The Chicano Experience in Vietnam

While a significant presence in the Vietnam-era military, Chicano and Hispanic veterans have often been left out of the dominant war narratives. Chicano and Hispanic Vietnam veterans formed an important pillar of the Chicano Movement—a movement of young Chicanos who protested their second-class citizenship in American society that saw them as both inferior and expendable. For the Chicano people, the war in Vietnam was a critical turning point politically and socially, as both veterans and activists took to the streets and protested what they saw as an oppressive majority society and an unjust war in Southeast Asia.

The ongoing Chicano Experience in Vietnam project collects oral history interviews, photographs, documents, and other items related to Chicano Vietnam veterans. The project also incorporates the experiences of family and friends of Chicano veterans.

A short film featuring the oral histories conducted at Regis University for the Chicano Experience in Vietnam project is included in History Colorado's El Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado exhibit.

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Interview with Juan Espinosa, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Vietnam War, U.S. Air Force, military training, military service in Vietnam (1968), tactical aircraft maintenance, prisoners of war, assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Mexican Americans, anti-war sentiment, photography, Vietnam War protesters, Chicano movement, Ernesto Medina, Agent Orange

Year of Interview: 2015

Length: 01:22:24
Interview with Jacob Fernandez, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Vietnam War, U.S. Marine Corps, military service in Vietnam (1968-1969), recruitment, combat, anti-war protests in the U.S., race relations in the military, Vietnamese soldiers, Project Transition, post-military transition to civilian life, veterans

Year of Interview: 2015

Length: 01:46:57
Interview with Richard Stanley Turja, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Hispanic Americans, Mexican Americans, family history, Pueblo, U.S. Army, military service in Vietnam (1969+1970), boot camp, helicopters in Vietnam, Vietnam War, combat

Year of Interview: 2015

Length: 01:42:21
Interview with Arthur F. Gallegos, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Vietnam War, U.S. Army, treatment of Vietnam War veterans, survivor's guilt, PTSD, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Navajos, family history, Woodstock music festival, family traditions, Veterans Administration GI Bill, military service in Vietnam (1964-1967), combat, combat conditions

Year of Interview: 2014

Length: 02:10:07
Interview with Cipriano Griego, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: U.S. Navy, Hispanic Americans, family history, discrimination, boot camp, military service (1962-1965), USS Richard E. Kraus, University of Denver College of Law, Chicano movement, Colorado Committee on the Mass Media, civil rights work, Right to Read Program, attitude about Vietnam War, Corky Gonzales, Crusade for Justice

Year of Interview: 2014

Length: 01:04:05
Interview with George Autobee, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Vietnam War, U.S. Marine Corps, combat, casualties, friendly fire, military service (1967-1969), medals, family history, PTSD, activism at Colorado State University Pueblo, Hispanic Americans, Chicano Movement

Year of Interview: 2014

Length: Part 1, 02:07:50; Part 2, 2:22:29
Interview with Paul Bustam, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Vietnam War, U.S. Army, army medic, Vietnam (1969), combat, casualties, friendly fire, PTSD, military service (1969-1971), medals, family history, Hispanic Americans, Crusade for Justice

Year of Interview: 8-7-2014

Length: 1:41:50
Interview with Reuben Gomez, Vietnam Veteran

Keywords: Vietnam War, military service in Vietnam (1970-1971), U.S. Army, officer training, combat, drug usage by troops, being in command of troops, Agent Orange, adjusting to life at home after Vietnam, medals awarded, post-military career, father’s military service, GI Forum, Veterans of Foreign War, discrimination against Hispanic people

Year of Interview: 2014

Length: 02:16:10
Interview with Ricardo E. LaFore, Vietnam Veterans Advocate

Keywords: Hispanic Americans, family history, mining, unions, social justice, Crusade for Justice, political activism, Chicano Movement, Vanguard Student Movement, Colorado Migrant Council, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Vietnam War, anti-war protests, GI Forum, Vietnam Veterans

Year of Interview: 2014

Length: 01:25:26