By Avery Maier, ’13, News Editor
Vietnam War veterans Dr. Robert Arnoldt and Dr. James Brask spoke to the Upper School in Keeler Theater on Friday, Feb. 19, about their personal history, and the nation’s collective history, of the Vietnam War.
Arnoldt, born in 1944, enlisted in the United States Army and went on active duty on June 8, 1965. He served one and a half tours, or 18 months, in Vietnam, and was honorably discharged June 8, 1971. Arnoldt wrote the book Vietnam Insights (link) with coauthors Jacqueline Marx and Robert Carpenter.
Brask, born in 1948, was drafted into the Army in 1969. He served one tour, or 12 months, in Vietnam and was honorably discharged in April, 1971.
Both Arnolt and Brask went through eight weeks of basic training and then eight weeks of infantry training before deploying overseas.
Arnoldt was “trained as an infantry soldier and got to Vietnam right in the middle of the first big battle of the war. We were always shorthanded so I was sent out to do various jobs,” he said.
When the company clerk died, Arnoldt got that job because he had learned to type in high school. He was also tasked to go out and identify fallen soldiers. Arnoldt entered the military as a private and left an E5 sergeant.
After the war Arnoldt went back to school and earned his doctorate in 2003. He said views his most important accomplishment to be his children and grandchildren and that “people love me and I love people.”
Arnoldt was never directly wounded, but he did receive diabeties and bloodcancer from the toxins in the Agent Orange. “[Agent Orange] is a long term killer. I got wounded, but not there. I came home unscratched”
Brask was an Infrantry Radio Operator while on tour. In July, 1970, in the village of Tanh Linh, which he surprisingly called his favorite place in Vietnam, his helicopter was shot down. He was hospitalized from July 1970 until March 1971. Brask entered the military as a private and left an E4 specialist.
Brask and Arnoldt met at in 1981 DePaul University in Chicago when Brask took a part-time job there. Arnoldt had already been employed at DePaul. “I met him and to my surprise I liked him. Then we started teaching together,” said Brask.
Arnoldt said that he and Brask like to talk about their Vietnam experiences because “it is our way of understanding it and controlling it. We use dialogue in presentation to both help students and ourselves understand.”
Arnoldt opened up the pair’s presentation at CCDS with a provocative statement. He pointed to all the empty seats in Keeler Theater and said, “These empty seats might be an effect of the Vietnam War. Those young med did not have a chance to have children. Everything in my life is a result of Vietnam and everything is touched by it.”
Brask continued the presentation, saying that “history is important because it is the memories of the nation. History is not just national, it’s personal.”
He said because of all the “savagery and violence of war” you start to “ask [yourself] questions about the meaning of everything; the war and our lives.”
Many Americans protested the Vietnam War for a variety of reasons. When soldiers who had fought for their country over in Vietnam returned home they weren’t always regarded as war heroes, but sometimes as the opposite. This deeply affected Arnoldt.
“When I left in ’65 there were protests around military facilities, but I didn’t pay attention to them. I had a job to do,” he said. “When I came back in ’67, I noticed the protests. I was told not to wear my uniform outside the post because soldiers were confronted on the streets. My life was even threatened. I was angry with the way we were being treated in our own country.”
“Nothing can truly prepare you for war, said Brask.
Both Brask and Arnoldt said they don’t consider themselves to be heroes. Arnoldt said, “I was not a hero. I feel that I owe my country and I feel good about my service.”
“I feel that we are lucky to have had these veterans here. They bring richness and experience to us and they were both interesting and compelling speakers,” said Upper School Head Stephanie Luebbers. She said it is “important we not forget about the impact that war has on both the country [involved] and individual humans.”
Upper School History Teacher Eldrich Carr, who helped arrange the presentation, said the idea of having Arnoldt and Brask speak “originated after several faculty members had seen Dr. Brask and Dr. Arnoldt at another educational conference.”
Carr said “anytime we can bring a personal perspective into the classroom and a firsthand account I think it is important and these two gentlemen gave it to us when it comes to the Vietnam era.”
‘It was actually a really great experience because [the speakers] really connected with the audience and gave everyone insight and how it affected the soldiers that fought [in Vietnam],” said Olivia June, ’13.
Jules Cantor, 11, said “it is important for us to get some experience of understanding of Vietnam War because it was one of the wars that shaped the moral ethics and future decisions of the USA.”
“They gave a very intimate look at what the war was like from firsthand experiences,” said Cody Pomeranz, ’11.
Photo courtesy of scrapetv.com.