NEW VIDEOS

Ambrose Fayard

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The troop transport was packed with thousands of men and endured a typhoon on the way to Vietnam. Army cook Ambrose Fayard was assigned to an artillery battery up in the Central Highlands. He marveled at the way Agent Orange cleared out the brush where a fire base was needed. (4:46)

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In training, the commander of the 155mm artillery battery decided that all personnel would have two jobs in the unit. That meant cook Ambrose Fayard was also on a gun crew. In his capacity as cook, he was proud of his version of that old classic, SOS. (4:04)

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There were a couple of singers and a couple of comedians, among others. Ambrose Fayard reminisces about his friends in the artillery battery back in Vietnam. He feels lucky that his tour was up well before the Tet Offensive hit. (4:02)

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Army cook Ambrose Fayard was ready to return home from Vietnam but his replacement had not yet arrived. When the man finally got there, he left, but when he got to the States, he felt the need to remove his uniform because of the prevalent anti-war sentiment. (4:07)

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Vietnam veteran Ambrose Fayard and his wife stressed education in their family. He started to think his son would never graduate high school. Surprisingly, he not only graduated but went to college and became a leader in the burgeoning field of AI. (4:30)

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We never should have been there. That's Ambrose Fayard's opinion on the Vietnam War. He feels bitter about the way the political and military leaders lied and how money was made from the conflict. But he does have fond memories of his commander and of the music of the time. (5:10)

Mike Vining

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Mike Vining details his early life growing up in rural Michigan. Members of his family had been serving in the U.S. military in different capacities dating back to the Revolutionary War, and his love of science would lead him to be a career soldier. (9:06)

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While he was finishing high school in 1968, the war in Vietnam had taken a major turn. Mike Vining details the state of the world when he decided to enlist and volunteer to see it for himself. He also discusses his cousin who went over before him, and some of the men from back home who didn’t make it back. (5:46)

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When he put in for EOD school, Mike Vining was taught how to maintain the ammunition supplies and how to dispose of unsafe materials. He also discusses a major safety hazard that came with allowing unqualified people into the program. (4:18)

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EOD School was not as physically tough as it was one of the more educationally difficult. Mike Vining describes the phases of his EOD training, including the in depth education on nuclear weapons, the threat of which loomed during the height of the Cold War. (9:18)