Writing A History Reflection Paper

03 May Writing A History Reflection Paper

Transcript of My Veterans Interview Questionnaire

This is Rameshwar Shrestha and I am interviewing George Warringer on Veteran’s experience

as a part of the 2013 Richland Oral History Project. This interview took place on April 02, 2018

at VFW Post 2494, Grand Prairie, Texas.

PART ONE: Introduction to the interviewee (George Warringer)

1). His date and place of birth

· On March 14, 1948 at Kingston, New York

2). His parents’ occupations and the number and gender of their children

· His father served for U.S. army in the World War II while his mother was just a housewife. They had 4 children: 2 sons and 2 daughters. His father also worked for AT&T as Cable Splicer after his retirement.

3). The war he served in and branch of service

· U.S. Navy

4). The highest rank he achieved

· Third Class Machinist Mate

5). What was he doing before entering the service?

· He was studying in a high school at his hometown.

6). What other members of his family served in the military?

· Apart from him, his brother was in the U.S. Marine forces and father in the U.S. army.

PART TWO: Enlistment and Training

1). How did he enter the service (either by enlisting, or being drafted)?

· He was enlisted after his high school.

2). The reasons that caused him to do so

· His education and fitness were the main reasons to get himself enlisted.

3). What were the reasons for him choosing the specific branch of service?

· He always wished to see the wonderful places around the world and moreover, he was intrigued to enjoy in the water portions, especially the sea. So, he made his mind to join Navy forces.

4). Did he get enlisted for specific training, and if so, why?

· Yes, he was enlisted for specific training in Machinery for creating his skills as a Machinist.

5). What was his occupational specialty in the service?

· Machinist Mate

6). How was his military life during the service?

· Talking about the challenges of basic training, he had to get up early in the morning and had to go for the trainings. The discipline was the main challenge for all during the basic training. Their barracks life usually used to go by pulling off each other.

· Talking about the military foods, it was excellent. They used to have 3-4 times meals a day: breakfast comprising of a couple of boiled eggs, a box of salads and varieties of fruits, baked potatoes, milk, bread, and coffee; Lunch and Dinner comprising of chicken and roasted beef with pastas; and snacks.

· Reflecting their social life, all of them used to live friendly creating the nature of brotherhood. George is still in touch with some of his Navy mates. But the bitter experience they did have during the service was, they did not have family time at all because they were kind of separated from home.

PART THREE: Experiences After Training

1). Where were his permanent duty stations during his enlistment?

· He did not have permanent duty stations during his enlistment, but had shipped to Panama Canal, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hongkong.

2) What unit was he assigned to all those locations? What was your job/assignment at each of them?

· He had to move through the ship along with the U.S. Meredith. He was Machinist Mate at all these locations.

2). Which war did he serve in (WWII, Korea, The Cold War 1945-1992, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf/Afghanistan)?

· He served in the Vietnam war.

3). Did he see combat?

· Yes, he did when he was there with his forces to do gun-fire support for the U.S. Marine Coat.

4). His combat experiences

· He, with his Navy forces, were there in Danin Harbor for gun-fire support mission. During the mission, they entered the river and ran around.

5) His awards and medals or citations

· He was awarded with medals for Vietnam war service, Vietnam Campaign, and Expeditionary.

6)How long did he serve for the Navy?

· From July 8, 1968 to October 2, 1991

PART FOUR: Service Life

1). How did he stay in touch with his family?

· He had to write the letters to his parents. He had never got chance to meet his parents during the service time.

2). What was the food like?

· The food was excellent. They used to get roasted beef, chicken, and even some sea foods.

3). Did he feel pressure or stress?

· Yes, he felt. They used to be on duty for 6 hours and then rest for about 2-3 hours, and then they should refuel or do certain special trainings for 6 hours. Finally, they had sleep for no more than 4-5 hours daily.

4). Did he feel that he was being supported by Americans back at home?

· He felt that his family was supported by American government by giving them some dollar bills and some other facilities.

5). Was there something special his forces did for “good luck”?

· Before going to any mission, they used to pray for Jesus.

6). How did people entertain themselves?

· During the break, they used to watch movies inside the ship and even used to listen to some music. But they had never got a chance to entertain by drinking or outing.

8). Does he recall any particularly humorous or unusual event?

· Yes, he does like making fun of the captain of the ship and playing hide and seek under the basement of the ship. 9). What were some of the pranks that he or others would pull?

· One night, he and his mates pranked his friend who was slept. They sprayed cream over his nose and lips. The next morning, his friend woke up and was pranked and almost all of them laughed at him.

10) What did he think of officers or fellow soldiers?

· He thought his fellow soldiers as good brothers and officers as his senior guardians. Moreover, they used to see for the get-together or union every year in the month of October where they used to enjoy drinking and having lots of fun at the party.

11). Were there any of your fellow soldiers who left a particularly memorable impression on him?

· No. Not at all.

12). Did he keep a personal diary?

· He never kept a personal diary because of lack of time.

13) Did there go bombarding in their ship?

· Some bombarding occurred at the war, but no one got dead because they had fine protection.

14) What type of weapons were given to him during the service?

· 5 H 38 projectiles

PART FIVE: After Service

1). What did he go on to do as a career after the war?

· He worked for Lehigh Cement, Irving Independent school, and Dallas Areas Traffic for 10 years,10 years, and 20 years respectively.

2). Did his military experience influence your thinking about war or about the military in general?

· Yeah, his military experiences are worth it. He wishes to do the service in the military forces again if he should do.

3). If in a veteran’s organization, what kinds of activities does his post or association have?

· He is already enrolled as a 30 years membership in VFW and a 18 years membership in the Machinist club.

4). How did his service experiences affect his life?

· The service experiences taught him the lesson of patience and discipline to work at a certain attitude.

5) Did any of his fellow soldiers get an honor from Vietnam after the Vietnam war?

· One of his friends, Retired Cornell at U.S. armed forces-Roger H.C. Donlon, got an honor and award from Vietnam on July 6, 1964.

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