, Wewoka, Oklahoma.
Q: How old were you and what were you doing when the Unites States became more heavily involved in Vietnam in the 1960s?
A: I was working as a busboy in the grocery store.
Q: How did your friends and you feel about the war? That is, were you heavily in favor of it or opposed to it?
A: I was, ah, opposed to it.
Q: What year did you enter the military?
A: 1961. November.
Q: Did you enlist or were you drafted?
A: I enlisted.
Q: In what branch of the military did you serve?
A: Army.
Q: Where did you undergo basic training?
A: Fort Carson, Colorado.
Q: Did you and the rest of the men know that you were going to be sent to Vietnam?
A: No.
Q: What military rank were you when you arrived in Vietnam?
A: Private.
Q: What were your overall impressions when you first arrived in Vietnam? How did you feel? What was the general feeling among the other soldiers and such information?
A: We had, ah, a feeling of disbelief that that was going on and that the United States was involved in it.
Q: Where were you stationed in Vietnam and in what capacity did you serve?
A: Stationed at Lai Khe, ah, 35 miles north of Saigon.
Q: In terms of your experience, what conditions did you live in and work in – clothing, shelter and so forth.
A: While I was in Vietnam?
Q: Yes.
A: Eighty-five percent in the foxhole.
Q: What kind of contact did you have with the people back home? What kind of correspondence did the military permit?
A: Letters and cards and, ah, gift boxes containing food.
Q: If you feel comfortable talking about combat, please describe the combat experiences you had.
A: I don’t feel comfortable talking about it.
Q: What was your most memorable experience in Vietnam, combat or otherwise?
A: The way my friends fell in the line of duty.
Q: How has this affected your life?
A: Very much.
Q: OK. Medically?
A: Medically. Ah, the reason I have PTSD today.
Q: Given the fact that historically race relations in this country have been strained, to say the least, and in the 1960s and early 1970s tensions between blacks and whites in the United States were running high, how was your experience as an African-American defined or shaped by your time in Vietnam and what were relations like between blacks and whites in Vietnam at that time?
A: At that time, during the time of war, it was different because the most important thing was is to save your life and to come back home, so we lived more closely together in time of war. So it was a big difference in Vietnam than it was before I went and after I got back.
Q: How long did you serve in Vietnam?
A: Fourteen months.
Q: After serving in Vietnam, were did the military send you, or were you immediately discharged?
A: No, I went to Germany.
Q: Where in Germany?
A: Ah, Manheim.
Q: What kind of reception did you receive when you got back home? What was the reaction of the people when they found out you were a Vietnam vet?
A: Ah, they wasn’t too approved of being a Vietnam vet, and they thought that I was going and that I was a murderer, and that I shouldn’t have been over there.
Q: What were your feelings about the anti-war protestors in this country?
A: It was displeasing to me – very much displeasing to me because all I did was serve my country.
Q: How did your family and friends react to you when you got back from Vietnam? Were they unsympathetic, sympathetic, curious, not curious . . .?
A: They was curious.
Q: If, indeed, you experienced some kind of physical or psychological wound or wounds during your time in combat, how did those physical or mental wounds affect your relations and interactions with family, friends, spouse?
A: It drove me, ah, away from them because I didn’t know how to, to accept them. . .
Q: Do you still keep in touch with any of the men with whom you served?
A: No.
Q: What kinds of general observations and conclusions do you have about the Vietnam War and your Vietnam War experience?
A: Um, my conclusion is that I went because I was called upon and today I still don’t understand why that we was there. And I don’t see nothing that we accomplished.
Q: Thank you.
