Stephen Hayes oral history interview

The Scope and Contents note of this oral history was originally generated by feeding the electronic transcript into OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o on 2027 July 26. It was then reviewed and edited by a human.

Oral history interview with Stephen D. Hayes ’66 for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Hayes recounts his childhood in Delaware, where his father worked in the explosives industry and his mother was a stay-at-home artist. Hayes recalls his time at Dartmouth in the 1960s and his memories of historical events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He details his decision to join Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS) after graduating, and the rigorous training in navigation, ship engineering, and naval tactics he received. Hayes describes his experience serving in Japan and Vietnam, engaging in river patrols and combat operations in the Mekong Delta, earning the Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal. Hayes reflects on his mixed emotions about the war, the loss of close friends, and his eventual transfer to Saigon during the Vietnamization process. He then details his life after leaving the Navy, pursuing a career in federal government roles and earning a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown, with his Vietnam experience shaping his conservative views and writing.