Cary S. King's interview for the Veterans History Project at Atlanta History Center

Catalog number: VIS 201.0506
In this interview, Cary King describes his experiences serving in the United States Army in Vietnam. He recalls his growing up years as the son of an immigrant father and a first-generation American mother and how they felt when he was commissioned. He describes his training in the United States and Germany; volunteering for duty in Vietnam; and visiting the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco while in uniform. He describes his transit to Vietnam and his first impressions, including the heat, the smell, and the sight of body bags on carts. He recalls his duties in the 1st Infantry Division and describes many incidents, including the deaths of friends; prisoner interrogations; and troops contracting dysentery from contaminated Army water bladders. He remembers getting a three-day pass and being recalled to his unit because of the start of the Tet Offensive. He recalls the buildup to Tet and its aftermath. He describes his homecoming experience and recalls returning to Vietnam many years later and meeting a survivor of the 273rd Việt Cộng, an enemy unit with which his unit engaged, at a cemetery there.