Bringing Jerry Zimmer Home

Many of you are aware that Brown University and other Ivy League schools kicked ROTC programs off their campuses in the late 60s and early 70s. I use the word “kicked,” to give you a sense of the times we lived in back then. In fact, it was more politically correct to use “kicked” than “ended,” explaining the death of patriotism – as I saw it – for years to come. Ironically, the very people who had been scourged for serving in Vietnam would play key roles in bringing patriotism back to the American culture. And although ROTC programs still have not returned to most Ivy League campuses, Brown has decided to tell the story about the other side of the Vietnam War, as seen through oral histories of its graduates that served in Vietnam.

Thanks to two bright people with strong ties to Brown – David Taylor, a former NROTC scholarship recipient who graduated with Jerry from Brown University, Class of ’66, became a Marine and attended the same Basic School (TBS 1-67), flight school and went on to become a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. The other is Dr. Elizabeth Taylor, known by her friends as “Beth,” who is a professor of non-fiction writing at Brown University, where she received her master’s degree and doctorate. (I just ordered her newly published book, The Plain Language of Love and Loss: A Quaker Memoir, and look forward to reading it). Among Beth’s writings are scholarly works dealing with the effect that the Vietnam War had on different people’s lives. And since much of her work these days focuses on writing projects for Brown’s archives, Beth was interested when David suggested that she consider a Brown Vietnam Oral History project.

David and I reconnected by email over a year ago, so I was thrilled when he told me of Beth’s project. David was Beth’s first Vietnam Oral History interview, and I am sure it was a good one. He thought it would be a great opportunity for me to participate in the project, as well, so that Jerry’s story could be told and included in the archives with other participants in the project. Since I have been visiting our home in Rhode Island, the timing was good, and I ended up meeting Beth on campus earlier this week. It was the first time that I had been involved in an oral history project, and Beth made it easy. I think Jerry would have been proud of my efforts. I laughed, cried and went through all the emotions, and couldn’t have asked for a nicer person in which to share my feelings.

If any of Brown’s Vietnam vets are reading this blog, please contact Beth so that you can participate in the program. I will be donating some of Jerry’s letters, tapes and photos, as well as the Western Union telegram, advising me of his death, and other communications for the archives. Jerry’s son, Craig, is thrilled that we can do this for his dad.