Skip to main content
WCSU Archives - Student Exhibition Space - WestD

Paul Gassner

first cavalry air division patch.jpg

1st Air Cavalry Division insignia, Fort Hood Army Military Base.

Interview with Paul Gassner.

 

 

     Paul Gassner served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1967-1970. He came from a military family; his father was a World War II veteran, and his grandfather, a World War I veteran, making Gassner third generation military and second generation cavalry. He enlisted in the Army in the hopes of avoiding being drafted into the infantry. Gassner entered into a chemical platoon, as chemistry was his best subject in high school and later in college. When he arrived "in country" in Vietnam, his base at Cam Ranh Bay was rocketed by the National Liberation Front.

     As part of a chemical platoon of the 1st Calvary Air Division, Gassner worked with several different chemical agents, primarily tear gas. This included spraying chemicals around the bases to prevent the growth of vegetation.  Gassner notes the use of Agent Orange, and many of the long term health consequences associated with that and similar chemicals. Gassner also discusses his feelings of being unprepared for the war because of the inadequate training he was given. Despite the difficulties of service, he was promoted to Sergeant.

     He believes that there was a lack of a clear strategy in Vietnam. He, like many other soldiers, felt abandoned by the politicians, and blamed for the war by their peers at home. Gassner discusses how relieved he was to leave Vietnam, “happy to have survived.” When he returned home, he hung up his uniform, and kept quiet about the war for over forty years. Lastly, he discusses his experiences with nightmares, battling PTSD, and the importance of postwar counselling.