A Minnesota PBS Initiative
A Vietnam Veteran's Story
On this episode of Lakeland Currents, host Ray Gildow welcomes Buford Johnson, a Vietnam veteran who served in the US Army during the early 1960s. As a Special Forces advisor to the South Vietnamese military, Mr. Johnson had a unique perspective on the war and the effect it had on both Vietnam and the United States.
Buford says, "People don’t realize Ho Chi Minh was a genius. He was an unbelievable organizer. This guy knew how to fight a war. The most important weapons they had were propaganda and infiltration and they did a beautiful job of it. I should have been afraid, but I remember thinking that I really admired the skill of the enemy. These are remarkable, well-trained individuals. We weren’t dealing with amateurs, we were dealing with professionals."
Originally broadcast on Lakeland PBS, January 26, 2018.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Bemidji, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Vietnam 
Story Subject: Military Service
Military Branch: U.S. Army
Dates of Service: 1963 - 1965
Unit: Special Forces Advisor
Story Themes: Bemidji, Buford Johnson, Combat, Congress, Farmer, Fort Benning, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, Ho Chi Minh, Lakeland Currents, Lakeland PBS, Mankato State, Ray Gildow, ROTC, South Vietnamese, Special Forces, St Cloud, St. John’s University, Training, Watch