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Arthur Wiknik in Vietnam [1969]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: Company A, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
  • Location of Service: Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Benning and Fort Gordon, Georgia; Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/67726

View full service history

“I thought, They have the look of veteran about them, and I have the look of wimpy about me.” (Video interview, 5:04)

Drafted into the Army and sent through Officer Candidate School, Staff Sergeant Arthur Wiknik arrived in Vietnam as a “shake and bake” sergeant, a squad leader with no combat experience. While he felt pressure to win the respect of men beneath him who had already served time in country, eventually, he won their allegiance by proving that his main goal was to keep them alive. This strategy became crucial during his participation in the infamous Battle of Hamburger Hill in May 1969. In his interview, he narrates the specific sights and sounds of the battle—as well as after, when the A Shau Valley came to resemble no-man’s-land.

Interview / Recording

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About this Item

Title

  • Arthur B. Wiknik, Jr. Collection

Names

  • Matthews, Shane
  • Central Connecticut State University
  • McGuckin, Briana
  • Wiknik Jr., Arthur B.

State of Birth

  • CT

Home State

  • CT

Headings

  • -  Wiknik Jr., Arthur B.
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Company A, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
    • Location of Service: Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Benning and Fort Gordon, Georgia; Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1968-1970
    • Entrance into Service: Drafted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Photograph: Digital print [15 items] -- Photograph (collected 1969)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 06/13/2008)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 06/13/2008)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/67726

Cite as

  • Arthur B. Wiknik, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/67726), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Matthews, Shane, Central Connecticut State University, Briana McGuckin, and Arthur B Wiknik Jr. Arthur B. Wiknik, Jr. Collection. 1968. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.67726/.

APA citation style:

Matthews, S., Central Connecticut State University, McGuckin, B. & Wiknik Jr, A. B. (1968) Arthur B. Wiknik, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.67726/.

MLA citation style:

Matthews, Shane, et al. Arthur B. Wiknik, Jr. Collection. 1968. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.67726/>.