His name was Adrian Cronauer. He was born in 1938 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his father was a steelworker, and his mother was a teacher.
At the early age of 12, he began broadcasting for a children’s amateur hour. Later, he attended the University of Pittsburgh where he led a group that founded the school’s first student radio station, now known as WPTS-FM.
In the early 1960s, he enlisted in the military, instead of waiting on the draft. After deliberating about entering flight training, which entailed a longer service commitment, Cronauer chose broadcasting and media operations, ultimately becoming a US Radio and Television Broadcasting Specialist. His service spanned the years from 1963 to 1967. After training in Texas, he eventually rose to the rank of Sergeant E4.
While best known for his service in Vietnam, Cronauer began by working on training films, and then was sent for a year and a half to the island of Crete in Greece, where he was stationed at Iraklion Air Station.
In 1965, he volunteered for a transfer to Vietnam because he wanted to travel. Upon arriving there, his first job was as news director for Armed Forces Radio in Saigon. But when the morning host’s slot became vacant shortly after his arrival, he took over the show, known as Dawn Buster because it started at 6 a.m. He opened with his signature schtick of, “Goooooood morning Vietnam!”, which became immortalized as the subsequent movie’s title.
Cronauer left Saigon in 1966, but subsequent DJs continued to use his signature greeting. His military awards include the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, The National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, with the bronze Service Star the Air Force Longevity Service Award, the Vietnam Gallantry Unit Award and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
After the Vietnam war, Cronauer went on to work at various radio stations as a news anchor and in other capacities.
In 1987, the American film Good Morning, Vietnam, was produced. Loosely based on the experiences of Adrian Cronauer, the movie reflects conflict during the Vietnam war in 1965.
Robin Williams played a starring role as radio DJ on the Armed Forced Radio Service, becoming hugely popular with the troops, but hugely unpopular with his superiors, identifying his radio presentation as an, “irreverent tendency”.
While Cronauer was hugely unpopular with his superiors, in contrast, the soldiers were greatly encouraged by his impromptu broadcasts.
Good Morning, Vietnam was one of the most successful films of the year, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 1987. Robin Williams won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film made the list of the American Film Institutes Funniest American Movies.
The information above offers a perspective of those who offer tremendous support to our military during the War. May we now always offer tremendous support to the men and women of our own military, deployed to the Ukraine.
In honor of our Veterans, the men and women who serve and have served, our country. We are forever grateful.
For the support of your life
For the many sides of life
The thoughts and intentions expressed in the Conversant Counselor’s Blog are those belonging to Paulette Jackson lpc-mhsp and do not necessarily reflect those of any other professional or individual.
References:
- Credit: Even though Robin Williams’ now-famous morning greeting doesn’t make people think of the real Adrian Cronauer, it does a pretty good job of representing who Cronauer was at heart. The former airman; We Are The Mighty.
- Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams, 1987/Metro UK
