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Communicating with Vietnamese Civilians

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Initially, American officials sought to win the war based upon winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. However, the American soldiers tasked with doing so were ill-equipped — linguistically and culturally — to do the job. Before America began aiding South Vietnam in its fight against communism, the two countries had little contact. Americans had very limited understanding of the country's language, culture, history, religious traditions, etiquette, or politics. From 1950-1965, America had a small footprint in Vietnam. But that quickly changed from 1965-1967, when Americanization of the Vietnam war brought hundreds of thousands of American troops into the country. 

As American presence swelled, tensions rose between the two allies. Vietnamese citizens resented the way their Americans visitors looked down on them and the soldiers' actions and attitudes. Soon, relocation of villagers, bombings, and destruction only added to those sentiments. Despite those that were kind and respectful towards the Vietnamese, most Americans arrived in the country with little to no understanding of the land nor its people. Communication and cultural barriers separated American troops from the Vietnamese people, often leading to Americans not knowing how civilians felt or how to tell a friend from a foe. 

Sober's experience was drastically different than that of the average U.S. soldier in Vietnam when it came to interacting with locals. He grew up in various places around the world and was not a stranger to new cultures, languages, or people. 

"My dad was a foreign service officer. He was an expert in French and wanted a French posting when he decided to join the foreign service with my mom. So, they sent him to Antananarivo which is an ex-French colony. . .  I was born there and after a year or so we got reassigned to Czechoslovakia, Prague, where my sister was born . . . we ended up in Reykjavik, Iceland for a couple of years.

Then dad had a semester at Northwestern University in Chicago which was the first time I had been in the U.S. We were there for three months or so and then it was Turkey. Ankara, Turkey for three years, then back to Washington [D.C.] for the first time I was in school in the U.S. 3rd grade, I guess." 

Sober's past exposure to french and his father's influence helped him when he was deployed to Vietnam. As an ex-french colony, Sober was able to communicate with some of the Vietnamese citizens — something other soldiers could not do. By speaking with locals, Sober had the ability to empathize and listen to their perspectives on the war in Vietnam. 

"Well, I could speak un peu francais [a little french]. And in Nha Trang, which had been a french resort, [a] beautiful city, I was able to speak to an older man briefly. My french was not really that deep, but it was pretty clear there. And then again, in Tuy Hoa, where I met an old man that I could speak to. 

And this is where I began to get uneasiness about what we were doing. Because they were telling me things in french that they would not say in english. Almost certain they would not be talking about national pride." 

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