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Resident of Month, Grace Searle-Spratt

July 22, 2019

Soldiers were not the only ones in Vietnam during the years 1955 to 1975, Grace Searle-Spratt was in Vietnam as a civilian from 1966 to 1969. Grace is an 80-year-old resident who volunteered to travel to Vietnam during the Vietnam War working for the state department. As a civilian Grace was sent to the southern part of Vietnam for 3 and a half years in 3 different cities Saigon, Nha Trang, and Qui Nhon. While southern Vietnam was not where most of the fighting during the war took place, Grace has seen parts of this war first hand. While war was prevalent during her time in Vietnam, she also talks about her time learning Vietnams culture and its people. While in Saigon, Grace had an opportunity to teach English to young adults. She spent 3 months by lantern teaching these young adults. She was also invited by the young adults she was teaching to join their families for dinner. Grace was willing to learn about their culture which allowed people to accept her. Grace states that her time in Vietnam was wild, educational, stressful, and most of all satisfying. While she was not on the front lines like many of the veterans in Vietnam, she was exposed to the culture and way of life of the people of Vietnam.