Vietnam Veterans Speak to Oak Forest HS Students

One of the hardest things to do when teaching about American literature is to get the students to visualize and conceptualize what the characters are going through.

Oak Forest High School teacher Jen Schanz had that issue when she started teaching The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, a story about a group of men who fought in the Vietnam War. She knew students would need a little help picturing what was going on in the novel. The experience the characters had with Vietnam was raw and intense. Many characters had problems with both acceptance and post traumatic stress when they returned to the United States after fighting in Vietnam and students could not understand that.

Schanz reached out to a Vietnam Veteran’s group and they came to Oak Forest High School to speak about their experiences in both wartime and fitting back in with American society afterwards.

Speaking to the students were veterans Alan VanBladel, Jerry VanBladel, Tom Newton, Fred Wilhelm and Gary Sieroslawski from the organization Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 11, who shared their firsthand accounts of the Vietnam War.

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 is feeling about it. 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 artillery man. He was responsible for firing the huge Howitzer guns, which 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.

Alan VanBladel was not drafted as the other three speakers were. He voluntarily enlisted in the Navy. He said while he was in Vietnam, he was on a ship that was equivalent to three football fields long. His ship was responsible for providing “harassment” for enemy forces on the land by firing large guns. VanBladel actually visited South Vietnam several years ago and was touched at the monuments they erected to the “Hero Comrades,” or the American soldiers who fought for them.

Jerry VanBladel, Alan’s brother, also entered Navy service. He had an added burden of being in a psychological tactical unit, of which things that they did were classified until 2000. Now, he enjoys talking freely about his experiences. The one lesson he learned was “not to eat what the birds eat, eat the bird,” he said. He told the students that the scariest moments during his time in Vietnam was the anxiety, not knowing about things.

Fred Wilhelm was drafted in 1968 to the Army. He was escort and security for a three star general, General Peers of the My Lai Massacre. He told students that if you served in Vietnam over a year, you could take R and R, which he explained was a rest and relaxation vacation trip. He chose to go to Tokyo. When asked what movie he felt would be most similar to his experiences in Vietnam, he said, “Platoon was a good depiction of Army life and Full Metal Jacket for the Marines.” The scariest thing he endured was flying a helicopter in complete darkness because any light would give them away to the enemy.

The veterans explained the draft board, how they passed their time waiting until their next set of orders, snakes and other deadly creatures that they encountered in the jungles, and how heavy their clothing and day packs were. They also opened some food rations and had students try them out. Students thought the rations were okay. They also explained that every boy who is 18 must register for the selective service when they turn 18. Most of the high school boys in the audience were surprised by this.