George Robinson

     George Robinson was born in Manhattan, New York, but grew up mainly in the Bronx. He attended college at Holy Cross. When the draft numbers came out, he enlisted into the Air Force. Robinson did not want to join the Army, but still wanted to serve. Robinson entered Vietnam in May 1970, and re-enlisted in 1971. He was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Force base.

     As an advisor, his responsibilities were to teach English to South Vietnamese Army officers who were in the process of becoming pilots. All air traffic controllers and pilots use English. Robinson elaborates on his rewarding experiences teaching these individuals. He recalls that one of the most common sayings among the South Vietnamese officers regarding learning English was, “If you know two languages, you are worth two people.” In his view, he was helping them fight their war, so that American soldiers could go home. Part of the problem was many of the South Vietnamese did not want to fight the war. Robinson says that like the Civil War in the United States, the Vietnamese were supposed to fight against people “who looked, acted, and talked similarly,” to themselves. 

     Robinson gives his opinion on the American strategy in Vietnam as well on as the domino theory, and what could have been done differently by the United States. He says that in the beginning, America should have supported Ho Chi Minh. He also discusses the short rotations for most American soldiers in Vietnam, and the problems that arose with soldiers who were not in for the duration of the war. In many cases, you did your year and went home, while during World War II, soldiers servved for the duration of the war. Robinson concludes with a discussion of experiencing anxiety and nightmares during his transition back into civilian life.