Collection:LPB

Genre: Interview

Place Covered: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Vietnam

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 2017-08-09

Duration: 00:27:34

Subjects: United States. Army | Fort Polk (La.) | Military | Veterans | Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Contributors:

• Washington, Paul Interviewee

An oral history interview conducted on August 9, 2017, at the Vietnam Veterans of America Conference in New Orleans, with Paul Washington of Houston, Texas. Washington served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He discusses: why he wanted to serve his country; his Vietnam orientation training at Fort Polk, Louisiana; his role as a point leader in the combat zone; contracting malaria out in the field; the brotherhood of the soldiers; the discrimination he faced as a Vietnam veteran when he returned home; his medical problems due to Agent Orange exposure; the racism he experienced; and the importance of speaking about his experiences at schools.