West Point’s Collection of Letters from the Vietnam War

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From West Point, perched on the Hudson River in upstate New York, the war in Vietnam was half a world away — except for a bulletin board at the entrance rotunda of Thayer Hall, the U.S. Military Academy’s cavernous main academic building and former horseback riding hall. One prominent display there began, ‘Dear Gloria, Well I imagine by the time you receive this letter you will have received the news via the newspapers and I thought I would write and let you know I made it through.’ Lieutenant Charles ‘Chuck’ Campanella’s letter went on to recount the terrifying moments at LZ Bird on Christmas Day 1966, when the small artillery compound had been assaulted by a wave of more than 800 North Vietnamese infantry. The battle of LZ Bird was later chronicled by the famous war historian S.L.A. Marshall in his book Bird: The Christmastide Battle. Campanella’s personal account of the desperate fight, and how his letter came to be posted on an academy bulletin board, are part of a remarkable and little-known story.

The fortifications at West Point were originally built to guard the upper Hudson from a British invasion. Although the grounds of the present-day academy have not been splashed with a drop of blood from battle since the American Revolution, this place has never been far from war. Every generation of West Pointers has served in the nation’s military conflicts. From its inception in 1802, academy graduates have received second lieutenants’ commissions in the Army. Prolonged wars have had an especially profound effect on the academy as seniors, or ‘firsties,’ anticipated the day they would join the ranks of other graduates leading men in combat. During the world wars, in fact, the course of academic instruction was shortened to speed the flow of young officers to the field. As the United States’ participation in the Vietnam War expanded rapidly, with more ground forces deploying to the country every day, West Point cadets — like their predecessors in previous conflicts — expected their postgraduate education to be in battle. Everyone knew someone who was serving in Vietnam.

Colonel Thomas Griess, head of military history instruction in the Military Art and Engineering Department (which at one time included the academy’s military history faculty), and later chairman of West Point’s newly formed History Department, supervised the Vietnam project. His goal was to acquaint cadets with the world they would face outside the academy’s cloistered corridors after graduation. Department officers wrote to friends and recent graduates asking them to pen letters on the experiences of junior officers that could be shared with cadets. Letters were posted on what became known as the ‘Adventure Board.’

‘Our effort,’ Griess recalled, ‘was aimed at showing the cadets that a military career was challenging and exciting and that it carried great responsibilities for a commander. In other words, it was a `great adventure.’ You must remember that during part of this time we had a bit of a motivational problem with cadets, who were frustrated with growing national attitudes about the war in Vietnam. They also came under fire from their fellow students on the civilian [campuses], including Vassar. Their morale was not as high as was desirable.’

Griess intended to draw letters from across the Army, covering all aspects of the life of junior officers, but not surprisingly most letters came from Vietnam. How they showed up in the History Department mailbox was often a matter of chance. Some commanders asked their junior officers to write the academy. Graduates wrote to old professors. Sometimes personal correspondence found its way into the collection. That was the case with the letter from Chuck Campanella, who had studied at West Texas State University. How the letter written to his wife came to find a place on the Adventure Board at West Point is unknown.

The board’s first project officer was a bright and energetic young major, James E. Torrence. He was a dedicated steward, writing friends to ask them to contribute and penning personal replies to each letter that was received. One of the most poignant letters Torrence received was from a young lieutenant, Ed Menninger. Menninger’s writing ran on for several pages, recounting his story from the day he was commissioned as a shavetail second lieutenant to a combat assignment in Vietnam. Ed had married straight out of the academy, and his first assignments, including a stint of airborne training, indeed seemed like an exciting new adventure. Shortly after their son’s birth, Menninger’s wife died suddenly from illness, but Ed remained determined to continue with his military career and to answer the call of duty. Menninger’s letter from his first combat assignment closed with the thoughts that despite his own tragic loss and leaving behind his infant son, he was truly happy to be doing the job he’d been trained to do, and he thought it was important.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Historical Conflicts, Social History, Vietnam War

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