A Dialogue About History: Vietnam War
Student Question
What did Lambertville residents think about the start of the Vietnam war in 1955? What did they think about the end of the war in 1975? Did anyone from Lambertville get drafted into the war?
Residents’ Answers
- I know my parents did not think kindly about the start of the Vietnam War, as I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army upon graduation from college. I did in fact receive orders to report to Vietnam and served there for a period of one year. The atmosphere was not very pleasant because of the rioting and general dissatisfaction with the government and its policy. The military was not very well treated. Besides myself, I know of at least half a dozen residents of Lambertville who were drafted or volunteered.
- Not MUCH . Just heartache for those who fought in it.
- Get Sandy Hanna’s ( of Lambertville) book, The Ignorance of Bliss, a great read on the Vietnam War. We never should have been there and lost almost 60,000 troops. There are a number of vets in the area, many have been lost to agent orange a chemical used to defoliate the jungles. Very unpopular action and hard on our vets with minimal or worse than no support from our citizens!
- Certainly people from Lambertville were drafted. Veteran’s organizations can fill you in on who they were, if you need to know. The American Legion, the Catholic War Veterans, all those guys who march in the Memorial Day parade.
- Many were drafted. Most enlisted so they could pick their choice of service and their jobs. A couple of them didn’t come back and a couple gave their all. Most didn’t support the war. Every night the newscast would have body counts and footage of battles. This was the first war that was right in your face.
- I don’t think residents thought much about Vietnam until 1965 when ground troops were sent to Da Nang, South Vietnam. The end of the war was greeted with relief and sadness, because of the cost. Many Lambertville kids were drafted between 1964-1972, when the draft ended. I served at Phu Bai with the 101st 1971.
Student Question
Did the Vietnam War take a toll on Lambertville?
Residents’ Answers
- Other than the loss of at least two lives of residents of Lambertville, I don’t believe the war caused any changes on Lambertville.
- The Vietnam War took a toll on everything.
- Politics in general did. Johnson and then Nixon ran the war. Most didn’t like the war. Lambertville had lost much of its jobs and most were poor with no place to go.
- Several guys were wounded in action and one, Charlie Danberry, Class of ’67 SHR, was killed at Khe Sanh.