Michael Parker oral history interview

Oral history interview with Michael W. Parker, Class of 1964, for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Parker describes his time at Dartmouth and his involvement with the Navy ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps]. He discusses how he participated in the Navy ROTC program throughout the summer and how he was able to walk on to the Dartmouth ski team. Parker tells of his decision to postpone dental school to join the Navy and his experience being sent to Vietnam. Parker describes working on the staff of Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. and Admiral Zumwalt’s leadership as well as the ways in which he believed Zumwalt had transformed the Navy. He discusses his work to control the Mekong Delta in Vietnam while aboard the USS Frigate Bird, performing mine countermeasures and swimmer defense operations. Parker details how the Navy developed riverine warfare during Vietnam. After his time in Vietnam, Parker explains how he attended dental school at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and remained in the U.S. Navy Reserve’s. He describes being offended by the anti-war acts that his fellow classmates participated in rather than attending class while a student at Tufts. Parker shares how he was sent back to the USS Frigate Bird after he completed dental school. He discusses his career after dental school which included teaching for three years with the Navy Officer Candidate School, four years in Scotland, and 11 years teaching for the Naval Postgraduate Dental School.