David Prewitt 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 2024 July 26. It was then reviewed and edited by a human.

Oral history interview with David E. Prewitt, Dartmouth Class of 1961, for the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. Prewitt recounts his early life and education growing up in a suburb of Philadelphia and attending Culver Military Academy. He discusses his experience at Dartmouth participating in the Army ROTC program and the crew and rugby teams. Prewitt describes his military service following graduation, his flight training at Camp Wolters, Texas, and his deployment to Vietnam in April 1963, where his helicopter came under fire on his first mission. He describes his experience while stationed at Tan Son Nhat Airport near Saigon and participating in resupply and combat assaults. He reflects on significant events during his service, such as the assassination of President Kennedy and the coup against South Vietnamese President Diem, and his growing cynicism about U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Prewitt discusses his life after leaving the Army in 1964, pursuing a law degree, remaining active in the National Guard, and advocating for military veterans.