Phillip Wade Hasty's interview for the Veterans History Project at Atlanta History Center

We welcome your comments on this interview at [email protected] Catalogue number: VIS.201.0827 In this interview, Wade Hasty recalls his experiences serving in the United States Navy in the Vietnam War. He describes his growing up years in Atlanta where his father worked in the administration of the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta. He recalls their home on the grounds of the prison and his interactions as a child with the inmates. He explains how and why he joined the Navy Reserves and how his father, a decorated World War II veteran, tried to keep him away from the war. His first orders were for duty in Vietnam and he was assigned to the USS Benewah which was part of the Mobile Riverine Force (often referred to as the "Brown Water Navy") on the Mekong River. He describes in detail his duties as damage control duty officer aboard the ship, which provided sleeping quarters, food, and other support for 900 soldiers of the Army's 9th Infantry. He explains the ship's armaments and discusses the many ways the ship was attacked by enemy forces including small arms fire from the shore; mines that were attached to trash or vegetation that floated down the river; and swimmers who would attach mines to the hull or anchor chains of the ship. He recalls several experiences including trying to help Vietnamese children who were burned by trip flares; losing 26 men on a nearby LST when two mines exploded; drug use among American forces; getting ptomaine poisoning from the ship's food; and finding that all the ship's life vests were full of bullet holes when they tried to conduct a safety drill during a typhoon in the Sea of Japan. He reflects on his military experience and discusses the difficulties many veterans have when they return home, including his own experiences with PTSD. He describes his post-military careers and his family.