Denis O'Neill oral history interview

Denis R. O’Neill, Dartmouth College Class of 1970. Oral history interview documenting his experiences during the Vietnam War. O’Neill describes his childhood growing up in Westport, CT, and the significant role politics and anti-war sentiment played in his family. He recounts his growing awareness of the Vietnam War and his memories of key moments in the country’s history, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy. O’Neill discusses his undergraduate years at Dartmouth, where he played on the soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse teams and was a member of Chi Phi Heorot [now Chi Heorot] and Casque and Gauntlet. He remembers William S. Smoyer ’67 and J. Robert Peacock II ’68, who died while serving in Vietnam, and discusses the impact of their deaths on the growing awareness of the war among students. O’Neill describes the anti-war protests on campus, the significance of music during that time period, and the developing distrust of politicians and government. He provides a detailed account of the occupation of Parkhurst Hall in 1969 by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which he observed and ultimately supported. O’Neill discusses the shift in campus climate following the implementation of the draft lottery, with a particular emphasis on the role that Dartmouth fraternities played in resisting the draft. He recounts his experiences after graduating, including his draft exemption, his service as a seaman aboard the SS Mobil Fuel, his years as a folk singer, his graduate education at Boston University’s School of Journalism, his career in journalism and writing, and the publication of his memoir.