Michael Lenehan 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 Michael Lenehan, Class of 1968, for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Lenehan recounts his early life and education in Pelham, New York. He details his experience at Dartmouth, where he was involved in sports, initially struggled academically, and settled into an English major. He discusses his decision to enlist in the U.S. Army in August 1968, his training as an artillery fire direction specialist, and deployment to Vietnam in early 1969. Lenehan describes his experience serving in the military while stationed at Firebase Sandy and ?ông Hà, including his daily routines, camaraderie with fellow servicemen, occasional attacks, and the isolation and perceived futility of the war. He recounts his experience after leaving the service in 1970, traveling across the U.S. and Europe before returning to Boston to attend law school on the G.I. Bill. Lenehan then reflects on developing anti-war beliefs after leaving the service, a visit to Hanoi, and the strong connections with his Dartmouth classmates formed during and after the war.