Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:16 | Wallace Arnold had flown up near the border with North Vietnam to visit a friend who was an advisor there. On his way back, he heard his pilot say what no aircraft passenger ever wants to hear.
Keywords : Wallace Arnold Vietnam OH-58 helicopter Phu Bai Air America autopilot Joe Galloway
As a child, Wallace Arnold would watch Wold War II military convoys rumble by and he was eager to be a part of it. Commissioned out of ROTC, his air defense specialty was unneeded in Vietnam so he became a Psychological Operations officer in the newly organized XXIV Corps.
Wallace Arnold had to build the Psychological Operations effort from scratch in his area of operations in Vietnam. Leafleting and loudspeaker broadcasts were part of his work, as well as documenting the aftermath of village attacks by the Communists.
The living conditions at headquarters weren't bad and the 1st ARVN Division troops were pretty good. Psychological Operations officer Wallace Arnold had friends who were advisors in nearby districts and envious of his situation. His unit was a tight knit group despite any and all differences.
There was not much down time but there was enough time to record and listen to cassette tapes. That's how Wallace Arnold kept in touch from Vietnam. Years later, his wife asked him what was that noise in the background of all those tapes?
Wallace Arnold recalls two events from Vietnam that stuck with him. One was the soldier who was relieved for howling at the moon. The other was a sobering documentation of the mass graves left in the wake of the Tet Offensive.
Wallace Arnold, as a Psychological Operations officer, had to keep up with all news related to Vietnam, from intelligence briefings to newspapers. He was aware of the antiwar movement, but ignored it while he did his job. He suffers no ill effects from his tour, but he swears he can hear a Huey helicopter from twenty five miles away.
Wallace Arnold credits Gen. Melvin Zais with teaching him the single best leadership lesson he ever learned. Back home from Vietnam, Arnold experienced none of the negative experiences that many had, but he does feel powerful emotions when he observes other veterans at The Wall.
