Vietnam War Interview Essay

While interviewing my veteran, Michael George, my understanding on the aspects and tragedies of the Vietnam war advanced. I knew remarkably little on the war between the United States and Vietnam, so my interview gave me insight and diminished most of my ignorance on the topic. Most of my knowledge was impacted when Michael discussed the major issues that were present during this time frame. For example, I was unaware of the difficulty the draft was bringing upon men and their families. The men despised the idea of having to fight in war, so protests broke out all across the country. Those who were yet to be drafted were angered and even protested on school campuses. These protests became so severe that the government called the national guard

My interview experience altered my understanding by allowing me to realize that recording information of people who experienced historical events was more logical. If an interviewer were to gather information from unreliable sources, like certain websites, then the work would not be credible and the incorrect information would cause controversy between multiple scholars. While I was interviewing my veteran, I realized that what he was telling me was his personal story and other veterans must have their own point of view. This is where oral history would be most effective since there are so many instances of the same event that it would be impossible to understand what happened from a broad source like, for example, a newspaper. Obtaining information from someone's point of view who was physically present during the historical event, and the said person is not documented in historical records, could aid in gathering significant knowledge that would not be found anywhere else. My knowledge was also influenced when I understood the relevance of dates and times of the time period. I realized this when my interviewee gave me specific dates of events in the war like when he fought in 1969-1975. No one would ever be sure when a particular event occurred in history without the input from people who experienced the event. Searching the internet about the Vietnam war would be less meaningful and educational than interviewing a veteran, and that is how my knowledge on the topic was able to