Interview, Thomas Kohl, USA

Thomas Kohl (b. 1943) was born and raised in Rochester, New York, and graduated from Charlotte High School in 1962. He attended classes at MCC and was drafted into the United States Army on October 13, 1965. He did his basic training at Fort Dix, in New Jersey, and completed his advanced training at Fort Devens, in Massachusetts, where he specialized as a wireman. He was stationed at Fort Edward and Fort (then Camp) Drum, in New York, before being sent to Vietnam with the 196th Infantry Brigade. Kohl served in the field as a radio operator and earned several awards for his service, including a Sharpshooter Badge, a Commendation Medal for bravery, and a Purple Heart for being wounded in the face by shrapnel. Kohl was honorably discharged from the Army in July 1967 and returned home to Rochester. He got a job at Kodak, where he worked for 33 years. He joined the American Legion and the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 20, and enjoyed volunteering at local air shows.

In this interview, Kohl discusses life in the Vietnamese jungle and what it was like to be on month-long patrols. He recalls the danger of combat and the lack of sleep, and notes that soldiers got used to living in constant fear of being attacked. He reports that he and another soldier logged the most field time in their battalion and that this earned them a level of respect around their base camp. He discusses his injury and shares photographs of combat operations, fellow servicemen, snakes, and Vietnamese prisoners. Kohl reflects on how the war changed him and what it was like coming home to friends he could no longer relate to. He chokes up reflecting on what some men lost in the war and notes that even though he finds it difficult, it is good to talk about his experience.