He Made My Vietnam Story Go Viral with 21 Million Views

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  • Опубликовано: 9 янв 2025
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Комментарии • 43 тыс.

  • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
    @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  2 года назад +3558

    If this interview has meaning for you or interest you you might want to look at another gentleman from the same war whose perspective is different but whose storytelling abilities are off the charts as well. ruclips.net/video/SRR2eQn6pRg/видео.html
    David Hoffman filmmaker

    • @BostonBlues
      @BostonBlues 2 года назад +71

      thanks for the recommendations

    • @cavelion84
      @cavelion84 2 года назад +91

      This is what happening now in Ukraine. Russian soldiers became Americans, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians became Vietnamese.

    • @alliswell-dl7nb
      @alliswell-dl7nb 2 года назад +35

      @cavelion84, exactly, i was thinking the same thing, few years from now random russian soldier do interview, then 30 years after my grandson watch the old youtube video

    • @janaprocella8268
      @janaprocella8268 2 года назад +20

      I can't find this guy's name and I can't find the link to his book.

    • @Onefourtyfour
      @Onefourtyfour 2 года назад +86

      Where is the rest of this interview?

  • @shottec3327
    @shottec3327 5 лет назад +55144

    This gentleman was my history teacher in highschool. Incredible teacher! It was an honor. Difficult class, not because of the grades, but because of the realities he made students contend with. More professors and teachers should be like him.

    • @hiroshi138
      @hiroshi138 5 лет назад +1743

      Unfortunately for our kids...there probably are none.

    • @asnfhtmlzxsje274
      @asnfhtmlzxsje274 5 лет назад +1462

      @@hiroshi138 those who went fighting in afgan and iraq war can be good teachers too

    • @kevinpaul1847
      @kevinpaul1847 5 лет назад +1238

      Man i wish this guy was my history teacher.

    • @asnfhtmlzxsje274
      @asnfhtmlzxsje274 5 лет назад +220

      @@nathanb.8114 soldiers retire early. Its gobernemts scheme to provide them job post retirement i guess.

    • @9pathNick
      @9pathNick 5 лет назад +310

      You’re a lucky individual!

  • @TheWarriorSongProject
    @TheWarriorSongProject 6 лет назад +25255

    he did not waste one frame of this film.

    • @shrek3714
      @shrek3714 6 лет назад +188

      The Warrior Song Project That is exactly what I thought

    • @dueyfuckuey
      @dueyfuckuey 6 лет назад +381

      The Warrior Song Project > No doubt. I didn't take my eyes off the screen or miss a word. These types of interviews are so interesting. The Vietnam war is not talked about enough, the only people that know how it was are the vets and they usually aren't forthcoming because of the stigma. They came back from a country that hated them to a country that shit on them and looked down on them.

    • @rifles_up2263
      @rifles_up2263 6 лет назад +103

      Yea,agreed..idk why he said that cause I was hanging on every word he said

    • @fixsalot7133
      @fixsalot7133 6 лет назад +64

      it shows the thought process back then. people were taught to look at perspectives differently as such you don't see many people have those type of responses in old documentaries.

    • @matthewemery4205
      @matthewemery4205 6 лет назад +22

      @@dueyfuckuey sad how they were treated matt from canada

  • @samreagan6292
    @samreagan6292 2 года назад +14849

    “The longer we stayed in Vietnam the more Vietcong their were, because we were creating them” that is a really powerful and important quote.

    • @creamythroat
      @creamythroat 2 года назад +396

      Situation with russia and ukraine too, their troops were told go there for military practices, didn’t know it meant full out war.

    • @khabibmcgregor3592
      @khabibmcgregor3592 2 года назад +88

      There*

    • @samreagan6292
      @samreagan6292 2 года назад +6

      @@khabibmcgregor3592 no, the US military created the Vietcong

    • @khabibmcgregor3592
      @khabibmcgregor3592 2 года назад +48

      @@samreagan6292 Their - There*

    • @khabibmcgregor3592
      @khabibmcgregor3592 2 года назад +12

      @Shredneck Aaaaa ok

  • @homer5802
    @homer5802 Год назад +3357

    Fallujah vet here, what I've learned over my 60 years of being alive is that America hasn't had to defend our freedoms since the 2nd World War. We go into these countries where we know nothing about their culture, and try to force our lifestyle into them. We are the bully of the world.

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Год назад +300

      Falluja. I have heard stories from vets I have interviewed. What a hell hole. I don't disagree with what you're saying but statesmanship and diplomacy don't always work. I'm sure you agree. And there are other bullies in this world (if we are one) that it seems to me, they accept only "muscle" as a response to what they are doing or planning to do
      David Hoffman filmmaker

    • @christianworkman8108
      @christianworkman8108 Год назад +210

      Gen z guy here, I went to Iraq for a short time myself and I'm a student of history, ww2 was also not what we were told in school or from Hollywood either, the Germans even though they declared war on us were no real threat to anyone outside of Europe, 400k Americans died for what exactly? We're taught the good vs evil narrative but the Holocaust was only discovered in the last year of the war so what was the motivation? Or what about ww1, the Lusitania was loaded with weapons and ammunition for the British and French and for that ship getting sunk we lose 120k in 110 days and for what? There's a lot more to question than the last 60 years

    • @neferpoyaz4037
      @neferpoyaz4037 Год назад

      @@christianworkman8108 There is tons of shit in this shithole man.

    • @wavebuilder14udc75
      @wavebuilder14udc75 Год назад +185

      @@christianworkman8108 Thank you for your service. But world war two is a rather complicated conflict isn’t it. France (ally and republic) had been overrun and taken over by germany.. same with Czechslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Romania, Greece… to name a few.. I can definitely see how important it was for the US to go fight in that war.. and also defend itself against the attacks from Japan. I don’t think ww2 was a twisted narrative.. they were actually fighting for survival. You say the nazis weren’t a real threat but part of the reason for that is because we went to fight them in the first place. If no one stood up to them they surely would take over as much as they could.

    • @byngostar6895
      @byngostar6895 Год назад

      @@wavebuilder14udc75u mean Hitler and his brainwashing of the German people, right? It wasn’t just the Nazis ideas. However, if Hitler had been killed early on or halfway through, what would the rest of the military had done? I wonder who would gave taken over, and possibly not lasted, without the same insane zeal as H. Just sayin..

  • @tayzonday
    @tayzonday Год назад +3913

    11:30 “I’m wasting your film” - No. This is amazing. Every word.

    • @nerd2544
      @nerd2544 Год назад +92

      hi chocolate rain man

    • @tommybilinglys1661
      @tommybilinglys1661 Год назад +22

      ChOcLatE RaIn 🌧 💙 ily man keep being amazing and stay safe especially with all the gun violence outside shits making me introvert lmaoo

    • @samdustinchris
      @samdustinchris Год назад +10

      Absolutely. All of it.

    • @BrandonBuckingham
      @BrandonBuckingham Год назад +20

      LOOK ITS TAY ZONDAY

    • @Queef_Chief
      @Queef_Chief Год назад +6

      legend

  • @Mynameisbraulio
    @Mynameisbraulio 4 года назад +5550

    No Sir, you didn't wasted this film. This is not in the books, this is history straight from the horse's mouth. Respect for you mister.

    • @bloodgush25
      @bloodgush25 4 года назад +82

      Why you have to cal homie a fuckin horse tho.

    • @jordanabeaulieu2530
      @jordanabeaulieu2530 4 года назад +40

      America loves war, every war they've been involved in could have been avoided. The government always managed to sell war to the citizens under false pretense, with the exception of the war on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    • @MM-pl6zi
      @MM-pl6zi 4 года назад +25

      @@jordanabeaulieu2530 That war is to control the opium.

    • @myramedicinewindkay813
      @myramedicinewindkay813 4 года назад +21

      @@jordanabeaulieu2530 You may not have any Afghani friends. When I lived in NYC, I found them to be courageous, forgiving, Godly ( They actually practice what they preach), unpertable, & resilient. You get a different story from them, about first being invaded by Russians, then US, under guise of helping. I heard that CIA agent Osama bin Laden was not religious til after he witnessed the hell we put these Afghanis through ( and still are).Just like what this man is saying about "fake news" stories about Viet Nam War. (Watch the once banned 70's movie "Wag the Dog" to get some idea what the Biltaberger owned media started doing & is now in complete control of all major media in US. You may not ever hear anyone else say this, but:we got the Afghani poppy fields & China got Tibet. My dreams of making a living as an Investigative reporter evaporated in 1983 when I found out you can't print the TRUTH, only what the owner of the newspaper wanted. Now we have Internet, which was hard to control our free speech on, but now they've gained ground by calling popular channels "fake news" such as Corbett Report; Julie Eisenhower; Woke Societies; SGT Report; dahboo77; Viable TV; bpearthwatch; & many, many more ! Homage to these Truthers that risk their lives to inform us. I believe Assange will be the hero of our age for disclosing Killory Clinton's emails, & so much more. I've only had Internet since January, because 4g was hurting my body. Cant stand it now, so will be giving up my phone soon. It will kill us.

    • @mtjanglefins781
      @mtjanglefins781 4 года назад +13

      No kidding. I wish we had another 15 minutes.

  • @stephenc.4319
    @stephenc.4319 3 года назад +13374

    His uninterrrupted 15 minute monologue is more interesting than most full budget documentaries.

    • @MrMatenizer
      @MrMatenizer 3 года назад +192

      He's in a full budget docu called "The Vietnam War" which is incredible. Absolute recommend

    • @kennethocongerskin9460
      @kennethocongerskin9460 3 года назад +59

      @@MrMatenizer Incredible but also haunting. Certainly the best US documentary series I have seen. ❤️🇬🇧

    • @gianmarcocampo2099
      @gianmarcocampo2099 3 года назад +2

      @@kennethocongerskin9460 link please ?

    • @kennethocongerskin9460
      @kennethocongerskin9460 3 года назад +8

      @@gianmarcocampo2099 I didn't see it online, I saw it on PBS America. It might be on RUclips?

    • @gianmarcocampo2099
      @gianmarcocampo2099 3 года назад

      @@kennethocongerskin9460 i don't know, i was asking

  • @christopherbubb2890
    @christopherbubb2890 Год назад +358

    I, like many others, first heard his story in the Ken Burns documentary. One thing I admire about him is he sugarcoats nothing. He is 100% real. He says he doesn't want to be thanked for his service, so instead I thank him for being brave enough to share his story with us. And I thank you, David, for sharing his sharing his story.

    • @cyclingtripsandticks2777
      @cyclingtripsandticks2777 Год назад +9

      Here here, for sure....he is almost wiped from search results, surprise, surprise....

    • @christophlieding734
      @christophlieding734 10 месяцев назад +2

      Ken Burns = very good. I hope we will be able to learn and be good to each other for change. Best wishes and little prayers >> oh ja and peace from Germany. & Gesundheit.

    • @geordiejones5618
      @geordiejones5618 9 месяцев назад +6

      All the soldiers they chose, from both sides of this war, were just a constant reminder that none of them wanted that war and were manipulated by their leaders into fighting. It's so frustrating to see so much heartache and there's never any real accountability. You murder one person you're a terror to society. You murder a million and you're either a general or government suit.

    • @zayneharbison
      @zayneharbison 2 месяца назад

      It is everything to those of us who are struggling with the modern loss associated

  • @johntrains1317
    @johntrains1317 5 лет назад +9268

    5:40 "the longer we stayed in Vietnam the more vietcong there were' because we created them". Powerful statement.

    • @jeremygarza5726
      @jeremygarza5726 5 лет назад +600

      It's sad we learned nothing from Vietnam....The longer we stay in middle east the more we radicalize it

    • @flexchains3166
      @flexchains3166 5 лет назад +295

      Duke fool.

    • @yourjunes
      @yourjunes 5 лет назад +345

      @Duke if you're not aware people aren't too fond of committing genocide

    • @spicybrown3
      @spicybrown3 5 лет назад +30

      Jeremy Garza u have it right and wrong. Right in that that’s what’s happening in the ME, but wrong in the sense that our govt doesnt know. In fact, that’s the reason for being there.

    • @joey1998jt
      @joey1998jt 5 лет назад

      What does that mean? I didn’t catch that.

  • @mcafeex311
    @mcafeex311 3 года назад +5150

    “I’m wasting your film” 🥺
    Meanwhile he speaks more truth in 15 minutes than what’s come out of Washington for the last 6 decades.

    • @nofoo
      @nofoo 3 года назад +98

      25 decades*

    • @mcafeex311
      @mcafeex311 3 года назад +71

      @@nofoo if ya wanna get technical, Philadelphia was the US capital 25 decades ago

    • @nofoo
      @nofoo 3 года назад +34

      @@mcafeex311 my point still stands ✌️

    • @coleworld5010
      @coleworld5010 3 года назад +26

      It’s an experience vs an agenda. We will never know the “truth” when it’s told to us by truth makers.

    • @illuminati7767
      @illuminati7767 3 года назад +14

      Truth seems to be, what you wanna hear a vet say and not what you dont want him to say. As long as it doesnt hurt your sensibilities its a "good truth" "thee truth".

  • @pdxorbust27
    @pdxorbust27 4 года назад +4239

    my father fought in Vietnam. he was about 24 when he was drafted. my parents were divorced, so I was never told about it. he had been exposed to agent orange, had night terrors and returned home addicted to heroin, which ultimately led to his death at the age of 54. I was told he was a gentle, kind man. he didn’t have any way to cope with what had happened, what he saw or did while he was there. I found out when I was in my 30’s, just after he died. it’s interviews like this that give me a greater insight to what he experienced and why it destroyed him. I was told he never spoke about it. The Vietnam war killed my father, just not while in combat.

    • @sblack48
      @sblack48 4 года назад +294

      it seems like your Dad`s story was repeated 1000s of times. Army`s are really good at killing people, but useless at looking after them. And after Vietnam nobody wanted to remember the war or its soldiers. The war was lost (it was never winnable in the first place), it was an embarrassment and politically nobody wanted to touch it. I don`t think Americans started to recon with it until Hollywood started making movies about it. I am sorry for your loss and your Dad`s suffering and that it was for nothing.

    • @pdxorbust27
      @pdxorbust27 4 года назад +35

      @@sblack48 me too.

    • @JWillM
      @JWillM 4 года назад +102

      I was told and found it to be true that the guys who were in the shit never spoke of it. Had one uncle who was a cook in the army and je spoke often about it. Had another uncle who's ear drums were busted from so much shooting. He never said a word about it. This guy is an exception I believe. He was getting it off his chest and good for him. War is a business and its disgusting.

    • @sblack48
      @sblack48 4 года назад +76

      @@JWillM it is one thing to have gone to Europe or the south Pacific to fight a brutal enemy that was threatening your country, an enemy you could see and fight, for a cause that was obviously just and for which you 100% support at home. But Vietnam was none of those things. It was based on lies, there was never a hope of winning, the guys didn't know why they were there and the people back home were against them. This guy realized after a year that all his friends died for nothing and all the combat survivors were slowly killing themselves because of it. He was deeply angry but he decided to confront it. Maybe that is why he didn't kill himself like so many others

    • @mrnelsonius5631
      @mrnelsonius5631 4 года назад +83

      Your fathers generation grew up coming out of the WW2 era. America was the Good Guys. No dispute. I can’t imagine what it had to be like for a young person to find themselves in that situation (a terrible morally ambiguous war) and realize they had been lied to and couldn’t do anything about it. It is a very noble thing to serve your country. It’s a tragic disgusting thing for your country to lie to you, especially when you’re one of the ones fighting for it

  • @Jennifer-zb4dq
    @Jennifer-zb4dq 9 месяцев назад +243

    When my grandpa came home from Vietnam, he REFUSED to speak to anyone about it until the day he died. Thank you to this man for letting us in to the experience.

    • @kb4903
      @kb4903 5 месяцев назад +1

      He spoke about it on the day he died?

    • @theorangeoof926
      @theorangeoof926 4 месяца назад

      @@kb4903Probably meant “to the day that he died”

    • @miapdx503
      @miapdx503 3 месяца назад +9

      Most vets are haunted, not by what they saw, but what they did. They were set up to lose their humanity. God bless them. It was brutal all around.

    • @kb4903
      @kb4903 3 месяца назад

      @@theorangeoof926 yeah I’m just trolling.

    • @zayneharbison
      @zayneharbison 2 месяца назад

      Most will. It was not a real fight. No man should have to acknowledge that to his family. Hate and destruction only lead to more hatred and destruction.

  • @sweswirl7455
    @sweswirl7455 3 года назад +3822

    As he said, “I’m wasting your film…”, I realized I had barely blinked for the past 10 min.
    I can certainly understand why vets don’t want to talk about their combat experiences, but it is so important. Absolutely invaluable. Thank you!

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  3 года назад +168

      Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that RUclips is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts.
      David Hoffman filmmaker

    • @gutshot300mag
      @gutshot300mag 2 года назад +40

      A close family friend passed 2 years ago, Vietnam vet, decorated, lots of stories, I can sit still forever as long as he spoke. My cousin’s wife’s WW2 father passed last year, same thing, when he talked about being BAR certified it rang my bell as I’m a gun nut. If you are lucky enough to meet a Vet that will share anything about their service, listen.

    • @thehangmansdaughter1120
      @thehangmansdaughter1120 2 года назад +22

      If vets don't talk how are we to learn? Through yet more bitter experience? I understand why someone wants to turn their back on such devastation, such disillusionment, such pain. But in doing so we aren't learning from our mistakes, so we repeat them again and again. As much as it hurts to talk, and frankly to hear, it's invaluable human experience that shouldn't be lost. I can't thank you enough.

    • @thehangmansdaughter1120
      @thehangmansdaughter1120 2 года назад +16

      @@gutshot300mag When I was a young girl my Grandfather, a WWII vet, told me the greatest respect I could show a service member was to listen when they talked about what they experienced. He wasn't wrong.

    • @nikeunicorn9580
      @nikeunicorn9580 2 года назад +6

      I read this then look at the video and he blinks hellas bro what are you talking ab😂

  • @stuffylamb3420
    @stuffylamb3420 3 года назад +2270

    11:33 - "I'm wasting your film". If only he knew 13 million people would view and deeply appreciate his words decades later.

    • @serveroliviacvhh7443
      @serveroliviacvhh7443 3 года назад +14

      how old do you think this man is now

    • @v1p1991
      @v1p1991 3 года назад +37

      @@serveroliviacvhh7443 70-ish. Depends on the age he was signed on.

    • @GodIsAmazing33
      @GodIsAmazing33 3 года назад +31

      @@v1p1991 Yeah, coming back in 1968, he might already be almost 80.

    • @nadaherepce
      @nadaherepce 3 года назад +1

      I can't even imagine

    • @giuseppeminervini9381
      @giuseppeminervini9381 3 года назад +8

      @@GodIsAmazing33 he's 72

  • @chompytv8591
    @chompytv8591 3 года назад +4165

    The way he says, “I’m wasting your film.” Breaks my heart. Not a single piece of film was wasted filming this. This is vital information and insight, it’s a shame he felt he was wasting this pocket of time telling his story.

    • @TheThatoneguy12121
      @TheThatoneguy12121 3 года назад +134

      I think he might have paused for a moment to think about what he wanted to say next so he felt like he was wasting time not saying anything. I only assume because of the cut in the filming.

    • @barryallenflash1
      @barryallenflash1 3 года назад +94

      He's not wasting ANY film, in fact in the 15 minutes he spoke, he told MORE about Vietnam than the government did the ENTIRE time it was happening!! NOT a waste of film at all!!!

    • @mariabrown0326
      @mariabrown0326 3 года назад +28

      I agree, it pulled at my heart as well.it is yet another testament as to this young man's consideration of others. And the way he puts value on every moment not taking for granted that the next moment is guarunteed. Appreciating and savory and utilizing every moment that he has because it might be his last. These are lessons that people nowadays just do not grasp. we are spoiled getting worse as time goes on. I want to know if he is still alive. He was so intuitive,and empathetic . I wish we still had men and women like him.I am 60 years old and I still am confused about this war hell I'm confused about all wars. But I do remember that men were spit on. soldiers returning home in wheelchairs expecting to be greeted by family and loved ones we're first met by droves of anti-war activists shouting spitting at them even those who were up there their age their own peers we're doing this.! And this was the peace and love era. Of course not all of them were. But this was the time of Make Love not war. And they were treated like filthy monsters and they had no choice in what they had to do. I remember when my brother was drafted I was just a little girl maybe 6 years old. I was so afraid ,so very afraid. My brother wasn't the type that would have made it even if he had tried, even if he really wanted to be a soldier, even if it was another war. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm glad he didn't pass the physical. .

    • @keroleena1
      @keroleena1 3 года назад +13

      That comment truly broke my heart man.

    • @shauncampbell8516
      @shauncampbell8516 3 года назад +11

      dude I agree... In a day and age where phone videos of dumb people doing dumb stuff (admittingly! I have my own videos...) isn't considered important, this comment from the guy struck me also. Any form or record of the past seems so much more important (and rightly so) by todays standards.

  • @Destromaugh
    @Destromaugh 11 месяцев назад +55

    This man is incredibly self-aware. I haven't been through a fraction of what he has, yet he is more conscious of his thoughts and actions in wartime than I am of my choices at the grocery store.

  • @MrPaeper
    @MrPaeper Год назад +1642

    I have told this same story for 55 years now. And now the Afghanistan guys are telling it again. I spent months in hospitals from injures sustained Jan 31st, 1968 and no one cared. Thank you for letting me know I wasn't the only one that questioned our objective.

    • @j.n.4806
      @j.n.4806 Год назад +97

      I care. Thanks for your service. Shame on the government for using our young mens for their sick purposes. My only child being in the CAF (canadian army), I have a deep hate toward my country for using him like if he's nothing more than an object.
      I hope you are ok. Take care, and have a nice day xx

    • @MrPaeper
      @MrPaeper Год назад +54

      J.N. I sit here misty eyed as I read your reply over and over. You have no idea how much your words meant. I needed them today. Thank you!!!

    • @j.n.4806
      @j.n.4806 Год назад +10

      @@MrPaeper Can I ask for what injuries you were hospitalised, have you fully recovered from that??

    • @montanagal6958
      @montanagal6958 Год назад +11

      no one cared? so awful to risk your life for a cause and come to the conclusion no one cares...so sorry

    • @MrPaeper
      @MrPaeper Год назад +55

      @@j.n.4806 Injuries involved the abdomen, right thigh, resulting in perforation of small bowl, laceration of the urethra,and injury to the right sciatic nerve. Fragments still in body making MRI's impossible and forever limp etc. etc, etc. Thanks for caring

  • @evantugby
    @evantugby 3 года назад +7295

    I listened to a North Vietnamese soldier decades later say: "who won or who lost is not even a question. In war, no one wins. There is only destruction. Only those who never fought like to argue about who won and who lost.”

    • @lynnbaker9264
      @lynnbaker9264 3 года назад +135

      so true.

    • @booragg8305
      @booragg8305 3 года назад +11

      Oh, I suppose someone who had the Nazi take over their village might care just a little bit.

    • @DMTandSHROOMS
      @DMTandSHROOMS 3 года назад +74

      Damn right.

    • @pinkzweibel985
      @pinkzweibel985 3 года назад +149

      My father was a ww2 veteran , he said the same..

    • @lennarthagen3638
      @lennarthagen3638 3 года назад +121

      US lost everyone knows this wtf

  • @incendiarybullet3516
    @incendiarybullet3516 5 лет назад +5342

    RUclips recommendations have gotten much better lately.

  • @lost4468yt
    @lost4468yt 11 месяцев назад +91

    "that woman, that girl had ceased to become the focus of my life while I was in Vietnam. She had ceased to be this real person. She had become his icon. And then of course, she had said take a hike"
    This guy is one of the realest people I've ever seen. Even his add in take at the end is so relevant to today, in terms of the prevalence of online parasocial relationships.
    It's rare to see someone who sees what their situation was so objectively. It's even rarer to see someone who seems to be able to see even secondary concerns like this. Especially seeing such a one sided relationship before they were then part of the common culture.

  • @misingleter3119
    @misingleter3119 2 года назад +2711

    When he said “im wasting your film” I was shocked. Does he not know how important his words are. Love this guy

    • @thurst0n
      @thurst0n 2 года назад +83

      I think he sort of realized he had made his point and was becoming redundant. I would have liked to hear more examples but the point was clear already so that's my interpretation of why he said that. He had other points to make so didn't want to keep on explaining how the propaganda was different than reality.

    • @TurtleBar
      @TurtleBar 2 года назад +37

      Pretty sure he was just gathering his thoughts and the wasted part was cut from the video

    • @deathstramy7272
      @deathstramy7272 2 года назад +16

      To be fair they did cut to that so he may have been rambling a bit

    • @Noface206
      @Noface206 2 года назад +6

      Thank you for mentioning this I wanted to talk about it too, I think he was becoming very aware that he was starting to repeat his point, that the war wouldn't end. And he didn't want the interview to end like that, he was trying to move to the next part in his story but the war was so traumatic it was hard to move past it, hence the "I'm wasting your interview"

    • @Noface206
      @Noface206 2 года назад +2

      @@thurst0n I agree

  • @amythompson6331
    @amythompson6331 5 лет назад +2922

    My father wouldn’t talk about the war. He always said “saw a lot did a lot.” You never ever woke him while he was sleeping. It would be a look of sheer terror. Most of his childhood friends died there.

    • @SldOnEmWithDa45
      @SldOnEmWithDa45 5 лет назад +73

      Amy Thompson I mean I completely get why people don’t talk about it, but I would at least open up to my family especially my son, we’ll have the most badass bedtime stories lol...

    • @stevee8472
      @stevee8472 5 лет назад +172

      Sounds like he was a remorseful war criminal

    • @RalfYzermans
      @RalfYzermans 5 лет назад +93

      @@SldOnEmWithDa45 no you would not talk about it

    • @SldOnEmWithDa45
      @SldOnEmWithDa45 5 лет назад +6

      Ralf Yzermans Ehhh I think I would...

    • @Trey_Cole
      @Trey_Cole 5 лет назад +106

      Steve Elynuik
      I get trolling, In my 20s I’d call myself one of the best at it honestly, but goddamn man. Shit! Wtf is wrong with you?

  • @guywithopinions6081
    @guywithopinions6081 4 года назад +3695

    My grandpa was in nam was shot multiple times, went on missions and was the sole survivor not once, not twice but three times...he was a very disturbed man but never exposed us to that side. When he’d wake up screaming he would say “just makin sure I can still sing like I used to” I miss that man very much.

    • @nathanc7905
      @nathanc7905 4 года назад +150

      Guy With Opinions damn I wish I could have met your grandpa, What a selfless man that’s awesome.

    • @guywithopinions6081
      @guywithopinions6081 4 года назад +76

      Nathan Craig thanks man that honestly means a lot. He was happy to serve

    • @cerny4444
      @cerny4444 4 года назад +26

      A true hero

    • @ryanhoward9757
      @ryanhoward9757 4 года назад +16

      Hats off True Americans

    • @mstelios4259
      @mstelios4259 4 года назад +3

      @@nathanc7905 How do you know?

  • @MercyBot7
    @MercyBot7 11 месяцев назад +58

    The calm, cool, collectedness. The articulation. The intellectualisation paired with personal experience. This is one of the most invaluable interviews regarding this war we'll ever get. I understand why veterans typically don't talk, but when they do as coherently as this, it's worth more than they could ever know.

  • @LukeGreen1231
    @LukeGreen1231 4 года назад +3997

    This man taught me history in high school. He is a genius, filled with compassion, wisdom, and a fantastic and strange sense of humor. He once asked me, “Luke, how come you never smile?”. Of course in the moment I had no idea what he was talking about. But that questioned changed my life. I realized that my stress and anxiety had overcome my joy and happiness to be alive. I am forever smiling because of you, Dr. E.

    • @scottmiceli7121
      @scottmiceli7121 4 года назад +45

      @Bryan Mack yep, same dude

    • @williammunny2799
      @williammunny2799 4 года назад +45

      Is he alive today? what is he up to?

    • @LukeGreen1231
      @LukeGreen1231 4 года назад +215

      @@williammunny2799 He retired from my high school maybe three years ago. He lives in the Philadelphia suburbs.

    • @colinsmith484
      @colinsmith484 4 года назад +22

      Pretty cool

    • @BuzzsawMG42
      @BuzzsawMG42 4 года назад +18

      @@LukeGreen1231 How old is he?

  • @KMACKTIME
    @KMACKTIME 3 года назад +9407

    I wanted this to continue so badly. He’s so well spoken with outstanding insight. I could listen to him for hours.

    • @arclight4625
      @arclight4625 3 года назад +99

      Yeah, same here.

    • @lauraellen122
      @lauraellen122 3 года назад +252

      It's not that the guy is exceptionally articulate. He isn't. It's that you probably spend far too much time on social media. You also probably surround yourself with uneducated, inarticulate and uninformed morons. Yeah. That's it.

    • @brmillgr
      @brmillgr 3 года назад +149

      Ken Burns: The Vietnam War

    • @lauraellen122
      @lauraellen122 3 года назад +39

      @@patrick5034 It should be "educating". You want the verrbs to match. I think this is usually covered in junior high.

    • @patrick5034
      @patrick5034 3 года назад +31

      @@lauraellen122 🤣🤣👏👍

  • @christinaford3634
    @christinaford3634 2 года назад +2726

    My grandfather got drafted into the Marines. Before he went he taught Sunday school, never drank a drop or smoked. He came home a haunted man. He drank himself to death. I never got to meet him. My grandma used to say... I sent them my wonderful, caring husband and they sent me back a broken, angry and changed man.

    • @CANEYEBALL
      @CANEYEBALL 2 года назад +112

      So sorry.

    • @JungRich313
      @JungRich313 2 года назад +175

      Happend to my grandfather too. Heard he was a good person/nice man. He got drafted into the marines and came back mentally sick, paranoid and disturbed. She's baffled to this day about what happened to him.

    • @atomlotus9698
      @atomlotus9698 2 года назад +40

      The same thing happened to my grandfather he was in the army in ww2 jumped out of planes and fought on the ground .

    • @iscreemz4494
      @iscreemz4494 2 года назад +97

      My uncle Reg was on a submarine during World War II that was captured by the Japanese.
      He never spoke of his experiences in captivity, but even as a child I realized he was different from other adults.
      One New Year's Eve my mum and dad had a party and, late that night after many drinks, Uncle Reg ran down the garden and was clinging to the washing pole for dear life, wailing as tears streamed down his face.
      I can only imagine what he experienced during the war.
      I'm so thankful that we've opened up about PTSD, and that the men and women who serve their countries now have access to proper counselling and understanding.

    • @arealhuman826
      @arealhuman826 2 года назад

      the true victims of war are the women who sit at home.

  • @B25gunship
    @B25gunship 5 месяцев назад +37

    I could listen to this man forever. As a Vietnam "era" U.S. Navy vet (1967-71) I can do nothing but add his story to the literally hundreds of stories I've heard as to how f**ked up this whole deal was. From conversations with grunts in airports and bus stations who 48 hours earlier had been slogging through rice paddys and the jungle back in the day to current day veterans whose memories are starting to fade as they hover over their beer, one singular message stands out. WTF were we ever doing over there? To inject ourselves into a civil war where we had no business, while knowing we had no chance in hell of succeeding at anything except cementing the legacy of politicians and making the industrialists filthy rich. I lost my childhood friend in Nam and think of him often. His name is on the Wall in DC along with all the brave others who paid the price for basically nothing. And we still haven't learned a godamn thing from any of it.

    • @danielcarlson800
      @danielcarlson800 4 месяца назад

      Abso-DAMNED-lutey!!!!!!!!! Thank You for your service, Sir!!!!!!!

  • @sha2143
    @sha2143 2 года назад +2443

    11:30 "I'm wasting your film" This man is so considerate while talking about such atrocities. The sheer amount of self reflection and personal growth this man must have undergone is astounding, truly admirable.

    • @VictorRice
      @VictorRice 2 года назад +113

      this guy is EXTREMELY articulate, it's encouraging to know that some people made it out of there with their minds still intact.

    • @sha2143
      @sha2143 2 года назад +75

      @@VictorRice Or were atleast able to piece themselves back together.

    • @JC-lx7uu
      @JC-lx7uu 2 года назад +26

      its funny because that is also the bit they cut so he was 100% right lmao

    • @jrstocker3
      @jrstocker3 2 года назад +34

      My response to that statement was 'No sir, you are most decidedly NOT.'

    • @checkle1
      @checkle1 2 года назад +16

      that's what stood out to me right away. I was like "noooo, the details and the emotion really matter, we all appreciate it now"

  • @s.c.8296
    @s.c.8296 2 года назад +608

    "Im wasting your film".
    His interview was one of the best part of the entire documentary. I could literally listen to this man for hours, no lie.

    • @desm2358
      @desm2358 Год назад +26

      Yea he has a cool voice and I feel the sincerity from him. Somethin about his voice makes him really interesting

    • @masneri97
      @masneri97 11 месяцев назад +5

      The documentary is the one made by ken burns ?

    • @s.c.8296
      @s.c.8296 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@masneri97 i think it was. "The Vietnam War"

    • @masneri97
      @masneri97 11 месяцев назад +3

      @@s.c.8296 yeah it's that one tyty

    • @NotMyWar
      @NotMyWar 6 месяцев назад +1

      He wrote a book, "Vietnam Parkese"

  • @AndrewDaniele87
    @AndrewDaniele87 5 лет назад +3304

    When RUclips recommends something good

    • @christhomas1289
      @christhomas1289 5 лет назад +1

      AndrewDaniele87 ikr

    • @hoytsigman5435
      @hoytsigman5435 5 лет назад +2

      Very rare footage of RUclips recommendations

    • @paddysdaddy553
      @paddysdaddy553 5 лет назад

      I was just thinking that. This has been a recommended video on my feed for a while and I kept skipping over it. Now I'm sorry I waited so long to watch it. The things he said were right on point with some of the things my dad rarely talked about.

  • @KatieWilliams1990x
    @KatieWilliams1990x Год назад +44

    This interview is so real and brutally honest that watching it & understanding what is being said and implied is like a lead weight in your stomach, a knife through your heart and a shadow cast upon your soul. It's devastating.

  • @karlluppold240
    @karlluppold240 2 года назад +987

    “I’m wasting your film”… no sir, you are articulating our overall experience in Vietnam better than anyone else I’ve ever heard

    • @carmelvalleykiwanisclub8626
      @carmelvalleykiwanisclub8626 2 года назад +6

      I’ve heard others speak and tell their stories well too.

    • @Mornepin
      @Mornepin 2 года назад +3

      there was a cut before

    • @AlSherman47
      @AlSherman47 2 года назад +2

      Absolutely!

    • @karlluppold240
      @karlluppold240 2 года назад +6

      @@carmelvalleykiwanisclub8626 I have too, I didn’t mean that his was THE best, but he summarized up everything very well

    • @konradd7596
      @konradd7596 2 года назад +1

      Yes. It's right!

  • @warrioroflight6872
    @warrioroflight6872 4 года назад +5678

    "I'm wasting your film."
    Buddy, the only problem with this video is that it isn't long enough.

    • @andyshannahan
      @andyshannahan 4 года назад +20

      @@Edward_242 Watched this recently, absolutely incredible series. A shameful episode in American history and almost noone has a clue what happened. Also highly recommend anyone watch this absolutely comprehensive take on the war.

    • @BlackEagle352
      @BlackEagle352 4 года назад

      What he meant is, he wanted to be on radio instead.

    • @bradhaines3142
      @bradhaines3142 4 года назад +12

      this is the kind of thing that should never get lost in time

    • @tiredowalkin
      @tiredowalkin 3 года назад +12

      I am glued to this computer and this man's story.

    • @KibyNykraft
      @KibyNykraft 3 года назад +20

      How many interviews like these are needed before americans realize that you have to vote for the libertarian party, and abandon the militant political nutcases in the Democrat and the Republican?

  • @ghaven1929
    @ghaven1929 Год назад +2072

    He really painted a picture. The mustache, the hair, the big frame glasses, his cig, his accent, his storytelling. Wow

    • @davidhenschel1990
      @davidhenschel1990 Год назад +22

      @ghaven1929 Many baby boom guys fit the description you have provided. It is not exactly a Vietnam vet description.

    • @ThomasQuigley-b1b
      @ThomasQuigley-b1b Год назад +12

      Easy. We all looked like tjhat and pulled a litttle tail.

    • @alexpetrov8871
      @alexpetrov8871 Год назад +27

      I'd say the picture is what he actually said, not how he looked. Every word he said is a picture. No wonder - he is a damm writer, a man who weild words.

    • @gary9933
      @gary9933 Год назад +27

      These are boomers in their prime during the 80s. Yes they were young once too.

    • @fingerprint5511
      @fingerprint5511 11 месяцев назад +5

      Because war is about fashion trends. wow.

  • @MichaelBoltonsEntireCatalog
    @MichaelBoltonsEntireCatalog Год назад +228

    To be fair, Sgt. Ehrhardt likely believed this was going to be stuffed in the middle of some PBS thing shown around 10PM on a Tuesday, i.e. not reach that many folks. 30+ years later, over 20 million listeners and another 20 million down the road. I come back to it every now and then, as I'm certain many of you do also.

    • @6Jenne6La6Flaca6
      @6Jenne6La6Flaca6 11 месяцев назад +3

      I was born in 1992. I have never seen this until today.

    • @6Jenne6La6Flaca6
      @6Jenne6La6Flaca6 11 месяцев назад +5

      Actually, this guy reminds me of how my dad used to look when I was a baby. He had the same hair, mustache, and huge glasses. My dad was born in 1954.

    • @MichaelBoltonsEntireCatalog
      @MichaelBoltonsEntireCatalog 11 месяцев назад +2

      @6Jenne6La6Flaca6 Yeah. My dad was birth year 1953; pretty sure all those guys in the 80s were rocking the porn-star hair and stache. Now guys are rocking the 80s hair and beard.

    • @WILLIENorwoodJr
      @WILLIENorwoodJr 7 месяцев назад +1

      Sir- you come across very deep thinking and intellectual. What unit did you serve with in "nam"? You received a magazine every month? Sir- did you ever see a real day of face to face combat? All of us had different duties in Vietnam. I truly and deeply respect that. God bless you.
      Garry Owens🙏🇺🇸🥁wn

    • @rebeccaadamski7743
      @rebeccaadamski7743 6 месяцев назад +2

      I have come back to watch this amazing interview many times also

  • @owefay1
    @owefay1 2 года назад +1574

    Only thing my father mentioned about his time in Vietnam was "all my friends died, but I lived". He was kinda unsure to why he lived and his friends died. I never asked another question. He died in 17' and here I am living my best life. Thanks for being a survivor, dad.

    • @yahmutha
      @yahmutha 2 года назад +64

      My dad was very similar to yours. He opened up to me about his time in Vietnam one time and one time only. He finished it by saying the whole thing was just one big lie and the horrors and damages from such a pointless war live with him every single day both mentally and physically. He ended up passing away in 2014 from liver, lung, and lymph node cancer from agent orange exposure. Looking at present day, i fear the US hasnt learned much (if anything at all) from our time spent there.

    • @tstuff
      @tstuff 2 года назад +20

      Many people come back from wars with that feeling, called survivors guilt. It also affects people in tragedies like plane crashes, fires, tornadoes, mass shootings.. It must be a horrible feeling trying to wonder why it was you and not someone else and then the pressure of trying to justify why to survived. Trying to make a life mean more than you can ever realistically expect because you did survive.

    • @kevinschroeder3889
      @kevinschroeder3889 2 года назад +19

      @@yahmutha If you don't learn from history, you tend to repeat it. Yup we're pretty stupid.

    • @renejustice6460
      @renejustice6460 2 года назад +4

      ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

    • @dezluna9557
      @dezluna9557 2 года назад +2

      Rest in peace ✌️ ☮️ 🕊

  • @Jake_Ro_X
    @Jake_Ro_X 4 года назад +1064

    "I'm wasting your film."
    He did not waste the film. This was an excellent and accurate historical view of the Vietnam War. I wish more people would watch this. The truth.

    • @MrHelp-yd4kn
      @MrHelp-yd4kn 4 года назад +13

      Like fuck off... This guy is speaking the the truth

    • @marybrown7203
      @marybrown7203 4 года назад +5

      @@MrHelp-yd4kn Listen to the film again. You might want to apologize. @11:33

    • @Raellives
      @Raellives 4 года назад

      You were there, I presume?

    • @bkackmagic555
      @bkackmagic555 4 года назад +5

      Literal film. Film reel. They have limited amounts of actual film to shoot with

    • @colinellesmere
      @colinellesmere 4 года назад +2

      Mr Help. Why so aggressive. Do you really think the Vietnamese wanted the Americans in to prop up something akin to French colonialisation. The Vietnamese are hugely independent and have struggled for their identity for two thousand years. I bet you don't know they defeated the Mongols three rimes. Three times. Try to get that into some perspective. The whole of Europe was not conquered save for the luck that Ghengus Kahn died when the money were in Poland.

  • @deejo2
    @deejo2 4 года назад +2810

    I could've listened to this guy for hours.
    I was newly married to a guy who joined the army at 18 yrs old. We were just 2 kids in love who only cared about being together. Then he was shipped out to Viet Nam - Infantry division. I wrote to him every single night. My main goal was to make sure he got a letter every single time they had mail call. He returned after 9 LONG months. Ecstatic to be together again, I assumed everything would be wonderful. I was still the same young girl he'd left safely at home. After the initial excitement of our reunion, I began to feel like I was with a stranger. I didn't have a clue what he had been through. Even though I asked, of course he didn't tell me. How could he begin to describe his thoughts & experiences to someone who couldn't possibly understand? He mostly only felt comfortable around other soldiers who had been there & returned. This guy who had only wanted to be with me & our baby son before he left didn't seem to know how to be with us anymore. I knew he looked like the same guy but something had changed....a lot. Being naive, I assumed he didn't want to be with me. I never knew that maybe he didn't know how to be in his own skin. Eventually our marriage didn't make it. Now that I've learned so much more than I ever knew then, there have been sooo many times that I've wanted to go back & talk with him. But I can't. He died at only 31 years old & it wasn't until much later that I began to understand him again. I wish so badly I could tell him so.

    • @lioneloconnor4785
      @lioneloconnor4785 4 года назад +34

      Deejo2🌹

    • @JohnDoe-ky9yn
      @JohnDoe-ky9yn 4 года назад +175

      Hey, it's okay. You didn't choose the war for him, and you weren't able to grasp the implications. He probably wasn't either. Don't beat yourself up over this. The reflection alone tells me that you're a good person. I know a lot of Viet veterans, and i have lived in Vietnam for years, it takes decades to understand what happened here. Nothing is black and white here.

    • @marnel7787
      @marnel7787 4 года назад +64

      This is what people couldn't understand. How can you go through those experiences, and come back to what we know as normal life, and still see things the same, and try and be a" normal person", or take anything seriously? I'm sorry for how it turned out for you, and understand what he must have been going through.

    • @jessica_jam4386
      @jessica_jam4386 4 года назад +48

      Reminds me of an old movie “The Best Years of our Lives”, except that film was about WWII vets returning home and all the implications that brought to them and their families. Very good but sad movie.

    • @stephenfitzpatrick9189
      @stephenfitzpatrick9189 4 года назад +19

      Feel his love. In the end that's what's left, doesnt that feel good? 💖 .

  • @cheriefinley2097
    @cheriefinley2097 4 месяца назад +8

    Thank you for your service. I lost my husband in 2011 who was a Vietnam veteran. He never spoke on what happened over there. He had PTSD and Agent Orange. 😢 I wonder why we have these wars. Soldiers never come back the same.

  • @FreetimeReport
    @FreetimeReport 6 лет назад +1722

    I think this 15 minute segment of interview just taught me more about the Vietnam War than all my years of schooling.

    • @eacey
      @eacey 6 лет назад +35

      I was never taught anything about vietnam

    • @kcbh24
      @kcbh24 6 лет назад +7

      That's sad. True.

    • @julianbright2736
      @julianbright2736 6 лет назад +5

      Eric TheRed me either I had to do the research myself

    • @eddieclark933
      @eddieclark933 6 лет назад +32

      You don't know anything until you know how dark the jungle can get. Until total silence can break into minutes of extreme fear of a ambush. Until you realize everything you do to stay alive depends on your brothers around you and they on you. Until the smell of copper ( blood) and powder fills the air. Until you lose friends. How hard the hot air is to breath and how much you can sweat and how thirsty you can get.
      You can't understand Vietnam until you experience it. You fought ghosts !

    • @julianbright2736
      @julianbright2736 6 лет назад +6

      Eddie Clark your absolutely right I salute to the men who served Vietnam

  • @anniesantos6128
    @anniesantos6128 4 года назад +848

    Hi, my husband was in that horrible, ugly war that made no sense to no one. He was there from 1965 to 1968. Now a day due to the Agent Orange, he has so many disabilities starting with prostate cancer, heart attacks, severe depression, blindness , dementia to name a few. I see his frustration when he can’t remember what to say or find the bathroom, kitchen or bedroom. That’s what that war left him with. So l know what those young men went through. When people see him with the Vietnam War Cap on ( which he loves so much and tell him Thank Your Service l can see the smile on his face ). Peace out to you all.

    • @frustis
      @frustis 4 года назад +26

      I'm deeply sorry to hear that, thank you for sharing the story. I wish the best for you and your husband.

    • @privateemail9755
      @privateemail9755 4 года назад +4

      @Leonard Laing nah, they legally spray that as a pesticide in US. So it's probably gonna get worse until our bodies assimilate to the poison. Or maybe until they stop spraying it

    • @RonSafreed
      @RonSafreed 4 года назад +4

      Annie, also the cryptid rock apes in Vietnam & our soldiers being told to shut-up about them or else dire consequences & keeping those experiences inside & being afraid to talk about them!!!!!!

    • @oldblackstock2499
      @oldblackstock2499 4 года назад +2

      I'm so sorry to hear that. Thank you to your husband for his service to our country and to you for supporting him.

    • @stevecochran2677
      @stevecochran2677 4 года назад +5

      Tell him I said thank you and that he is my new hero!!

  • @deeps1945
    @deeps1945 3 года назад +2148

    Dr. Ehrhart was my senior year of highschool history teacher, unbelievable man who has lived a full life and certainly has seen all the sides life has to offer. Lost one of my good friends during highschool, and the advice he told me afterwards still lingers with me.

    • @M0butu
      @M0butu 3 года назад +55

      what did he say?
      asking for a friend... 🤓

    • @Simon-Family
      @Simon-Family 3 года назад +4

      .

    • @andrewgarner2323
      @andrewgarner2323 3 года назад +32

      If this is true, can you please tell us the advice he gave you? Recently lost someone close to me. Any advice is appreciated.

    • @FFXI_Addict
      @FFXI_Addict 3 года назад +159

      @@andrewgarner2323 I'm just a guy on the internet, but I lost my father recently after being his primary caretaker for 11 years. That was a lot of time I invested, and that was one of the bigger challenges I faced and still am dealing with; you feel cheated. What do you do with all that time and all those memories? You've spent so much time being accustomed to their presence that their absence won't even fully-calculate in your head. For the first year, I kept passing by his room expecting to see him in bed like always. Ever single time I would have to catch myself, remind myself "oh, right..."
      Be good to yourself right now. Give yourself a LOT of love, care, and SLACK. Dealing with loss is never easy, and frankly doesn't "get easier" unless you get good at lying to yourself--which I do not advise.
      You need to heal, but in order to do that, you need to get through each day. To get through each day in the military, we looked forward to each meal; breakfast lunch and dinner. To get through each week, we lived Sunday-to-Sunday. It's true what that say... enter the military as an atheist, and you'll leave as the most-vocal Christian. Jesus Christ helped me. I didn't pay a church $20,000, or do some ceremony or anything. I just prayed and talked to Him directly, as though He was sitting right beside me. Changed my life. Didn't make dealing with loss any EASIER mind you, but it DID make it bearable and tolerable.
      Like I said though, give yourself slack right now. It's really important. You are not operating under normal conditions. Be real with yourself foremost, and you'll be just fine.

    • @anthonyroperto8428
      @anthonyroperto8428 3 года назад +13

      The Legend of Leviathan I’m sorry for your loss mate, thank you for sharing these stories ❤️

  • @scottfoster2639
    @scottfoster2639 11 месяцев назад +86

    What's crazy is that interview was conducted 21 years after Hue City. Fallujah One was only 20 years ago. I can remember clearing buildings, squad by squad. I can feel exactly what this guy is feeling. It seems like yesterday. I am older now than my HS history teacher then in 11th grade, who was a pilot in Vietnam. War is a generational cycle of madness.

    • @6Jenne6La6Flaca6
      @6Jenne6La6Flaca6 11 месяцев назад

      What year was this interview done?

    • @shaunwheldon190
      @shaunwheldon190 10 месяцев назад

      Respect my brother. Those of us who were cognizant back then no the insanity you all faced. You guys were my inspiration for joining the military in 09 and I still serve to this day.

    • @JS-yh7kw
      @JS-yh7kw 7 месяцев назад

      No unit in Iraq had the casualty rate this guy described. You don't know what this guy feels, and consider yourself lucky for that.

    • @scottfoster2639
      @scottfoster2639 7 месяцев назад +5

      @@JS-yh7kw I am not referring to casualty rates. The speed of time and memories are what I am talking about. When you are on the ground, the only casualty you are intimately concerned about yourself. But you wouldn't know that, would you? No unit in Vietnam had the casualties of those in the trenches of WWI and no WWI unit had the casualties of the Civil War, but that doesn't make death less of a reality for him, does it?

  • @TDX311
    @TDX311 4 года назад +1961

    Dr Ehrhart!! He was my english teacher and track coach in high school. His advice to my graduating class was that we probably wouldn't amount to much else than every other graduating class before us, but his biggest wish was for us to prove him wrong. He would talk about his service often but I didn't have too many details, and had no idea just how extensive it was. Fantastic human. Really hope our paths cross again!

    • @MB-fe6ly
      @MB-fe6ly 4 года назад +53

      Another comment says he was a history teacher, what is going on?

    • @azkay
      @azkay 4 года назад +91

      @@MB-fe6ly I assume he taught multiple classes

    • @nunofyabizzness8867
      @nunofyabizzness8867 4 года назад +12

      @@azkay lmfaoo

    • @TheEsotericism1
      @TheEsotericism1 4 года назад +67

      Bacon in a tank Hey look, it’s my 3D Design teacher, Dr. Ehrhart!

    • @JoshHinrichs-vv2ft
      @JoshHinrichs-vv2ft 4 года назад +55

      Look it’s my Art Therapy teacher Dr. Ehrhart!

  • @jubjub7101
    @jubjub7101 5 лет назад +2043

    I can’t believe he says “I’m wasting your film” while I’m hanging on his every word. Damn, this is well said.

    • @Johnny-sj9sj
      @Johnny-sj9sj 5 лет назад +22

      I was hanging onto his every word too, And I watched it through twice. I think it was a disgrace the way they treated US servicemen when they came home, and I’m a limey. If it were not for US servicemen, we would all be speaking either German or Japanese. Vietnam was wrong, we all know that now, but the squaddies were kept in the dark.God bless America. Best wishes from 🇬🇧

    • @d4n4nable
      @d4n4nable 5 лет назад +3

      @@Johnny-sj9sj What's wrong with speaking German?

    • @RP_Williams
      @RP_Williams 5 лет назад +12

      He meant 'he was just sitting there thinking and not saying anything' (which was edited out)....'just some dude sitting there thinking for a minute' isn't really compelling footage (and IS a waste of film). I guess maybe film was pretty expensive back in 1990? Nowadays it's all digital, and there's no such thing as 'wasting film'.

    • @briancritchley5295
      @briancritchley5295 5 лет назад +3

      We humans have so much to learn but we are being held back by greed & power..

    • @johnbaugh2437
      @johnbaugh2437 4 года назад +2

      I was thinking the same thing

  • @kimjasso9953
    @kimjasso9953 6 лет назад +3192

    "We created the Vietcong, we produced them". This is so powerful. This man is a truth teller.

    • @Efreeti
      @Efreeti 6 лет назад +102

      If only we learned from this re: the Middle East.

    • @saftovooey4569
      @saftovooey4569 6 лет назад +18

      my eyes glanced over this comment the very second he said it......CREEPY.

    • @aquirick
      @aquirick 5 лет назад +38

      @Chester Smith Yeah, they I guess why they did see you as an "invading force"... Maybe because you were "invading" them?
      Maybe because stable, rich of resources and relatively developed countries (for their regions of course) were left to ashes?
      Maybe because you literally created, armed, trained, terrorist groups in order to fight the Soviets in your dirty proxy-wars?
      Maybe that's why. But you did better than previous times, that's true. No atomic bombs and napalm aimed at civilians like in Japan, Korea or Vietnam, maybe some lead like in Jugoslavia but who knows, we will discover the truth when it will be convenient for the USA, like the absence of WMD in Saddam's arsenal...

    • @aquirick
      @aquirick 5 лет назад +7

      @Chester Smith yeah, because of your support in the region of terrorist groups "needed" to fight the Soviets and because Churchill's mad division of countries in that part of the Asia.
      Moreover, that "law of the jungle" stuff Is horrible for a men in 2019 and doesn't really is in USA propaganda, I would at least appreciate the brutal honesty.

    • @mastertomolo8904
      @mastertomolo8904 5 лет назад +17

      Chester Smith Iraq under the rule of Sadam Hussein was actually a lot better that after the US decided the country needed some good ol' peaceful and democratic bombings; indeed, women could dress how they wanted, study like any other person. Now, once the US came and left, it's a fucking mess.

  • @MarkJones-n
    @MarkJones-n Год назад +110

    “Fog of war”- certainly not in this man’s mind. His clarity is astounding. The fog comes from the war-hawks, perpetuated via the media.
    “Stop children what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down “ - Buffalo Springfield 1968 anti war movement, Vietnam

    • @jackcoleman1784
      @jackcoleman1784 11 месяцев назад +6

      That isn't what "fog of war" is. Fog of war isn't related to PTSD. Fog of war is a term that refers to the confusion caused during battle that can cause a soldier to commit a mistake and/or do something they wouldn't normally do and/or had been trained not to do which may result in their death/casualty and/or the death/casualty of a fellow soldier/s. One example is in the Soviet-Afghan war a CIA supplied Mujahadeen heavy mortar loader forgot in the confusion of battle i.e. fog of war that he had already loaded a shell despite being heavily trained to keep track of said loading. He then proceeded to load another shell on top of the already loaded shell believing he had not yet loaded said mortar tube. The tube exploded when the lower shell tried to fire with two heavy mortars detonating in close proximity to the crew killing the entire crew. The entire crew was KIA as a result of fog of war.

  • @DrumsTheWord
    @DrumsTheWord 6 лет назад +1366

    What incredibly honest, humble and brave admissions. War is not black and white and we will always need reminding of that. Thank you for sharing!

    • @oxishixo
      @oxishixo 5 лет назад +1

      War never changed

    • @happyhammer1
      @happyhammer1 5 лет назад +17

      Indeed. There seems to be this inate human desire to paint everything as us versus them, and modern American politics is a great example of this mentality.

    • @wingsofsteel3246
      @wingsofsteel3246 5 лет назад

      plz shut up

    • @hanlrr
      @hanlrr 5 лет назад

      I watch your lessons hehehehe

    • @DrumsTheWord
      @DrumsTheWord 5 лет назад

      @@hanlrr It's a small world!! :)

  • @NuncHistoria
    @NuncHistoria 4 года назад +8533

    You know someone is serious when they light a cigarette, and dont take a single drag

  • @ItDontComeEasyRVA
    @ItDontComeEasyRVA 3 года назад +1950

    This is why I love documentaries that focus on the person or people, bare bones, not politicized or exploited by others for their cause or narrative. This is so well done.

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  3 года назад +77

      Thank you Steve for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that RUclips is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts.
      David Hoffman filmmaker

    • @TheWilson565
      @TheWilson565 3 года назад +19

      @@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I wish I was an independent movie maker. This guys story would make a great story about the REAL Vietnam war!

    • @GettinJiggyWithGenghis
      @GettinJiggyWithGenghis 3 года назад +10

      As well meaning as your comment is, as truthful im sure this man is, as pure as their motive and as true as their testimony, be careful trusting documentaries that only focus on one person and their story because obviously the nature of that line means that your story is going to be one sided. Remember tiger king?

    • @ItDontComeEasyRVA
      @ItDontComeEasyRVA 3 года назад

      @@GettinJiggyWithGenghis Tiger King - I’ve never heard of it. Guess I’ll Google it.

    • @ItDontComeEasyRVA
      @ItDontComeEasyRVA 3 года назад +2

      @@GettinJiggyWithGenghis I don’t know if the reference was to that so called reality tv show. If so I was asking what all the hoopla was about, just like Honey Boo Boo etc. I don’t have a television hooked up anymore so I mainly listen to podcasts, read books and am heavily involved in the veteran’s community.

  • @AlbertHoffman-mb6tv
    @AlbertHoffman-mb6tv 11 месяцев назад +8

    You are not wasting his film! Man wish it was longer. It's like the world has amnesia and we're doing the same thing over agin. Wish i could speak with u.

  • @matthewforeshew9366
    @matthewforeshew9366 5 лет назад +1435

    I hope the guy who filmed this realised that it's not a waste of film. He's telling stories that would have been forgotten by time otherwise ❤️

    • @jack-dh9hs
      @jack-dh9hs 5 лет назад +28

      Matthew Foreshew im 90% sure this is from the tv documentary series “Vietnam: A Television History” it’s 13 episodes and each episode is an hour long. i highly recommend watching it. last time i checked it’s on netflix

    • @joelhellman8746
      @joelhellman8746 5 лет назад +5

      @@jack-dh9hs it's the same guy from the documentary, but this looks older than those interviews. I think he tells the same story in the docu. Really good documentary though, I've seen it almost 5 times. It is heartbreaking listening to all the stories from those involved in this conflict, vietnamese and americans alike, veterans and civilians.
      Edit
      Sorry, thought you were talking about the more recent documentary by Ken Burns. Simply named The Vietnam war. It's on Netflix..

    • @brennencox516
      @brennencox516 5 лет назад +3

      This was one person's opinion. Not to say what he observed was wrong, but... It was his observations.

    • @matthewforeshew9366
      @matthewforeshew9366 4 года назад

      @1manuscriptman hey buddy. Shut up. 😘

    • @zombi3907
      @zombi3907 4 года назад

      @@brennencox516 I mean, other than pointing out an obvious thing, that these are his observations, do you have any other thing to actually say? Its a strange thing to write if you don't want to imply something, such as that he might be wrong and the Vietnam War was some heroic effort. All those involved in getting us into Vietnam were the worst kinds of lying bastards, this is historically well-documented. In fact as I write this I am baffled at the notion that someone could disagree with that statement, like, this is pretty much the consensus.

  • @James-qn3wi
    @James-qn3wi 4 года назад +1377

    "I'm wasting your time."
    If only this guy knew today that this was worth every single second.

    • @halfalligator6518
      @halfalligator6518 4 года назад +15

      yup. or how incredibly disposable photos & video are now.

    • @Wandering_Chemist
      @Wandering_Chemist 4 года назад

      Worth it only because first hand accounts need to be kept for posterity but this guy is far from a great story teller. Check out Dan Carlin and he never served a day in his life. Hell I could paint a better picture of my time in Fallujah and I didn’t endure half of what that Marine went through, he is a hero but a story teller? Hard pass, but needs to be kept for history’s sake.

    • @halfalligator6518
      @halfalligator6518 4 года назад +21

      @@Wandering_Chemist He's a regular guy being interviewed who has higher ability than the average Joe at keeping people captivated. It's in the voice, and flow. It's not about who can tell a highly refined and educational story better. Dan Carlin is great but that's his damned job and he does loads of planning. This guy is just telling a tale like someone would in a bar. Why so anal?

    • @five1steph
      @five1steph 4 года назад +6

      @@Wandering_Chemist why so anal?

    • @TheDarkSkorpion
      @TheDarkSkorpion 4 года назад +8

      @@Wandering_Chemist I read your comment before finishing watching the video, so withheld any response until completion. Upon further review of your comment, I have only one question for you. Why so anal?

  • @tombixler3512
    @tombixler3512 6 лет назад +551

    God bless this dear man. He says he's wasting film!! No, buddy, no you're not!! We're listening 28 years later!! We LOVE you.

    • @toomaskotkas4467
      @toomaskotkas4467 6 лет назад +3

      I hope he is burning in Hell where all 'Merican soldiers belong.

    • @wtfisditvoorbullshit
      @wtfisditvoorbullshit 6 лет назад +2

      28 years later? Is that a sequel to 28 days later?

    • @koffieverslaafde627
      @koffieverslaafde627 6 лет назад +7

      Alan Shore is it the soldiers that were wrong? Or is it the people behind all it

    • @daslickkiffer6702
      @daslickkiffer6702 6 лет назад +2

      Lol what a troll

    • @53Betsy
      @53Betsy 6 лет назад +3

      Alan Shore - Your channel has no content....and neither do you.....

  • @Perk_SportYourCards
    @Perk_SportYourCards 6 месяцев назад +5

    Thankful for intelligent men like this who came back and told their story, the true story, that allows people to understand now what a mistake it was go and what a bigger mistake it was to stay. Every soldier who was sent there and was lucky enough to return deserves every bit of gratitude we can find within ourselves to show them

  • @oliverslinger5074
    @oliverslinger5074 4 года назад +10514

    That cigarette burned for 8 minutes 40 seconds... they don’t do that anymore

    • @dankernuggets7
      @dankernuggets7 4 года назад +930

      American Spirits do

    • @ralfkleemann4325
      @ralfkleemann4325 4 года назад +443

      The zoom into the man's face was almost as long. Smooth camera operator, that is.

    • @kylewalker9007
      @kylewalker9007 4 года назад +213

      Fire safe cigarettes were developed in 1932.

    • @tb-cg6vd
      @tb-cg6vd 4 года назад +43

      @@ralfkleemann4325 Yeah I had to rewind to watch it again with what he was saying - brilliant doco guys.

    • @MrEazyE357
      @MrEazyE357 4 года назад +99

      Pall Malls and American Spirits both do. I mean they will go out for safety reasons but they will at least last that long.

  • @dankbornkstomper6867
    @dankbornkstomper6867 2 года назад +1008

    My grandpa passed away last month. He fought in Korea as well as Vietnam. He told some stories of his time there, mostly funny ones with our family. It was only when I got to talk with him one on one that he opened up about how horrible it was. I’ll never forget the stories he told me. He was a squad lead in Vietnam before he was a colonel. He talked about walking up a hill with his squad. The guy in front of him got shot in the head. The 2 behind him got taken down too. He was the only man who survived. He talked to be about dragging his buddies back down the hill, and returning to the base feeling awful that he was even still alive. He talked about how his commanders didn’t even care about his squad being lost and how they simply assigned him a new one a day later. It’s these stories, that we lose over time that are the most important things to remember moving forward.

    • @TheAmazingHuman-Man
      @TheAmazingHuman-Man 2 года назад +19

      I heard some stories from my mom who probably heard from her mom about my grandpa’s time in vietnam. Supposedly he was ordered to kill a civilian child. Story wasn’t clear and I’m not sure if he followed through, but that war sounds like an absolutely terrible place to be.

    • @letsgobrandon6281
      @letsgobrandon6281 2 года назад +8

      They don't have time to care. Or show they care

    • @TheAmazingHuman-Man
      @TheAmazingHuman-Man 2 года назад +15

      Got a rare mention about vietnam this christmas when he felt like oversharing with my brother’s new girlfriend. My mom said that he refused to do it and got thrown in the brig. This guy is like the twin of Robin Williams and his profession was teaching elementary school kids (maybe after the war). Can you imagine grabbing a teacher today, throwing them in a war, and ordering them to kill children?!

    • @dankbornkstomper6867
      @dankbornkstomper6867 2 года назад +6

      @@TheAmazingHuman-Man my grandpa was a teacher too. He taught at a Highschool before the war and after for many years as well.

    • @rapperastoned
      @rapperastoned 2 года назад +2

      Did he say there was Bigfoot fighting

  • @LeeFerikson
    @LeeFerikson 5 лет назад +1152

    I can't really describe how valuable this is. This will be in museums.

    • @TheWorld_2099
      @TheWorld_2099 4 года назад +3

      LeeFerikson - this is the museum.
      And it is SO valuable.

    • @TheWorld_2099
      @TheWorld_2099 4 года назад

      OctopusMusic - nah, don’t already censor yourself.
      You fight for what’s right.
      Period.

    • @BillyJack85
      @BillyJack85 4 года назад

      And heard nor seen by NO ONE. This tale is as old as time. We're about due for another one. Perhaps our turn to be democratized. The show's coming to a close soon tho. We're coming back around to where it all started, as in the days of Noah, end of days territory.

    • @joelhammer3538
      @joelhammer3538 4 года назад +1

      Not in any trump-era museum it wont. It was a terrific war. Terrific.

    • @nick8339
      @nick8339 4 года назад

      What state was this in?

  • @richotter
    @richotter 11 месяцев назад +4

    I am very glad to hear 20 million people were able to and did sit down and listen to this man tell his story. Very important for people to understand a human experience such as this. Thank you again. 🙏

  • @allenhall9728
    @allenhall9728 6 лет назад +455

    What a powerful fifteen minutes. Dr. Ehrhart is thoughtful, brave, wise and honest. Two of my sons were fortunate to have him as a high school teacher. He had an enormously positive impact on them, as you can imagine.

    • @FeverMutt
      @FeverMutt 6 лет назад +4

      Is he still alive?

    • @Qapital_J
      @Qapital_J 5 лет назад +1

      That’s amazing

    • @jacksonwheeler4731
      @jacksonwheeler4731 5 лет назад +1

      the dude in the video?

    • @patrickreilly2338
      @patrickreilly2338 5 лет назад

      Nice xusn

    • @allenhall9728
      @allenhall9728 5 лет назад +6

      @@jacksonwheeler4731 Yes. I encourage you to go to his website and keep digging around for more interviews. An amazing man.

  • @greatheadflipilillilip8505
    @greatheadflipilillilip8505 4 года назад +250

    “The questions themselves were too ugly to ask let alone try to deal with the answers” a powerful statement

    • @brazyrist
      @brazyrist 4 года назад +1

      He stayed so quiet after that

  • @lakiu9729
    @lakiu9729 4 года назад +1108

    As a Vietnamese from VN, thank you David and Mr Ehrhart for telling this story, to give younger generations from both countries an valuable opportunity learn more about our past !

    • @andyshannahan
      @andyshannahan 4 года назад +35

      There's a documentary called The Vietnam War by Ben Burns, this guy features in it. It's ten parts or so an hour long and absolutely harrowing viewing but one of the most comprehensive documentaries I've ever watched. It covers everything, the politics and reasons, the evil men who prpogated this war and sent thousands of men to their deaths in the name of nothing,, to destroy a country. Killing civilians to up body counts. Horrific but important to watch.

    • @BobbyDazzler888
      @BobbyDazzler888 4 года назад +16

      @@andyshannahan not much has changed with USA

    • @masamune..
      @masamune.. 3 года назад +49

      @Nadeem Bitar not sure what you're on about. The message of Christ, is not war. However as you know, men and woman have evil in their hearts, and pervert what is good to do evil.
      The message that Jesus brings is life.

    • @treyellis3
      @treyellis3 3 года назад +30

      @Nadeem Bitar I'm hoping this is sarcasm, but in this day and age I see too many expressing this exact sentiment completely unironically.

    • @ducluongdo8012
      @ducluongdo8012 3 года назад +23

      @@andyshannahan it’s not the Vietnam war. It’s not fully a Civil War. It’s Viet Nam vs the US. Washington pumped billions of money to create chaos in Viet Nam. Stop being brainwashed.

  • @Frankcastlepunisher74
    @Frankcastlepunisher74 11 месяцев назад +4

    Much love and respect for this gentleman! He tells it like it was. Thank you, Sir for telling us your story! God bless our, Vets from 'Nam. Semper Fi!

  • @ikeepbees5563
    @ikeepbees5563 3 года назад +601

    I love this man. On a personal level. He was my high school advisor and taught me something that I believe defined a part of who I am today - he taught me to not take things so seriously. I remember I had gotten a bad grade on some assignment, I believe during my junior year. He called me to his classroom to talk about it. I was terrified and embarrassed and it showed.
    He calmed me down and told me that in five years, no one would give a shit about any sort of grade I had gotten on a paper in high school. He showed me that everyone makes mistakes and people are not defined by their mistakes, especially small ones.
    It was a pleasure being his advisee and student for four years. I miss you Dr. E.

    • @Leopar525
      @Leopar525 3 года назад +13

      Wow, thanks for sharing. That’s beautiful

    • @startrooper453
      @startrooper453 3 года назад +5

      get this to the top

    • @tunguskalumberjack9987
      @tunguskalumberjack9987 3 года назад +17

      What a perfect career for this man to choose. My high school guidance counselor had no real world experience outside of classrooms and interscholastic politics, and I got absolutely zero useful advice or lessons from her. All she was concerned about was grade point averages and promoting her own preferred colleges. You were exceptionally lucky to have this guy for your advisor.

    • @Ch9-7708
      @Ch9-7708 3 года назад +4

      That’s just wonderful man

    • @lamecasuelas2
      @lamecasuelas2 3 года назад

      Woah! That Is just powerful

  • @mickles1975
    @mickles1975 4 года назад +1256

    "I'm wasting your film"
    Not in the slightest. Utterly fascinating.

    • @bigmantingyeh656
      @bigmantingyeh656 4 года назад +1

      9 xx

    • @HouseholdDog
      @HouseholdDog 4 года назад +4

      Fascinating enough for us to be transfixed. Decades later.

    • @daveslyker4431
      @daveslyker4431 4 года назад +4

      Film is very expensive. Especially back then

    • @mickles1975
      @mickles1975 4 года назад +2

      @@daveslyker4431 Yeah but it was worth it.

    • @daveslyker4431
      @daveslyker4431 4 года назад +3

      @@mickles1975 not saying it wasn't. But we would never think of that because of digital cameras. He's a thoughtful man and considers something like the cost of film.

  • @tamimfares3020
    @tamimfares3020 Год назад +316

    Stunning to me, looking back now at interviews like this, that what was happening in Vietnam was almost exactly what I witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We created an endless line of recruits for the insurgency through the vicious way we interacted with the local population. We were Infantrymen, trained from day one to be a violent and unforgiving. When friends were getting killed and we barely saw the enemy, our frustration became too great and the locals suffered.

    • @Max_Stacks
      @Max_Stacks Год назад +31

      And it's sad as in all of these situations, Americas involvement really wasn't necessary in the first place.

    • @liangjiang3122
      @liangjiang3122 Год назад

      After American soldiers murder enough people, they go back home as war heros and record memorials like this video.

    • @Braveheartman123
      @Braveheartman123 11 месяцев назад +9

      The frustration must have been incredible, and yes the things young soldiers end up doing because of the lack of support makes perfect sense to me. At least the liberation of France in WWII brought smiles, hugs, and appreciation from the civilian population. Vietnam and the Middle East aren’t like that at all. They are a lose-lose proposition.

    • @plamenstoyanov94
      @plamenstoyanov94 11 месяцев назад +5

      ​@@Braveheartman123"Aren't like that at all" There is a huge difference in situations don't you think?

    • @_Fighta_
      @_Fighta_ 10 месяцев назад +1

      @@Max_Stacksdepends if your saying before the death of Saddam I would say there was a reason which was to end him anything after I saw no point. Anyways don’t fucking include all of America that was just almost mainly all president bush that was doing that extra shit.

  • @JamesStaaks8182
    @JamesStaaks8182 Месяц назад +5

    I’ve watched this multiple times maybe 10 and it never fails to hit me right between the eyes.

  • @laurakern9899
    @laurakern9899 3 года назад +781

    I was a nurse in Vietnam taking care of patients in the operating room. I have no combat experience but can concur with all that this man has said. It was an experience that shaped my life and career but it was done solely to save the lives of the men who had no choice about their service in that country.

    • @dougstyles
      @dougstyles 2 года назад +20

      Bless u

    • @lindagreaney5136
      @lindagreaney5136 2 года назад +14

      Thank you❤️💔

    • @Bilbus7
      @Bilbus7 2 года назад +11

      @K AMB Damn that takes courage

    • @Stevenfrijol
      @Stevenfrijol 2 года назад +8

      Thank you for your service.. and your comment.

    • @lindagreaney5136
      @lindagreaney5136 2 года назад +3

      God bless America and this world today

  • @ConstantGoddard
    @ConstantGoddard 6 лет назад +1547

    this was quite randomly recommended. captivating interview!

    • @OrphanPipe
      @OrphanPipe 6 лет назад +12

      I agree... Totally unexpected to see this as a suggestion while watching Steve Vai guitar videos...

    • @vivianstanshall8121
      @vivianstanshall8121 5 лет назад +4

      More weird that this was recommend to me on Pornhub

    • @pzooka
      @pzooka 5 лет назад +4

      Orphan Pipe haha I was just also watching Steve Vai videos. I guess RUclips has got its shit together....scary

    • @OrphanPipe
      @OrphanPipe 5 лет назад +1

      @@pzooka Rigging of some algorithms, or honesty of algorithms???

    • @pzooka
      @pzooka 5 лет назад +3

      Orphan Pipe my skepticism tells me rigging, but my skepticism of my skepticism tells me honesty haha

  • @mattmorgan5073
    @mattmorgan5073 3 года назад +4623

    Bill Earhart is the guy’s name. He ended up being a poet and writer.

  • @davidanspaugh1699
    @davidanspaugh1699 3 месяца назад +4

    Guys, this man is absolutely amazing! He is an idol, seriously

  • @mauricerobinson3184
    @mauricerobinson3184 5 лет назад +371

    Movie? Nope
    Book? Nope
    Listen to this man tell his story? ABSOLUTELY!!!

    • @josifstarvin267
      @josifstarvin267 5 лет назад +6

      Thats why they are idiots

    • @KarmasAbutch
      @KarmasAbutch 5 лет назад +2

      Exactly! You cant read a Wikipedia article and know “lived experience”. Human beings are meant to communicate through story. You just need to go to twitter to see what happens when u remove that from us LOL.

    • @christopherstewart4025
      @christopherstewart4025 5 лет назад

      AGREED

    • @spaceghost8995
      @spaceghost8995 5 лет назад

      @Great Lakes No. No one would.

    • @spaceghost8995
      @spaceghost8995 5 лет назад

      @Great Lakes Apples and Oranges. I understand what you're getting at but the Vietnam apologists are extinct. No one seriously defends it anymore besides the fringe lunatics who we don't care about.

  • @michaelnewman6936
    @michaelnewman6936 5 лет назад +762

    "I'm wasting your film.."
    Nooooooooo. Keep gooooooing

  • @Thrallking
    @Thrallking 6 лет назад +670

    It made me sad to hear this guy say that he was wasting the camera man's film. I don't think he was wasting anything. This is good information.

    • @bibtebo
      @bibtebo 6 лет назад +25

      I imagine there was some vigourous head shaking behind the camera after he said that. Also bear in mind that this would be a fair concern in those days.

    • @mqb5151
      @mqb5151 6 лет назад +1

      Ignore the pricks

    • @Smoof5
      @Smoof5 5 лет назад +4

      He meant he was literally wasting his film, probably thinking about what to say next is all.

  • @Superchickenman159
    @Superchickenman159 Год назад +6

    this guy is so well spoken, no two ways about it
    i admire his position and his speech and his storytelling ability
    a beautiful person i wish well

  • @SuperThatguylol
    @SuperThatguylol 6 лет назад +616

    "We created them, We produced them." This guy was way ahead of the curve.

    • @tomat6362
      @tomat6362 6 лет назад +31

      He still is ahead of the curve in 2018. Hopefully the curve is catching up a little.

    • @sirsenior1861
      @sirsenior1861 6 лет назад

      @@250txc what?

    • @argophloia703
      @argophloia703 6 лет назад +31

      Fly in from a million miles away for a fake reason, burn someone's village, slaughter them and rape them...the survivors become militant. Is that what you wanna know?

    • @AvidiaNirvana
      @AvidiaNirvana 6 лет назад +1

      Do clarify how we created and produced these retards?

    • @osbaldofernanez8359
      @osbaldofernanez8359 6 лет назад +7

      Can we use this same quote and apply it to the underprivileged minorities in America.

  • @monamarie2006
    @monamarie2006 5 лет назад +356

    Magnificent storyteller, fabulous hair, epic mustache. Respect sir.

    • @joshuat3902
      @joshuat3902 5 лет назад +14

      Firm handshakes all around gentlemen

    • @220SeaChaser
      @220SeaChaser 5 лет назад +4

      You forgot the glasses

    • @pungisotu
      @pungisotu 5 лет назад +6

      @@220SeaChaser not everyone can rock the aviator style.

    • @benjaminkinslow5393
      @benjaminkinslow5393 5 лет назад +4

      He is a whole decade in one man ...FROSTY

    • @flowerpower1577
      @flowerpower1577 5 лет назад +1

      Sgt.Gecko RIGHT ON

  • @dudecrushjellyman
    @dudecrushjellyman 2 года назад +1156

    I could listen to this man tell his story all day. My dad went to Vietnam and came back a different person. I often wondered what happened to him that changed who he was. Then I joined the Army at 21, and found out. What really goes on in the military, and what is being reported to the citizens of this great nation,.. the stories told, are like reading from two different books. The version the people got is like a childrens book version, where the good guy always wins, and everything works out perfectly . Reality is much darker.

    • @michaelpetras1613
      @michaelpetras1613 2 года назад +4

      .

    • @DoubleIvan
      @DoubleIvan 2 года назад +12

      Amazing that your father let you do that.

    • @dadaverage1577
      @dadaverage1577 2 года назад +4

      Invading countries can take a toll on a man

    • @PuddingXXL
      @PuddingXXL 2 года назад +21

      Thanks for your service. I'd like to cite the last sentence of a poem of the guy interviewed in this video that I believe explains the boomer mindset from back then a lot better:
      "in another war in another place
      where yet another generation
      is rudely about to discover
      what their fathers never told them. "
      -1993 W. D. Ehrhart

    • @garryiglesias4074
      @garryiglesias4074 2 года назад +19

      "The good guys always win"... Where the start of the problem is just the fact that some believe they are "the good guys"... As if the "other side" was sure they were the bad guys... This is the first child idea of wars: the good vs the bad... And the more one side PRETEND to be good, the more suspicious you should be...
      EVERY CONS says "trust me I'm honest"... Honest people don't need to shout out how "honest" they are... Same goes for "good guys"... The one claiming that are sure part of the bad people of humanity.

  • @awesomebillfromdawsomevill7788
    @awesomebillfromdawsomevill7788 3 месяца назад +3

    Still one of the most important interviews ever done. I come back periodically to re listen

  • @ashleykarchevsky4144
    @ashleykarchevsky4144 2 года назад +3530

    My uncle was a door gunner in Vietnam. He never spoke more than two words about his experience there. Later in life he suffered a catastrophic stroke , and all but lost his ability to speak. Now he wakes nightly, terrified by haunting nightmares that he physically cannot recount. Here’s to the silent sufferers who endure our country’s shrouded intentions.

    • @ginaboreham5116
      @ginaboreham5116 2 года назад +76

      the poor man. I hope he can find some peace.

    • @Saba316
      @Saba316 2 года назад +120

      God be with him. His country obviously wasn't.

    • @williamdaniels6943
      @williamdaniels6943 2 года назад +11

      SAD!

    • @mikehawk3489
      @mikehawk3489 2 года назад +6

      why don’t ppl talk abt there experience

    • @williamdaniels6943
      @williamdaniels6943 2 года назад +80

      @@mikehawk3489 because your mind tries to shut out bad things that happen to you

  • @immigratoclandestino6259
    @immigratoclandestino6259 3 года назад +990

    "No one told the Vietnamese they'd been set back 4 months"
    I love this guy's sense of humor even at a dark time like that.

    • @poom641
      @poom641 3 года назад +66

      'War is a place where young men who don't know each other and don't hate each other kill each other,
      because of old men who know each other and hate each other but don't kill each other'' --Erich Hartmann

    • @gatosyratones
      @gatosyratones 3 года назад +1

      The most honest 👏👏👏

    • @julesg8925
      @julesg8925 3 года назад +2

      Time magazine really set them up by saying that

    • @juscoz3167
      @juscoz3167 3 года назад

      I couldn't help laughing at that also lol

    • @turt97
      @turt97 3 года назад

      He want making a joke, he was making a point that the US government lies to the people. He laughed because he couldn’t believe he figured out their scam. And here we are decades later, and people still believe the government.

  • @vanishan
    @vanishan 2 года назад +180

    My history teacher served in Vietnam. We were enthralled whenever he talked about the war. We finally heard the truth. As he said, "There's real history and the history written in textbooks."

  • @neilfoster814
    @neilfoster814 3 месяца назад +2

    What a fantastic interview! This guy gives a great narration, very articulate. I'm old enough to remember the Vietnam war, and hearing about the various battles and attacks, especially the battle for Saigon and the Mekong Delta.

  • @drews2444
    @drews2444 2 года назад +2356

    Served in Afghanistan in 2010 and similarities between his story and what was happening in Afghanistan are astonishing and quite frankly disturbing. Our government is still either incompetent or corrupt to the core.

    • @timmcclymont3527
      @timmcclymont3527 2 года назад +268

      Oh come on. Incompetence is an excuse for evil men to get away with their deeds.

    • @swervsplatt9672
      @swervsplatt9672 2 года назад +55

      It's disturbing that you can't point out exactly which one it is....

    • @EatEatEatRepeat
      @EatEatEatRepeat 2 года назад +13

      @@timmcclymont3527 the universe is incompetent; our planet is an indicator of that.

    • @alansmith4655
      @alansmith4655 2 года назад +135

      Corrupt to the core. It's all about money.

    • @vincentanguoni8938
      @vincentanguoni8938 2 года назад

      Or the government is made up of human beings!!!!!!
      It offends me a bit when you compare Afghanistan to Vietnam......2010.... Afghanistan....there were single weeks in Vietnam with more casualties than the entire Afghan war!?. I was bitter for years...I got over it!!!! You must be perfect!!!!!

  • @smast16
    @smast16 2 года назад +1676

    He says "... I ceased to think I quite literally ceased to think about why I was there or what I was going. The sole purpose of my being in Vietnam at that point was to stay alive until I could get out. "
    As an Iraq veteran from 2005 - 2006, I 100% understand and feel what he's saying.

    • @calebdixon784
      @calebdixon784 2 года назад +51

      ye man hope ur good my older brother was kia in the 2nd battle in fallujah 04 and for what more lies.

    • @ploopy8780
      @ploopy8780 2 года назад +8

      @@Will45_ your dad's probably lying. This isn't just one man's experience.

    • @dorisreynolds9623
      @dorisreynolds9623 2 года назад +2

      I was afraid of that. God Bless you men!

    • @Imnotsure0987
      @Imnotsure0987 2 года назад +1

      @@ploopy8780 depends on what their involvement was.

    • @InitialFailure
      @InitialFailure 2 года назад +2

      As an Iraq vet (2006-08), Afghanistan vet (2009), Afghanistan again (2013) and Iraq again (2019), I can tell you that me and my buddies prefer a deployment more than making fantastical stories about being an MI Corporal that "beat and killed" people while calling in fires and watching detainees.
      MI doesn't work with mines and are so far in the rear, there's little to no chance he was ever sniped at.

  • @savageproduction186
    @savageproduction186 5 лет назад +944

    Those little pauses he takes, it’s like he goes back just for a second

    • @nowthisis2stupid
      @nowthisis2stupid 4 года назад +35

      That exactly what he is doing.

    • @Babybugex
      @Babybugex 4 года назад +23

      @@nowthisis2stupid Very brave. My uncle never said a word about Nam and died at 38 from pancreatic cancer. the Nam killed him it just took 15 years..

    • @OSleeperTactical
      @OSleeperTactical 4 года назад +6

      You hear how his voice is forced back into professional normal, but that's not what's going on under the surface.

    • @reinerbraun3446
      @reinerbraun3446 4 года назад

      @@Babybugex Can't even comprehend what he went through and the atrocities he witnessed.

    • @DIVISIONINCISION
      @DIVISIONINCISION 4 года назад

      @@Babybugex Pancreatic cancer can always happen. How are you sure he got it from Vietnam?

  • @genesis2k_
    @genesis2k_ 7 месяцев назад +3

    I selfishly wish my grandfather would’ve spoke about his experiences on the frontline as a marine in Vietnam, but he never spoke a single word about it and as I got older I realized why. Thank you and God bless to all of those who served and sacrificed.

  • @charlesmascari8197
    @charlesmascari8197 6 лет назад +2291

    Wow, there it is. No propaganda, no Hollywood rendition, just the plain truth from a soldier who was there.

    • @evilseedsgrownaturally1588
      @evilseedsgrownaturally1588 6 лет назад +66

      In the most general sense of the word, a marine is indeed a soldier. But not every soldier is a marine. Formally, there is a difference to be appreciated, but you would have to either be overly pedantic, or one of those “proud to be a marine”-types in order to actually give a fuck, since colloquially speaking; we all know what we’re talking about.

    • @tams805
      @tams805 6 лет назад +48

      All members of an armed force are soldiers. A marine is just a specialisation.

    • @MattQrillz
      @MattQrillz 6 лет назад +5

      Aye, Not even a different camera angle. Makes all the difference.

    • @MrSurrealKarma
      @MrSurrealKarma 6 лет назад +51

      EnsignSuder
      Mate, that's just a bullshit motivational expression to make marines feel superior.
      They're still soldiers, per definition.

    • @MattQrillz
      @MattQrillz 6 лет назад +5

      @@MrSurrealKarma Why bother even replying to Ensign? Don't stoop to his level of Nazi-ism Lol..

  • @jeddyman172
    @jeddyman172 5 лет назад +889

    My grandfather just passed away, and he never spoke about his service in Vietnam. He got rid of his medals and ribbons, and told us that he lost a lot of friends and that he will never be proud of what he did.
    This gives me a bit of closure of what was going on.. very informative. Thank you.

    • @Angelo_Music6
      @Angelo_Music6 5 лет назад +1

      The Melatonin Trio ☹️☹️☹️

    • @chucknorris299
      @chucknorris299 5 лет назад +14

      The Melatonin Trio rest in peace.
      Vietnam is a misunderstood war but men like your grandpa did what others couldn’t and stepped up to the plate.

    • @jeddyman172
      @jeddyman172 5 лет назад +11

      Badgerlord absolutely. Thank you for your kind words, they are very much appreciated. :)

    • @jeddyman172
      @jeddyman172 5 лет назад +7

      Viper gaming it’s absolutely insane how little we know about the war. Like Ehrhart said in the video, war is so unjust in many ways. The vast majority of Vietnam Veterans have suffered so much mental trauma from this war, that it has essentially laid a blanket of wonder over the whole thing leaving the rest of us wondering what the hell really went on. My dad is currently trying to track down anyone in the world who had known my grandpa from service and maybe had served with him or had a family member that had. He’s willing to travel anywhere in the world just to find answers. There’s so much we don’t know, and I wish that there was another way for our questions to be answered. We both seek closure, and I wish you the best of luck to find yours.

    • @GoofyPoptart
      @GoofyPoptart 5 лет назад +5

      My pap just passed as well he served in Vietnam as well he never spoke of anything as well he told me side stories but everytime I asked as a kid till I was like 16 he always took a deep breath before he spoke I realized that I should just stop asking cause I didn't want him thinking about it to much I'll never know what he actually saw there but for his respect it's probably best I don't know everything.

  • @amandajones9917
    @amandajones9917 2 года назад +1004

    I had 2 uncles that fought in Vietnam, one in the Army, and one in the Navy. One of them came home completely traumatized. He refused to ever drive again. And he could only get along with children and animals. He had a lot of anger and would go off if anyone mentioned the war. But he was amazing with children. He did countless hours helping out at the school and he loved children especially the sports department. He paid for uniforms, trophy, and anything that any child needed. He kept score at all of the ballgames and helped anyone that needed help. The world lost someone special when he passed away. He would have made it a lot longer if the VA hospital in Tennessee would have treated him better. There were times when it took 2 months to get an appointment and when he did he said that they were hateful and abusive towards him. Sorry for the long post. I could type another 20 minutes.
    had treated him better.

    • @lemieginocchia1836
      @lemieginocchia1836 2 года назад +15

      I wish you would’ve written more!

    • @hareecionelson5875
      @hareecionelson5875 2 года назад +5

      @William Thomas You can be a hero and still be wrong

    • @Globe14
      @Globe14 2 года назад +8

      I would also.like to read another 20 minutes of that. However, I don't know whether they were heroes because I didn't know them and I don't know how they acted in the war. Perhaps they did things thst were not heroic, perhaps they did. I'm not child so I don't think your uncle would have had much time for me. I sympathise with the horrors he went through BUT I also sympathise with the horrors the Vietnanese went through. His love of children sounds great though.
      I am sorry for your loss and for the suffering your uncle endured. My only point here is, calling vets heroic who were seriously psychologically hurt by this war, or any war, (as your uncles most certainly were) and only by virtue I'd their service alone, with no real knowledge of HOW they ameliorated a conflict, is NOT a good thing to do in my view. Why? It is subtly pushing a pro-war agenda, where the REAL men SUFFER and become HEROES. No. You do not become a hero by virtue of fighting in a war. People should look at what wars do to people (like your uncles) and take a step back - asking themselves, isn't it more heroic or greater to NOT participate (to protest or choose a non-combat role) in this tragic loss of life and brutalisation of peoples land, to the detriment of one's own health (agent orange-induced cancer) family (ptsd-related domestic abuse) ones own psyche (nightmares) and possible moral virtue?
      It's the people who say 'ohh all vets are heroes' that are dangerous because they GLAMOURIZE WAR. It's not needed and it actually isn't sensitive to the real issue.

    • @scottslocum3319
      @scottslocum3319 2 года назад +13

      Sounds like he was a great man.
      Yea the VA is garbage, I'm a veteran and my dad was a Vietnam vet. He had liver cancer and he had fallen and broke his hip and my mom took him to the VA hospital in Columbia, SC and they told my mom and I that there was no point in replacing his hip since he was going to die anyway. Since then I've never been in a VA hospital. They treat veterans like garbage there.

    • @Gia.325
      @Gia.325 2 года назад

      Hugs. My dad was a Vietnam vet too. It was rough.

  • @kirstenlogan5175
    @kirstenlogan5175 Месяц назад +3

    Respect!
    Veterans Day 2024
    Salute!
    Amidst
    the uncertainties of war, every soldier has the right to one certainty
    that he will not be forgotten or abandoned
    Poor is a nation that has no heroes
    Shameful is the one who has them and ….forgets

  • @Napoli-DM10
    @Napoli-DM10 5 лет назад +424

    An intelligent and relatable person with a gift of being able to talk about his life experiences in an honest, captivating, and down to earth way.

  • @peteodonald5440
    @peteodonald5440 4 года назад +1029

    This guy is not unknown. W.D "Bill" Ehrhart, American poet, writer and scholar.
    Books: Passing Time. (Memoir). Vietnam, Thank you for your service, Ordinary lives...and more... Cool guy.

    • @fireflameft2964
      @fireflameft2964 4 года назад +13

      Why are you thanking him for his service? it doesn't look like something he would have done if he knew what it really was all about. He doesn't seem to be proud about it either.

    • @desperate_desperado
      @desperate_desperado 4 года назад +23

      FTC can't tell if this is a joke but that's the name of a book this dude wrote. Worth a read.

    • @Cash2112
      @Cash2112 4 года назад +12

      fireflame ft Why are you a disgraceful POS?

    • @bigboy_2.0betaversion80
      @bigboy_2.0betaversion80 4 года назад +15

      fireflame ft he was speaking of the book title, but he should be thanked for his service because he answered the call. The call was for an awful war, but he answered it.

    • @inevitablecraftslab
      @inevitablecraftslab 4 года назад +4

      J he didn't support his country, the US had nothing to do there and there was no danger for the US. they just wanted to test some weapons try out some tactics and play an easy war game which turned out to be a losing war.

  • @EarmonkeyMusic
    @EarmonkeyMusic 3 года назад +758

    "I'm wasting your film." No, sir, you have me captivated with not only your story, but with how relevant your story still is in 2021.

    • @johnjowari7128
      @johnjowari7128 3 года назад +5

      True, relevant in everywar.

    • @MikeBarbarossa
      @MikeBarbarossa 3 года назад +3

      The 'dear John ' story at the end was timeless red pill. Still worshiped her after being dumped. Yet another lesson to be learned

    • @charlesg7926
      @charlesg7926 3 года назад +2

      This man was a good storyteller, but he came to some illogical conclusions. He’s trying to figure out why the Vietnamese hate him... because he can’t figure out, he decides to blame it on the easy answer - which is that us (the Americans) caused war. But that’s not really the true answer is it? The Vietcong communists did to Vietnam what Russia did to Satellite nations. And everybody agrees the satellite nations pretty much all hate Russia, and if any white country like America or Britain freed the satellite nations, they’d be happy and praise us. The problem isn’t that America brought war, the problem is they (the Vietnamese people) are racist and don’t like Americans for the simple fact that we were predominately white. The Vietnamese would rather starve under communism, than be saved by whites. They’d rather die than admit whites helped them. Every other race embraces a collectivist us-first mentality, every other race is race conscious, except for white people. For some reason, white people try to suck up to other races, which isn’t the solution. We should never have entered Vietnam, because we were never welcome. We should never have allowed other races to come here, at all, to Europe or America, because other races would never let our people go there. The idea of a harmonious racial world is a lie, a fiction, one that only whites seem to believe in. This is the story that this man should be telling

    • @BillBondsHasAPosse
      @BillBondsHasAPosse 3 года назад +1

      @@charlesg7926 that’s why Poland is a great nation.

    • @ashleygibson2342
      @ashleygibson2342 3 года назад +9

      @@charlesg7926 I disagree and believe he is correct in his statement. America had no place over there. Pretend your country is having a pretty nasty civil war. Then some other country shows up. They can’t tell you from Adam and more importantly, they can’t tell if you’re friend or foe. So they treat you as foe. Your best friend gets shot, your moms house gets air striked, your wife gets rounded up, your foods been covered with agent orange. How would all of this make you feel?

  • @haroldthomas1576
    @haroldthomas1576 Год назад +18

    Great summary. One of the best I've ever heard. I was a contractor serving as a military advisor in Afghanistan for 21 months. A small group of terrorist goaded the US into a very long-term engagement. Thousands of US military and contractors killed, thousands of coalition troops killed, untold number of divorces due to military deployments, minds torn apart with PTSD--never any peace again, and the end result wasn't what we hoped for. The end result was unrealistic---some people in Afghanistan still believe Alexander rules the country!. The place is a burial ground for great empires. Engaging in such wars and conflicts should only be made by those who will be sending their own children there.

  • @MrWrl101
    @MrWrl101 2 года назад +859

    My 2004-2005 Iraq experience is just like this man’s Vietnam experience. We learned very little from our own history. Semper Fi. As time passed I question who was the enemy as I kicked in doors and searched towns house by house creating enemies.

    • @ivanbarsouk7339
      @ivanbarsouk7339 2 года назад +26

      Same goes for Russia.

    • @TropicalAsian-1000
      @TropicalAsian-1000 2 года назад +88

      We search house by house only to find innocent mom shielding their children from us
      Semper fi.

    • @awesomeman8385
      @awesomeman8385 2 года назад +95

      I'll never forget the little girl looked at me like I was the devil himself. How do I explain to her that I'm just doing job? Cause she definitely didn't think I was there fighting for freedom. And I definitely don't anymore

    • @ivanbarsouk7339
      @ivanbarsouk7339 2 года назад +28

      @@awesomeman8385 And I'm sure Iraqi soldiers had the same experience when they occupied Kuwait from Sept 22, 1990 to February XX, 1991. Occupying foreign nations is wrong across the board (except for after WWII but in those case we gave those occupied people in Germany and Japan the tools to build democracies). I suppose Vietnam invading Cambodia and Tanzania invading Uganda in 1979 was a good temporary solution getting rid of horrible regimes of Pol Pot and Idi Amin. But yes... overall... occupation a foreign country and forcing your own govt on the occupied is wrong.

    • @hipsmiwine2894
      @hipsmiwine2894 2 года назад +26

      @@ivanbarsouk7339 the man above clearly expresses remorse and you’re trying to say a whole lot of nothing regardless. Majority of times in military routines they do result to a lot of unfortunate things and unnecessary life’s lost for the cause of them to protect.

  • @DocOrtmeyer
    @DocOrtmeyer 3 года назад +141

    "wasting your film"- quote from a guy who gave me some of the most valuable film I've seen to date.

  • @user-cn6ql2wz6f
    @user-cn6ql2wz6f Год назад +232

    My uncle described the daily stuff he did on the river boats. I understand why he hated himself so much. It was either reinforce your presence with violence or possibly die, I never judged him for the things he did, but he sure did. When he got back, everyone hated him, and he just went back. He drank himself to death, and when we tried to help him, he said he'd rather die. My heart goes out to every single one of you who served in ANY war.

    • @SheilaConlon-tu4bk
      @SheilaConlon-tu4bk 7 месяцев назад

      Stay out of other peoples countries america and england!!

    • @AGirlHasNoName1.618
      @AGirlHasNoName1.618 6 месяцев назад

      I was married to a Vietnam Vet. He drank..a lot..and rarely spoke of what happened there. One thing he did say ..over and over "...it was all a lie".
      Thus why I am a political atheist.
      .