Section 1: Joe Featherston discusses growing up in Philadelphia before entering the Marines on his seventeenth birthday in 1956.

Section2: Joe began Marine boot camp in 1956. He describes the experience as “terrifying,” noting that the minute recruits got off the bus at 2 AM on “Devil’s Island,” they endured 48 hours of non-stop screaming from drill sergeants. Joe completed infantry training in addition to 13 weeks of Marine Corps basic training, a total of four months in training before his first command. After nearly a decade in the Marines, Joe was one of the first contingents of Marines sent to Vietnam after Lyndon Johnson began Operation Rolling Thunder in March 1965. Joe was stationed in the Pacific; he first suspected his ship was heading there when he picked up maps of Vietnam ahead of his ship’s departure.

Section 3: Joe arrived in Vietnam in April 1965 for his first tour. Part of the first infantry battalion in the northern part of South Vietnam, he disembarked in “combat conditions.” During this tour (April–December 1965), he was an artillery liaison with his battalion and then a communications chief. During his second tour (1968–69) as a First Lieutenant, he was a supply officer with an aviation unit. Joe arrived for his second tour shortly after the Tet Offensive. He notes that in 1968 it was much more evident that “there was a war on.”

Section 4: Joe describes Vietnam as “dirt poor” and recalls numerous instances of suspected VC infiltration. He also discusses differences between American and Vietnamese cultures. 

Section 5: Joe recalls seeing 55-gallon drums of Agent Orange outside of hangars. In addition, he notes that the planes spraying chemicals would alternate between spraying DDT and Agent Orange “without cleaning the system out,” resulting in untold exposure. 

Section 6 : Joe reflects on some of his relationships and key memories in Vietnam. He discusses his friend John LaVoo, who was his bunkmate during his second tour. They were close —“If I got mail and he didn’t, I’d read my mail to him and vice versa.” John went on a mission in September 1968. Joe had breakfast with him that morning. John was shot down over North Vietnam and killed; by noon, Joe was packing up John’s gear. Joe notes that the military told servicemembers not to contact the families of those who died in Vietnam. Around 1990, Joe reconnected with John’s family, attended John’s daughter’s wedding, and their families are still in touch today. Joe also reflects on Vietnam and its people, noting “It’s a beautiful country if you leave it alone.”

Section 7 : Joe shares final reflections on his time in country. He affirms that “no civilized person wants to take somebody else’s life” and that the realities of wartime shape all who served. Joe also discusses practical differences between service in the Marines and the Army, noting the relative privations experienced by Marines in Vietnam.  

Section 8: Joe discusses his post-service life, including a career in commercial aviation. He remembers being treated differently after his service by civilians but notes that he was never spat on. He also observes that in recent years, he has seen more people openly express support for Vietnam veterans.

Section 9: Joe reflects on the Wall in DC and praises the memorial’s design.

Section 10: Joe shares final reflections on the years since the Vietnam War. He discusses Vietnam’s economic transformation and relative lack of international conflict in recent decades. Joe also highlights inaccurate Hollywood representations of the war, including Apocalypse Now (1979) and Full Metal Jacket (1987).