Echoes of the Vietnam War

Diane Carlson Evans passed away last week at the age of 79, following a battle with cancer. An Army nurse who served 18 months in Vietnam, she became a tireless advocate for the women who served there, ensuring their courage, sacrifice and service were recognized alongside their fellow Vietnam veterans. As we continue to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day, we’re honored to bring you her story.

On January 14, 1969, Army Specialist Gary Guggenberger was ambushed, shot four times, and captured. He spent the next four years in chains, being moved from one prison camp to another -- all in South Vietnam. In this episode, Brad Dunham of the Brady Oberg Legacy Podcast shares Part 1 of his interview with Gary.

From the rivers of the Mekong Delta to Jewish Theological Seminary to the rubble of the Beirut barracks bombing, Arnold Resnicoff has carried with him one teaching more than any other: "where there is no humanity, you be humanity."

Veterans of the Vietnam War came home carrying something they had no words for, and in many cases they never found any. And yet — decade after decade, one act of preservation at a time — people have refused to let their experiences disappear. And that refusal is its own kind of service.

Within the Army, there was a small unit called DASPO — the Department of the Army Special Photographic Office — whose sole mission was to go into combat and document the war from the inside. Its men were trained as soldiers and they were trained as photographers. But preparing to do both at the same time? That was OJT (On-the-Job Training).

We sit down with Robert "Bob" Lafoon who was a DASPO photographer during the Vietnam War. You can see some of Bob's photos and other DASPO photographers on our website at https://www.vvmf.org/echoes/EP112/

Cover photo of SFC Howard Breedlove