The Vietnam War Veteran: Behind the Scenes of the Vietnam War

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In this interview my interviewee was my grandfather Roy Gene Lakin. In the interview I asked him multiple questions over what he did during his time in the war. We talked about his rank and about what life was like in Vietnam and where he has been during that time. This interview will give you information about what people did during the war. My grandpa told me things about what he did and about what his job was as a U.S. Marine.
My grandfather Roy Gene Lakin was a U.S. Marine. He had many ranks which were private, private 1st class, lieutenant corporal, corporal, sergeant, staff sergeant, gunnery sergeant, master sergeant, and an E8. He was in the maintenance platoon and he was stationed in Vietnam for only 13 weeks. He was a repair shop machinist in which he also helped the “optics team install infrared on big war tanks” . His base was stationed at 12 miles south of Dangha and when I asked him if he was in the jungle he said, “Yes, it was very humid and raining the majority of the time. Even the beer was warm but whenever we went with some of the other guys to go have some ice cold beers, it made those beers seem like heaven.” He said that he loved his job because he loves guns and all other kinds of weapons. He can be considered a weapon specialist to most people.
Roy said that he has been everywhere! He said that he wasn’t just based at one place, he moved all around the country and he got to do many things and he got to meet many people. He also helped the rest of the army install and repair parts for all the weaponry. “I didn’t really stay in one place for long, I went all around the country and helped install for the army. I have been to many places and seen many things but the best part about the traveling was meeting...

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Lakin, Roy Gene. Interview by the author. Oklahoma City, OK. October 28, 2013.

MacPherson, Myra. Long Time Passing Vietnam and the Haunted Generation. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, INC, 1984.

McCloud, Bill. What Should We Tell Our Children About Vietnam. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University, 1989.

"Precision-Guided Munition." Wikipedia. Accessed October 31, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision-guided_munition.

Vietnam War 50th. Last modified 2013. http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/education/us_marine_corps/.

"Vietnam War Children." Historical Boys' Clothing. Last modified June 5, 1998. Accessed August 10, 2005. http://histclo.com/essay/war/vn/vnw-child.html.

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