Robert A. Seiple (Class of 1965) oral history and papers relating to the Vietnam War (AMS.1U.S6)

The Robert A. Seiple (Class of 1965) oral history and papers relating to the Vietnam War include an oral history interview of Robert Seiple conducted by Professor Beth Taylor in 2011 about his days at Brown University and his military experiences during the Vietnam War, publications by Robert Seiple that include his Vietnam experiences, his viewpoints and material about his faith in action. A large part of the collection is a unique assemblage of letters written by Robert Seiple to his parents in New Jersey chronicling his feelings about life and military experiences in Quantico, Virginia, Pensacola, Florida and Vietnam from 1966-1968. There are also Vietnam era-related tapes that complemented his written letters sent from Seiple to his family. He was a highly decorated Captain, flying three hundred flights as bombardier/navigator for the United States Marine Corps, which earned him a total of twenty-eight Air Medals, a Vietnam Campaign Medal with five battle stars, the Navy Commendation award and the Distinguished Flying Cross. When his Marine Corps duty was completed, he returned to Brown University in various administrative roles. He was able to put his faith into action through his work as President of Eastern College and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and then of World Vision, one of the largest private humanitarian relief and development agencies in the world. He became the first “Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom” for the United States State Department. In 2015 he serves as the President of the Board of the International Religion Liberty Association and continues being an ambassador for international religious freedoms.

The collection is organized into the following 6 series:

Series 1. Oral history: This series includes audio recordings (in MP3 format) of an interview of Robert A. Seiple, Class of 1965 conducted by Professor Elizabeth Taylor on May 9, 2011 as part of the Brown University Vietnam Veterans Oral History Project. There are summarizing notes of the interview and a transcription of the interview with the edits by Bob, Seiple. In his interview, Bob recounts memories of his student days at Brown University in the early 1960s and his football and academic experiences. He returned to Brown after his graduation to work in admissions, and then again after his military obligations were fulfilled to work in the administration. He describes how he advanced his career. He describes his military experiences, mostly of his time in Vietnam, and alludes to the attitudes he had and how they are reflected in his letters home. He mentions some of the Brown alumni he met through his military service. The MP3 formats are available online and are also in the collection on a CD-R disk.

Series 2. Biographical information: The biographical information comprise a few biographical descriptions that appear in press releases or on web sites. There is a photocopy of his senior photograph from the 1965 Brown University Yearbook. More biographical material is present within his other publications (see Series 3. Supporting Materials).

Series 3. Supporting Materials: This series contains publications by Robert A. Seiple. The first is A missing peace: Vietnam: finally healing the pain (InterVarsity Press, 1992, ISBN 9780830812943) which he wrote while President of World Vision, US. It is about the “war without closure," from his perspective as a Marine aviator during the Viernam War and as head of a relief agency. It includes stories and people Seiple encountered while with the Marines and with World Vision. One of its main themes is a call for reconciliation for those touched by the Vietnam War or any other war. The next is A roadmap for Vietnam : Ambassador Robert Seiple's February 12, 2004 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he shares his concerns with the deteriorating approach to human rights by the Vietnamese government, limiting his comments to the harassment of Christians and other expressions of religious beliefs. The last is The separation of church and hate, a presentation given to the World Congress in 2006 when Seiple was President of the Council for America's First Freedom and former U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom.

Series 4. Correspondence: A large part of the collection is a unique assemblage of letters written by Robert Seiple to his parents and family in New Jersey. The letters chronicle his feelings about life and military experiences in Quantico, Virginia during Officer Candidate School (January - March 1966); Pensacola, Florida during aviator training at the Naval Air School (March 1966-May 1966); and heading to and during his tour in Vietnam, mostly in DaNang (October 1967 - October 1968). The letters describe his routines, feelings and accomplishments, and communicate a little of his wife's lifestyle and family life stateside while he is away. There are descriptions of his physical and psychological environment, his role as a bombardier scheduler, and some of the plans and results from his bombing runs. His letters show an early and increasing skepticism of the military strategy for the war which turns to cynicism. He wrote to his parents at least once a week, sometimes more frequently, and often comments on the items they have sent and his appreciation of receiving their letters and packages.

Series 5. Reel-to-Reel tapes: As part of his communications strategy with his family, Seiple recorded 4 audio letters on reel-to-reel 1/4-inch magnetic tapes. There are indications that these kinds of tapes were also sent to him from his family, but there seems to have been some issues with distortion upon playback, so it is believed that this processed stopped. The 5th tape is a recording the Seiple family sent to Bob's brother, William C. "Bill" Seiple, for Christmas in 1966 while Bill was serving in Vietnam.

Series 6. Museum Objects: This series contains a Marine Attack Squadron 224 color medallion emblem on paper, in very good condition.