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William Vicars, 1959.

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 173rd Airborne Brigade; 18th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; Germany; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Command Sergeant Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/3894

View full service history

"As long as you have the patience, they'll turn out all right."

William Vicars spent 21 years in the Army to learn something about himself-that he was a born teacher. Vicars enlisted a year out of high school and did two tours of Vietnam. On his second tour, at the age of 29, he was called "The Old Man" by the recruits in his platoon. From an early career encounter with an officer named David Hackworth, Vicars had learned to watch out for the lowliest soldiers. He maintained tight discipline within his platoon, even as morale was disintegrating around him. After he retired from the Army in 1980, Vicars became a high school ROTC teacher in El Paso, where he grew up. He has thrived on giving young people a sense of purpose and discipline in their lives and is especially proud of turning around the lives of troubled youth.

William E. Vicars Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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William E. Vicars Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • William E. Vicars Collection

Names

  • Vicars, William E.
  • Sallaeh, Timothy L.

Home State

  • Texas

Headings

  • -  Vicars, William E.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 173rd Airborne Brigade; 18th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; Germany; Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Command Sergeant Major
    • Dates of Service: 1959-1980
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2005-12-13; 2005-12-13)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [14 items] -- Photograph (collected 1959-1976)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-02-13)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2006-04-05; 2006-04-06)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2006-04-05)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/3894

Cite as

  • William E. Vicars Collection (AFC/2001/001/3894), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Vicars, William E, and Timothy L Sallaeh. William E. Vicars Collection. 1959. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03894/.

APA citation style:

Vicars, W. E. & Sallaeh, T. L. (1959) William E. Vicars Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03894/.

MLA citation style:

Vicars, William E, and Timothy L Sallaeh. William E. Vicars Collection. 1959. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03894/>.