Papers of Howard L. Hayden, a Vietnam veteran from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, who was drafted in February 1967 and served with a U.S. Army mechanized reconnaissance unit (25th Infantry Division, 4th Battalion) based in Cư Chi and Tây Ninh from August 1967 to August 1968. Hayden, a dyslexic, began writing about his combat experiences as part of his work with a literacy tutor in 1993. The collection includes manuscript drafts of stories, typescripts (prepared by Susan Anderson, his literacy tutor), a memoir, and a published volume titled “A Soldier's Story: Tracks, Tunnels and the Tet Offensive” (1999); original letters written by Hayden to his mother and sister Nancy from the beginning of his Army training to the end of his tour in Vietnam, some of which mention events which later figure in his stories; service records and awards; a published article; and captioned copies of photographs taken in the field and at Cư Chi. His stories are notable for their soldier's-eye view of matters such as clearing tunnels, knocking down woods, providing security for convoys, personal safety, and life in the field and in base camp. Some photographs and transparencies relate to the stories. Images include camp housing and facilities, mined roads, equipment, living in the field, a camp memorial service, and fellow soldiers.