Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Bob Atkinson

Vietnam | K Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment

The war was bad, the injury painful, and the return home was tentative. Bob Atkinson seemed normal for a while, then the war caught up with him. First it was the back pain. Then the nightmares. Marijuana and alcohol helped for a while, but then, out in the world, he heard someone speaking Vietnamese and he lost it. Part 1 of 3. (8:52)
A SWAT team wound up at his house before Bob Atkinson finally reached out for help with his demons from the Vietnam War. He had back pain, but it was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that was making his life fall apart. Part 2 of 3. (9:10)
Home had not been much better than the war but Bob Atkinson's life began to look up when he saw an ad for hypnosis to stop smoking and he tried it and it worked. Would the hypnotist try taking him back to Vietnam? "Oh, hell no," came the answer, but it did happen and it was another step on the road back. Part 3 of 3. (9:23)
Bob Averill

Vietnam | 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division

Bob Averill remembers Marine Corps basic training and some of the men he served next to while there. (8:21)
Bob Averill remembers one his fellow soldiers, Crash Crattick, who was known as the joker within the division. During one particular drill, Crash had a near-incident that brought them some punishment, but they managed to laugh it off. (2:09)
Back in 1967, Bob Averill had the chance to train with the U.S. Olympic team for the biathlon. After refocusing his sights on Vietnam, he pursued his time in the service instead of on the team. (7:49)
Bob Averill remembers landing in Vietnam and immediately getting shelled upon arrival. Travelling around country, Averill and his battalion had many combat interactions that fortunately ended up mostly successful for him. (13:24)
After a meeting with his company commander, Bob Averill was tasked with a fire team to push further into NVA territory. While camped outside of Viet Cong territory, they would often take enemy mortars . (8:31)
Relieving some fellow Marines in what they thought was a calm area, Bob Averill and his platoon were forced to think quickly once they started encountering the NVA. (11:03)
After recovering from a firefight, Bob Averill had a revelation that made him feel that he wasn't going to be killed in Vietnam. His company got orders to rotate back to Camp Carroll and faced VC fire while sweeping a Vietnamese village. (7:37)