Oral history interview with Thomas H. Burkhalter 1996 | WorldCat.org (original) (raw)

Abstract:Thomas H. Burkhalter, a Port Washington, Wisconsin resident, discusses his experiences as an officer in the Fifth Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War; with the Military Assistance Command, Thailand (MACTHAI) Support Group during the Vietnam War; and as the County Veterans Service Officer in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. Burkhalter grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and participated in the ROTC at the University of Wisconsin where he studied engineering psychology. Burkhalter married his high school sweetheart right after college graduation, but he had to report to Fort Benning (Georgia) immediately after his honeymoon. He feels the basic infantry training he received at Fort Benning was the most important military training of his life. Burkhalter then went to Camp Atterbury (Indiana) as a lieutenant to lead basic training for the 31st Dixie Division of the National Guard, a unit that had previously refused to integrate. He discusses the integration of African American soldiers into the Army and touches upon regional differences among soldiers. Burkhalter describes the training he gave the Guardsmen, including: drills, use of the M-1 Rifle, map reading, and physical training. Burkhalter expresses mixed feelings about how successful the integration of black soldiers was. In 1952 Burkhalter was shipped to Korea via Alaska and Japan, where he took an intensive two-week course in Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Warfare in Iwo Jima (Japan). He characterizes the base in Pusan (South Korea) as disorganized, damaged, and overrun with refugees. He also characterizes the railroads in Korea as slow compared with Japan. Burkhalter was assigned to Yong Dong Po (South Korea) as a lieutenant in the Fifth Regimental Combat Team (RCT). Burkhalter tells an amazing story of meeting his commander on his first night in country at a formal dinner where C-rations were served on fine china and conversation was restricted to "equitation." Burkhalter provides an overview of the history of the Fifth RCT. The Fifth RCT had Korean Army trainees in their unit called Katusas. Burkhalter characterizes the Katusas as combat-experienced and very loyal to the U.S. Next, he details the two engagements he experienced in Korea. He vividly describes combat versus the Chinese at Outpost Harry, between the Chorwon and Kumwha valleys. His second engagement involved seizing a strategic "saddle" between two hills and creating a regimental combat outpost there. Before this operation, Burkhalter mailed his "last letter" to his brother because he was sure he would be killed. Burkhalter remarks upon the intimidation techniques used by the Chinese; they played Glen Miller tunes over loudspeakers and told the Americans "We know that you are there." Burkhalter was on the verge of attacking a Chinese post when the cease-fire negotiations interrupted. During the second engagement, Burkhalter was wounded in the shoulder and hip when a mortar went off in a nearby tunnel. He tells how he was strapped to the hood of a jeep and driven to the MASH. Burkhalter also remarks that a young soldier in his platoon named Cross was the last American to be killed in the entire Korean War. He touches upon the sheer noise of battle and contrasts his experiences with depictions in Hollywood films. Burkhalter claims it was hard to convince Americans not to rush to the aid of a fallen buddy but to continue shooting. He also claims Chinese soldiers were given narcotics to relax them before battles. He spends a good deal of time talking about psychological warfare used by the Chinese and the devastating impact of human wave attacks on the U.S. soldier. Finally, Burhalter compares the U.S., Chinese, North and South Korean Armies to each other. Burkhalter states he was the youngest company commander in the Fifth RCT when he arrived in Korea, but when he left two years later, he was one of the most seasoned veterans. After the Korean War, Burkhalter was transferred to the quartermaster corps in Fort Lee (Virginia) where he helped racially integrate a battalion. Burkhalter states he did so well converting his company into a patrolling supply battalion that he was promoted to Petroleum Supply Officer. The Army also financed his Masters in industrial psychology at the Ohio State University. Following graduate school, Burkhalter worked at Natick Laboratories (Massachusetts) in Research and Development for three years, using his psychology degree. After Natick, he attended Command and General Staff College and was promoted to Major. He then spent a few years as petroleum supply commander in rural France. Burkhalter discusses raising a family in the Army. He says the Department of Defense dependants schools lacked teachers and provided low quality education for Army children. Burkhalter mentions encountering Charles De Gaulle (who he characterizes as egomaniacal) at a ship christening. In 1967, Burkhalter's first marriage ended because his wife "had enough of the Army." He was called up to Vietnam shortly thereafter. Burkhalter spends much of the interview describing the Vietnam War and comparing it with the Korean War. He also compares the psychology of patrolling to that of being a racecar driver, stating the risk of getting killed becomes part of the work. Burkhalter believes soldiers were less invested in the Vietnam War than in the Korean War because of the rotation system. He maintains Vietnam was a civil war and the U.S. strategy was inappropriate for the political situation. Burkhalter calls Vietnam a "religious war" and discusses the ideology of anti-communist Catholics and Buddhists in Vietnam as well as a broader "fanatical" dislike of communism that Burkhalter feels blinded the U.S. to the realities on the ground. In addition, Burkhalter describes at length the equipment, uniforms, weapons, and radios used in Korea and Vietnam. He also speaks frankly about prostitution, alcohol consumption, and drug use. Burkhalter reveals that a company lost morale points if a soldier was discovered to have contracted a sexually transmitted disease while in Korea. Burkhalter notes that in Korea no hard liquor was allowed (only beer), which was not the case in Vietnam. He also touches upon heroin use in Vietnam. From his perspective as an officer, Burkhalter describes differences between draftees and enlistees in his unit. He portrays enlistees as more gung-ho but draftees as more intelligent problem-solvers. After his first tour in Vietnam, Burkhalter returned to the U.S. and worked at the Pentagon. His research and development work included evaluating software models and war games that simulated battle strategies. He reveals he was involved in planning and implementing the withdrawal from Vietnam, which put him in contact with General William C. Westmoreland. In 1971, and now a Colonel, Burkhalter went on his second tour of duty in Vietnam to begin implementing the withdrawal plan. He summarizes the plan and outlines how the U.S. military shut down operations in Vietnam. He addresses the challenge of not being able to share sensitive security intelligence with his troops. He feels draftees especially would have been more compliant and invested in their mission if they had been told how their duties fit into the overall withdrawal plan. Burkhalter addresses evacuation of American civilians as well as Cambodians and South Vietnamese who had fought with the Americans. He tells how ninety-two Cambodians chose to return home rather than be relocated as refugees; ninety of them were killed soon after crossing the border into Cambodia. Burkhalter's second wife was a Vietnamese woman. He describes his successful efforts to get his wife and eleven of her family members out of Vietnam. Directly after the Vietnam War, Burkhalter worked with Vietnam refugee groups in the U.S. He reflects on the displacement of the Montagnards and Cambodians to "places like Sheboygan" (Wisconsin) and touches upon culture clashes between Americans and the Montagnard immigrants. After the war, Burkhalter held many posts in the Army and as a private consultant. On a job involving logistics and readiness in Frankfurt (Germany), Burkhalter met Senator Orrin Hatch. He states that after listening to his suggestions, Hatch pushed through legislation funding equipment the Army needed. Burkhalter also describes President Jimmy Carter's visit to Frankfurt in the early 1980s and compares Carter's support of the Army to that of Ronald Reagan and Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1982, Burkhalter retired from the Army and moved back to Wisconsin. He tells a humorous story about how his brother signed him up to take the civil servant exam the day they arrived in Wisconsin, after they had just spent three days driving cross-country. Burkhalter passed and became a County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO). He worked in Richland Center and later, after marrying his third wife, became the CVSO in Ozaukee County. Burkhalter describes his work as a CVSO and discusses Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at length. He worked with World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm veterans suffering from PTSD. Throughout, Burkhalter repeatedly emphasizes that the biggest problem for soldiers in Vietnam was not knowing who the enemy was. He feels this ambiguity is the reason for higher rates of PTSD among Vietnam veterans than veterans of other wars. Burkhalter predicts that as female soldiers increasingly participate in wars like in Desert Storm, veterans will have more PTSD related to rape and sexual abuse--the beginnings of which he had already begun to witness. Finally, Burkhalter reflects on the psychological aspects of facing his own death, killing other people, and postwar guilt