School of Liberal Arts, Sociology

Duane Matcha, Ph.D., professor of sociology, served alongside other truck drivers in Vietnam. At least that's the lie they would tell people. The truth required top secret clearance. But not anymore...

Several years ago, one of Matcha's grandsons, eight or nine at the time, showed an interest in spies. Matcha, with his daughter's permission, indulged the fantasy. He taught the third grader how to build a cipher wheel so that he could relay coded messages to his friends during class. What does Matcha know about coded messages? He was an American spy during Vietnam.  

For many years, there were only two pieces of information included in Matcha's official military record. The date in November of 1969 that he arrived in Vietnam, and the date in November of 1970 that he left for home. What happened during the 12 months in between was classified. Not even Matcha's wife knew what her husband, a member of the Army Security Agency, was doing in the war. The documents were only recently made public. Fifty years later, Matcha is ready and finally able to tell his story...

"For a long time, I buried it. I didn't want to talk about it or deal with it. People didn't ask that much. But the Army Security Agency played a critical role in the war. I want to speak as a tribute for all of us who had to remain silent."

If he had bothered to do his homework, he never would have been in Vietnam, or the Army for that matter. Matcha was a student at Minot State in North Dakota on a college deferment. But as it turns out, if you flunk out of school, you lose your immunity. Matcha and his new bride considered dodging in Canada (the border wasn't that far away). Ultimately, though, he complied with Uncle Sam's request and met with an Army recruiter. When the results of his aptitude test came in, the recruiter suggested a special program for people with special skills (Matcha's college grades were a reflection on his study habits, not his high intellect). Matcha was told that this particular unit would not be deployed to Vietnam. That wasn't entirely true. As far as the world was concerned, the Army Security Agency was not in Vietnam. You don't let the enemy know where you're sending your spies. 

Matcha was part of a two-man team. He was the technician and always paired with a trained linguist. The Vietnamese would transmit sensitive and coded information on a low-end radio band. Matcha would covertly close to within hundreds of yards of the enemy and steal the signal. Next, they'd get the recording to the American decoders who decipher the tactical intelligence in time for commanders to react to the Vietnamese plans.

"The missions were all very classified. I was cleared for special intelligence. If I told a major to get me a chopper quick, he did it. One time it saved my life."   

Their location was overrun by the enemy and a chopper was called to extract Matcha. He had a valuable recording containing life and death information that needed to be delivered by hand. As the helicopter started to land in the open field, Matcha made a break for it, hoping he wouldn't step on a landmine. That would be the least of his concerns. Under heavy gunfire, the helicopter started to abort its landing. Matcha was now exposed and defenseless in an open field. This is how it ends, he thought. 

A man from Matcha's unit was on the helicopter. He put a small firearm to the pilot's head and told him to land at all costs. We have one mission, it's to pick up that soldier. Matcha was able to hop on the helicopter. The information he intercepted saved American lives, and cost countless Viet Cong their lives. That's part of the moral conflict of war. It's another reason to say silent. The truth was classified; it was also complicated. 

Matcha served in Vietnam for 12 months before he was honorably discharged six months early. He went back to school. He had a daughter. He took a sociology course and found his passion. He's been a member of the Siena faculty for 30 years, and at the end of this semester, he'll retire. But as this chapter ends, he's finally able to talk about a long lost chapter of his life. It's an important part of American history. It's also a story that will absolutely blow his grandson's mind. 

"We had members from the Army Security Agency who were killed in action flying aircraft and intelligence gathering. In the jungle, because of the canopy, the reception is short. We were sometimes within 100 yards of the enemy. For so long, it was a secret. We don't have to hide in the shadows anymore. I can tell the truth. These people existed. And this is what happened."