Vietnam Veterans Say They Will Never Forget War Experiences

Three Oak Forest High School American Literature students tried on various types of war garb that men used when sent to Vietnam to fight in the Vietnam War. On the left, Oak Forest High School Junior Emily Hausherr wears the version of a Vietnam soldier’s uniform at the beginning of the war. It was faulty in the setting of Vietnam because it was cotton, dried poorly, and had bright yellow badges and name tags which were like beacons in dim light for sharpshooters. Haley Leiacoho-Mazurowski (middle) wears the newer version of the uniform, made of nylon, which dried faster and had muted name tags. Diamonique Wallace (right) wears the uniform of the Viet Cong, with the black outfit, the pointed hat to ward off rain, and the scarf that denoted the rank of the soldier.

These three students were part of an object lesson taught by a group of Vietnam veterans that come to Oak Forest High School at the time teacher Jennifer Schanz is teaching The Things that They Carried by Tim O’Brien, a book about the Vietnam war and the effects that soldiers felt after the war when they came home to America.

Jennifer Schanz and three of her American Literature classes, and one class of American History teacher Mike Brown’s classes, came down to listen to the Vietnam veterans discuss the Vietnam war, the events in their lives that led up to their draft, what happened during their tour of the war, and how people treated them when they came home. The four veterans, Brian Mulcrone, John Swiderski, Tom Newton, and Gary Sieroslawski from Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 311, helped the students understand the raw and intense experience that many soldiers had while serving in Vietnam that author O’Brien wrote about. Many characters had problems with both acceptance and post-traumatic stress when they returned to the United States after fighting in Vietnam and the students could not picture nor understand that.

Each veteran talked about what life was like when they arrived in Vietnam. One veteran, Tom Newton, was a gunner for a Chinook resupply helicopter. He said he was very lucky because he was only fired on twice, but it was still very scary. He said, “I think about my experience in Vietnam every day.” He has sought counseling for how he still feels about his experience in Vietnam. He said that many veterans may have had an okay time while they were in Vietnam but are having problems processing their memories because of the post-traumatic stress they are still suffering.

The other veterans agreed with Newton. Gary Sieroslawski said, “We are talking to you because it is good therapy for us.” He was drafted and trained as an artilleryman. He was responsible for firing the huge Howitzer guns that could fire rounds up to 22 miles away. He said that because of the time spent firing those huge guns, he can’t hear so well today.

“I will never forget May 19,” said Brian Mulcrone, “because that is the day that someone first tried to kill me.” Mulcrone served as an MP Sergeant in Vietnam where he did a lot of security inspections. Also, he gave traffic tickets out too. One of the reasons for this is because the in-country people could not understand how fast the convoys were going and the convoys were supposed to respect this and go slower so that they didn’t hurt any innocent civilians.

Tom Swiderski served in Vietnam as a Spec 5. “In April, I attended my first Cubs game,” he said and soon thereafter he was drafted. He stopped in at his university after basic training and felt “very unwelcome.” This is where he lost a lot of so-called friends. The reason for this is because the anti-Vietnam protests were building at home and people would take out their resentments against the soldiers. One of the problems Swiderski struggles with is survivor’s guilt. “Why did some of those guys die and not me?” he asked. Since Vietnam, he has become hyper-aware of his safety and his family’s safety.

The veterans explained the draft board, snakes and other deadly creatures that they encountered in the jungles, and how heavy their clothing and day packs were.

All of the veterans agree that this military service has left a lasting impression on their lives, and sometimes that leads to unhappy experiences and feelings that they are still seeking treatment for. One veteran has been divorced a couple of times, all suffer some sort of PTSD, and some share some Agent Orange exposure. Tom Newton said, “The VA doctor believes that my diabetes was caused by Agent Orange.”