Collection:LPB

Genre: Interview

Place Covered: Breaux Bridge, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, Vietnam

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 2017-08-08

Duration: 00:20:56

Subjects: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 | United States. Army | Military | Veterans

Contributors:

• Alexander, Vincent Interviewee

An oral history interview conducted on August 8, 2017, with Vincent Alexander of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Alexander served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He discusses: being drafted; his training at Fort Polk, Louisiana; his assignment as a combat infantry man in the 1st Infantry Division known as “Big Red One”; working with mortars; seeing people killed every day; his unit’s search-and-destroy missions for five days a week in the jungle near Phouc Vinh; his week in the hospital after his ears started bleeding during an attack on a Viet Cong village; the conditions in the jungle; an attack on a Viet Cong base camp that killed over half of his unit; the Viet Cong’s booby trapping methods; his battle with prostate cancer due to Agent Orange exposure; his medals; the changing attitudes towards veterans; his advice for young people who are interested in joining the military; and his feeling that African American soldiers were treated differently during his time in Vietnam.