Series: Vietnam

The music charts of the 60’s and early 70’s were filled with anti-war anthems performed by rockers who used their songs to protest the Vietnam War. Some of that music made its way to the ears of the soldiers fighting on the ground in Southeast Asia.

When Valerie Buchan was recruited by the Army, she considered it her duty to serve. As the head nurse in an emergency room in Vietnam, she cared for soldiers who endured life threatening injuries. After coming home, she became an early supporter of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, devoted to the contributions of military nurses.

A year after Tom Dimond was arrested at a celebrated protest of the Vietnam War, he was drafted into the Army. Once he was in the service, the St Paul native found that he was not alone in his opposition to the conflict.

Many Vietnam veterans felt alienated as they returned home, enduring insults related to their service in an unpopular war. Veteran Pat Logan even felt the disdain of older veterans who disparaged his service. That prompted him to get involved with veteran’s organizations to change them from the inside.

Years after the war ended, it continued to claim casualties. Thousands of soldiers exposed to Agent Orange, the chemical used to defoliate the jungle, suffered with a range of illnesses, many of them deadly. Former Marine Jerry Relph is one of them, diagnosed with a cancer linked to Agent Orange.

As the war in Vietnam escalated, so did the protests on college campuses. When Doug Bekke volunteered to fight, he was the same age as many of the students staging anti-war activities. He describes a memorable encounter at the University of Minnesota when his deeply held values were challenged and he felt at odds with his contemporaries.

When Ronn Easton joined the Army, he thought that he would find the equality that had eluded him as an African American raised in the south. But he found that fighting for his country was not the equalizer that he had expected.

Long hours, harsh conditions and horrific wounds. Nurse Suzanne Constantini’s year of caring for wounded soldiers in an ICU in Vietnam left her with memories she had a hard time shaking. But her military service also led her to her true love.

Serving in Vietnam left Ronn Easton with a combat injury and searing memories. Decades after his Army hitch was up, the former soldier found comfort and resolution when he visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.

Years after his service ended, former Marine infantry soldier Fletcher Hinds remained deeply troubled by his actions during the war. As part of his healing, he’s returned to Southeast Asia on humanitarian missions and co-founded a charity that rebuilds the country that was once the enemy.