Oral history interview of Zach Wilson

In this interview, Zach Wilson describes his experience as a Marine Corps artillery forward observer officer during the Vietnam War. He describes his early life, moving from Honduras to Tennessee, where his father owned a dairy farm. He earned his officer's commission through the Platoon Leaders Course at Auburn University. He completed OCS and the Basic School before shipping to Vietnam in September 1967, where he joined 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment in Con Thien. He recalls his first night at Con Thien, when the base took enemy artillery fire as his helicopter was trying to land. He tells of his later assignment on The Rockpile, near the DMZ, where he called in artillery strikes on infiltrating NVA units. He explains that he was later assigned to the 12th Marine Regiment, who stationed him at Gio Linh as a regimental forward observer for an ARVN battalion. He describes his mission, his equipment, and the artillery available to him, which included an Australian destroyer. He recounts notable combat episodes and briefly describes his assignments after leaving Vietnam. He then tells of his post-war years, including graduate school and reintegration in civilian society. He also offers critical commentary on Ken Burns' Vietnam documentary series.||Binh Hai river; DMZ; dairy farm; The Basic School; Dong Ha; Singer M1911; FO officers; The Rockpile (rock pile); naval binoculars; ambushes; ARVN; NVA; naval gunfire; VH-34 helicopter; Infantry Training Regiment; Embarkation School; Mediterranean cruise; finance; intelligence officers; snipers; interrogations; reintegration of veterans;||Zach Wilson was a forward artillery observer officer for the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.