Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:13 | Originally from North Vietnam, Henry Newinn grew up near Ho Chi Minh City. At the start of the greater Vietnam conflict, Newinn and his family fled to the south to escape communist regime. Eventually, the French pulled out of the fight and the United States came to aid the people left behind. When Newinn got involved in the war effort, his first job was reconnaissance patrol near the Cambodia and Vietnam border.
Keywords : Henry Newinn Vietnam North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City French United States reconnaissance (RECON) patrol Cambodia peacekeeping English politician Phoenix Program Vietnamization Mekong Delta government Germany agreements embassy
After his time on reconnaissance patrol Newinn joined the Vietnam Special Forces, helping to uncover secrets and information about the enemy. At one point during his service, the Viet Cong were seen trying to ambush a US helicopter. Fortunately, the operation failed and Newinn and the other men lived to see another day.
A typical mission for Newinn consisted of him accompanied by eight or nine other men and being dropped into enemy territory, tasked with going in stealth mode to gain any information about the North Vietnamese Army. It wasn't long until the Tet Offensive broke out and things really started to heat up between the north and south. He remembers an ambush from the Viet Cong just when they had gotten all their equipment set up after landing.
Even after all that happened at the ambush site with the Viet Cong, Newinn and his special forces were instructed to return there once again to finish what they started. Upon arriving in the area once again, he came across a dead VC man, and it was his job to search the body for any kind of identification and clues.
After his time in the special services for Vietnam, Henry Newinn joined the Phoenix Program. As soon as the CIA looked at his records and saw what he had done previously, they thought he would be a good fit for the program. However, it wasn't long until the Americans decided to pull out of the war, leaving the south to fend for themselves.
After the cease fire ended, the North Vietnamese took over the south which prompted Newinn to flee with his family. His objective was to go to America with his wife and his one year old son. Eventually he was able to acquire a sponsorship with a US veteran he knew and got transport to the United States. It was difficult to find his way in the states initially, working jobs as a bus boy. After some time his daughter was born, and now he couldn't be more grateful for the American life he leads today.
