Remembering a Vietnam War Firefight: Changing Perspectives over Time
Intense, deadly combat is one of the most traumatic of human experiences. How veterans remember it and how they retell it, is explored in this article by Marine Corps Oral Historian Fred H. Allison. Allison compares two interviews of the same Marine talking about the same horrific Vietnam firefight...
| Veröffentlicht in: | The Oral History Review. - Taylor & Francis, Ltd.. - 31(2004), 2, Seite 69-83 |
|---|---|
| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2004
|
| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | The Oral History Review |
| Schlagworte: | Political science History Applied sciences Behavioral sciences Social sciences |
| Zusammenfassung: | Intense, deadly combat is one of the most traumatic of human experiences. How veterans remember it and how they retell it, is explored in this article by Marine Corps Oral Historian Fred H. Allison. Allison compares two interviews of the same Marine talking about the same horrific Vietnam firefight in which five of eight Marines on a reconnaissance patrol were killed. One interview took place in-country two days after the firefight, the other 34 years later. The early interview is an oral snapshot of the world of a combat Marine, while the later interview is a study in how memory reconstructs a combat experience. In comparing the two interviews the reader can begin to understand how veterans' memory works to organize and make comprehensible an event that might not have been orderly or comprehensible in the first place. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 15338592 |