Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Dorri Vu

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) | 13th Psychological Operations Battalion

Dorri Vu was a small person and the weight of her kit with the body armor and everything was half her body weight. She recalls how great her PSYOP team was on that first Afghanistan tour. She especially appreciated the skills of one of the other women on the team, a Photoshop expert who brought the concepts to life. (5:44)
Dorri Vu lost a close friend on that first deployment to Afghanistan. She first met Charles "Kit" Kitowski at her MOS training back in the States. She then shared the long miserable C-130 ride to the war zone with him. He liked to use his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice as in, "Get to da choppa!" (3:37)
Coming back from that first tour was hard for Dorri Vu. She had lost a close friend and couldn't relate to the young people her age who seemed clueless. A little older and a little wiser, the PSYOP specialist headed back to Afghanistan for a 2nd tour. This time, she was in a small detachment where she was the only woman. (4:13)
The second tour of Afghanistan was a much better experience for Dorri Vu than the first. The PSYOP specialist had more independence and got to operate with a lot of different units. This time around, though, she was the only woman in the outfit so she was really happy to meet two women in an MP unit she was working with. (7:08)
During her second Afghanistan deployment, Dorri Vu met a lot of civilian contractors. She was impressed at the money they were making so, when her time was up, she went to work for a contractor and spent two more years in Afghanistan. Those two were way better than the first two years she was there as a soldier. (5:36)
Dorri Vu has mixed feelings about Afghanistan, especially after that pull out. The fate of women there disturbs her. They had experienced for the first time some freedom from their oppressive male dominated culture. Now, they were forced back into burqas under the Taliban. What was it all for? (5:19)
You learn from everyone you meet. That was the way Dorri Vu was while in the Army. She took what lesson she could from everyone, even if she didn't like them. When she finally got to see folks again at a reunion, she was reminded of her life before becoming a mom. (Caution: strong language) (8:11)
Doug Garner

Vietnam | unknown Unit Information

Doug Garner talks about his first impression of Vietnam when he arrived there in early January of 1968, and how the environment was drastically different than what he had previously trained for. (2:21)
Doug Garner details how his Army company was assigned to support a Navy Mobile Riverine Force aboard the USS Benewah, and the types of missions they would undertake patrolling rivers in the Mekong Delta. (4:12)
Doug Garner recalls being ambushed by the Viet Cong on the Mekong Delta, and a firefight that lasted overnight and left him wondering how he could have survived. (5:49)