Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Lucio Lopez

Vietnam | 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

Squad leader Lucio Lopez would take the point a lot. He did not want another Marine in danger and he, frankly, did not trust all of them to do it right. He was also the demolition man and tunnel rat for his unit. Some of the underground facilities he found were truly amazing. (6:53)
There was a hot pot of rice on when the Marines found the NVA camp, but there was no one to be seen. Lucio Lopez checked out the bunkers and tunnels and still found no one. After making a show of leaving, his squad set up an ambush and waited. (Caution: coarse language.) (5:11)
Everybody loved the Navy Corpsmen. They kept the Marines patched up and fighting. When you were in the bush for months, though, it could make you want to do crazy things. That's what happened to Lucio Lopez. (6:07)
Lucio Lopez didn't get in from the field a lot. He missed the Bob Hope USO show and when he did get some time back at battalion, there were sappers on the wire. Hell, he felt safer back in the bush trading C-rations for hot food with villagers. (5:51)
When your time until rotation is short, you get a lot more cautious. Lucio Lopez remembers when his time in Vietnam was almost up and he went to visit a wounded friend in the hospital. That Marine was bitter about getting hit so close to leaving. (Caution: coarse language.) (5:26)
It was almost like he had less trouble in the jungle. Lucio Lopez first went to Okinawa, where he got picked up by the MP's after a barroom brawl. Then he was robbed and then he got home to California where things had not gone well for his family. (Caution: coarse language.) (6:01)
Lucio Lopez recalls the day he enlisted in the Marines on the spur of the moment. He was young and eager and his mom was crying. (2:20)
Lucy Cline (Huie)

WWII | Special Services

Lucy Cline (Huie) describes the reactions of patients and employees at her military hospital the day World War II ended. (1:56)
Lucy Cline (Huie) talks about her two brothers, who survived combat in Europe during World War II only to experience tragedy after the war's end. (2:20)
Lucy Cline (Huie) talks about why she decided to work at a military hospital during World War II, and how injured and sick service members most enjoyed their time there. (2:36)