Vietnam War

Oral History Interview: Jerome Wiese

 

"This was put in the Rantoul Press a few months later. There are a few inaccuracies in that one. I never saw the hospital in Da Nang other than being a patient myself."

Photo Credit: Jerome Wiese

Jerome Wiese from Rantoul, Illinois felt compelled to be a soldier and enlisted in the Army in 1970, a few days after he turned 18 years old. He had to walk through a crowd of protestors to do it.

As a combat medic in Vietnam War, he tended to wounded soldiers and carried guns and ammo as part of his duty.

Wiese talks about his experiences in Duc Pho, drug use in the military, the “enemy” and what it was like to lose someone in battle.

He says the friendships made in Vietnam were indescribable, and he struggled in civilian life without these friendships.

Weise’s exposure to Agent Orange during the war resulted in prostate cancer.