A Minnesota PBS Initiative
Life after Viet Nam
I graduated from Mankato High school in 1960. I did not know anything about the country of Viet Nam. I attended Mankato State College but only went one year. This was due to financial reasons.
I was registered with the draft board in Nicollet County. I was drafted in the year of 1965. I chose to enter the U.S. Navy instead of waiting for the draft. Finishing boot camp in San Diego I was sent to serve aboard the USS Jamestown in Viet Nam. There were war protests happening before I left Mankato. To be truthful I did not want to go in the military. However I felt that if my country wanted me to serve then I would. I did not object.
My experience in Viet Nam to me was less defined than those men who served on land. I survived the 14 month tour and I felt that I did my job well aboard the Jamestown.
My experience in Viet Nam will always be in my memory. However the most traumatic time was the time I stepped off the plane in San Francisco.
Upon returning from Viet Nam I entered Mankato State College once again using the GI Bill benefits. I was thankful to have the GI Bill pay for the rest of my college education.
My experience in Viet Nam will always be in my memory. However the most traumatic time was the time I stepped off the plane in San Francisco and began to walk up the concourse to claim my baggage. I was in my uniform and I was greeted with the words "Baby Killer", and further up the concourse I was given the middle finger with an angry expression on her face. I did not know what to think.
We were informed monthly in Nam what was happening back home but I felt very unwelcome in my own country. To this day I have not told my family about what transpired that day. My days on the college campus I never told anyone I served in Viet Nam.
Before completing my teaching degree I was to student teach for nine weeks. I was placed in a catholic high school in Mankato. I taught American History in three classes. One of my classes asked me to join them in blocking traffic on the bridge between Mankato and North Mankato at 4;30 PM to protest the war in Viet Nam. I was caught once again in a situation and remembered that day in San Francisco.
I could not do what they asked. I never told them I served in Viet Nam.
NAVY'S BEST by David Fairrington, CAT VI, 1968. Public Domain courtesy of US Army.
The draft was unfair. Every man who was of draft age should have been required to serve. Those who went to college did not have to go into the military. Those who left the country should not have been welcomed back to the United States. They should have at least served some type of community service. Jail time would have been my choice for them.
I did not see the horrors of war since I was off shore. However I did see and feel the Horrors when I returned home. Campus unrest told me not to tell anyone I served in Viet Nam. My feelings about the war kept me from telling I served.
The protesters to me were non patriotic who did not want to serve their country. United we Stand - Divided we fall. We Fell!
God Bless those who sacrificed all and God D-- those who protested.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: champlin, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam 
Story Subject: Military Service
Military Branch: U.S. Navy
Dates of Service: 1966 - 1970
Veteran Organization: VFW - Anerican Legion
Unit: uss jamestown agtr3
Specialty: Machinist Mate
Story Themes: Coming Home, Draft, Enlisting, Patriotism, Protest, Read, US Navy, USS Jamestown
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