Interviewed by:
Sarah Kelly and Emma Frey

"We hope to prevent future wars by going to war." -
~ Paul Mendes (10:15)

Paul Mendes' Story:

Paul Mendes' story is one of heroism and the American way. He was born and raised in Provincetown Massachusetts, and is proud to have been. He comes from a line of fishermen as many people living on the Cape do. Paul could have just joined the family business and avoided the draft. Back then, if someone worked on a fishing boat in a small fishing town such as Provincetown, they were given a waiver on their draft in order to support the town’s economy. But this was not the path for Paul. Straight out of high school Paul joined the service as many of the men of his generation did. He was destined for the Marine Corps, where he would later serve his country and change his life. He met many friends overseas, such as Lieutenant Tho, a translator for Paul's unit overseas. Lieutenant Tho gifted Paul with a South Vietnamese flag, inscripted with his name for him to remember his time in Vietnam. But Paul also lost a friend whom he served with, someone who he will never forget. Chester Joy lost his life at only 18 years old, serving our country. Gone but not forgotten, and while he will never be able to read this we thank him for his service.

After his tour in Vietnam, Paul returned to his hometown of Provincetown MA and was prepared to return to service. However, life had other plans as he was then selected for government work. After that job ended, he moved back home after two years, only to bump into a girl he knew for 12 years, who would later become his wife of 47 years. After the service Paul became a Police officer, something his time as a Marine prepared him for. He also raised two, now adult, sons. Yet as much as he was honored to serve and would do it again, Paul did suffer from nightmares and flashbacks to his time in Vietnam. Often times he wouldn’t believe he was home and believed he was still there. Luckily he hasn’t had those nightmares in many years.Opening up about his service time was never very easy for Paul, and there are still people today who don’t know about the details of his service. We thank him for allowing us to interview him and hope those curious about him will find this website in good faith. He still resides in Provincetown MA and is very proud of and happy with how his life has been so far.