Interview with Bert R. Francis and Arlayne Francis, January 18, 2018
Project: Kentucky Honor Flight Veterans Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Bert Francis served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. In this interview, he talks about strategy during the Vietnam War, and specifically talks about why General Westmoreland's strategy was ineffective. He talks about his role as part of the artillery and describes the various types of missions his battery performed in Vietnam. He talks at length about the relationships between the U.S. military and Vietnamese civilians, touching on the uncertainty of not knowing who was friendly and who was an enemy, the customs of the Vietnamese people which the American soldiers had to learn and respect in order to maintain relationships with the villagers, and describes some specific interactions between American soldiers and the Vietnamese civilians, both positive and negative. Francis describes in detail the layout of the American bases and their defense systems, and talks in detail about being part of the battalion that constructed Camp Carroll.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Arlayne Francis
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview LC Subject
United States. Marine Corps--Military life Tactics United States. Marine Corps--Officers. Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Campaigns. Military bases. Combat. Leadership. Military supplies Strategy. Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Equipment and supplies. War casualties. Weapons. Civilians in war.Interview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
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All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Francis, Bert R. Interview by Jeffrey Suchanek. 18 Jan. 2018. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Francis, B.R. (2018, January 18). Interview by J. Suchanek. Kentucky Honor Flight Veterans Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Francis, Bert R., interview by Jeffrey Suchanek. January 18, 2018, Kentucky Honor Flight Veterans Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7h707wq095