Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Joe LaBranche

Vietnam | M Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

The Marines saw someone run into a cave and Joe LaBranche was ordered to throw in a grenade. Wait a minute, he thought. We don't know who it was. Another time he was ordered to advance into an exposed area where he knew the enemy fire would be relentless. These two incidents would haunt his thoughts for many years after he left Vietnam. (6:39)
Joe LaBranche laughs when he recalls the Marines ribbing each other over country music versus soul music. He'll also never forget meeting the tough Korean Marines. But he was eager to leave Vietnam and dropped everything when he was told it was his time. (4:37)
The new guys rotating in told Joe LaBranche about the antiwar protests back home, but he had no idea how serious it was until his tour was over and he entered college. He tried to just avoid the protestors on campus until one fateful day when a girl confronted him in the student union. More so than any wound from Vietnam, this caused his life to begin a downward spiral. (7:04)
Once you kill someone, there's no going back. That's one reason Joe LaBranche feels he left his soul in Vietnam, and since so few have served in battle, he also feels that almost no one can understand what veterans have gone through. Based on strategies used in Vietnam, which still persist today, he wonders what value is placed on the soldier's life. (8:19)
Although today's returning veterans are treated better than the maligned Vietnam veterans, the efforts still fall short in the mind of Joe LaBranche. Even worse to him was the military leadership that handcuffed the soldiers and seemingly had no intention of winning the war. (4:05)
Joe LaBranche spent so many years trying to get Vietnam out of his mind, when he finally visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, he couldn't remember most of the names of the fallen he had known. Still bitter over the military leadership and the treatment of returning veterans, he tries to muster some enthusiasm for today's belated recognition efforts. (5:40)
Joe McDonald

Vietnam | A Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Division

Draftee Joe McDonald was in the infantry but suddenly found himself in medic training. Then less than 6 hours after landing in Vietnam, he was on his way to the field. (4:10)
After his first combat experience, medic Joe McDonald was told he was not required to pull wounded soldiers from live fire, but he felt differently. His chief task was to stop the bleeding and get the wounded stabilized for evacuation. (9:01)
Just as he heard of his promotion, medic Joe McDonald narrowly missed the mortar blast that claimed the life of his friend. Back in combat, rushing to relieve a unit under attack, he stumbled upon a scene of horrible atrocity. (8:34)
The RPG that severed Joe McDonald’s foot didn’t kill him. The machine gun fire that hit him as he still tried to help others didn’t kill him. The grenade taped to his hand might have killed him if the VC had found his hiding place. (15:07)