A Minnesota PBS Initiative
St. Cloud Remembers
Community at the St. Cloud Remembers story-sharing event
The stories below were captured with the help of TPT’s Minnesota Remembers Vietnam Team at a public story-sharing event at the St. Cloud Public Library on Nov. 4th, 2017.
Vietnam? Where in the world is that? 4 years later I knew. It was right under my feet.
The light was rapidly fading and an eery silence settled about me, churning up long-buried memories of standing to in Vietnam. My senses went on alert.
Bob Hope, to me, is forever a hero. He felt that if we were there, he should be there.
My friends and I were against the war. We weren’t against our friends and relatives that went over there to serve in the military. We were against what our country was saying to us.
We came here with the open arms of the U.S. who provided freedom.
I got my MOS. I was a clarinet player.
A lot of my friends in the Army and Marines didn’t come back, and I miss ‘em.
All you have is your gear, your poncho, and your ever-gracious poncho liner.
I thank my dad for having the strength to live through that and to look the other way.
The Vietnamese people are my friends. We were there for the freedom of the Vietnamese people. That is the only reason. They don’t have freedom today.
Our very heartfelt thanks to Benton Telecommunications for a grant that made this St. Cloud community story-sharing day possible.
St. Cloud Vietnam War Memorial
The St. Cloud Times covered the event in their touching piece titled "Why Grown Men Cry: St. Cloud Remembers Vietnam."
And a warm thank you to the St. Cloud Public Library for graciously hosting us at their beautiful space, and to the St. Cloud VA Healthcare System for their presence and support at the event.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: St. Cloud, MN
Story Subject: Civilian
Story Themes: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Bob Hope, Family, Memorial, Protest, St Cloud, St. Cloud Remembers Vietnam, U.S.S. Cook, USO, Vietnamese
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