A Minnesota PBS Initiative
I'm a Combat Veteran Because of That
Because Phil Wendt's brother and brother-in-law were in Vietnam, he didn't have to serve there. Instead, he was sent to South Korea. While volunteering at an orphanage, Phil met his wife, a fellow volunteer who'd come over with Lutheran Social Services.
Right after Kent State, there was some tumultuous times, let's call it. I went and joined the group and heard what these people were saying so I saw the opposite side of the coin.
Phil's story was captured with the help of TPT's Minnesota Remembers Vietnam team.
Story Themes: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 304th Signal Battalion, Army, Coming Home, Draft, Full Metal Jacket, GI Bill, Good Morning Vietnam, Guilt, Kent State, Lutheran Social Services, Marriage, Orphanage, Phil Wendt, Pueblo Affair, Pueblo Incident, Relationships, Ryan's Rule, South Korea, Stillwater Screening, Student Protest, University of Minnesota, Watch