Interviewer
Sofia Primo
Files
Description
Richard Ische discusses his childhood on Minnesota farm and what motivated him to enlist in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He describes receiving his draft notice, reporting for boot camp in Memphis, Tennessee, then going to Moffett Field Naval Air Station, California, for a year for additional training. He details shipping out to Okinawa for four months and meeting up with his squadron where he served as a naval aviator. Ische talks about his job as an aviator where their mission was to look for anti-submarine warfare [ASW] squads, particularly in the Gulf of Tonkin where North Vietnamese troops were running supply boats. He tells of one incident when his crew got to close to a supply station on the Paracel Islands and have to do an evacuation move to avoid getting shot by the North Vietnamese. Ische talks about the poor treatment of Vietnam veterans, noting that he didn’t wear his uniform when he returned to California. He concludes the interview by talking about the friends he made during his years in the service.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
U.S. Military; U.S. Navy; Moffett Field Naval Air Station; San Francisco; Minnesota; Farming, Minnesota; Vietnam War (1955-1975); Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands; Supply boats; Anti-submarine Warfare [ASW] training; Naval aviator; North Vietnamese military; Basic training; Philippines; Okinawa, Japan; Military food rations; Vietnam veterans; Military Service, overseas
Original Date
11-25-2019
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Vietnam; Minnesota
Language
eng
Original Collection
The Veteran’s Experience Oral History Project, OH 472
Holding Institution
University of Montana. Mansfield Library. Archives and Special Collections
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Holder
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana, Mansfield Library.
Oral History Number
OH 472-001
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 MP3 file (00:13:47): digital + 1 transcript (4 pp.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:13:47 minutes
Local Filename
OH_472_001.mp3; OH_472_001.pdf
Citation
Ische, Richard, "Richard Ische Interview, November 25, 2019" (2019). The Veteran’s Experience Oral History Project. 10.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/veteransexperience_oralhistory/10