Richard Tapia, oral interview with Paola Reyes and Tomás Summers Sandoval, Buena Park, California, March 17, 2015. Digital recording.

Richard Tapia, a Vietnam War veteran, resides in Buena Park, California with his beloved wife Shirley. Sitting in what he calls his “man cave,” he recalls his life before, during, and after his time serving in Vietnam.

Mr. Tapia was born in East Los Angeles to parents of Mexican heritage. He has seven sisters and three brothers, with whom he does not have a close relationship. Mr. Tapia spent most of his early years in a foster home and reunited with his family around the age of seven. He attended Stevenson Elementary School and eventually began his studies at Roosevelt High School. Set to graduate in 1962, Mr. Tapia’s education was truncated.

He began a job as an upholsterer, a trade he learned from a man that became a mentor to him. During his youth, he and people in his community were not really aware of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.

When drafted around the age of 19, his draft notice did not seem to greatly alarm anyone. He felt a sense of comfort knowing that he could return to this job upon his return from Vietnam and others seemed unconcerned because they lacked knowledge about the Vietnam War. However, unlike many of the young men in his community, Mr. Tapia did not have to accept his draft notice. The last surviving son of his father after his brother had served in the war, Mr. Tapia did not have to go to Vietnam. He explains why he decided to go regardless:

“But I decided to go because the guy that was mentoring me, when I was learning the trade, he was a soldier of war, too. He was a jumper. As a young man though, it just stuck to me so I wanted to go to the army on behalf of my dad. So that’s why I went but I didn’t really have to go.”

Mr. Tapia completed his basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, the place where he first experienced racism after a couple of bars in the town refused to serve him and his comrades simply because one of the men in the group was Black. This was a stark contrast to the racism Mr. Tapia had experienced in the streets of Los Angeles, which had been limited to acts like running from the police.

Upon his return home after completing his basic training, Mr. Tapia married Shirley, whom he had met through a friend who had also served in Vietnam. This marriage has endured his time in Vietnam, the death of both their sons, and his struggles to survive upon his return from the war. He simply says that he is “taking care of Shirley and she’s taking care of me.”

After marrying Shirley, Mr. Tapia had to continue his training. He went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to learn about artillery and followed this by attending jump school, which he describes as “fun.” When speaking of his time in jump school, Mr. Tapia shows a sense of pride, which he also articulates. He feels accomplished at the completion of jump school, a milestone marked by “earning [his] wings.”

When Mr. Tapia arrived in Vietnam, he realized that his world had slowly expanded as he left Los Angeles for the first time when he left for basic training and was now on the other side of the world in Vietnam. He describes that, at the beginning, it felt like an adventure. He acknowledges that he and his comrades lacked knowledge of the consequences of the war and were convinced that they were fighting to prevent a war on American ground.

Mr. Tapia remembers the war vividly. He voices some of the emotions felt during his time there, especially when it was time to head home:

“When you go there, you’re replacing someone. That’s why when you’re short, you’re saying ‘Where’s my replacement? I have to get out of here because it’s getting hot.’ It’s the same war all the time. It’s been there, but, like I said, in the beginning it’s loud, in the middle you don’t care, in the end, it’s loud again. It’s the same war, the same bullshit going on, but a lot of things happen in between.”

Some of the “things that happen in between”, Mr. Tapia recalls, included receiving letters from Shirley, whom he calls a talented writer; witnessing the deaths of men from friendly fire; and seeing people from his community and communities just like his.

Understandably so, these events have influenced Mr. Tapia’s opinion of the war.

Once back home after serving in Vietnam, Mr. Tapia has had to find ways to “rebuild [his] life.” He used the GI Bill to purchase a home in Cerritos, where he and Shirley started their family, and to finish high school.

Mr. Tapia, though not close to his sisters, appears to have found a family with Shirley and the residents of the apartment buildings he now manages. He plays racquetball, an activity which reminds him of his sons. He takes Shirley on “Tuesday Date Nights” and continues to look for ways to cope with the pains of war.