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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b5c5dadf64bb89413521f07ba0725bf3.mp4
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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7fd2a2e98e40bf9d6e4f0aa66b1b69b0.pdf
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Grand Valley State University
Veterans’ History Project
Floyd Alexander
Vietnam War
57 minutes 40 seconds
(00:18) Early Life
-Born on October 29, 1949 in Jerseyville, Illinois
-Went to first four years of grade school there
-Moved to Dow, Illinois
-Graduated in 1968
(00:53) Army Enlistment
-February 1969 enlisted in the Army
-Wanted credit for a new car
-Bank refused to give him any credit because of being draft age
-Did not know much about Vietnam
-Two cousins served in Vietnam but didn’t talk about it
-Requested to be an MP (military police)
-Wound up being placed in artillery
(02:20) Basic Training
-Sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
-Greeted by a drill sergeant
-Screamed at the recruits
-Intimidated them
-Had “zero week” for processing
-Placement tests
-Documentation
-Physicals
-Was in a “fat farm” for overweight recruits
-Had to run everywhere, walking was not allowed
-Always got recruited for “special” jobs
-Very difficult to adjust to military living
-Never had trouble with other recruits
-Drill instructors were all Vietnam veterans
-Told that they were fat and stupid and thus would get people killed
(05:16) A Quick Note on His Parents
-Father worked for a flour mill
-Family raised small livestock
-Helped family raise the animals
-Helped with being disciplined, somewhat strong, and having some stamina
(06:15)Advanced Infantry Training
-Went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for AIT (advanced individual training)
-He was told that the majority of the recruits there would go to Vietnam
-Only one recruit did not go to Vietnam
-Training consisted of field maneuvers and firing the howitzers
�-Learned how to calculate range for the guns
-Trained on the 105mm howitzers
-Was trained how to do everything artillery related
-Loading the guns, firing the guns, calculating ranges, etc.
-AIT was just as difficult as basic training in terms of actual training
-Not as emotionally taxing as basic training
-Wasn’t harassed by drill instructors in AIT
-AIT lasted eight weeks
(08:53) Deployment to Vietnam
-After AIT was over was given a thirty day leave to go home
-Dad was a WWII vet who was upset about enlistment and deployment
-Mom got draft notice five days after he left for basic
-Both parents knew that he was going to be sent to Vietnam one way or another
-Sent to Fort Lewis, Washington for deployment
-Went from Washington, to Alaska, to Japan
(10:07) Arrival in Vietnam
-Arrival date was December 22, 1969
-Landed in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam
-Country had a weird smell to it
-Kept in Cam Ranh for a “zero week” waiting for deployment orders
-Also got booby trap training at this time
-Assigned to Bravo Company of the 2nd/319th Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division
-Flew up to Camp Evans via Chinook helicopter
(11:40) Brief Overview of Timeline
-Sent to Bravo Company for an amount of time
-Helped move guns to Firebase Ripcord
-Attached to Alpha Company of the 2nd/506th under Captain Burkhart
-Infantry duty as an RTO (radio telephone operator) in the field
(12:59) Firebase Jack
-Met up with Bravo Company at Firebase Jack
-Great reception
-Looked for soldiers that were also from Illinois (found two)
-Assigned to a gun crew
-Gun 5 (out of 7 or 8 total gun crews)
-Guns stayed there for a while until being moved
-Firebase Jack stayed relatively calm
(14:38) Firebase Ripcord
-Moved to Firebase Ripcord around May to help move 105mm howitzers there
-Nothing serious happened during the transfer of the howitzers
-Loaded the guns onto a Chinook helicopter
-Traveled with the guns
-Surrounded larger artillery (155mm guns) with smaller howitzers
-Had to reinforce and barricade their positions
-Fired countless shells every day
-Job was a “loader”: physically put rounds into howitzer
-Wasn’t quick enough once and the recoil hit his leg
�-Got sent to Camp Evans for medical examination
-Stayed there for one week
-Thought he would get to go home
-Had to physically move the ammunition around
-They had beehive (shrapnel-projectile) rounds, illumination (flare) rounds, and white
phosphorous (incendiary) rounds
-Stayed on Firebase Ripcord for about a month
(19:53) Alpha Company-General Information
-Got assigned to Alpha Company at this point to be an RTO for Lieutenant Brennan
-Flown out to the field via helicopter
-Job was to figure out coordinates and call them in via radio that he carried
-Never had to walk point in the field
-Called in heavy firepower on enemy positions
-Artillery and gunships
-Miserable walking in the jungle especially during monsoon season
-Hunkered down and stayed quiet at night
-Captain Burkhart’s replacement, Captain Hawkins, was an equally good leader
-Had one 2nd Lieutenant who was reckless and wanted to be a war hero
(26:12) July 22, 1970 Pt. 1
-Before major engagement on July 22 there was a sense of deterioration around Ripcord
-More contact with NVA, helicopter crash, artillery positions was blown up
-Does not recall anyone from his gun crew dying because of the battery exploding
-Found an NVA communications line shortly before fighting on July 22
-Encountered small arms fire and satchel charges
-Hunkered down on the hillside with officers
-Started losing officers
-Rescued wounded soldier from NVA fire
-NVA were advancing rapidly down the hill
-NVA were executing wounded Americans
-Played dead and laid on top of soldier
-Got kicked in the head by advancing NVA
-Blacked out
(30:30) July 22, 1970 Pt. 2
-Woke up from being blacked out
-Went to get help for wounded man
-Found Captain Hawkins who helped move him
-He (Floyd) and Captain Hawkins began to call in fire again until Capt. Hawkins got wounded
-Pinned down by the NVA for the entire day
-NVA pulled back at nightfall after relentless airstrikes
-Had to dig in for the night
-Delta Company came in the next day and evacuated the survivors
-Came right to Alpha Company and created a landing zone for the helicopters there
-Started to take fire as they pulled out, he was one of the last ones to leave
(35:50) Post Ripcord Vietnam
-Sent to Firebase Rakkason for a debriefing
-Kept separated from other soldiers
�-Didn’t want to damage morale
-Sent to Camp Evans after Firebase Rakkason
-Stayed with the infantry until he left the country (December 1st 1970)
-Bitterness in the wake of what happened at Ripcord
-All other contact with the NVA seemed to pale in comparison
-Spent a lot of time in the field
-Only got to be in the rear for five days (besides leg incident)
-Wanted to take an R&R to Australia
-Resupply helicopter that would have served as a transport was shot down first try
-Fog kept everyone grounded on his second try for R&R
(39:30) General Morale in Vietnam
-Never saw drug use in the rear or in the field
-Never saw racial tensions
-Served alongside African American soldiers in the artillery and in the field
-Seen as equals in battle
-Wrote home almost every day
-Mom, aunts, cousins, dad, brothers wrote back
-Three to four day wait time
-Care packages were very common
-Got half a case of baby food after mentioning fresh fruit in a letter
(42:14) Leaving Vietnam and Coming Home
-Got a “Santa Claus Drop” from Richard Nixon
-Got sent home before Christmas (December 1st to be exact)
-Landed in Fort Lewis, Washington
-Flew in in the middle of the night
-Options were a steak dinner then leave, or getting “dress greens” then leaving
-Opted to forego the steak dinner and just go
-Encountered protestors in Dallas, Texas
-Got called a baby killer by one of them
-No violence, no retaliation, just walked away
-Welcomed home extremely well in Illinois
(44:18) Fort Hood and Honor Guard Duty
-Sent to Fort Hood
-One of the six highest decorated men in his battery and was made an honor guard
-Felt guilty not being able to tell families what had happened to the soldier
-One mother was so bitter that she refused to accept the flag
-Was not attached to any other duties at Fort Hood during his time as an honor guard
-Took turns carrying a loaded casket using an honor guard for the sense of realism
(47:46) Life after the Army
-Army wanted him to re-enlist
-Offered him money, promotion, and retirement plan
-Catch was that he would have to go to Vietnam for another tour
-He refused to re-enlist
�-Went back to his place of work before the war
-Was being turned away because he was a Vietnam veteran
-Union president got involved as well as the VA and got him his job back
-Worked there until he retired
(49:50) Reflections on Service
-Views service as having a positive impact on his life
-Not a good time, but there were good times during his time in the Army
-Had a temper coming home
-Arrested for disorderly conduct
-Has to see psychiatrist to keep emotions in check
-Wife and family have a noticed a positive impact from therapy
-Thirty two years after Vietnam he finally decided to seek therapy
-Hated and resented the government
-Disgusted by the fact that the Battle of Firebase Ripcord was covered up by Congress
-Never talked about his experience in Vietnam with anyone
-Couldn’t get loans from banks because of being a Vietnam veteran
-Joined Ripcord Association after being contacted about it
-Book was written and published in the early 1990s about the battle
-His name was mentioned in it
-Association wanted him to join because of this
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Veterans History Project
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. History Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1914-
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Michigan--History, Military
Oral history
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States--History, Military
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
Veterans
Video recordings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James
Boring, Frank
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-27
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Alexander, Floyd (Interview outline and video), 2013
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Alexander, Floyd
Description
An account of the resource
Floyd Alexander was born in 1949 in Jerseyville, Illinois. He grew up in that area and joined the Army in February 1969. He trained at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Fort Sill, Oklahoma to be a part of the artillery. He was deployed to Vietnam in December 1969 and attached to Bravo Company of the 2nd and 319th Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division and later Alpha Company of the 2nd and 506th as a radio operator. In Alpha Company he saw action in the Battle of Firebase Ripcord and served in Vietnam until he was released early on December 1st, 1970. After the war he returned home and served as an honor guard at Fort Hood during the last part of his enlistment.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James (Interviewer)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Moving Image
Text
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2013-10-12
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
AlexanderF1452V
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Format
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application/pdf
video/mp4