Citation:

Christopher Harden Interview, History 150 Spring 2017, Conducted by Haley Harden, March 25, 2017.

Transcription:

a) I interviewed my grandpa, Christopher Harden over the phone while I typed down everything he was saying. I previously tried to record this interview over the phone using the Tape-A-Call app but you can only listen to the first 60 seconds of the recording unless you have the Pro version (which I did not know at the time of the recording) and it did not record the phone call. Since it did not record, I do not have an audio recording for this interview, just the transcript listed below. I called my grandpa again and instead of recording the information, I typed down everything he said and I edited and elaborated on many points because I was typing so fast that the sentences were very choppy and did not flow well. The steps I took were just calling my grandpa and typing while he was talking. He elaborated on everything so it was not hard to get information from him. I sat at my desk and listened to him with my headphones in and typed as he spoke.

b) Christopher Harden is my paternal grandfather. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky on July 2, 1949. He lived in New Albany, Indiana and moved a couple times during his youth. He graduated from New Albany High School in May, 1967 and went into the Navy Reserve just two days after his graduation. He went to Navy Bootcamp in Great Lakes, Illinois at the Great Lakes Navy Bootcamp. He attended sea school in Norfolk, Virginia and returned home in the last week of August, 1967. He had a friend from high school who had joined the Marines and was killed in action which compelled him to join the Marine Corps. On October 16, 1967, he went to his second bootcamp in Paris Island, South Carolina. He went into basic institute training after bootcamp and took a series of tests and his intellect was higher than average so he was assigned into aviation. In February of 1968, he graduated from infantry trainee and went to Memphis, Tennessee for aviation school. He graduated at the top of his class and got to pick the duty station he wanted to go to. He picked the helicopter station in New River, North Carolina. His squadron was told to go to Vietnam in 1969 and he stayed there for one year (1969-1970). He served in the Marine Corps from 1967-1971.

c) Research:

The Vietnam War was an attempt made my the United States to stop the spread of communism. The United States thought that they were losing the Cold War and wanted to stop communism from taking over. The South Vietnamese were losing the fight against the communist North Vietnamese and in order to stop the spread of communism, the United States entered the war. The United States and other members of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) joined with the Republic of South Vietnam containing South Vietnamese guerrillas and the Viet Cong (force units) to stop the spread of communism from the opposing force, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The United States eventually backed out because of the growing casualties and political pressure. After the United States backed out, the North Vietnamese captured the Republic of South Vietnam and South Vietnam was brought under communist control. The Vietnam War was the longest in United States’ history until the war in Afghanistan which is still occurring today. There is still a debate over whether it was right for the United States to enter the war and it continues to affect political and military decisions made today.

d) Transcription:

-The interview took 18 minutes

Haley (H): Is it alright with you if I share this information with my class?

Christopher: Yes, of course, I would want to share this with the world.

(H): What compelled you to join the Marine Corps?

(C): A sense of duty to my country. If I were going to go in the military, there was a high probability of being drafted in the army at the time, I wanted to be in the best branch, which was the Marine Corps. I was already in the Navy reserve and didn’t have to worry about being drafted. I left for bootcamp two days after graduation. I went to bootcamp at Great Lakes Navy bootcamp in Great Lakes, Illinois. I also went to sea school in Norfolk, Virginia. When I got back from Navy bootcamp, my mother told me my friend, that I used to play with when I was young and went to high school with, joined the Marines, was sent to Vietnam, and was killed in action. That had a profound affect on me in the Navy reserve and I wanted to do a duty to my country so I joined the Marine Corps in effort to fulfill an obligation to the country and myself.

H: How did you feel about leaving America to join the war?

C: Adventurous. Being only eighteen years old, I was looking for adventure and too stupid to realize that I was going to war. Nobody knows what war is like, they only know what they see on television. I felt invincible and that death always happens to the other guy. I didn’t think about the repercussions and I had no problem leaving the country for adventure and a lifetime experience.

H: What was the United States position in the war and what effects did it have on the US?

C: The United States felt it necessary post WWII and post Korean war to stop the spread of communism. With the Korean War, North Korea invaded South Korea and we stepped in to defend South Korea. The same thing occurred in Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh, the dictator in Vietnam, who wanted to spread communism throughout all of South Vietnam. People in South Vietnam were more democratic and the North was more communist. The North wanted to invade South Vietnam to spread communism and the United States got involved to help South Vietnam. Because it was a long drawn out political mess, it led the United States to pull out of the war because of unpopularity and casualties. There were 48,500 people killed not including the wounded. We pulled out of the war under political pressure and ended our part of the war. Because of this, the North Vietnamese overran South Vietnam and they became communist. The effects that it had on the United States were: it tore the United States apart. For example, there were factions that did not believe in the war. Throughout the sixties and seventies, there was a great divide between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats causing tension and stress in country.

H: What was the most challenging aspect of going to war?

C: For me personally, leaving my family more than anything. However, there was a sense of duty and adventurism that won over and I felt that was more important at the time. I didn’t think about being killed in battle or the war. I just wanted to do my part and come back home. Most young people felt the same in the sense that they didn’t expect to be killed. I don’t think it was ever a question of believing in victory and then coming home, it just doesn’t work that way.

H: Was it hard not seeing your family for a whole year?

C: Absolutely, thats all you think about. That becomes the most important thing to you, your family back home, and wondering if you are ever going to see them again. The only thing that offsets that is the friendships and family you develop in military and becoming brothers with other military people. You protect them and they protect you, but I definitely missed my family and you realize what you left and what you’ve seen and you want to get back as quickly as possible.

H: How did the war affect your home life and you as an individual?

C: It affected me personally based on the things I thought and not knowing it at the time, not realizing at the time, that it’s not easy to transition into the normality of life. I always felt I did not achieve what I set out to do. I was half crazy, suffering from PTSD. I wasn’t satisfied with my life and it caused problems in my marriage, in work, and problems with me in general. It affected how I raised my children. I dearly worshipped them, but, looking back, I felt like I was way too strict on them for no reason. I was authoritative and I wasn’t best parent. I had mental issues that I didn’t realize at the time and I was psychologically unstable.

H: How did you feel after you were discharged? Did you feel as though you had paid a duty to your country?

C: Somewhat. I felt proud of being a Marine and still am to this day. It is a brotherhood. Once a Marine, always a marine. I don’t know if I felt a sense of accomplishment, but I learned quite a bit: I could do things I never thought I could do and I grew up a bit. I went from naivety to adulthood and I learned to appreciate this country, how I was raised, what this country is, and what it stands for. The rest of the world doesn’t even come close to what we have here and that’s called freedom.

H: Do you think it was right for the US to enter the war?

C: I think their intentions were good at first, but how they fought the war and how they jeopardized the life of the military got too political and decisions were made that were detrimental to the country. You go to war with the ideas of, “why you are going to war” and “there are only two alternatives.” You either win or lose; you don’t go to war thinking you are going to lose. Just like in college; you don’t think you are going to fail, you only think about succeeding and becoming your best self.

Side Note:

C: I cannot stress enough what we have in this country. People in this country never experienced anything else, especially young people don’t understand what is happening. We have laws, safety, and indoor plumbing. We have laws that protect us and the second amendment. We are the worlds largest standing army in world. People don’t understand that the army is not used for aggression unlike all tyrannical dictators in this world. They disarm their people so you cannot defend yourself, your country and your family.

f) The interview went extremely well. I think because it was my grandpa, it was very easy for me to talk to him and he answered all of my questions in immense detail. The answers were much more detailed the second time I called him which made the whole process a lot easier. The questions and answers flowed very well. There was no need to explain the questions and he didn’t have a problem with any of the questions. I didn’t go off script because I felt like all the questions were well thought out and he answered all of them flawlessly. The last segment under the side note tab was to explain why America is worth defending which I found was a good input made by him.