Dennis Metzger grew up in Indiana in a family with strong Church of the Brethren beliefs. Because of that, he was eligible to request conscientious objector status when he became eligible for the draft in 1968. Dennis felt called, instead, to serve in Vietnam, and after receiving training at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Maryland, he spent the next five years in northern South Vietnam helping farmers develop irrigation projects for their villages. In 1973 he married a South Vietnamese women he had met at a Christian church in Tam Ky, and they spent the next year living in Taiwan. They returned to the U.S. in 1975.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Surprised by Opposition to the War
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Early life & beliefs as a Church of the Brethren member and VN service
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
South Vietnam experiences helping village farmers with irrigation projects
Interview Session 03 (Audio)
Departure from Vietnam, year in Taiwan and return to the United States
Photos
Caption
Dennis and his father Maurice, circa 1948, while they lived on the family farm in Jackson Township, Kosciiusko County, near North Manchester, Indiana.
Where:
North Manchester, Indiana.
When:
Circa 1948
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis with his championship 4-H heifer (Metzger Farms Monarch Sylvia) at the Kosciusko County Fair in 1957. Proceeds from the sale of Sylvia helped finance Dennis’s college education.
Where:
Kosciusko County Fair, Indiana
When:
1957
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The Metzgers were visiting their paternal grandparents’ home, circa 1960.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Circa 1960
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis and his siblings, in order of birth, Cynthia (1947), Wendy (1951), Teresa (1953), Catherine (1956) and Erick (1960). The photo was taken on the family farm.
Where:
Jackson Township, Kosciiusko County, near North Manchester, Indiana
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis, probably in Saigon, early during his time in Vietnam.
Where:
Saigon
When:
Circa 1968-1969
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis is explaining something to his boss, Perry E.H. Smith, in a village near Tam Ky near end of rainy season, circa 1970. Smith originally hailed from New England and worked out of the Saigon office.
Where:
Tam Ky, Vietnam
When:
Circa 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis is walking along a dike in the Ky Lien village in Quảng Nam Province in 1971.
Where:
Quảng Nam Province
When:
1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis and Vân were married on April 12, 1973 in a relocation center in Quảng Nam Province.
Where:
Quảng Nam Province
When:
April 12, 1973
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Best man Lowell Jantzi, Maid of Honor Nguyễn thi Bích Đào, Dennis and Lê thị Vân on their wedding day at the Protestant Church in the Quản Go relocation center, April 12, 1973.
Where:
Quảng Nam Province
When:
April 12, 1973
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis and Lê thị Vân in Quảng Nam Province shortly after their wedding.
Where:
Quảng Nam Province
When:
1973
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis with Lê thị Vân in 1973 in Quảng Nam Province.
Where:
Quảng Nam Province
When:
1973
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The map of South Vietnam agreed upon at the Paris Peace Accords showing the partition of the country between areas controlled by the Viet Cong (shaded) and those still controlled by the South Vietnamese government.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator