The Show Must Go On: Fighter Pilot Folksongs of the Vietnam War

Abstract

This study examines fighter pilot folksongs of the Vietnam War and their relation to combat psychology scholarship using recorded folksongs and songbooks as primary source materials, in addition to fighter-pilot-songwriter interviews, and numerous secondary sources on folklore scholarship, Vietnam War history, and combat psychology. It first defines fighter pilot folksong within the context of the 1950s American folk revival which had a significant impact on the creation of folksongs by Vietnam War veterans. After then providing context to the experience of fighter pilots in the Vietnam War, this study uses previous folklore scholarship to categorize and sort 189 Vietnam fighter pilot folksongs. The resulting categorization of songs show a strong correlation of category themes and combat psychology suggesting a connection between folksongs and the management of combat stress.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1107520

Entities

People

  • Charles Jr C. Stretch

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Counter IED
  • Cyber
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Airframes
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Fish
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Geography
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Recreation
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Educational Psychology
  • Military Science