Labrado, Ed. Interview transcript, November 17, 2025.
United States. Army
United States. Army—Officers
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Cold War
University of California, Santa Barbara
Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945
United States. Army. Army, 3rd
United States. Army. Armored Division, 6th
United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (United States)
Camp Roberts (Calif.)
M1 rifle
World War, 1914-1918
Korean War, 1950-1953
M14 rifle
M16 rifle
Fort Gordon (Ga.)
Fort Monmouth (N.J.)
Cryptography
Missiles
Fort Ord (Calif.)
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Noncommissioned officers
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Warsaw Pact (1955-1991)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Bank of America, National Association
Nike Hercules missile
Nuclear weapons
Ramstein Air Base (Germany)
Kennedy, John F., 1917-1963—Assassination
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
United States. Army—Deserters
Nuclear warfare
Deterrence (Strategy)
Peace Corps (U.S.)
Edwin Joseph Labrado Jr. was a captain in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was deployed in Europe during the Vietnam War. Labrado was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where he graduated from UCSB and completed the Army's four-year ROTC program. After graduation, he was assigned to the Army Signal Corps and later deployed to Europe. In Europe, he served as a battalion signal officer for a Nike Hercules missile battalion that had nuclear warheads. Some of his other responsibilities included communications training, military funeral honors, and the inspection of firing batteries. In this oral history interview, Labrado reflected on the Cold War, the US anti-Vietnam War movement, and how Americans treat veterans after military service.
Ed Labrado
California State University San Marcos University Library
Jason Beyer
In copyright
English
Europe
Santa Barbara (Calif.)
Port Hueneme (Calif.)
California
Ventura (Calif.)
Georgia
New Jersey
Monterey (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)
Russia (Federation)
Soviet Union
Germany (East)
Germany (West)
Korea
Vietnam
Isla Vista (Calif.)
France
Germany
United States
Ukraine
Nagasaki (Japan)
Galyean, Thomas. Interview November 12th, 2024.
United States. Army—Veterans
Poultry farms
United States. Forest Service
El Cariso Hotshots (Calif.)
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
San Marcos High School (San Marcos, Calif.)
University of California, Los Angeles
Loop Fire, Calif., 1966
Air pilots—Training of
Fort Wolters (Tex.)
Fort Knox (Ky.)
Bell AH-1 Cobra (Attack helicopter)
Phan Rang (Vietnam)
Bearcat (Vietnam)
Napalm
Fort Rucker (Ala.)
Fort Hood (Tex.)
Democratic National Convention (1968 : Chicago, Ill.)
Gray Air Force Base (Tex.)
Ground-controlled approach (Aeronautics)
Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
United States. Army. 7th Cavalry Regiment
University of Virginia
My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968
Legal education—United States
Lawyers
Fort Polk (La.)
Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnam)
Thomas Earl Galyean was a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He served with the 7-17th CAV as commanding officer of the aero rifle platoon, securing landing zones for aircraft. Galyean then served as an Assistant S3 for the operations section of headquarters, ensuring that aircraft received their assignments. Raised on his family’s chicken hatchery in San Marcos, California, Galyean narrates his family history, his decision to join the U.S. Army, and his interest in helicopter flight. Galyean describes his experience in flight school, including reflections on media representations of military training and the Vietnam War. Galyean describes his unique role while serving stateside, forming a military response team to suppress riots in the wake of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Galyean meditates on the impact of controversial topics, such as the My Lai massacre, civilian casualties, and the rules of engagement. Galyean reflects on religion, comradery, family, and how the military changed his life.
Thomas Galyean
San Diego (Calif.)
San Marcos (Calif.)
Texas
Kentucky
Tây Nguyên (Vietnam)
Vietnam (Republic : 1954-1975)
Laos
Cambodia
Chicago (Ill.)
Brownsville (Tex.)
Brawley (Calif.)
Escondido (Calif.)
Imperial County (Calif.)
Sacramento (Calif.)
Louisiana
Alabama
Arkansas
Pleiku (Vietnam)
Biên Hòa (Vietnam)
Qui Nhon (Vietnam)
Beacham, Dora. Interview November 1st, 2024
United States. Marine Corps
United States. Marine Corps—Non-commissioned officers
Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-2014
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
United States. Marine Corps—Military occupational specialties
Victim advocates
United States. Marine Corps. Advanced Infantry Training Battalion
Educational benefits—United States
Women soldiers
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs
Molly Marine (Symbolic figure)
Hispanic Americans
Camp Pendleton (Calif.)
Master Sergeant Dora Beacham served in the U.S. Marine Corps during Operation Enduring Freedom. Beacham was part of Combat Service Support Group 1 and the 11th Marine Regiment. She was deployed to Camp Fallujah, Iraq from January to August of 2004. As a Hispanic woman from a small town, Beacham reflected on how military service shaped her life and provided important opportunities. In this oral history interview, she described her family, education, and life lessons from military service.
Dora Beacham
Hondo (Tex.)
South Carolina
Norfolk (Va.)
Twentynine Palms (Calif.)
Iraq
Idaho
New York
Fallujah (Iraq)
Lacea, Jan Michael Letigio. Interview November 8th, 2024.
Jan Michael Letigio Lacea served in the Navy for eight years. He was frocked Petty Officer First Class HM1 (Hospital Corpsman First Class) before he left the service. Lacea described his service in the Philippines for Operation Enduring Freedom, and he reflected on his own identity as a Filipino American immigrant. He also recounted his return to civilian life, attending graduate school at CSU San Marcos, the support he received from the CSUSM Veterans’ Center, and the life lessons he learned from military service.
Shaffer, David. Interview transcript, November 20, 2025.
United States. Air Force
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation
Convair
Victory over Japan Day
Fort Bliss (Tex.)
San Diego State University
Keesler Air Force Base (Miss.)
United States. Army Corps of Engineers
Six-Day War
Sinai Peninsula
Lajes Field (Azores)
Strategic Air Command (U.S.)
Hahn Air Base (Germany)
Lackland Air Force Base (Tex.)
United States. Federal Aviation Administration
Tinker Air Force Base (Okla.)
Bundesanstalt für Flugsicherung (Germany)
World War, 1939–1945
United States. Air Force—Occupational specialties
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (Ariz.)
McGuire Air Force Base (N.J.)
Hitler-Jugend
European Recovery Program (1948–1952)
Andrews Air Force Base (Md.)
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944
McClellan–Palomar Airport (Calif.)
Germany. Luftwaffe
Mikoyan (Firm)
Sukhoi (Firm)
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908–1973
Fulda Gap (Germany)
Freemasons
Agent Orange
Captain David Shaffer served in Europe as an air traffic controller during the 1960s. Shaffer was raised in San Diego County where his father was an engineer for Convair. From a young age, Shaffer aspired to become a military pilot, a goal which his tall height prevented. As an air traffic controller, Shaffer spent most of his deployment in Portugal and West Germany during the Cold War. He designed forward airfields during the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, although the conflict was over before they could be used. After leaving military service, Shaffer taught high school industrial arts in North San Diego County. He used the G.I. Bill to gain his master’s degree from San Diego State College and his private pilot license. In this oral history interview, Shaffer tells stories from his military service and reflects on the importance of patriotism.
David Shaffer
Colorado Springs (Colo.)
Colorado
Philippines
Pennsylvania
Cortez (Colo.)
Shelter Island (San Diego, Calif.)
Azores (Portugal)
Portugal
San Diego County (Calif.)
San Antonio (Tex.)
Oklahoma City (Okla.)
Tucson (Ariz.)
Arizona
Mississippi
Israel
Middle East
Austria
Bavaria
Kastellaun (Germany)
Koblenz (Germany)
Libya
Africa, North
Winston-Salem (N.C.)
North Carolina
Iowa
Berlin (Germany)
Frankfurt (Germany)
Berlin (Germany : West)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
Kitzbühel (Austria)
Zweibrücken (Germany)
Moscow (Russia)
Munich (Germany)
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Ohio
New Zealand
Australia
Canada
Carlsbad (Calif.)
Fallbrook (Calif.)
Photo related to the oral history of Thomas Galyean. Photograph depicts Galyean posing for a newly purchased camera with a timer for taking photos at Camp Holloway, Pleiku, Vietnam, 1970. Click on the thumbnail to view the full image in more detail.
Beacham, Dora. Interview Transcript, November 1, 2024.
Adel Bautista
Marilyn Huerta
Beacham, Dora. Photographs, Various dates.
Six photos related to the oral history of Dora Beacham. Photograph #1 depicts Beacham posing as the Uniform Victims Advocate at her unit at Marine Corps System Support Activity Command, 2005. Photograph #2 depicts Beacham posing with other Marines at the Marine Corps Ball, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1999. Photograph #3 depicts Beacham posing with a member of the Young Marines Program, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1999. Photograph #4 depicts Beacham posing with another Marine at the Marine Corps Ball, Twentynine Palms, California, 1993. Photograph #5 depicts Beacham receiving a Good Conduct Medal award, Okinawa, Japan, 1995. Photograph #6 depicts Beacham receiving an award from Captain Brubaker, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1999. Click on the thumbnails to view the full images in more detail.