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Description
Oral History interview of Wilfredo A. Lopez. Interview conducted by Sebastian Giraldo at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, 4225 Kissimmee, FL.
Log
0:01 Introduction; 1:20 Background info; Date of birth, place; 1:55 Moving back to Puerto Rico, Dropping out of school; 3:05 Jobs after dropping out of HS; 4:30 Family in military; 5:10 Factors into going to the US Army; 5:28 Parents Reaction; 6:40 Enlisting; 7:12 Helping fellow Puerto Ricans by translating for them; 9:20 Differences between draftees and enlisted-men; 10:26 Basic training in Fort Jackson; 11:15 Thoughts when arriving to basic training; 12:05 General day to day of Basic training; 12:53 Thoughts on drill sergeants; 13:33 Tests in basic training; 15:40 Leave to visit family in Puerto Rico; 16:28 More thoughts on basic training; 17:40 MOS and being sent to Germany; 18:04 Arriving in Germany, getting accommodated to the culture; 19:56 Interacting with the local population; 20:26 Volunteering to go to Vietnam and reasons for going; 22:11 Memories of Germany; 23:24 Leave before going to Vietnam, went to see family, going to Oakland; 25:13 Trip to Vietnam, discussions about Vietnam with others and arrival; 28:12 Duties will in Vietnam, amount of work, personal training; 30:30 Interaction with civilians, allowance to leave base; 32:32 Involvement with battle, frequency of combat; 33:34 Loss of a friend to a land mine, bombardment at nights; 34:40 Location where he was stationed, other experiences in Vietnam; 36:02 Length of enlistment; 37:00 Coming back home, treatment of veterans, wearing civilian clothes; 38:02 Reasons for keeping memories of Vietnam to himself; 39:02 Withholding service from future employers, also from other people; 41:01 Talking about Army in Vietnam and misconceptions of USA population; 43:30 Help by government, personal disabilities, mistreatment of Veterans; 46:36 Life after service, seeking education, did not show off he was Viet veteran; 49:58 Thoughts on how the government treated veterans, discusses PTSD; 51:46 Veteran groups, dislike of holidays, perception of peacetime veterans; 57:24 What it means to have been part of Army, closing thoughts, other thoughts; 1:00:56 Closing remarks.
Date of Birth
1948-06-08
Place of Birth
Puerto Rico
Gender
Male
Race
Unknown
Home State
NA
War or Conflict
Vietnam Era
Status
Veteran
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
1967-02-02
Type
Video; MovingImage
1969-10-13
Entrance into Service
Enlisted
Branch of Service
U.S. Army
Unit of Service
2nd Armor Division (Germany); 11th Cavalry (Vietnam); 20th Combat Engineer
Location of Service
Fort Jackson (S.C.); Fort Houston (Tex.); Wiesbaden (Germany); Da Nang (Vietnam); Pleiku (Vietnam)
Highest Rank
Staff Sergeant; SSG
Prisoner of War
No
Service Related Injury
Yes
Battles
Unspecified
Medals
Presidential Commendation; Civil Defense Medal; Gallantry Cross (Vietnam); Vietnam Campaign Medal
Achievements
Served as Tank Track Mechanic (19K20 MOS).
Note
"Comfortable discussing combat." -- The interviewer.
City of Birth
Unspecified
Country of Birth
Puerto Rico
Interviewer
Giraldo, Sebastian
Interview Date
Fall 11-21-2017
Location of Interview
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4225 Kissimmee, FL
Subjects
Lopez, Wilfredo A.; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives; United States. Army
Collection Description
Contains logs, audio and video recordings of interviews with Central Florida's veterans as part of a history class project for the students at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The UCF Community Veterans History Project(CVHP) started in fall 2010. It collects, preserves, and makes accessible to the public the experiences of Central Florida's veterans so that future generations will better understand the realities of conflict. It is a collaborative endeavor supported by multiple departments and offices at UCF. The veterans' histories are archived and made digitally available through the UCF library and selected materials are contributed to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.
Contributor Affiliation / Organization
RICHES University of Central Florida
Contributors
Giraldo, Sebastian
Length of Interview
62 Minutes
Publisher
Department of History, University of Central Florida
Type
video
Rights
All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/
Repository
University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
Contributing Project
UCF Community Veterans History Project
Document Type
Interview
Recommended Citation
Central Florida, RICHES of, "Lopez, Wilfredo A. interview" (2017). Veterans Oral Histories. 568.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/568