An audio recording of an oral history of Donald and Bonnie Eidem. The Eidems discuss the evolution of Hillsboro over time from a small agricultural town to the current growth in population. They also recall their son Michael's enrollment in the military after graduating high school in 1969. Their son trained at Fort Lewis and went to Vietnam and Laos. Beyond individuals from the community enlisting, the Eidem's state that the town was not impacted a great deal by the war.
An audio recording of an oral history of Linda Garcia on the Vietnam War. During the recording of the interview, Ms. Garcia recollected her time as a high school student in Hillsboro at the start of the Vietnam War. Many people she knew were drafted in the war and it was well-known that one could avoid the draft through attending college or starting a family. Out of those she knew were attempting to avoid the draft she explains that she had not met any that fled to Canada. Also during this time in the community the draft resulted in countless women working jobs men normally had.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jack Kirkwood on the Vietnam War. Jack Kirkwood was a teacher at Poynter Junior High and at Hillsboro Middle High during the war. His began his teaching career in Ganado, Arizona, at a boarding school on the Navajo Indian Reservation. At the end of the Korean war, Mr. Kirkwood enlisted and participated in basic training at Camp San Luis Obispo in California. Afterwards, he was assigned to signal corps message center in the United Nations Far East Headquarters. This position consisted of monitoring propaganda broadcasts from China after the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1948-49. The interviewee was a noteworthy activist against the war, he wrote various anti-war pieces. One was a letter to the Oregonian and as a result he was called by the Portland Council of Churches to join the Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam. Kirkwood also wrote a pamphlet in 1967 entitled
An audio recording of an oral history of Jan Katsberg on the Vietnam War. Jan Katsberg graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1966 and went on to college. Katsberg's twin brother enlisted in the National Guard and her husband was in the Navy, assigned to an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam. Katsberg does not recall any protests in Hillsboro, but some in Portland, at Portland State University, and in California. With regard to societal trends at the time, she states that Veterans were respected in the Hillsboro area and generally speaking, people supported the war. Additionally, she remembers the increase in hippie culture, specifically in Eugene, as well as the rising popularity in drug consumption.
An audio recording of an oral history of Don and Helen Leslie on the Vietnam War. They explain that they did not personally feel the impact of war although they recall various anti-war sentiments and dissidents, many considered radical for the time. The Leslies recall watching TV news of riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, Kent State riots and the involvment of the National Guard. Generally speaking, the interviewees express the lack of patriotism during the Vietnam war in comparison to other conflicts such as World War Two and the Korean Conflict. There is a transcript of this interview. The sound quality of this recording is poor.
An audio recording of an oral history of Ken Skipper on Hillsboro during the Vietnam War. Ken Skipper came to Hillsboro in 1968 as a first year teacher at Poynter Jr. High. In 1969, Mr. Skipper was drafted and did basic training at Fort Lewis. Later he was transferred to Denver, Colorado to finish his master’s degree and became an occupational therapist for the army at a psychiatric hospital in Denver. Later he went on to work in counseling people with mental disorders and drug issues. Skipper describes how he returned to Hillsboro in the early 1970s as a counselor at Poynter Junior High, then transferred to Hillsboro High School where he taught for a long time.
An audio recording of an oral history of Robert and Marilyn Senko on the Vietnam War. Robert Senko grew up in Hillsboro and his father ran the Birds Eye food processing plant. He attended Jesuit High School and the University of Portland. Marilyn grew up in Antelope, OR, and met Robert while attending the University of Portland. While attending University of Portland, Mr. Senko took Air Force ROTC and received his Air Force pilot license.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jim Roehm on the effects of the Vietnam War in Hillsboro. Roehm was a college student just before the war and later joined ROTC. The U.S. was involved in a guerilla war in Laos/Vietnam during his sentior year of college. In the military, he was stationed in Texas for 9 months then sent to Panama for training in jungle warfare. For two years, he was a platoon leader and executive officer of the company in Vietnam. Overall, Mr. Roehm remembers Hillsboro being a fairly conservative town, there being only one individual he would describe as an
An audio recording of an oral history of Dr. Stan Miller. Not dated, but based on other cassettes stored with it, year is likely 2001. The interview begins with Dr. Miller quoting an article from the Argus newspaper on discussion of the Vietnam Conflict at Hillsboro High School. In 1965 Dr. Miller was the Assistant Principal at the school, and in 1971 he became Principal. Dr. Miller recalls a topic of conversation among students at Hillsboro high school was a student attending Lewis & Clark high school that refused to stand for the pledge of allegiance. There was a period of change for students as society was evolving: the women
An audio recording of an oral history of Peggy Ploem on the impact of the Vietnam War on Hillsboro. At the time of the Vietnam War, both Ms. Ploem and her family were Dutch nationals and not American citizens. Their son was classified Y-4 at the time, before the classification process was outlawed. Then, ROTC was recruiting high school seniors for officer training. The family recalls their first reaction when U.S. got involved in the Vietnam war was remembering General MacArthur
An audio recording of an oral history of Donna Lynn on the Vietnam War and its impact on school life. The Vietnam War began while Ms. Lynn was attending high school. She remembers teachers being highly careful when discussing the war in class, not expressing strong feelings either way. Fashion trends reflected throughout this time include flower power and short skirts. Two individuals known by Lynn, Robert G. Donnet, and Captain Michael Lewis, were declared MIA, or Missing In Action and she wore their bracelets. Some men went to Canada to avoid the draft and then could not reenter US without being court-martialed. There existed a negative sentiment towars returning Veterans at the time. She does not recollect protests occuring in Hillsboro, but some in Portland. There is a transcript of this interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jeff Wagemann on the Vietnam War. Hillsboro during the Vietnam era, as Wagenmann recalls, was a typical small town with farming and small businesses. Intel had a place in Aloha but had not yet expanded into Hillsboro. Most people were concerned about the war, but supported the government. He remembers feeling as if people were tired of hearing about the war, wanting it over so
An audio recording of an oral history of Jim Wagemann on being a child during the Vietnam War. As a child, Jim Wagemann moved from South Dakota to Oregon during the late 1960s-early 1970s. In first grade he attended Fir Grove Elementary and participated in Cub Scouts. Later he would go to Meral Davis, then in the Reedville school district. Throughout this time Mr. Wagemann does not remember much talk of war in school or scouts. Sound cuts out at 1:30 for several seconds. There is a transcript of this interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Blaine Whipple on the Vietnam War. The interview begins with Daniel, the interviewer, showing Blaine Whipple a clipping of an editorial he had written to the Hillsboro Argus opposing the war in Vietnam. Mr. Whipple felt there was no reason for the U.S. to be fighting in Vietnam, so he wrote letters to the editor to that effect, made speeches and talked to the newspapers. Mr. Whipple was elected the Democratic National Committeeman of Oregon and helped to organize anti-war protests. There were also pro-war meetings in Hillsboro. Whipple was at the White House with both John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Whipple talks about serving in the Navy for 4 years during the Korean War and about his family, which had a history of being involved in politics, including a relative from New Hampshire who was a leader in the Continental Congress. There is a transcript of this interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jimmy and Carolyn Roach on the Vietnam War. Jimmy Roach and Carolyn Roach both attended Hillsboro high school. Mr. Roach graduated in 1967 and he enlisted in service in 1968. He was in the 25th Infantry, mechanized unit in Vietnam, where he was wounded during his second day in the field. As a result he was transferred to a medical camp team where he provided security. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star and spent the remaining 8 months of duty in Italy. The two recall people showed that they supported the war by wearing MIA bracelets.
An audio recording of an oral history of Miller Duris (March 2, 1928 - March 23, 2014), an American politician in the state of Oregon, on life during the Vietnam War. Duris was 20 years old when he moved to Hillsboro in 1948 and was in the Navy. He worked for Tektronix Incorporated in Beaverton. He was a city councilman for Hillsboro in 1968, elected mayor in 1972 and served until 1976. He was a county commissioner in Washington County in 1977, became chairman of the board, then left in 1980. Duris says that Hillsboro was not very affected by the war and that the Hillsboro Argus newspaper did not do much editorializing about the war. Duris says he did not know of any draft-dodgers in Hillsboro and notes that the My Lai massacre turned many against the war. Duris, a World War two veteran, talks about how servicemen were not treated well when they returned home from Vietnam.
An audio recording of an oral history of Tom Delsman and Bob VanderZanden on the Vietnam era. Delsman was a student at Oregon State in 1966-1967 and was a member of the ROTC. He enlisted in 1967 and was sent to Vietnam in 1968. Delsman notes that Oregon State was pretty conservative and the University of Oregon was very liberal. Delsman and VanderZanden say that Hillsboro was fairly conservative and supported the government and people fighting in the war, though attitudes started to change between 1969 and 1970 and people wanted out of the war. They also mention the start of drug culture. There is a transcript of this interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Robin Cady recorded in May, 2001, on the Vietnam War and how it affected Hillsboro, Oregon. Cady, a native of Hillsboro, did not serve in the military, but wrote articles about the war. He describes the reactions to the war in Oregon, which was influenced by there not being military bases in Oregon and a senator who did not support the war. He talks extensively about how the Vietnam War became, for the US as a whole, a situation of “how to get out” versus the historical “how to win”. He talks about the importance of honor and how that impacted the way that the US dealt with the war. The war was eventually seen as a civil war between north and south Vietnam and the South Vietnamese would have to be the ones to win the war. The US involvement was seen as a police action to go in and help the south rather than try to win the war. Cady talks about a gentleman named Jack Kirkland, a teacher in the area who also wrote about the Vietnam War, and how their opinions differed. Cady comments on contemporary Vietnam and the effects the war had on it. He also talks about Ho Chi Minh and his involvement, the Asian democracies and admits that the US might have pushed western democracy too much, and how the war was a popular discussion of debate in schools in the US. He finishes by talking about the people who were brought into the draft were the poorer people who were not going to college. There were many ways to avoid entering the military during this time of war. There is a lot of white noise and background noise including a phone ringing, doorbell ringing, and people’s voices throughout the recording. There is a short transcript of the first couple of minutes of the recording.
An audio recording of an oral history of Judy Berger on life in Hillsboro in the 1960s and during the Vietnam War. Berger talks about public opinion in Oregon starting to change when Oregon senators Wayne Morse and Mark Hatfield start to speak out. She mentions local anti-war demonstrations at Portland State and teacher Jack Kirkwood writing anti-war letters to the very conservative Hillsboro Argus and the Oregonian. Berger discusses propaganda from the John Birch Society and negative attitudes toward Jane Fonda. Traveling throughout Europe in 1968, Berger remembers a nationwide strike in France, Russia
An audio recording of an oral history of Phil and Mary Ann Barnekoff and Bob Orme about the impact of the Vietnam War on Hillsboro. There is a transcript of this interview.
A video recording of excerpts from veterans' oral histories of their experiences in World War Two and Vietnam, compiled from several oral histories in the Tualatin Historical Society collection. The interview is undated, but based on the individual oral histories in the collection, it was probably compiled around 2007.
