Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Lee Ellis

Vietnam | 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing

After he moved back to the Hanoi Hilton, Ellis was actually elected by his fellow prisoners to be one of their French professors following one prisoner's demand to have a custom education program put in place. He mentions how he moved around a lot before his eventual release on March 14, 1973. (6:14)
Lee Ellis talks about the few months leading up to his final release from the POW camps in Vietnam. He talks about how he felt when he was released, and how he was finally able to eat all the food he dreamed about while in prison. (8:26)
The next day after the big release and the dining buffet, one of the men actually had a panic attack. Everyone including Ellis had a very drained mindset, meaning it was hard for them to feel emotions normally. He talks about how that affected him after he came home, his R&R experience and how, despite the massive protesting against the Vietnam War, he was never ridiculed because he was a prisoner of war. (5:28)
Ellis recalls the first impressions that American society had made on him when he finally got back to the states. He was shocked at how much culture around him had changed in the span of five years. (4:58)
Lee Ellis concludes his vast amount of stories from Vietnam to share all the things he learned from being held captive in a prisoner of war camp for so long. He describes what leadership is to him, and how you can still have influence on the people around you even if you aren't the one in charge. (3:23)
Lee Riley

Vietnam | 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment

Lee Riley was a poor kid from a large family when he joined the Marines. Some of his older brothers had served in other branches but it was the Marines for him because he thought they were so cool. It wasn't cool what a particular sergeant did to him at boot camp. (4:36)
No problem. Lee Riley didn't mind at all that he had to go to Vietnam. He was a true Marine. Just tell me where to go. But when he got there, the first thing that happened was very troubling. (4:43)
Saddle up! The Marines were used to helicopters but this time they were ordered to board trucks. Hue City was under siege as the Tet Offensive raged across the entire country. Lee Riley recalls that they were under fire the minute they got there and it didn't let up for months. (5:12)
It was a war every day. For Lee Riley and the other Marines in his unit, there was no let up in the fighting. The battle for Hue City was long and brutal but at least Gen. Westmoreland removed the restrictions under which they were operating. (5:36)
Why would you extend for another six months in Vietnam? Lee Riley did and his reasoning may surprise you. They made an MP out of him for that period and it suited him just fine. He ran into a Vietnamese boy who explained to him exactly why America would fail in Vietnam and it had the ring of truth. (5:10)