Oakley, Warren 2023-09-16

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This interview features Warren Oakley as he discusses his time spent in the service as a Marine during the Vietnam War. Oakley provides background information on himself and talks about his military service starting with bootcamp. He describes being at sea in the South China Sea close to the end of the War. Oakley recalls returning to the States and working in a Vietnam, Cambodian, and Laotian refugee camp before returning to civilian life. Oakley ends the interview by explaining his struggles with his health and appeals to the VA for medical support.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Warren Oakley

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: September 16, 2023

Location: Fort Stockton, Texas

Interviewer: Laura Latham McKenzie

Length: 01:49:14 (1 hour 49 minutes)


Abstract

Introduction; Marine Corps boot camp; Being stationed in Okinawa; Leaving Okinawa; being stationed on the USS New Orleans; returning to the United States; Aiding refugees from the Vietnam War in a refugee camp; Issues with gold in the refugee camp; Addressing spies in the camp; Returning to Texas for inactive duty with his future wife; The family he built with his ex-wife; jobs he held after leaving the service; Moving to Fort Stockton; medical diagnosis; Filing a claim with Veteran’s Affairs; Closing conversation

Access Information

Original Recording Format: born digital

Recording Format Notes: patrons may listen to audio in our reading room

Transcript: transcript available on dspace


Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.