Heyn, James (Interview outline and video), 2015

Smither, James (Interviewer)

James Heyn was born in St. Joseph, MI and lived a quiet, independent life. He was largely a pacifist before he was drafted in 1965, but reluctantly accepted his duty to his country. James was in the first group of soldiers to attend basic training in Ft. Campbell, KY. He then attended Aviation school in Ft. Rucker, AL, and upon graduating was assigned to the newly reformed 92nd Assault Helicopter Company. James was then deployed to Vietnam, where he operated with the 10th Aviation Battalion in Dong Ba Thin. He operated all over II Corps before the Tet Offensive, including a few operations in Cambodia and building the base at Bau Lach from scratch. James survived a sabotage attempt during the Tet Offensive, and flew the II Corps commander to survey the damages after the first night. He even stopped in Khe Sanh during the bloody siege. Continued to support units all over Vietnam until he gave up his helicopter so he could return home.

2015-12-08

Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives

Veterans History Project (U.S.)

HeynJ1908V

application/pdf

video/mp4

Moving Image

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eng