Interview with Chester Alvis, History 150 Spring 2024, Conducted by Mason Curles, March 13, 2024.

Overview: 

The U.S. public’s view of the Vietnam War shifted significantly over time. Initially, there was strong support for the conflict, particularly at the onset of U.S. military involvement in the mid-1960s. However, as the war progressed and the number of casualties increased, public opinion began to turn against the war. The media played a crucial role in shaping this sentiment, as televised reports and images brought the harsh realities of the war into American living rooms. By the end of the conflict, a majority of the American public considered the war a mistake, reflecting a profound transformation in public consciousness and a growing distrust in government policies. This led to many Vietnam veterans facing indifference or outright hostility from a public deeply divided over the war. The lack of fanfare and support, coupled with the psychological and physical scars of war, left many veterans feeling alienated and overlooked in their time of need.

My Grandfather, Chester Alvis, was no exception to this. he had firsthand experience in Vietnam as a member of the Coast Guard and felt the backlash from the public when he returned home. In this interview, he will discuss his experiences in Vietnam and feelings toward what conspired and how they shaped his life and character into the man he is today. I hope you learn as much from this interview as I did and consider his thoughts and feelings as he talks about his past.

Biography:

Chester Alvis was born in 1946 following the end of WWII. He was raised in Mechanicsville, VA, by a poor family consisting of his older sister and brothers–as well as his mother and father. His father enlisted and served in WWII in the army. After high school, Chester, who had not wanted to join the military, was drafted anyway. He joined the Coast Guard with thoughts that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He was sent there, however. He did not support the war, but he felt a need to serve and fight for his country.  He was sent to basic training at Fort Carson in Colorado and trained as a nautical engineer until he was sent to Vietnam in 1965. He deployed on a naval vessel as a mechanic. He was then deployed until 1968 when he returned home to Mechanicville, VA. Following the events of his return in the coming year he married his first wife, where they traveled the world and lived happily until she died of illness at the age of 53. Following this he met Jean Curles and married Jean Alvis. They lived in Quinton VA until they built a house with their child Aaron Curles, in Chesapeake, VA, where they currently reside and live together happily with Aaron and their 2 grandchildren Mason and Landon.

Research:

The Vietnam War draft process, a pivotal element of the era, was a complex system that significantly impacted American society. The Selective Service System orchestrated the draft, which was based on a lottery system where birth dates determined the order of conscription. Men aged 18 to 26 were eligible, and those with lower draft numbers were called to service first. This system aimed to be more equitable than previous methods, which were criticized for favoring certain socioeconomic classes. The draft not only supplied the military with troops but also fueled the antiwar movement, as many viewed conscriptions as an unjust mandate to fight in a controversial war. The draft’s influence extended beyond the military, affecting the nation’s social fabric and leaving a lasting legacy on the American consciousness.

The history of Coast Guard vessels in Vietnam is marked by a significant period during the Vietnam War when the U.S. Coast Guard deployed 82-foot Point-class patrol boats and high endurance cutters to support combat missions and provide vital services such as port security and search and rescue operations. These vessels were integral to the interdiction efforts, proving both adaptable and capable in the challenging conditions of war-torn Southeast Asia. The Vietnam Coast Guard, established in 1998, continues to play a crucial role in maintaining maritime security and safety. With a fleet that includes over 50 patrol boats and several offshore patrol vessels, the Vietnam Coast Guard is equipped to handle a variety of missions from search and rescue to combating smuggling and piracy. The development of the Vietnam Coast Guard reflects the country’s commitment to safeguarding its waters and contributing to regional stability.

The return home for Vietnam veterans was markedly different from the heroes’ welcome that greeted World War II servicemen. Vietnam veterans often faced a society that was at best indifferent and at worst hostile to them. The Vietnam War, mired in controversy and political turmoil, left returning soldiers to navigate a landscape of resentment and disillusionment. Unlike their predecessors, they received no victory parades or grand acknowledgments. Instead, many encountered a public that was deeply divided over the war and, by extension, the soldiers who fought in it. The treatment of these veterans reflected the nation’s conflicted feelings about the war itself, with some veterans reporting experiences of being met with insults or apathy rather than gratitude. This chilly reception was a stark contrast to the support and reverence shown to veterans of previous conflicts, highlighting a tumultuous era in American history where veterans’ sacrifices were overshadowed by the politics of war.

Transcript:

Mason Curles 0:00
Alright, so we’re gonna start the interview. I’m gonna ask you to introduce yourself.

Chester 0:03
My name is Chester Alvis. I’m Mason’s grandfather. I am 78 years old. I served in the Coast Guard, and I did do a term in Vietnam.

Mason Curles 0:20
All right, thank you. Um, first question, can you describe how you came to be in the Coast Guard?

Chester 0:27
Very easily, I got my draft notice, and I was A1. That was a period of time when guys were going to Canada, because it didn’t believe in, in the Vietnam War. Well, I for one, refuse to leave my country. I was gonna serve my country somehow, and I didn’t believe in going over there and shooting people. So, I joined the Coast Guard.

Mason Curles 0:58
And you said you were drafted, can you please describe what that process was, like?

Chester 1:03
I received a notice to report for military service, and like I said, I didn’t believe in Vietnam War, didn’t want to go over there. But I was not going to leave my country. I love my country. So, I decided I would serve in the Coast Guard, which is a means of serving this country. So I went to recruiter, and I told them, look, I got my draft notice, but I don’t want to go I’d rather go in the Coast Guard. And he says, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of. So that’s the way it came to be. All right.

Mason Curles 1:35
And I understand there are a lot of there were a lot of expect–expectations of like Vietnam, like what it was like, like for a lot of people who are going over there. I’m sure you’re hearing a lot of it through newspaper and everything. Can you describe what some of your expectations were before you arrived?

Chester 1:53
Well, I didn’t have expectations of going to Vietnam. But my expectations of what was happening in Vietnam, was that there were major battles going on in a lot of people were dying, especially Americans. And it was something I couldn’t figure out why we were there. So, I feel like it was not a good thing to do.

Mason Curles 2:23
And how do you feel like your feelings changed? Like after getting there and after experiencing the things you experience like and while being station How do you feel your feelings changed over the course of being there?

Chester 2:41
Didn’t, didn’t change at all.

Mason Curles 2:44
Alright, what was contact with your family, like while you were stationed?

Chester 2:50
Not much, we had free mail, but we only got mail about maybe once every three months. So, it was very little contact, short of just letters.

Mason Curles 3:03
What kind of things would you write in the letters?

Chester 3:07
Boring things because our routine was not exactly something was exciting. There was a period of time where I had a reel-to-reel tape recorder. And somewhere here at the house, there’s two reels of firefights we got into. Our ship was a shallow draft, 311-foot naval vessel. We had a five-inch cannon with could shoot five miles accurately. And so we would go up into delta and anchor and we would support marine incursions into villages. And we sunk a lot of sand pans and things like that up in the Delta with it.

Mason Curles 3:58
And you were talking about routine, can you describe what your routine was like daily?

Chester 4:03
Well, it’s just like, in a factory or house. You had a job you went to every day. You did that job and then you got off. Well, I was a machinist. So, I was in a machine shop where if a part broke, we would make the part we would do maintenance. There was a funny time where nothing was going on. And we didn’t then it was one other guy, and we didn’t want to go and watch. So, we took a drill and went all over the ship drilling holes in the ductwork. So, we spent about two days doing that. Then went back and spent two days, putting screws into the holes. Then a couple days going back and painting the screws red. Somebody said

“What are y’all doing?”

We said, “Putting holes in the duct work.”

Mason Curles 5:05
That’s funny. What were some experiences during the war that changed your outlook on society and life in general?

Chester 5:18
The way the public treated people, soldiers, whether they were in Vietnam or not, they treated us like we were second class citizens. Now we were, we were supporting this country, defending this country. And as citizens acted like we were criminals. It hurt.

Mason Curles 5:44
Yeah

Chester 5:45
it’s affected me to the day. When I see somebody that’s in the military, I am so appreciative. I got to say something to em’

Mason Curles 6:01
How do you think the culture in Vietnam differed from the US? Or if you didn’t experience Vietnamese culture? How would you say you would like to experience to have experienced it?

Chester 6:14
How would I like to experience if the wall was not going on? I love travel. And I love being in places such as the street scenes, the street food, this street entertainment, meeting people. That in in Southeast Asia is the most fascinating thing you could ever imagine. The food is fantastic.

Mason Curles 6:47
And I understand we’ve already discussed what your return was like, but I’d like to ask you to further describe how you experienced returning back to the US?

Chester 7:00
Oh, well, I’ll go from return from Vietnam. We left Vietnam in the spring of 88. I think it was. I mean 68. And that was the time that South Korea, North Korea captured the US spy ship Pueblo. Well, it happened to be we will one of the closest vessels to, so for three days we drifted, waiting to see if we were gonna have to go in and fight for it. Luckily, diplomacy, reign supreme. And we came on back to Honolulu and spent 10 days in Honolulu before I flew back to stateside. And took me about two days to get home. I arrived home at two o’clock in the morning. Now I lived out in the country. I had caught a cab to go home, and I had $3 in my pocket. And I told the cab is here’s why I gotta go. When $3 runs out, just pull over let me out.

The cabbie asked me where I was coming from, and I told him, and he reached up and turned a meter off and said, “This ones on me.”

And he took me home. And I dropped my sea bag in the backyard. I still had the key to the door, and everything was quiet. And I just went on and I was standing in the middle of the house, totally dark. No sound. All of a sudden, my older sister who was there waiting for me. I heard her holler and come down the hallway. To hug me and it knocked me over. I sat on the sofa, and I didn’t go to bed until must be 12 o’clock that night. And the whole reason what the bed was I fell over asleep talking and it was so great to be home. Nobody could ever imagine how valuable this country is until you’ve been out of it. This is the greatest country God has ever created.

Mason Curles 9:47
In understand that you love to travel.

Chester 9:54
I do.

Mason Curles 9:55
And do you think that your time in the military affected your enthusiasm for travel?

Chester 10:03
It enhanced it and encouraged it. Because we went a lot of places. We were the first US military vessel to dock in Singapore after World War Two. Well, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, in the Philippines, I mean, I went everywhere. And it just, it just fueled my urge to travel. Because I love people. And everybody’s different.

Mason Curles 10:40
To wrap up, are there any final thoughts that you want to leave the listeners with?

Chester 10:48
Love this country. I can’t tell you how great this place is. We have freedoms and nobody in the world has. We have the opportunity to do what we want to do to make what we want out of ourselves. So many people around this world want to do something to improve themselves and can’t don’t have the opportunity. So, I think everybody in this country ought to get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground of this country. It’s a greatest place on earth. And I’m sorry if I sound emotional, but I am. I love this country.

Mason Curles 11:31
All right. Well, thank you.

Chester 11:33
You’re quite welcome. Thank you for having me.

Interview Process: 

This interview was conducted in person over spring break. I spoke with my grandfather beforehand and worked very closely with him when composing this post. We spoke about how we would conduct the interview and the format that it would be taking. In order to gather information about him, for the biography, I called him and asked him the relevant and necessary questions. He was very open when providing information about himself and his past, most notably about his time in Vietnam. He even expressed his thanks following the interview, that he was able to share his experience and maybe help someone learn something. I very much so enjoyed this assignment and it brought we closer with my grandfather, helping me learn stuff about him that I had never known.

Transcription Process: 

Otter.ai was used to transcribe this interview. I listened to the audio to remove any lengthy gaps, distracting noises, or pointless talking before I started to transcribe. This was mostly done to compress the file and improve the audio quality. Otter AI did an excellent job of recording every interview on paper, but because of its clumsy mechanics and non-premium version, I felt that although working with Otter AI was useful, it was also incredibly time-consuming and sometimes annoying.

Follow up/Reflection: 

I did the follow-up for the interview a couple of days after approval to let the transcript linger in his head. When we had that actual conversation about the interview, he wasn’t very eager to talk about his time again saying “It was very hard for me to think about that time in my life again, I try to avoid it as much as possible. I don’t even watch war movies because they bring up very foul memories.” This was very eye-opening for me because, even while doing the interview, I didn’t really grasp how he would feel talking about this stuff again. I did ask him a question that I wished I had asked during the interview but didn’t because it was such a difficult topic: what your experience of public treatment in detail was and how do you feel it compared to how you treated the Korean War veterans? His response: “Well, I was a young boy at the time so I didn’t have much interaction with the Korean War veterans, but from what I could get from the media and my parents was that they were treated almost as if they didn’t exist and the war never happened, which I would have much rathered over being spit on. It didn’t feel it fair to us (the Vietnam vets) that the public took out their hatred for the federal government and the military on us, as if we had a choice on whether we wanted to be there or not. I mean don’t get me wrong, some people did some heinous things over there, but I never knew those people, never had any connection with them. So why should I be blamed and hated in a country I love when I fought so hard to protect it.” This assignment was very beneficial for me and my relationship with my grandfather. I want to have sit down conversations like this with other people in my family to grasp and understand how my life differs from theirs. If I had any advice for next year, I would advise your students to take notes on this follow up because If I hadn’t, I would’ve never gotten this response exactly as he said it.

Bibliography: 

ERIKSON RS, STOKER L. Caught in the Draft: The Effects of Vietnam Draft Lottery Status on Political Attitudes. American Political Science Review. 2011;105(2):221-237. doi:10.1017/S0003055411000141

Nelson, Robert T., and Douglas G. Currier. “Operation of Coast Guard Patrol Boats in Southeast Asia.” Naval Engineers Journal 78.3 (1966): 403-408. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1966.tb05069.x

Vlieg, Heather (2019) “Were They Spat On? Understanding The Homecoming Experience of Vietnam
Veterans,” Grand Valley Journal of History: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 3. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvjh/vol7/iss1/3