joe_harris35@gmail.com

Hello,

We are conducting interviews about the Vietnam War for our history class and we were wondering if you would be willing to be our interviewee. If you can do it, let us know a good time that we can come and we will come right away to start recording and interviewing you!

Thank you,

Sabrina Blum

joe_harris35@gmail.com

Hello, Sabrina. That sounds very interesting! I would love to help, but I will not be able to conduct an interview in person. I will be in Colorado until April, an I apologize if this would be an inconvenience to you.

Regards,

Joe

sabrina.n.blum@gmail.com

Hello again!

Would you be willing to conduct an interview through email? I could send you all of the questions if you would be able to do this. Also, if you could send us a picture of yourself during your wartime years would be helpful to have for the project.

Thank you,

Sabrina Blum

joe_harris35@gmail.com

That would be great. I will try to answer all of the questions as soon as possible, and here is a picture from back at the very beginning of the war. I was only 20 years old!

Looking forward to the interview,

Joe

<attached image>

sabrina.n.blum@gmail.com

Thank you so much! Here are all of the questions (you don't have to answer them all, just answer the ones you feel comfotable with):

1. What do you recall about the time when the
Vietnam War started? How old were you?

2. How did your family respond to your decision to
enlist or to you being drafted?

3. Why do you think
the US was involved in Vietnam and Southeast Asia?

4. What was a typical day like for you in Vietnam?
Describe the base in which you lived.

5. How did you feel about fighting against
communism and the communists? Did you feel they were a big threat to the United
States?

6. How did you feel about the anti-war
demonstrations back in the United States? Did any of your family members
participate in the demonstrations?

7. Was it difficult for you to adjust to life in
the US when you came back?

8. If you had a second chance, would you change
anything about your Vietnam experience?

9. From your real-life experience, is there a story
about the war that hasn’t been told or that hasn’t been told accurately?

10. Overall, do you think that this war was necessary?

11. Do you regret your decision to participate in the Vietnam War?

12. What's your most prominent memory from the war?

13. Do people treat you differently after learning that you're a Vietnam War veteran?

14. Througout your experience in the Vietnam War, what did you learn?

joe_harris35@gmail.com

Wow. These are some really good questions-I'm impressed! As for the answers, I tried my best:

1. I was 20 years old. I volunteered for Vietnam.

2. They were very against it. But I felt I needed to fight for my country.

3. I didn't ask many questions, at the time all I knew was that the war was to stop communism.

4. Eat, sleep, walk, pray not to be killed.

5. I felt proud. A little nervous. But I was eager to fight.

6. I was okay with them; I could undertsand why they would be against the war.

7. Yes, but I was mainly thankful to be alive.

8. I wish some of my buddies hadn't died. They were brave kids.

9. No, unfortunately many of my wartime memories have all blended together and I sometimes have trouble remembering specific details.

10. This war has been eye-opening for many different reasons. For that, I think it was neccessary.

11. I don't regret my decision. This war shaped a huge part of who I am. It's made me appreciate life so much more.

12. Everyhting. Seeing war firsthand will never leave you, even when you return home.

13. Not that I notice, other than the healthcare benefits.

14. I learned how precious life is and how futile war is. Conflict is uneccesary, and we need to learn to be peacefully coexist in order to be happy.

Thank you for the stimulating questions! Hope the project goes well and let me know if you need anything else!

Regards,

Joe

Served in the war for 7 years from 1965-1972 where he stayed at the Chu Lai Base Camp in Vietnam.

Although the war was a shocking and slightly traumatic experience, Joe was able to recover once he came back home to Kansas and fell in love with his wife, Clarissa.  

Joe is now retired at 70 years old, and says he "looks forward to what's in store for him next".