Professor Mike Carberry only pulled his gun once while in Vietnam, but he never used it.
When Carberry served as a Marine platoon commander, he only carried a .45 pistol in a shoulder holster.
“It was very much the culture of Marine officers back in the ’60s and the ’50s, is you lead; you don’t carry a weapon,” Carberry said. “You’re not there to shoot anybody. You’re there to lead.”
Even if he “wasn’t in danger until he was in danger,” Carberry didn’t want his parents to worry, so he typically downplayed how much he was in involved in the war.
They found out the truth when the New York Daily Post did a feature story on him. A reporter showed up to their house asking for a picture of Carberry, and his cover was blown.
Carberry said he was happy to be in the military. He still proudly mentions his father’s involvement in World War I and his son’s current position as a captain in the Marines with a twinkle in his eye.
When Carberry finished his three years of volunteer service as an enlisted soldier, he focused on his studies at Columbia University. He and the other veterans kept a low profile and avoided conflict with the anti-war activities that called U.S. soldiers “baby killers.”
“We used to say, ‘What are they going to do? Send us back to Vietnam?’” Carberry said.
But the stigma attached to Vietnam War veterans didn’t stop Carberry from eventually getting a job working in the advertising business in New York City, a lá “Mad Men.”
He managed advertising teams for Gatorade, Lipton Tea, Alka-Seltzer and other popular consumer products.
Carberry stayed in the reserves for 33 years, serving as the commanding officer of a unit in D.C. and the chief of staff to another in Georgia. He retired as a colonel.
He now teaches advertising in the Kogod School of Business. But in today’s new, changing digital media, Carberry gets as excited about learning about the material as he does teaching it.
“It’s a challenge for folks like me to teach digital to young students who grew up on digital who know it far better than I,” Carberry said.
He said his time in the military play a role in the way he teaches, as it gave him confidence and leadership skills that he uses to this day.
“I love teaching because it keeps me current,” Carberry said. “It keeps me alive.”
