In 1969, the Review dedicated several of its issues to dealing with one of the most pressing worldwide issues of the time: the Vietnam War. Two years previous, protests on Oberlin’s campus had catapulted the college into a new era of uproar, complete with police response of fire hoses and nightsticks. In this issue, the Review took a more measured approach that analyzed the many diverse aspects of the war. This article looks at one veteran’s perspective.

—The News Team

Two veterans of Vietnam, now students at the College, spoke Wednesday at a Moratorium Day forum. Junior Chip Hedler and senior Richard Hallmark talked to a group of about 80 students about Vietnam and its effects on soldiers, the Vietnamese and the U.S.

Mr. Hedler, who served as a medic, prefaced his comment with two sentiments, first, that one soldier does not see much because the immediate is always so crucial, and second that communication was difficult for him when he first returned. “I had a lot in  my head,” he said, “but at college speak with three and four syllable words. They don’t do that in the army.”

He added that although there is much anti-war sentiment here, not many students really wanted to listen to him. One reaction he heard over and over again when he was introduced to others was, “Wow! How was it?” He commented it is impossible to answer such a question.

Much of Mr. Hedler’s talk dealt with the poor planning behind the military action in Vietnam. An example of the futility of much action was the job that was given to his unit. They were assigned to put in a pipeline above ground along a highway. Each night the Viet Cong put a hole in one piece of pipe and made the entire pipeline useless. Each day the Americans would repair the pipe, and each night the Viet Cong would destroy it.