"If there's any lessons, it's that our military is civilian-controlled and they're doing the job that our government sends them to do."
Description of Interview:
Richard Laaken describes medical civic action programs (MEDCAPs) that included providing dental care for Vietnamese villagers who had never seen a dentist before, and also treating them for such diseases as bubonic plague, among other things. Then-Captain Laaken remembers not understanding the antiwar movement, and the awful treatment of American Soldiers coming home from the war. He himself was spat on at the airport in Philadelphia, an experience that clearly had a lasting impact.
Key Words: Cu Chi Tunnels, Operation BIG BUILD, MEDCAP, Dust Off, antiwar
Key People: Senator Mike Mansfield
Service Date:
1959-1961 (enlisted), 1962-1992 (commissioned)
Unit:
25th Medical Battalion, 25th Infantry Division
Service Location:
III Corps, Cu Chi, Dau Tieng, Tay Ninh
Read the Complete Transcript of this Interview.