Collection:LPB

Genre: Interview

Place Covered: Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Vietnam

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 2017-11-11

Duration: 00:12:39

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

Contributors:

• Riche, John Interviewee

An oral history interview conducted on November 11, 2017, with John Riche of Sulphur, Louisiana. Riche, a native of Cottonport, served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He discusses: his decision to volunteer; his assignment to the 3rd Squadron, 4th Calvary of the 25th Infantry Division; his unit being ambushed by the NVA; being shot in the back and the bullet hitting his flak jacket; his pride at receiving the Combat Infantryman Badge; his memories of an attack on the Black Virgin Mountain near the Cambodian border; the traumatic experience of seeing a grenade fall at his feet; and the negative treatment of Vietnam veterans when they returned home.