John P. Martin's interview for the Veterans History Project at Atlanta History Center

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Catalog Number: VIS 201.0775
In this interview, John Martin shares his experiences as a machine gunner in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He recalls his high school experience and briefly attending the University of Georgia before hitchhiking his way to Oregon and working a pea harvest. He remembers his Advanced Individual Training (AIT), asking to go to Vietnam, and his first impressions of the country including the heat and humidity. He describes his involvement in operations including a visit from his father in the field, and one incident in which he jumped from a helicopter and broke his knee. He discusses the sounds of war, his daily duties, and the realities not portrayed on television. Martin details his feelings after seeing the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and feeling blessed to have served and be alive. He touches on his postwar careers, and his marriage and family.