Interviews

Bruce Tripp - born: 1948

Growing up Tripp lived in a small town in Indiana he described as "untouched" by the war. A "leave it to beaver" type place. Tripp went to college from 1966-1970. He went to Arizona State University. Going to college made him exempt from the draft. He said it was one of the best reasons to go to college. He mentioned that you were given a draft card and you had to notify the Draft Board where you were if you decided to travel. When asked about the war he says "the country was torn in half." He mentioned that "people were questioning everything." His opinion on the war was that he should stand by his country no matter what, saying "love it or leave it." He didn't contribute in any protesting, but it was prevalent in college. He says that there were also many hippies and drugs in college, he portrayed it as "a way of protesting" or "dropping out of society." He mentioned that music was very relevant. He described rock 'n' roll as "huge." He also got very excited when he remembered his first transistor radio.

Sharon Warren - born: 1953

Sharon went to high school from 1968-1971. She says her high school was somewhat segregated. She talked about how black people were bused in from "colored areas" or as she said, "brown town." Racism was very strong in the neighborhood she lived in. She has a black child living with her family and here home was vandalized and obscenities were written on her door. She describes the civil rights movement as something to focus on when the war started to wind down. As a women, the draft did not effect her much, but she did know many friends that were drafted and killed in Vietnam. She described the war as "the war that divided establishment vs. kids." She mentioned that drugs were very prevalent including: marijuana, LSD, and heroine, also Cheech and Chong became heroes to high school students. She talked about how twice a year at her high school there would be a "black and white race riot."