Stephens van doosen west moreland. But you go by kitsy. Right. Maam, could you please spell your last name for the transcriber. Westmoreland. Thank you, maam. Tell me about your childhood. I know you grew up as the daughter of an army officer. Tell me what it was like growing up as an army brat. When i grew up in the army, i would say i grew up as a millionaires child without any money. I had the most beautiful childhood. My father had been in the calvary and he was a wonderful horseman. So both my brother, my older brother and i rode from the time i guess i was 3 years old, and my older brother was the same way. What post were you on when you grew up . Well, i was born in princeton, new jersey. The followers at princeton for six years. When he married my mother, my lady, and i think most of the princeton students were in love with her because she was so lovely. And then my older brother was born there and i was born there. Okay. And and then where else did you grow up . Princeton and then, oh, dear. Fort bragg, fort hamilton, washington, fort sill, oklahoma, hawaii, back to oklahoma wow. Ithaca, new york. And i went to cornell because i got free tuition. Mmmhmm. And i guess that was it. And i met my husband. Okay. Again. Well, well get to that in a second, maam, but one of the questions i always ask people who live through world war ii, and im sure youre going to have an interesting take on it being the daughter of an army officer, what do you remember about the day pearl harbor was attacked, december 7th, 1941 . Well, we had all been fox hunting. Mmmhmm. And they we went to we went to a movie, and suddenly we were told that and we had just left hawaii. So it was really it was just an unbelievable moment in ones life. Sure. What did your what did that event mean to your parents, since your dad was in the army . Well, you just didnt know. I mean, my father, i know was just very surprised that they we were stationed up in schofield and they came over the pass, and i think my father was very surprised that we were surprised sure. Sure. Now, both your father and your brothers graduated from west point. So west point has been a part of your life for a long time. A long time. Can you describe your childhood or adolescent impression of what west point was . Well, it was it was just so much a part of your life, really, and my father threatened my brothers, you know, if you dont study, you wont be able to get into west point. And thank god they didnt allow women in my day, because i never would have made it, i dont think. Mmmhmm. But it was just something my brothers were expected. Okay. To do. Sure. And i think it was fine with my younger brother, but i dont think it was the best thing for my older brother. Okay. I mean, he was a great he loved the he played polo here in this building, as a matter of fact. How many times had you visited west point . Oh, many. When they asked me at the desk, have you ever been here before . I guess the first time i came was, well, as a child and then as a we called them cadet girls in those days. Gosh, i cant remember. I think i was 16. Mmmhmm. Okay. 15, 16. 15 or 16 . Wow. What did it seem like to you back then. Own it was wonderful. I stayed with a classmate of my fathers. He and his wife were stationed here. I, i was scared to death. I really they set me up with a cadet that truly wasnt very nice. I didnt like him very much. Okay. Sort of a snob. You must have gone to dances at the hall, then. We cull at cullum. You first went to a movie. If you got a coke or anything, you paid for it. And we walked. There was no bus service, no cars, and you learn very quickly in the winter to wear your boots and carry your dancing pumps. Very nice. Very nice. Now, tell me about meeting your husband, general westmoreland. Oh, well, we were stationed at fort sill, and i got my school bus, which was an old army ambulance. Oh, okay. And it was drawn by two mules. How about that. And it stopped in front of wes boq. He just graduated from west point and he was so handsome and so so thats when i met him. I was 9. That was at fort sill . Mmmhmm. You met him again later when you were a student at unc . No, i met him again in hawaii where i had a very beautiful polynesian dancing teacher. And i thought he was coming over to the club to dance with me. Guess what . He danced with the he showed us how to dance. And then of course the war came along. World war ii. Yeah. Okay. He was in the european theater. He was in went into casablanca, into africa and then sicily and then england. France and germany. Yeah. Okay. So he didnt have time to have many girlfriends. So i was at my grandmothers. I called him up. Okay. And this is after the war . Uhhuh. Okay. And tell me a little bit about that. Well, i called him i just called fort bragg to see if he was there. I didnt even know if he was there or not. They connected me. He was commanding the 504 then. Right. And the aide said wasnt an aide, it was some lieutenant. Anyway, he answered the phone and wes answered and he said, kitsy, kitsy, are you a big girl yet . And i said yes. And he said, well, lets have dinner tonight. Im going to general gavins. Wow. So we went to general gavins for dinner. How about that. That was we were married november i guess four, five months later. Wow. Oh, thats nice. Tell me describe your wedding for me. Well, it was kind of the first wedding in fayetteville where my grandmother lived in the town, so to speak. So it was more of a reunion for my parents than a wedding for me because everybody came, their old friends and everybody came. And the terrible thing that happened was that father had bought cases of champagne and this and that, and he found when he started to unload it, where we were having the reception, it was the womans club and they wouldnt allow oh, my goodness. It was a great shock. But, anyway, everybody had a good time and then came back to my grandmothers house. Okay. You wore your grandmothers lace, right . No, i wore my great grandmothers on the van deusen side. Oh, my goodness. You said the dress had long sleeves and very covered. A long train and that must have been beautiful. It was. It was pretty. Was he in his blues . No. He didnt have any blues. Okay. I dont think then. I think my father was. Father was in tails. Wow. But i think wes was just in yes, he was just in a regular uniform. Okay. Because it was pretty soon after the war. He had just gotten home. Right. Now, one of the interesting things i noticed when i looked at his timeline was that he was a captain, although during world war ii he held the rank of colonel, did he when the army downsized they reduced everybody . He became a Lieutenant Colonel for just a little while. Right. And then became a colonel again. How much did he discuss his world war ii experiences with you . Not too much. Mmmhmm. Not too much. Now, during your early married life, as you already mentioned, at fort bragg he was the commander of the 504th. Right. Pretty soon after that, he was the chief of staff for the 82nd Airborne Division. Describe your experiences at fort bragg. Well, i think i was like a puppy. I just, i wagged my tail and walked in a room. I was so young. I was just 20. Mmmhmm. And i just thought everybody liked me. And i was much too young to be a colonels wife. Mmmhmm. But as i say, i just sort of didnt take it that seriously. He would have been a young colonel, too. And he was young. Because of the war accelerating everybody. Yeah. So what was did you enjoy bragg . Oh, yeah. Okay. Then during the korean war, your husband commanded the 187th regiment from 1952 to 53 as a brigadier general. Well, he was a colonel when he went over. Okay. And then promoted while he was over there . Yes. Okay. Because somebody, that dreadful man told me that called me once and said that he could not wear the combat infantry badge because colonels couldnt wear it or Something Like that. Wes was a colonel when he went to korea. Okay. So he could wear it, i guess. Now, when the korean war happened, where did you live . Were you allowed to stay on post . Oh, no. No, no, no. We were never allowed. In those days, you had about two days to get out of quarters and i went home. It didnt dawn on me not to go to my poor mother and fathers. So i stayed there and then i was able to go to japan. Right. And as soon as i got there, the chinese came in, i guess it was, and the 187th went back to korea. And the 187, while they were in korea, went back and forth from korea to japan several times. Right. During the war. What was japan like . It was beautiful and very rustic. I mean, the honey buckets still went up and down the street. In fact, wes landed in a field one time that had just been spread. Oh, no. So the fertilizer for the field. Oh, yes. And i wouldnt let him in the house. I hosed him off outside. Oh, thats oh, it was bad. And ive talked to a bunch of the veterans from the 187th and they really enjoyed all their jumps and your husband enjoyed jumping with them . He loved it. Okay. I think he had 121 or Something Like that. I dont know. What was the Japanese Culture like for you . I loved it. It was, you know, you had you had gone through the war with, i hate the japanese and all that sure. But this was before the treaty had been signed. So we lived in a great big, gorgeous Japanese House for, oh, about six months, i guess. And then we moved to the the peace treaty was signed and we moved to wearing pretty bad quarters. Okay. Now, after the korean war, your husband was assigned at various different times at various times to the pentagon and Harvard Business school. What were these experiences like for your family . Well, wes was lucky. You were born and we were living in a very in park fairfax, which has no air conditioning and a tiny little apartment and we had an older, stevie, our oldest child. Then i had rip and wes promptly left for harvard. Okay. And he was gone. But i you went up to graduation. Was harvard that was an unaccompanied tour for him . Well, he just went up. Is it was a very short tour. Like three months . I think it was three or four months. Something like that. You were at home with two children. I was at home in the apartment. And then when we came home, we moved into a bigger house. And then he worked for max taylor. How was that . It was oh, they were lovely people. Yeah. And i had margaret, so they were i had two babies at the time. So i dont think i was a very good wife to i forget what his job was called. I dont know. But then after that, after leaving the Northern Virginia area, he general westmoreland commanded the 101st Airborne Division from 58 to 60. And from 60 to 63, he was the superintendant here at west point, from 63 to 64, he commanded the 18th airborne corps. It was just a few months of 18th airborne corps. Yes, maam. What were your experiences like at Fort Campbell . Oh, we loved it. It was such a it wasnt a very pretty post at that time. Right. But we thought it was. We thought it was perfectly beautiful. And rip and i had the two little children, and then our oldest child there is, what, six years difference . Mmmhmm. Fort campbell was because you had to make your own fun. Right. And i even got the regimental commanders to dress in tutus and boots. Thats a good story. They didnt jump out of a plane like that, did they . No, but we did a charity thing for the regimental commanders had their boots on and tutus. That must have been something. And did a dance. And we made a lot of money. Well, thats good. Thats good. And you lived in the farm house. We lived in the log house. Okay. And they the commander officers house was way off by itself, and i had two Young Children and stevie and they would have been miserable, you know, down there, so we moved up there. And loved it. Then lets talk about west point and becoming the superintendant. Tell me what it was like to be the superintendants wife. Well, when i walked in the house, i thought that the whole house would fall down and god would say, you are kitsy van deusen, you do not belong here. But i was i had Young Children and i was 31 or 32 i think at the time, and i just had a wonderful time. Mmmhmm. Because i didnt think of the cadets as young little boys, so to speak, they were they were all gentlemen to me. Mmmhmm. And, i mean, i was not that much older than they were. True. And i think we just had a had a lot of fun together. I went to all of the their i went to the swimming and the wrestling and track and, you know, and football, of course. Right. Baseball. I loved it all. And the kids would go with me sometimes and sometimes they would say no. But what were your favorite activities here . You know, i love wrestling, can you believe it . But i loved swimming and well, i love football, of course. And i love baseball. But i loved the i just love sports. Right. And i imagine that you went to all the formal events, right . Yes. Yeah. So all the different dances and that sort of thing. Not all of them, no. Yeah. And oh, yeah, tell me about entertaining at quarters 100. Oh, well, you could seat ten on either side and so it would be ten, 20. At the table . At the big table. Right. We had wonderful people come. I mean, well, just sincerery sincerely, interesting, fascinating people. Then we had the cadets. That was like a hell dinner. I would pick up my spoon. They would pick up their spoon. Oh, well. We ended up i think we had a good time, but you couldnt drink at that time, of course, and but we served liquor afterwards. And that sort of broke the who were some of the most interesting people that came to quarters 100 . I guess, well, of course president johnson came and was no, president kennedy. Okay. Came. And that was a fun time because i had hired the two ashworth boys and i had given them 25 cents apiece to keep rip, who had, oh, the most wonderful crowd of little boys that just did everything. And i had hired bobby and jeff to keep rip i said i dont care where he is where you go or anything, but just keep him out of sight. Well, of course he ended up, bobby and jeff ended up listening to president kennedys speech firsthand. They went you went under didnt under the and then when we had a garden luncheon, and when everybody was leaving, one mary, i cant remember, one of the people that was very close to kennedy said, oh, kitsy, weve had the best time with the boys. I said, boys . I dont have any boys. She said, youve got five boys up in that tree. And it was when the old copper beach was there and all the little boys were up in the tree and they would send a basket down for food. Mmmhmm. And they were filling their basket up and then the basket would come up. Then it would come down again, i gather. I never knew what he was going to do. I never knew. I could control the two beginnings, but, no, cant control him now. Mmmhmm. And eisenhower visited as well, correct . Yes, he did. And bradley, too. Bradley. What were those what were they like . Well, and mcarthur. Its its something about being the superintendant, i think, that they all if theyve been a cadet, they kind of will mcarthur really was very polite and, you know, straight with sure. And so was general eisenhower. I got to know, and i didnt know general bradley as well as i knew general i knew general eisenhower and maimy was a very good friend, and Jean Mcarthur was a lovely friend. Yeah. You told me earlier that they were all very nice ladies and they would call you and visit. Oh, yes. And we when wes was chief of staff, we had the i turned kind of the third floor into a guest and there was an elevator. So people could come and you frequently had mrs. Eisenhower come visit, right . Well, she loved to come because her sister had a one bid bedroom, and she had secret service. So any time she came to washington, she always stayed with us. Thats nice. And she couldnt believe, rip had her robes, bathroom and she couldnt believe the room. I mean, it was a boys room. Sure. Now, general mcarthur stayed there the night before he gave his duty, honor, country speech . No. No. No . He came and ms. Came up and there was the review. And then we took what was the ladys room and turned it over to jean and general mcarthur. And i forget what she i wanted i think just water with no ice or something, you know, like that. Mmmhmm. And they stayed in there and rested and then he went to the mess and gave and i heard he had rehearsed his speech. Well, jean told me that he had said this, you know, that he had never given the speech, but jean told me he rehearsed on her for many nights. I dont know if thats fair to say, because, you know, he did say it was right. Now, your husband commanded in vietnam for over four years. Starting in january 1964 to june of 1968. Tell me about your experiences during that period when he was deployed. Well, we had, what, a year in with the children in vietnam. 15 months. Okay. And it was, oh, dear, they you know, they went to school on early in the morning on a school bus with chicken wire so grenades couldnt be thrown in. Wow. And there was an mp in the front, wasnt there, and an mp in the back. And this was not my children, it was everybodys children. Sure. That went to school. Then when they got to school, we had only vietnamese guards. But the hospital and the school had mps. But we had vietnamese guards. So did wes. What was it like living in vietnam . Well, you know, if you have children, you understand that youre really kind of scared most of the time, if you want to know the truth, but youre not going to show your children that youre scared. And they were the children there were absolutely wonderful. Mmmhmm. I mean, they protected one another. They we had movies at the house and they would i mean, you all were there wasnt really a bad cookie that i know of in the in the crowd. And they had you all had a really good time. Unfortunately, they saw the the boys saw the great escape and they started digging a tunnel in our house and they that was your main and wes went down in it and came out dead white. Because it was some tunnel. Wow. And i heard he had ordered some wood after that, right . To shore it up. To kind of hold it up. They all had sores because, oh, dear. How was the vietnamese culture . Its lovely. They are a beautiful people. And i my main work was red cross, and i did i really worked every almost every day i worked in the vietnamese hospital. Mmmhmm. And the our hospital and then i went to nha trang once a week. Okay. To do Red Cross Work. All right. Now would you go by ground convoy or did you fly . No, i flew. In a huey . In a well, one time i was in a huey and we got shot at. But mostly i went in an airplane. Okay. Right. Now how about your daughters in vietnam. How were they . Stevie was had a team club and margaret had a best friend. They had kind of a compound. So the children came to our house or to what would you say . I mean, you you all stevie had the honda 50s and the cheerleaders. The cheerleaders. They were just wild teenagers, is what they were. Okay. All of the then she was in love with carl and all the vietnamese children, there were 32 of them in the back 32 . Yeah. Wow. They would go in and watch her core. Poor stevie didnt realize it, but all these little didnt you go watch her with carl . Yeah, a little bit. They had the red room. They were listening to the beatles. They painted this room this horrible color red and black, but, anyway, it kept them busy. Right. Now, tell me a little bit about your Red Cross Work. Well, that was the that was my really, i did it almost from the time i became married. I worked then i worked well, i worked in vietnam and when i went to hawaii, i couldnt work as much, but i always worked at Fort Campbell and every place we were stationed, i always spent at least two days. Then i became a nurses aide in did you get an award for your Red Cross Work . I got the harriman which was outstanding volunteer of the year. Thats wonderful. Im sure proud of that. What was it like working with the soldiers in vietnam . Well, you know, they were they were they were wonderful. Mmmhmm. When we when i was there, the hospital was really awful. They had the xray was across this huge, busy road, and i remember one of our turner. He was rather badly wounded. They had to take him on a pulley with an umbrella. It was pouring down rain. Across this busy intersection to the xray. Wow. I mean, we had no xray in the hospital. And they had to carry the gurneys up the steps because they didnt fit in the elevator. Mmmhmm. I mean, it was and then i had a guest house in the house we lived in, which i turned into a hospital, and we could take 30, 30some beds and we i had it arranged that if i i called one person and then they called. And we could set up this hospital. Mmmhmm. And that was Christmas Eve. They were all there and the bomb, you remember they bombed the right. What year was this . When was it . I cant remember. The rex hotel. Yeah, they bombed the rex and the other. There was boq that they bombed. Right. And, you know, it was awful because presents just went out the window, but what we did is we emptied out the hospital in town and brought them to my hospital. Then we could put the wounded in the hospital. Okay. I know that doesnt make sense. Youd bring up some of the youd bring up 30 patients. We brought 30some patients. To free room at the hospital. That makes perfect sense. Now, sometimes youd have to take your kids into the hospital. Like one time your son got blood poisoning from digging his tunnel and you had to take him to the hospital. You said there were wounded anm to the hospital because you said there were Wounded Soldiers being brought in. Yes. What was that like . Well, thats what i did. I worked almost every day with them. And you didnt dare get sick. Right. I mean, because went in and out in a hurry, right. I mean, the children, well, you had no dental care, of course. And you didnt have a doctor. I mean, so when you went in, you went out. Now, what was it like having the Wounded Soldiers in your guest house . Well, it was Christmas Eve, and that was when they bombed. And i remember i was coming down the stairs, because we were having a big lots of people were coming from, you know, out of the country for dinner. And we had a funniest christmas tree. We had three trees wired. And they were all scrawny. But, anyway, we had a christmas tree. And then well, you know, it kind of changed. We didnt have Christmas Eve dinner. Right. And it all changed. Now, you became good friends with bob hope, right . Yes. Tell me a little bit about him. Bob hope and his wife. Well, she was my dearest friend after we just, you know, you click with somebody. Sure. And we did. But bob was a wonderful man. You know, i dont know if you know the story, that he always had cards because he was quite blind. And of course wouldnt wear glasses or anything. And he was going coming from the city in his car, and he forgot his what did he call them . There were cards that he used and there was a name for them. But he forgot them. And he said they said, well, well bring them to you, mr. Hope. He said, oh, no, ill get my cards. So he turned around. And with that, the bridge he was going over was blown up. Oh, no. So that really saved his life. Wow. For getting his cue cards. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. So you stayed in vietnam for 13 months . Yes. I guess thats 64 to 65 . Yes. And where did you go after that . We went to hawaii. Sorry, i keep getting you when you are trying to get a drink. We went to a rental house. And then i bought a house in hawaii. Okay. And then they said i could go to the philippines. And you didnt much care for the philippines . No. I probably should be very careful, but okay. What was it like in hawaii . Well, we loved hawaii. I mean, we i worked in the at the i cant remember the name of the hospital. I did Red Cross Work there and some airplanes. But when i went to the philippines, i did aro evacuate and spend a couple of days and fly back with a plane load. Does any one incident stand out in your mind about the Red Cross Work that you did . I guess the one thing that was really kind of funny was that i was in vietnam. And i always, you know, went to see the wounded there. And the hospital was where rip went to school, where they all went to school. And there were two black men that were right next door to one another, and one had lost the left leg, and the other had left the right leg, and they were very close. I mean, they were bonding with this. So i saw them in vietnam. And then i flew an aero vak back to the philippines. And my two black men were on the airplane. And they said by this time we recognized one another. And they said, oh, if we could just Stay Together and go to walt walter reed. And so i said and they came into the hospital because they were badly wounded. We kept the badly wounded for a few days and then they were air vakted out. So i called guy west and told him names. And he called his surgeon. I dont know. Anyway, they ended up at walter reed. So i had seen them in vietnam and on the air oevacuate team and in the pihilippines. And wes got called back. So i went back to washington with him. And i went to walter reed and here were my two black ones side by side. And they looked up at me and said, maam, you sure do get around. [ laughter ] thats a good story. So that i think was the most personal story. And they were wonderful. I dont know where they are now. Its interesting, i was thinking about this as we are talking. I dont have any interviews with any of the Red Cross Workers in vietnam. Now i have one with you. What were your duties like . Well, you just did what you what you wanted to. I mean, i wanted to be i wanted to be with the vietnamese, so i worked in their special forces. They had a special forces hospital. And one time i couldnt get over the infection that we have. In the philippines they would come in, and they would be infected, and it was just a terrible odor. But i went into this special forces vietnamese, and there were two in a bed, and you know, it was clean, but it wasnt our hospital clean. And there was no infection at all. No smell. And i turned to this special forces doctor, and i said i just dont understand this one. Right. And he said, well, if they survived as children, then okay. So we are almost too clean with our children. So they built up immunities. Yes. Okay. Now, as a Red Cross Worker, were you what they would call a doughnut dolly . I was a nurses aide. All right. And at times ordering tet, gosh, i sewed up a couple of people t and i thought oh, my god what they must look like. But, really, they were just pouring in. Thats the most difficult time for you . Yes, i would say tet. Because they were flying in dirty, and, you know, they were just getting them out. I imagine it was probably good to see a friendly face when they came in . You know, hi think another funny story. I was bathing this black because the first thing you did was bathe them p a. And i was bathing this black young soldier. And he looked up at my nametag, and he said westmoreland. He said, are you in relation to the general . And i said, yes, im his wife. He said you know, maam, ive always wondered what generals wives did when their husbands were overseas. Wow. And that was said, well, im bathing you. That mustu. That must have been nice. That must have been quite an experience for you being over there . It was. It made me feel more useful. Im sure your husband appreciated that as well. I dont know if he did or not. Thats a good question. So you really didnt spend a whole lot of time on the home front then, did you . Huhuh. You were constantly back and forth between vietnam and the philippines and hawaii . Yeah. So what sort of sense did you get of the divisiveness within the nation at that time . Well, we didnt have television, particularly, in the philippines. And i guess we realized that in hawaii some. But when we got to the philippines, you just had the army times. And we really didnt have television. And i guess we really didnt know it was so bad. So you were sort of insulated from that . Yes. By being connected to the war front . Yes. Now, shortly after your husband returned from vietnam, your brother lieutenant cornell van dues enhe was killed on july 7, 1968. July 4. Im sorry, july 4th, wow, 1968, when his helicopter was shot down in the macon delta region. Right. Tell me about how you learned about his death. Oh, well, we i hadnt seen my parents in, gosh, four years, i guess. And, oh, this was an awful time. Im sure. That was almost the first thing that came over wess desk as chief of staff. So he had to wait until, you know, they acknowledged it. And then my older brother, who was class of 46, he was in washington. So we flew down to fayetteville where my parents were. And of course i hadnt seen my mother in, i guess, three or four years. And she was so happy to see me. And then i just shook my head. So she didnt know yet . No. Until you got there . Fno. And that must have been very difficult. Yes. And we drove around the town, because carolyn, my brothers wife, lived there. And i didnt know where she lived. And my brother didnt either. I mean, we just had an idea. And we just i said to van, that we have to tell his wife before, you know, we tell our parents. Because it seemed like the right thing to do. And we couldnt find her. Well, it turned out she was not there. She was in blacksburg, virginia. But my mother was, you know, just so happy. And then i remember i just shook my head. That must have been rough. It was. Rough time for the family . It was. Im sorry. So tell me a little bit about how your role as commanders wife differed from post to post and assignment to assignment. Was there anything different . Because you were at campbell, and then brag, then washington, and vietnam. Well, washington, you just kind of existed. And then i had two babies then. I had ripa and margaret. And margaret was born when we were at fort meyer. And diddy taylor, wes worked fo wonderful to me. And this was mid50s . When were you born . She was born in 55. What was the hardest or most challenging day you experienced as an army wife . I guess to tell my parents my brother was killed. Ly ci can understand that. What was the best or most rewarding day you had as an army wife . I guess being here. Okay. So west point has a special place for you . Yes, i guess that was. I always said that i couldnt complain that i was at west point. And if you are at west point, unfortunately you cant complain. Right. Its a great place to be. Now, husbands and wives formed command teams within the household. Did your husband ever use you as a sounding go ahead and take a drink. Ill wait. Did your husband ever use you as a sounding board for things that were happening to him in his work and bounce ideas off you . Yeah, but he never paid any attention. He was dam well going to do what he wanted to. Sure. Yeah. But, yes, we talked quite a bit. Thats important. Well, the next question was going to be what was your favorite assignment in the army, but i guess its west point. Its here. Yes. Now, during your time in the army, events for army wives and wives clubs were a lot different than they are now. They sure are. Can you describe some of those events to us . Well, i remember this one. I never was good at making a speech or anything like that. In fact, this is the first time ive ever done anything like this, and im doing it just because i didnt know i was. Well, im so glad you did. Well, i think one of the funniest times i had was at Fort Campbell. And i like ice tea with lots of lemon and lots of sugar. And i was brand new being introduced. And i had put all this sugar in my tea and i was stirring it. And everyone thought i was going to give a speech. And that was the last thing i was going to do. Sure. So everybody stopped talking. So it was the clanking of the spoon on the glass . Yeah, they thought i was going to. And here i looked up at this quiet group, but they started talking again. And, now, at that time the women would wear gloves. Right. And dresses and hats. Right. Tell me a little bit about that. Because this generation doesnt understand that. No. And i said to susan as we went down, holding on on, i said you know in my day we wore gloves. And think about all the germs we are getting going down this. And in those days i had, when i was here, i had gloves always at the front door that i could grab when i went out. And you just dressed. But we volunteered. I dont think any of the wives worked, per se. But i used to tell when wes commanded something, i would say to the young wives, go get a job, quick, get something to do that you like, to volunteer. And make sure that because youll be asked to volunteer. And volunteering was very important to you . It was. And i think in my day it was whether you rode the school bus or spent time, there was always child care, and that was all volunteer in those days. And so you volunteered your time on the school bus or there or in the hospital. What did you do after your husband retired . Oh, my goodness. I guess we fought. No, we really didnt. But we were he wanted to come to south carolina, and i did not really like south carolina. And he had 31 First Cousins on his mothers side in columbia. And thats the capitol. So he said we would go to charleston. So we built a house there and loved it. Charleston is beautiful. And its beautiful. Ap i got very busy there. And wes went around the country talking for the vietnamese. And i heard that he advivisi every state and talked to veterans in every state . He did. Tell me how he felt a connection with them. Well, he felt that the vietnam soldier, and of course in those days you just cant imagine what i mean, one man that i cant think of his name later he became chief of staff. He was taken off a train on a, you know, stretcher. And somebody came up and spat on him. I mean, it was that bad. And, you know, the 101st was called out to protect the memorial bridge. I mean, there were terrible things that happened. Well, now your father, your brothers, your husbands attended west point. And you lived at the academy yourself. What does west point mean to you . Oh, thats a brutal question. It was so much apart of my life. Was there anything in new york city with Vietnam Veterans . No, i dont think. The march in 1985. Oh, daddy, yeah, he led that march. And he was very proud of that. He walked down was it fifth avenue . I dont know where it was, broadway i think, they gave themselves a march, no one else did. Wow, my goodness. Yeah. Now, your neck necklace, hopes gave that to you . Yes, i was visiting the hopes, it was my 50th birthday. And i wasnt a good sport about it. And i dolores gave me this. And she really was my best friend. And i was one of her best friends. But she always said, she was 17 years older, and she always said im old enough to be your mother. And i would say thats going a little far. It said oh, to be 50 again. Flonow, is there anything thi havent asked you that you want to say . No. I have three wonderful children. And i think you all had a very good time growing up. We were lucky. We had a wonderful sergeant that eventually retired with us. Because he would not leave his boy, rip. And chris. And chris. We had really people that loved us and we loved them. I mean, and sar sard enwalker, just special. So the army is a family . Uhhuh, yes. And i think they were proud. Sergeant daniels. Sergeant daniels was my head man here. And i was going to call him, but i think hes gone now. I talked to him the last time i was up here and he wasnt too well. You certainly got to meet a lot of wonderful people. We did. We were so lucky. I think secretary rusk was one of my very favorite people. Well, so many of them were fascinating. Well, maam, this has been a wonderful interview. And we were so honored to have you come in here today and speak with us. Thank you. I know it was a lot to get over for you to speak with us. And im certainly glad you did. You are a wonderful interviewer. And i thank you for your kindness. Be with us tonight for American History tv prime time and well hear oral histories from vietnam and their houses. It begins at 8 00 p. M. Cspan. Also book tv in prime time with the focus on digital world. Brian dear talks about the impact of early computer programs on modern technology in his book, the friendly orange glow. Silicon valley historian describes the video game and bio technology. Her book is called troublemakers. And former New York Times noam cohen the know it always. All this week on cspan 2. Companion network Julian Castro at an event organized by the Young Democrats of New Hampshire under president obama. And you can see his comments tonight on 8 eastern on cspan. Cspan bus is traveling across the country on our 50 capitols tour. We recently stopped in little rock, arkansas asking what is the important issue in their state. Huge hispanic population within our high schools in the area, especially northwest alask arkansas. So what we are seeing is a lot of hispanics arent coming to college. So we have this program and all it does is we want for all High School Students to know they can come to college. So for me its really important that not only hispanics but everyone has that opportunity and they know that, okay, regardless of what i have daca or undocumentation or whatever circumstances you may be, you can come to college. So thats important right now for arkansas. The issue important for me in arkansas is animal welfare. Im in Animal Rescue and we deal with a lot of abuse and neglect. And we dont have Law Enforcement backing. Or we have laws in arkansas but they are not enforced and not very strict. So its a big issue for us because we deal with the animals and see what they go through. And we dont have any place for these animals to go. We dont have the funding for them. And people are not held accountable for the abuse they inflict on animals. So thats a big issue for me is just, stricter laws and more enforcement of those laws and backing rescues and shelters to hold people accountable for what they do. I really dont want anybody in government doing much of anything. I believe in the states being experimental units for the government, try different things, and create different things, and see how they work. Because most of the Big Government ones, if they dont work out very well, it just have very hard on the whole country. And i believe thats what the founders wanted us to do is to use the states for a lesson. One of the most important issues i think for citizens of little rock and for the state of arkansas in an area that we would dearly love for our representatives in d. C. To take a look at, and thats the Affordable Care act. This is also the winter months and they talked about the flu season. So health care is important for each and every individual. While education is important, working is important, but without good health care, you cannot perform those to the best of your ability. So i think thats a major issue for little rock citizens, arkansasians and all of america. And what the leaders can do to help my state in arkansas is support our farmers. Agriculture is number one industries in our state. Aen we have an upcoming farm bill passing legislation to protect our farmers rights. Then we have things like effect the poultry industry and gibb sa bill, they cannot allow that, and take care of our farmers. I think thats the most important things is taking care of constituents at home. Voices from the states on cspan. Cspan where history unfolds daily. In 1979, cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television companies. And today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, white house, the supreme court, and Public Policy events in washington d. C. And around the country. Cspan is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. Next on oral histories, retired army colonel ken nneth carlson, his years teaching at military colleges. This interview is part of the west point center for oral history. Its an hour and 40 minutes. Good afternoon. Today is 13 november 2015. And i am in the center for oral history with mr. Kenneth g. Carlson. How are you sir . Im fine, sir. Please, can you please spell your last name. Carlson stoish. And you are not the only carson in your class, are you in. Im not the only carlson in my