William Riggs oral history interview Digital Version Available

The Scope and Contents note of this oral history was originally generated by feeding the electronic transcript into OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o on 2024 July 26. It was then reviewed and edited by a human.

Oral history interview with William (Bill) C. Riggs, Class of 1964, for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Riggs recounts his early life growing up in Hamilton, Ohio. He describes his time at Dartmouth, where he studied art and architecture and participated in skiing, the Flying Club, and Glee Club. Riggs describes feeling unconcerned as the Vietnam War escalated during his time at Dartmouth. He details his experience in architecture school before being drafted in 1968 and serving as an illustrator in the Training Aids Division at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland. Riggs reflects on his opposition to the Vietnam War, participating in anti-war demonstrations while fulfilling his military duties. He concludes by discussing the personal impact of the Vietnam War and his military service.