Vietnam War veteran Hal Haefer talks about his experiences. Haefer was in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1968. He graduated from Montana State College (now Montana State University).
This gentleman seems to have a deeper, more historically informed & nuanced understanding of Vietnam than most of the vets interviewed in this series. They're all great, but this fellow is especially insightful. They knew what they were doing getting him into MI.
you are right , I am 72 and a veteran . I was in the Americal , 198th Infantry in 1970 . I think back and I can't believe how little I knew about the place. I turned 20 in Oct and ETS Dec 31. Compared to this Vet I was just a random roll of the dice , .....loaded dice at that.
Hal Haefer is one of few that have his stoic straight lipped facial expression, that tells you nothing, only that you feel nothing will surprise him. His hands tell what his face won't. His remembrance of VN has no chronological order but when he settles on a memory, the accuracy and details are amazing. So proud of the flute that no one has. Probably as proud as the old man that brought a bag of life saving rice home. Great story and Veteran.
Hal is a very intelligent man, a cannae thoughtful man, may the sun always shine on your soul you lovely human being. Massive respect from a Scot. 🏴🇺🇸❤️
Been s huge fan of this series. Thank you for expressing us a glimpse into the time of the Nam war. I'm the son of a Nam vet who unfortunately passed from M.S. 20 yrs ago this May. I miss you dad. 53'-00'. Salute soldiers.
I was born when my dad was there. These guys were probably in the group he went with from 11/67-01/71. He did a lot of tours. He died of a rare cancer at age 58. We all suspected agent o and Nam as the culprit as he was extraordinary healthy & smart, but dead in months from diagnosis. It was brutal.
Mr. Hal Haefer, you have the best eye contact I have seen. Thank you for going there, glad you made it back in one piece, thanks for telling your story. I thought Darryl Ehrlick, the interviewer, did a fine job.
**WE ,,AMERICANS,,, NEED TO STOP STARTING STUPID ,,,FOR-PROFIT WARS.... A million lives lost in the Vietnam war,,,, for what???? No one has a good answer!!! It sure wasn't for democracy,,, because our CIA KILLED, the South Vietnamese president,, AND INSTALLED A PUPPET,, PRESIDENT.. President Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex,, starting for PROFIT WARS....**
@@johnedward3404 America isn't the only country that does that... false flag is used through countries all over the world to start wars to make money for their countries where have you been?
Thank you for your service. I love to listen to these testimonies. I was only 9 years old when Vietnam was happening. Several of my uncles and aunt served in the military during Vietnam. My respect to all who served.
Outstanding information from the people who were there - About the environment too - details that you don't get in history books, especially as time passes.
I have read many books written by people that served in Vietnam. Mr. Haefer's interview was by far the most informative about the war. Like a lot of other people I joined the military while the war was going on because I felt it was my duty. I was in the Navy on an aircraft carrier and did not see what was happening on the ground. The service members that served and were wounded or died over there deserve our utmost respect.
They keep talking about a *train* but what is that? Ive watched a LOT of these and this guy is one of the most interesting and amazing guys. I missed going to Vietnam by one or two years (I think). I turned 18 in 1973 but I did have to register for the draft.
Incredibly articulate man. Clearly very very smart. Fascinating story. A man who did his best in difficult times. He was right to hold his head up high and be proud of what he did regardless of the overall ending. RIP
This gentleman is very instructive, especially if you listen to what he says, in between the lines. Thank you for your service and communication Sir. Wish I could buy a copy of his video. I have watched over 100 of these videos, this is one of my favorites.
I loved this interview. Its probably the 30th I've watched by now and def one of my favorites. He paints an amazing picture. That flute... Was probably heartbreaking for that man to lose. But it shows what people will do to feed their family. You would never see people with them because nobody really had them. And he probably played the thing too so thats like a guitarist having to sell their guitar. Devastating. But I'm sure at that point just to get some rice to feed his family was worth more than anything he had
It was a secret mission that was supposed to, for lack of a better word, "hunt" North Vietnamese or anyone suspected of spying for the enemy. A deceased friend of mine was involved. (His wife told me about the Phoenix Project.) He would often hitch a ride on helicopters to go hunt. ...and your name didn't necessarily have to be a Vietnamese name, if you get my drift. There were "bounties" on deserters. Neither of these people are still alive. (Natural causes for my friend, the veteran. Suicide for my other friend...his wife.)
Cholon was china town, and thus separate from the Vietnamese community. The long pan flute is awesome, and I suggest it was a family heirloom and a most prized possession. it wouldn't of been an easy decision for the father to trade to keep the family alive. It would of needed periodic attention, to which Hal was unable to provide to keep it tuned.. A gift to a local Vietnamese community / cultural centre near Billings would be very fitting, as it is of museum quality.
He definitely managed intelligence as a job, and that automatic trust resonated as a counselor. The qualities he has as a human being rose above all of his experiences. It makes me think of a💛quote by Charles Swindell: I am convinced that 80%of who we are are the decisions we make and 20% are the experiences themselves.
Intelligence men seem to have an uncanny habit of talking around the clinch pin facts, while providing merely a taste of what was done and where, thank you Hal. As for the interviewer, you may find this interview will stick with you, and thank you for doing this work.
I graduated HS in '78. I knew a few people that went into the military in '76, '77' and '78. All except one returned home in less than 6 months with the same story. They were told they would go here or there, do this or do than but once in the military the military did what ever they wanted. I wanted no part of it.
I dont know about this guy, he may be soft spoken, but I get the idea he was a dangerous, formidable guy in his day. After all, he was parachuting in to green beret camps at night all over the worst areas in the country. Its strange how he always speaks in the present tense, i figure there is a lot left unsaid in this interview
I worked in Africa with a guy that was former British Intelligence in the army in Northern Ireland, I didn't get any information that was special but I also got the same sense to you. He was involved in tracking IRA weapons and monitoring IRA people. He couldn't sleep and often turned up to the (oil) rig I was on drunk and looked like shit. It was sad he was in such a mess after serving our country and clearly our government didn't give a shit about them after they left.
Absolutely. My favorite question was "Umm....and some of it. Well, ok, so training sources had to do with 'give me the information I need not all the information you know' erm, its need vs um ah everything. What was? What was the um. When you were back at headquarters..eh um command, whaa - those guys obviously who were on the uh A teams on the line I'm guessing they were getting fired at a lot. Where you gettin fired at or was headquarters relatively safe?"
Mr. Harfer had an amazing story and one great Experience in the Army AIRBORNE 5Th Special Forces Group. I see a lot of myself in the kind of person he was. RIP Sir.
Hal is pretty well spoken and logical. The back and forth between someone less linear in their thinking and the interviewer makes these interviews especially hard to follow for me.
Rolled cars twice, had muscle cars in the muscle car era... only slipped twice. And w/ skiing, calculated risks. Gotta like this guy, the right attitude. God Bless Hal.
109:00 story of 1 corroded bullet . A single woman VS. 40-60 SF. fires 1 time - jam. and then tells truth . MEDAL OF HONOR WOMAN. incredible life I wonder .
TO THE GUY ASKING Interview QUESTIONS: YOU WILL GET THE BEST ANSWERS WHEN YOU ____PAUSE____ WAIT LET THEM THINK AND SAY THEIR NEXT THING, OR THEY NEVER WILL. THIS IS HOW YOU WILL GET YOUR BEST ANSWERS. Thank you for what you are doing, and thank you ahead of time for knowing when to shut up! :D
This gentleman had it EASY compared to the other stories. He got showers, a bed, a $350/mo apartment, regular clothes, officer pay, never feared for his life… the other guys never brushed their teeth, slept on cots (or less), no apartment, no regular or even clean clothes, lower pay, constant fear for their life.
You can obviously still hear and actually identify sounds when you are asleep or certain types of sounds would not wake you up but others sounds would like the difference between incoming vs outgoing mortar fire
