A Vietnam Vet. 20 Million Viewers Watched His Story Start To Finish 

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. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SRR2eQn6pRg.html David Hoffman filmmaker

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

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.

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.

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

“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.

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

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

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.

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

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

I had a childhood friend, and his Dad got drafted into the Army right out of high school. His Dad ended up over in Vietnam as an 11 Bravo in the MeKong Delta. He came home a 20 yr old with white hair. His boots and his helmet hung on nails in the garage, right next to a faded picture of him and a bunch of other guy's standing on top of a bunker, shirtless holding guns. Every time we asked his Dad about being in the Army, he would change the subject FAST! When we were 17, his Dad finally told us why he never talked about the Army. His Dad told us they were on a patrol and a kid crawled out of hole to throw a grenade at them, and he shot and killed that kid. To make things worse, some lady ran over to the kids' body, and tried to pick the grenade up and finish what the kid started, and he ended up killing her as well. He told us having to kill that kid really messed him up, and that no matter how hard he tried to do the right thing in life, he couldn't get that scenario out of his head. He said he spent every day since that happened, wondering if and when he died, if he was going to meet that kid in heaven or hell, so he could apologize and tell him he was sorry and that he didn't want to do that. What do you say when a grown ass man tells you that!

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.

he did not waste one frame of this film.

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

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.

i’m 50, and just realizing growing up there were dozens of dads all over with PTSD, and we never realized it. I worked with a few vietnamese ladies in their 70’s and realized they lived through this too. thank you for your story. never forget. never repeat. war is hell

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

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.

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.

As a British man that spent Tet holiday 2018 (lunar new year - the biggest Vietnamese holiday) in the house of a NVA Officer that fought against America in the war, I was utterly speechless to hear he had no grudge what so ever to America and was an incredibly humbling and inspirational man. Even with his napalm scar on his neck. We drank together, had food and celebrated unity. Incredibly humbling experience. The Vietnamese are made of strong strong stuff.

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

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.

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.

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.”

"I'm wasting your film" No sir, you are not.

My Dad served in Vietnam and was there during the Tet offensive in 68. He was an MP and hardly spoke of his experience there. I asked but he only spoke of having to run through crossfire. He said he didn’t even feel the ground beneath his feet he was so scared. Most recently before he passed he spoke of the first day he arrived, his base was shelled and the bunker next to his was hit. Many casualties in that bunker. 18 years old, from a small town in Texas. I can’t imagine how scared he was.

To anyone who has not read Perkasie, Vietnam, it's an amazing book written by this gentleman. It's a memoir but reads like a novel and is incredibly insightful in lending perspective to this conflict.

RU-vid recommendations have gotten much better lately.

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!

“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

"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.

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

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.

That line about coming back to the United States with excitement and discovering that he couldnt see far in front of him at all because there was so much fog. The detail included was somehow a reality and a metaphor explaining how he felt about his country...

As someone born in the 90's and learned little of this war until in my 30's, this is insane to watch and very informative and eye opening.

"Ahhh I'm wasting your film..." More than 8 million people disagree

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.

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.

“I’m wasting your film” (Literally the most well spoken guy in history)

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.

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

This really needs to be shown in schools, shown everywhere. His story needs to be heard...and a humble down to earth guy. He's concerned about wasting David's film...not a second of it was wasted

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.

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

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.

First causality of any war is truth. This man is not an outlier, it's just can you get people to open up and talk openly and honestly. I missed Nam by one year but I had an uncle and many friends who went there and as the years went by and they felt comfortable to talk about, the simularities of their story to this man's story are striking.

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.

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.

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.

This young man gave one of the most incredible recounts I have ever heard. I am very thankful that he chose to tell it.

My dad was in Vietnam. We never spoke about it. To my knowledge he mostly worked as an administrator in an office. The event still traumatized him. Love you dad ❤️

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

"I'm wasting your film" no sir, you most certainly are not

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.

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.

"I'm wasting your film." Oh no, sir, you are not.

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.

i was in the Air force from 66 to 68 but luckily never went to Nam or Cambodia . i've noticed a number of the standard but nauseating , " Thank you for your service " comments in the thread as if those commenters understood nothing that he said . Service is something you bet in a restaurant. blowing people's faces off, hardly qualifies as a service .

This man was also featured in either Vietnam in HD or the Ken Burns' documentary series on Vietnam. Much older in the documentary but just as articulate and aware.

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

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

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!

Sometimes honesty is hard-earned, and sometimes it's fearless. When it's both, it counts the most. This guy is exactly that. May God himself bless him and all others like him.

War is young men dying and old men talking -Odysseus

Note to self: if you can’t identify the enemy... get out.

This is honestly the best Vietnam Vet story I've heard. You're correct, He's a great story teller.

One of my favourite videos on RU-vid. Play this in every history lesson.

No, you weren't wasting film. Stories like yours need to be told.

The hair, the mustache, the glasses, the cigarette. That’s the most 70’s thing I’ve ever seen.

brave man, think one of the worst parts for him was knowing he was hated

"I'm wasting your film" just painfully drives home the fultility of the war that this man feels, and the longing that things could have been different.

My grandfather knew he was going to die the moment he was drafted to Vietnam. 58,000 Americans had already suffered the casualties of war…millions of Vietnamese. It was yet another Children’s Crusade: a gorey, senseless, bloody crusade. My grandfather conceded that if he was going to die, he was going to leave this earth a good man. No depravity of war was going to strip him of the moral character he had prided himself on maintaining. My young grandfather would go on to spend the week before his departure paying back any and all debts he may have owed. He extended apologies and sought to mend any bridges he had burned or broken in the fleeting 20 years he had been alive. He made peace with his past and said his “I love you’s”to his friends and family. Bust most importantly he took the greatest vow of his life, swearing “I do” to my eighteen year old grandmother he had come to love dearly over the past 7 months. From the desolate lands of Albuquerque, New Mexico, my grandfather was plucked. First sent to basic training in California he would train for the next eight weeks before he was shipped off to Vietnam. On his final night, my great grandfather flew my young grandmother all the way to California to be with my grandfather one last night. They spend the night together, wrapped up in the sheets, passionate with the glowing embers of the newly wed. This would be the night my father was conceived. September 14th, 1970 my grandfather landed in Vietnam as combat infantry men. He was 20 years old, ready to turn 21 in a mere two months. The war had been raging since the mid 1950’s, perhaps landing nearly 2 decades after it’s start would ensure him a better chance of survival. I do not know much of his time on the ground except for what we could collect based on interviews and newspaper articles detailing life of an American Solider in Vietnam. It wasn’t until 2016 were we contacted that a tape recorder from Time’s magazine had captured the last ever known recording of my grandfather on the ground. November 2nd, 1971 was his 21st birthday, and a joyous one at that. Receiving news of my grandmother’s pregnancy, he was overjoyed with his newfound fatherhood. He wrote back to my grandmother so thrilled with the news. The second eldest of 12 siblings, my grandfather always wanted to be a father himself. Unfortunately for my grandfather he never did get to see his dream come to fruition. November 23rd 1970, as he and his platoon ventured into the dense jungles of Vietnam, he, and three other men stepped on a land mind ensuing a blazing explosion that killed them all upon impact. My father was born May of 1971, my grandmother a widow, my father…fatherless. Though my grandmother did go on to remarry (another incredible story that I know will find it’s way into my writings of my families one day) my father never did find true peace in my grandfather’s death. It is a terrible thing war. Something that seems to be inevitable, appears brutal, and brings utter devastation. I can never say which side of war I stand on for its innate grapple hold it has over humanity, but I can say how much it has affected the course my families history and in turn that of my life, forever. Many days may live in infamy for American History. November 23rd, 1971 will always be mine. Edit: Looking back on this and the likes and comments I want to say thank you!! I am an aspiring writer and nearly college graduate of English literature! I one day hope to recount the details of my grandfather’s life, my grandmother’s struggles, and my fathers upbringing and compose it into a published work of nonfiction.

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.

I’ve rewatched this countless times over the years, every so often. I wish this interview was hours long. What an articulate and incredibly insightful guy. I’m gonna buy one of his books.

He didn’t waste a single frame, but he sure did waste that cigarette!

"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.

Probably one of the most REAL interviews I have ever watched. Good one.

I had orders to go to Vietnam in 1969, but the Army apparently forgot it had sent me to Germany (Soviets had invaded Czechoslovakia). The orders were changed, and I didn't go to Vietnam. I felt guilty for years; it was like I had 'finagled' my way out, even though I had nothing to do with it. It was a very weird time for all of us in the military.

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

"im wasting your film." no sir, not one frame.

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

“Corporal who I was going to replace.”Sums up war right there. I’ve never forgotten those words

I spent 13 months in Nam. He's 100% on point. It was beyond preposterous.

My high school history teacher was a Vietnam war veteran, he told me that it’s impossible to win a war against the very enemies created by your own actions, the Vietcong never needed to force anybody to fight because after US soldiers call in an air strike on a village, everyone left alive will be begging for a gun to take revenge on those who murdered their friends and loved ones.

Respect to this veteran for his service.

" the more we stayed, the more enemies we created". That's deep.

“I am wasting your film” sir you are not. History keeps repeating yet no one listens to this wise man

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.

Did a tour in Iraq back in 2003, invasion phase into the first insurgency. Her name was Karen, the girl I made into a goalpost in the end zone. My entire purpose to stay alive was so I could continue being with her. When I got back, I immediately went to see her and found her with another guy. I didn’t flip out like I thought I would, but something broke that day and took a long time to fix.

"I'm wasting your film...". No, brother, you're not. Every word out of your mouth is gripping, important, and needs to never be forgotten. 💔

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

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.

I’ve watched this a half a dozen times and find it just as interesting as the first time I saw it love the vet even if you hate the war

In war, truth is the first casualty.

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

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.

"I'm wasting your film." No, you're making it timeless.

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.