{"id":317,"date":"2012-08-17T14:25:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-17T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.brethren.org\/bhla\/?p=317"},"modified":"2023-06-15T21:09:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T21:09:40","slug":"ted-studebaker-1945-1971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/hiddengems\/ted-studebaker-1945-1971\/","title":{"rendered":"Ted Studebaker (1945-1971)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By Virginia Harness, archival intern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ted Studebaker ABC News Story\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vTqLmFS4yDs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be unfair to say Ted Studebaker is a \u201chidden gem.\u201d In the Church of the Brethren, anyway, he is a something of a legend. At the time of his death, Ted\u2019s story even warranted a spot on the ABC news. He was anything but unknown. Still, as time passes and the wars of the last century become more and more distant in the cultural memory, it seems important to revisit the service of a man whose philosophy seems more relevant than ever in our conflict-ridden world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For those who are unfamiliar with Ted\u2019s story, here is the short version: Ted was a young man from Ohio, a member of the Church of the Brethren, who opted for alternative service when the draft board came knocking. He volunteered to go to Vietnam as an agricultural worker for the Vietnamese Christian Service (VCS), and served in the village of Di Linh for more than two years (he opted to stay for a third, although his required service was over).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"278\" height=\"400\" data-id=\"318\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ted-studebaker-on-porch.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ted-studebaker-on-porch.jpg 278w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ted-studebaker-on-porch-209x300.jpg 209w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 278px) 100vw, 278px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <em>Ted sitting on a porch in Vietnam.<\/em> Photo by Howard Royer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"276\" height=\"400\" data-id=\"319\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ted-studebaker-feeding-chicks.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ted-studebaker-feeding-chicks.jpg 276w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ted-studebaker-feeding-chicks-207x300.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 276px) 100vw, 276px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <em>Ted feeding chicks in Di Linh, Vietnam.<\/em>  Photo by Howard Royer <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"280\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/montagnard-rice-polisher.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/montagnard-rice-polisher.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/montagnard-rice-polisher-210x300.jpg 210w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Montagnard villagers with rice polisher in Di Linh, Vietnam. Photo by US Army<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>He fell in love with a fellow VCS worker from Hong Kong, Lee Ven Pak, and they were married on April 17, 1971. A week later, Viet Cong shelled Di Linh, sending its occupants running for the bunker. However, when the Viet Cong entered the village, Ted Studebaker wasn\u2019t in the bunker. He had returned to his bedroom, and there the soldiers found him. Ted was shot and killed, at the age of 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ted worked with an ethnic minority in Vietnam, whom he refers to as the Montagnard, a term dating back to French Colonial days. As the name implies, the Montagnard people dwelt in the highlands of Vietnam, about 140 miles northeast of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City. They spoke their own unique language, requiring Ted to learn not only Vietnamese, but also the local tongue, Koho. He worked on numerous projects during his time Vietnam, including a project to raise a new kind of chicken that would produce more meat, and bringing agricultural technology to the remote village, such as a rice polisher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although their time together was short, Ted was clearly very much in love with his wife and fellow service worker, Lee Ven Pak, or \u2018Pakdy\u2019. According to an account written by his brother Gary, Ted said of his fianc\u00e9: \u201cI\u2019ve never known such a real and honest person as Pakdy, humble too by golly! There just isn\u2019t any other way\u2026war or no war, I\u2019m getting married. Yippee!\u201d Their wedding invitation was written in four languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Koho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"339\" data-id=\"322\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/studebaker-wedding-invitation-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/studebaker-wedding-invitation-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/studebaker-wedding-invitation-1-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <em>The cover of Ted Studebaker and Lee Van Pak&#8217;s wedding invitation, 1971.<\/em>  Image courtesy of BHLA <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"388\" data-id=\"323\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ven-pak-studebaker.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ven-pak-studebaker.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/08\/ven-pak-studebaker-232x300.jpg 232w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <em>Ven Pak Studebaker<\/em>.  Photo by Howard Royer <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\nBefore he left for Vietnam, he posed the following question to his home congregation: \u201cWhat can I do about man\u2019s inhumanity to man?\u201d Ted lived his answer every day until his death, and his story makes us ask the same question of ourselves, even 40 years later.\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It may be unfair to say Ted Studebaker is a \u201chidden gem.\u201d In the Church of the Brethren, anyway, he is a something of a legend. At the time of his death, Ted\u2019s story even warranted a spot on the ABC news. He was anything but unknown. Still, as time passes and the wars of the last century become more and more distant in the cultural memory, it seems important to revisit the service of a man whose philosophy seems more relevant than ever in our conflict-ridden world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[3,2,10,91,90,92],"class_list":["post-317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hidden-gems","tag-bhla","tag-brethren-historical-library-and-archives","tag-hidden-gem","tag-lee-ven-pak","tag-ted-studebaker","tag-vietnam"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":505,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317\/revisions\/505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/bhla\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}