James Wilson: Interrogating Prisoners

By David Adams, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran Interview Volunteer

James E. Wilson, known as “Skip,” grew up in Island Lake and graduated from Wauconda High School with the class of 1967.  He was active in athletics, especially cross country.  Intent on becoming a Naval aviator he attended the University of Illinois joining the Navy ROTC program.  However, after a year and a half he left the U of I.  Earning his “wings” would wait for another day. He took some classes at Elgin Community College with plans to enroll later at Northern Illinois.  Jim was well aware that he had lost his 2-S student draft deferment.  He remembers that he was in the first draft lottery in 1970. The Wonder Lake draft board called his number in April after which he got his letter for induction into the Army. Thus, he joined family who served or would serve in Vietnam: several cousins and his brother-in-law.

He was inducted on May 11, 1970 and attended basic training at Fort Lewis, WA for the obligatory 12 weeks.  Toward the end of basic he took a language aptitude test and “did very well’.  Jim was offered a choice of two MOS: medic, or interpreter/interrogator.  He chose the latter. The Army Vietnamese language training course was conducted at the Defense Language Institute school at Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX.  He spent the rest of 1970 and much of 1971 learning Vietnamese. Although he passed the 30-week course with ease, he said he never gained much fluency in Vietnamese. He emphasizes that he learned enough so he could tell if his South Vietnamese Army interpreter counterpart was telling him the truth.  Finally he had training on interrogation techniques during a two-month course at the U.S. Army Intelligence School, Fort Holabird, NJ.  Skip graduated on May 20, 1971 ready for deployment to Vietnam.  

After a 30-day leave he flew to South Vietnam at the end of June landing at Tan Son Nhut AB, Saigon on the 25th.  From there he caught a ride up to I Corps and the 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles” headquartered at Camp Eagle just south of Hue.  Skip split his tour operating from Phu Bai Combat Base (also known as Phu Bai Airfield and Camp Hochmuth) also near Hue.  

Skip and his South Vietnamese interpreter partner interrogated North Vietnamese Army (NVA) prisoners.  Most of them had been wounded, thus interviews were conducted in the hospital, a “MASH”, where they were undergoing medical procedures. Time was of the essence both due to a soldier’s medical condition and the inherent fragility of intelligence. Interrogations followed a well-developed script with standard questions. In accordance with Army intelligence procedures he wore no rank so that the prisoners would not know his status.  He and his fellow interrogators scrupulously followed the Geneva Convention precisely.

Typical topics of interest were the location of the soldier’s unit, where it had been operating, its mission, and unit strength.  From time-to-time answers revealed the existence of captured American soldiers and where they were being kept.  Then a special ops team immediately was sent out to find the captives.  Skip regrets that no American prisoners were ever located and repatriated based on his interrogations.

One night he has tasked to fly out to a remote artillery base to question some prisoners.  Apparently, some of the NVA had been captured attempting to infiltrate the base.  He flew in a Huey escorted by two Cobra gunships on either side of his helicopter.  He could not see the escorts because all three choppers were blacked out, but he could hear them. His team completed its mission successfully and flew back in daylight. Another memorable flight was to an interrogation site located at a South Vietnamese army outpost.  Transport provided was a two-person Loach helicopter.  He was the first of his team to be dropped off in the middle of a jungle clearing.  He remembers feeling “very alone”, being the only American soldier amidst the South Vietnamese soldiers until the Loach returned with his interpreter.

Toward the end of his tour he was a passenger in a truck which overturned by accident. His resulting head wound required 30 stitches. He spent three days in the hospital.  Knowing that Miss America was coming to his base for the Bob Hope Christmas show he hoped she would visit the hospital. Skip insists that the brass “kicked him out” of the hospital before she arrived insisting he had not been wounded in battle and was unworthy of special attention. 

He was able to attend the Bob Hope Christmas show at Camp Eagle on Christmas Eve 1971. He enjoyed it thoroughly!  Shortly thereafter on January 9 he boarded a Freedom Flight headed for the States and the end of his Army service commitment.  Jim received his honorable discharge as a Spec 4 (E-4) on January 10, 1972.  He holds the Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Medal, and the Expert Marksman M-16 badge.

Once back home he continued pursuing his dream of becoming a pilot.  Using the GI Bill Jim attended flight school in Florida in 1972-73.  He obtained his commercial, multiengine, CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) and CFII (Certified Flight Instructor – Instrument ) certificates.  Returning to Illinois he taught flying at Priester Aviation, Palwaukee Airport (now Chicago Executive) instructing in the Cessna line of piston driven airplanes including the multi engine Cessna 310. Although he admits all his students were important, one stands out: David Axelrod. Axelrod at the time lived and worked in Chicago much later serving in the Obama Administration. 

He next joined the FAA as an air traffic controller.  He was assigned to the Chicago Center Air Route Traffic Controller Center (ARTCC) located in Aurora.  His FAA job evaporated when he and 11,000 striking air traffic controllers were fired by President Reagan in August, 1981. After taking computer programming courses he began work as a software developer for Cummins-Allison, a company which creates currency handling and coin handling systems headquartered in Mount Prospect. He retired in April 2020 as a senior systems analyst after 31 years with the company.  

He and his wife Barbara have two children, a daughter who teaches school and a son with a PhD in Music. Their favorite vacation locale is Virginia Beach.  On their bucket list is a visit to the Invasion Beaches of Normandy.

Reflecting on his Vietnam service, Jim says, “I didn’t want to be there, but I’m glad I did it.”  He is looking forward to his Day of Honor!

Thank you, Skip, for your dedication and distinguished service during challenging times. Enjoy your special day of honor in Washington D.C. with your comrades in arms!  Expect a splendid welcome home.