Oral History of Henry A. Martin

Oral History of Henry A. Martin

Oral History, Martin

Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Veterans--Florida

Oral history of Henry A. Martin's military service during the Vietnam War (1961-1975). Martin was born on July 8, 1941 in Sayre, Pennsylvania. In 1960, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as an Ordinary Engineer. Throughout his military career, Martin served in Italy, Germany, Vietnam, and Korea and achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class. He received the Good Conduct Medal and the Instructor of the Month award. Martin completed his service on July 1, 1981. This oral history interview was conducted by Carmen Carroquino on November 18, 2010

The Vietnam War was a Cold War Era "military conflict". The war was originally waged between Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The United States became involved as a preventive measure to combat communism. The official date of the military conflict is November 1, 1955 and ending in April 1975. The date of the war has been disputed, but a study in 1998 by the Department of Defense definitively put the start of the Vietnam War as November 1, 1955. The first combat military troops 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade didn't arrive until 1965. With the arrival of the combat troops came the first traditional battles of combat fighting in the war. During the Vietnam War, not only did American military go into battle with and for South Vietnam, the military also trained members of South Vietnam to fight alongside during the war. Peace talks were attempted, with France moderating, beginning on May 10, 1968. These talks were unsuccessful and lasted over three years. The longest battle of the Vietnam War began on January 21, 1968 and didn't end until the U.S. reclaimed Route 9 on April 8, 1968, seventy-seven days later. While the military conflict ended in 1975, it was a long process towards reunification and redevelopment as a country. The conflict left Vietnam in both political and economical ruins.

While the U.S. military was fighting overseas, Many American citizens protested the war at home. Demonstrations took place across the country with the most famous one being at Kent State University in Ohio. While this is the most well known demonstration it was not the first. Americans questioned the U.S. involvement in the war throughout.

Oral history interview of Henry A. Martin. Interview conducted by Carmen Carroquino at Veterans of Foreign Wars in Winter Springs, Florida.

00:00 Beginning Enlist questions/basic training (boot camp)
11:09 Vietnam experience/duties/home for (RR) rest
20:00 Family, life in the military, travel, culture
33:20 Left the military-life after
39:30 Afterthoughts on military career and how he feels about young veterans

Carroquino, Carmen

Martin, Henry A.. Interviewed by Carmen Carroquino. UCF Community Veterans History Project, DP0010472 November 18, 2010. Audio record available. UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.

Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries

2010-11-18

2010-11-18

2011-05

Standards established by the Veterans History Projects, Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

UCF Community Veterans History Project, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.

Vietnam War Collection, UCF Community Veterans History Project Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Multimedia software, such as QuickTime.

audio/mp4

423 MB

40-minute and 59-second audio DVD recording

eng

Moving Image

Sayre, Pennsylvania

Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Rohrgraben, Moorgrund, Germany

Gia Lai, Vietnam

Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea

Winter Springs, Florida

41.979337, -76.514812

44.449468, 11.334228

50.861444, 10.235595

13.645987, 108.343505

36.615528, 128.087768

28.70513, -81.307455

1941-07-08/2010-11-18

Deposit

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History Teacher

Civics/Government Teacher

Originally created by Carmen Carroquino and owned by Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries.

All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu.specialcollections/.

Morris, Alisha

"American Experience." Public Broadcasting Company. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/timeline/tl3.html.

Herring, George C. America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. New York: Wiley, 1979.

Rottman, Gordon L., and Duncan Anderson. The US Army in the Vietnam War 1965-73. Oxford: Osprey, 2008.

Carroquino, Carmen

Martin, Henry A.

Veterans of Foreign Affair in Winter Springs, Florida

1 audio DVD recording

40 minutes and 59 seconds

1437kbps