| Interviewee | ACIERNO, Sharon “Tommie” (b. 1949) |
| Military Service | U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran |
| Interview ID # | OH 1647 |
| Date(s) of interview | |
| Description | For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. Vietnam War veteran. Childhood in Brook Park, Ohio; decisions to drop out of high school and to enlist in the U.S. Army; basic training at Ft. McClellan, Ala.,; clerical training; assignment to Ft. Huachuca, Ariz. and base in Heidelberg, Germany; “coming out” experience with self and with family; decision to volunteer for assignment to Vietnam; clerical duties with logistics unit at Long Binh, including work with Graves Registration; camaraderie among gay and straight troops; experiences with apathetic citizens and antiwar protesters upon return to U.S.; work as drill sergeant at Ft. McClellan; decision to leave Army; decision to relocate to Dallas; struggles with alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder; experience in Veterans Administration psychiatric ward; relocation; opinions regarding “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and treatment of women in the military generally; work with Vietnam Veterans of America group. |
| Interviewer(s) | Michael Mims |
| Physical Description | 85 pp. plus documents (3 pp.) |
| Terms of Use | Open |
