Vaughn Hood was a 118-pound barber when he was drafted into the Vietnam War, and in Vaughn’s war, most men didn’t survive their first three-month tour. In honor of Veteran’s Day, here is the story of an extraordinary American life.
This story is co-produced by Larry Massett and Erica Heilman. It first ran in 2015. To read the comments on this story from over the years, click here.
An interview with Erica about the show, by the excellent people at The Third Coast
50 Best Podcasts of 2015, The Atlantic Monthly…#16
Music in this show:
Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten–Arvo Part
Tabula Rasa for 2 violins, strings and prepared piano–Arvo Part
Speigel im Speigel–Arvo Part
Under the Weather Mix–Steve Reich
Clapping Music–Steve Reich
Stunning! I’m sorry Vaughn left Vt.; I didn’t know that. I knew that like so many war vets that He’d never dared speak about his time in Vietnam ….until you opened him up. That must have been an amazing “trip” for you. both.
What a beautiful man and episode.
I share the Era & TM with Vaughn, but my active duty was Air Force officer Got my PTSD at the OClub at Johnston Island, only partway to Nam. Thanks Vaughn, for your genuine service.
Thank you for the best morning listen this Veterans Day . Thank you Vaughan and Bev Hood for touching my life ( emergency bangs ) thank you Erica for the podcast.
Incredible, I have a lump in my throat. How good and true and beautiful.
Thank you Erica and Larry for bringing this story to us. Thank you Vaughn for sharing and telling your story. It really touched me. Thank you for your service to our country. I wish I could get my next haircut from you.
The most powerful life story I have ever heard. Thank you for the telling and sharing.
Judy
Such an incredibly moving story. I was feeling so disconnected from Veterans Day today as I shopped for groceries and realized the stores were packed with parents and kids with the day off. I felt shame for buying groceries and not taking in the meaning of what this day represents. I listened to this story when I got home because I love Rumble Strip and I was transported and transformed by this story. Thank you for this Vaughan and Erica and others involved. Transcendentally yours,
Annette
What an articulate telling of an extraordinary story. Vaughn used to cut my hair and he wrote down the link to this interview for me years ago. Everyone should listen to this.
Thank you for sharing this story. It has always been so challenging for me to picture the people I love who served from WWII through more recent conflicts having lived through combat and done/seen things impossible to imagine & impossible to forget then living among all of us with totally different expectations & needs. How do you operate a flame throwing tank towards caves full of Japanese men & then come home and have a loving marriage & children? How do you wait for death to find you in unexpected ways every day and then come home and live with hope & intent to grow? What soothes you when the nightmares come? I can only hope that Vaughn’s story is representative of most, that the resilience of the human spirit when receiving enough support & resources can be revealed over & over again.
In gratitude,
I was listening to this podcast in the morning, when I was eating breakfast and feeding my cat. I did’t want to listen to it at first, but I got to a point where I couldn’t stop. I have cPTSD too, from different things. Your voice was so calm, talking about such horrific things. I’m sorry you had to go through that stuff, I hope you enjoy the good times, I do. Your story really touched me. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your honesty and vulnerability. I have wanted to know about the things you told for a very long time. I suffer from CPTSD, too, but for different reasons. About 20 years ago I got selected to be part of a pilot program for better mental health therapy for women with PTSD…at the White River Jct. VT VA hospital. Very slowly, humans are learning better techniques to help people like you and me to heal, but truly, the real healing has to be divine intervention, which is coming very soon and will end all war forever. My heart is very full after listening to your story, it was incredibly moving. There are better times ahead, and meantime, we learn the skill of endurance. Thank you doesn’t cover the gift you have given all those who listened to this.
Thank you for this. Vaughn Hood is a remarkable storyteller. To be able to describe his experiences with the eloquence of an author is so very rare. It takes a lifetime and real growth–spiritual and intellectual–to tell his stories as he did. There’s a wonderful symmetry in that, after experiencing the horrors of that war, he returns to barbering and specializes in cutting long hair. Long hair was our way as returning Nam vets to try to blend back into a culture that had almost passed us by while in country. The profession combines the gentleness of intimate human service with the small-conversations of a semi-psychiatrist. A listening bartender of the salon.
Thank you, Vaughn Hood. Welcome home, brother.
Michael Orange (author of “Fire in the Hole: A Mortarman in Vietnam” and “Embracing the Ghosts: PTSD and the Vietnam Quagmire”
Hay Vaughn
Really enjoyed your talk. I just finished writing my memoir, about going from a biker gang to working
in New York City with Paul Mitchell. In 1969 I spent three months on a lock ward
at the VA hospital in Boston…
My best friend on the ward escape and killed himself the day after I left I was not sent to Vietnam
I spentI spent 20 months in Germany. Where I became a true alcoholic.
Living with these 36 men for three months was a total immersion into the war and its futility.
We had four hours a day sitting in a circle talking about what brought us here.
I had my own hair salon on Newberry Street. My book comes out next year In The Con.
Dearest vaughn, just listened to this again for the second time. Moving to hear your stories and voice…I miss your jokes and our haircuting chats.. I hope you and Beverly are well and happy. Vermont misses you. Barbara
Vaughn, We just listened to this on our way to Thanksgiving with family. We are in awe of your bravery and clarity. Thank you for sharing your story. This is a beautiful and inspirational story.