►
Description
A community event program hosted by Northwestern Health Sciences University and the City of Bloomington. The program opens with a video of interviews and stories from local Vietnam veterans and family. As you watch the video, think about how the Vietnam experience may compare, or differ, from current events and veteran experiences.
A panel discussion follows with Vietnam veterans and veterans recently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as they discuss their experiences and respond to audience questions.
A
Good
evening,
everybody
welcome
I'm
Chris
kassir,
president
and
CEO
of
Northwestern
Health
Sciences
University
and
I'd
like
to
welcome
you
to
our
program
tonight,
which
is
the
continued
discussion
of
Vietnam
War
stories
as
told
through
the
voices
of
those
who
served.
We
are
honored
and
appreciate
your
participation
and
tonight's
event.
I'm
also
honored,
to
welcome
a
gentleman
who's
been
instrumental
in
helping
to
put
together
the
videos
and
the
materials
were
going
to
review
tonight
and
the
panel
discussion
we're
going
to
participate
in.
Please
join
me
in
welcoming
the
special
assistant
to
my
office.
Dr.
A
Part
of
the
reason
why
we
came
to
this
program
event
tonight
to
tell
stories
through
the
voices
of
those
who
had
been
a
part
of
the
war
was
because,
when
we
began
planning
for
how
we
would
recognize
this
generation
of
veterans,
many
of
us
sat
in
a
room
together
in
partnership
with
the
city
of
Bloomington
and
talked
about.
What
can
we
do?
What
can
we
do?
What
should
we
do,
and
one
of
our
one
of
our
vets
who
unfortunately
passed
away
just
a
week
ago,
who
was
very
instrumental
in
the
program
with
us
said?
A
Maybe
you
should
ask
us-
and
it
was
one
of
those
moments
where
we
realized
this,
isn't
our
story
to
tell
it
is
the
stories
of
those
who
are
there,
there's
the
stories
of
the
families
and
those
generations
after
those
who
served,
who
need
to
have
a
voice
and
an
opportunity
to
talk
about
their
experience,
their
pain,
their
conflict
and
what
it's
been
like
since
so
again,
I
ask
you
to
join
us
as
we
play
an
important
part
tonight
in
this
community
event.
In
listening
and
with
that,
please
join
me
in
welcoming
dr.
B
Thanks
dr.
Kucera
I'd,
first
like
to
extend
my
appreciation
to
those
who
provided
the
still
shots
and
home
movies
that
you
saw
when
you
came
in.
It
just
occurred
to
me
that
for
those
of
you
who
are
in
Vietnam
boy,
if
you
had
had
iPhones
at
the
time,
what
that
would
have
been
really
something
before
we
proceed
in
and
Kris
just
alluded
to
this
Edie
Sherman,
who
left
understandably
after
dinner,
lost
her
husband
Ron
on
October
28th
after
a
brief
illness.
B
He
was
a
member
of
our
partnership
committee
and
in
an
experience
I'll,
never
forget
he
was
the
first
veteran
I
interviewed
and
it
was.
It
was
quite
something
he
was
a
fighter.
He
was
fiercely
independent,
stubborn
I
found
that
out
and
just
a
delightful
gentleman,
the
Vietnam
War
and
the
Vietnam
War,
a
fiftieth
anniversary
commemorative
partnership
is
supported
by
the
Human
Services
Division.
B
The
event
tonight
is
one
of
many
projects
and,
for
our
part,
northwestern
volunteered
to
conduct
a
series
of
interviews
with
Vietnam
veterans
and
family
members
and
to
memorialize
those
conversations
in
a
collection
of
videos.
The
inspiration
for
this
project
came
together
from
several
veterans
when
they
emphasized
the
need
and
the
opportunity
for
men
and
women
who
served
to
talk
to
reflect
and
to
share
their
stories.
B
Over
two
and
a
half
million
Americans
bravely
served
and
over
58,000
died
in
a
war
that
was
waged
during
a
divisive
and
contentious
period
in
American
history
and
as
thousands
of
young
men
and
men
fought
in
the
jungles
and
highlands
of
Vietnam
Laos
and
Cambodia
many
others
back
home,
burned
or
tore
up
their
draft
cards
or
joined
an
unrelenting
movement.
An
unrelenting
protest
movement
that
ended
with
the
fall
of
Saigon
in
1975.
B
B
While
they
come
from
two
different
generations.
They
share
similar
experiences,
including
physical
and
emotional
trauma,
personal
loss
and
other
challenges.
Most
of
us
have
never
had
to
face
and
when
I
asked
our
panel
members
to
join
me,
you'll
meet
Katie
carpenter
from
Twin
Cities
public
TV
will
moderate
a
discussion
between
these
men
and
women,
but
first
let's
watch
and
hear
from
eight
whose
lives
were
deeply
affected
by
the
Vietnam
War
I.
C
D
Was
1969
before
I
joined
I
had
a
number
of
friends
that
had
gone
over
and
they
came
back
and
they
were
very
changed.
So
I
had
a
pretty
good
feel
that
I
was
in
a
very
bad
situation
either
I
volunteered
or
I
was
drafted,
so
I
had
very
little
choice
in
the
matter,
though.
Some
people
disagree
with
me,
but
I
wasn't
going
to
go
to
Canada.
It
was
not
my
style.
It's
not
my
family
style.
I
grew.
F
The
army
in
1955,
with
a
buddy
we
were
both
gonna,
be
high
school
dropouts
and
when
it
had
the
buddy
system
end
and
we
joined
the
army,
they
said
you'll
stick
together.
Through
the
whole
tourist
service,
Jack
went
to
the
inventory
and
I
went
to
tanks.
We
never
saw
each
other
again
until
after
the
war,
I.
G
H
I
E
I
C
We
got
into
Oakland
California
and
do
remember
there
were
protesters
outside
the
gate,
they
pulled
the
Train
inside
and
we
got
right
off
of
the
train
right
onto
a
troop
ship.
It
was
the
USS
Blanche
for
5000
military
people
on
that.
One
ship
I
do
remember
going
underneath
the
Oakland
Bay
Bridge
and
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge
and
past
Alcatraz,
and
then
it
took
us
about
a
month.
I.
I
E
Got
my
orders
on
a
Friday
and
I
remember
calling
home
to
my
parents
and
telling
them,
and
my
parents
seemed
they're
blase
about
it.
You
know
and
I'm
like
my
mother's
going
well,
I
mean
you
knew
that
no,
you
know
and
my
father's,
like,
oh
okay,
uh-huh!
Well,
we
have
to
go
now
work
we're
going
out
well.
G
You're
flying
in
a
commercial
airplane,
and
then
you
saw
all
these
little
fires
down
there
battles,
or
is
that
just
you
know,
burning
garbage
or
whatever
and
that's
what
it
turned
out
to
be.
But
you
know
I'm,
you
have
these
things
going
through
your
head,
the
minute,
your
overhead,
even
before
you
even
planned
it.
It.
I
Was
out
in
one
of
the
revetments
doing
something
or
another
and
they
were
big
enough
to
hold
two
or
three
aircraft
all
of
a
sudden
boom
a
loud
loud
explosion?
We
had
a
bunker
sandbag
bunker
about
100
feet,
I
think
from
where
I
was
and
I
thought.
If
I
can
get
to
that
bunker,
I'll
be
okay,
I
went
for
the
door
of
the
office
and
I
and
I
heard
one
or
one
or
two
more
rockets
come
in
and
by
the
way
these
were
Rockets
140
millimeter,
Russian
Rockets.
I
J
I
D
I
I
tried
to
move,
I
tried
to
get
up
and
I
couldn't
couldn't
move
anything
I
couldn't
feel
anything,
and
then
it
scared
me
did
it
just
all
of
a
sudden
I
think
it
was
that
point.
I
realized,
I
got
hit
and
fear
came
over
me
just
unbelievable
fear.
I
I've
never
experienced
it
before
and
I
never
hope.
Never
again,
then,.
D
They
brought
it
on,
they
had
their
the
medevacs
and
they
we
had
enough
casually.
So
the
helicopters
had
a
land
inside
of
a
very,
very
small
small
perimeter.
In
fact
they
couldn't
normally
get
in
there,
but
they
flew
those
birds
and
dropped
him
in
right.
Next
to
our
mess
hall,
there
was
gunfire.
There
were
gunfights
going
on
all
around
it.
I
mean
the
NVA
was
in
one
part
of
the
mess
hall.
D
Our
people
were
on
the
other
end
and
they
were
shooting
through
the
doors
through
the
doors
and
the
missile
was
never
the
same
after
that.
There's
bullet
holes
everywhere,
but
I
remember
he
loaded
us
I
was
on
one
of
the
second
or
third
have
medevacs
coming
in
and
I
remember
getting
up
in
the
air
and
I
could
see
the
enemy
use.
D
G
G
The
perimeter
and
I
looked
out,
I
was
looking
down
at
the
ground
and
I
noticed
a
tripwire,
a
spoon,
that's
how
we
put
the
tripwire
and
in
the
mind
so
that
this,
when
the
spoon
got
pulled
out,
just
a
plastic
spoon,
it
would
explode.
I
saw
that
lay
in
there
somebody,
the
guy
in
front
of
me,
it
tripped
it.
So
it
was
inactivated
at
the
time,
but
I
knew
I
knew
instantly
what
that
meant.
It
meant
that
somebody
was
unrolling
their
cord
and
they
would
eventually
plug
it.
G
D
The
one
I
know
for
sure
died
was
our
medic.
He
was
shot
and
left
to
scream
to
try
to
draw
us
out
of
the
bunkers,
and
at
that
point
nobody
took
in
prisons
to
kill
every
every
wounded
enemy
they
found
in
that
situation.
So
it
was,
it
was
something
else,
I
mean
it
was
you
never
want
to
experience
it
again?
I
was.
G
I
G
F
I
F
F
I
I
Well
finally,
he
got
he
said
he
drove
about
five
miles
while
these
Rockets
are
coming
in
that
we've
got
56
rockets
in
that
night
and
he
said
he
ran
into
a
fence
and
screwed
up
his
radiator
and
that
was
streaming
out
steam
and
everything,
but
finally
got
over
to
Marble
Mountain.
There
was
a
naval
field
station
there,
a
kind
of
a
mash
type
thing,
I
guess
when
he
got
over
there
to
Marble
Mountain.
F
Had
I've
left
my
unit
and
gone
to
the
dang
hospital
and
visited
wounded
people,
one
of
the
worst
guys
that
I
ever
had
wounded,
we
dusted
him
off
and
he
went
to
the
hospital.
When
I
went
down
there
to
see
him,
he
was
gray
and
they
said
well
he's
not
going
to
make
it.
When
I
got
back
to
Fort
Knox
Kentucky.
This
person
come
running
across
with
the
snack
bar
and
said
Sarge
Sarge.
He
made
it
it's
just
an
amazing,
you
know
he
you
don't
know
you
just
really
don't
know.
I
H
E
The
last
place
I
went
to
was
the
VA
in
Minneapolis,
and
one
of
the
people
I
met
at
that
time
was
Ron
schwarmann
and
he
was
one
of
the
people
that
I
never
forgot
in
all
those
years
and
I
met
him
once
since
then,
and
that
was
in
2009.
I
saw
this
fellow
in
a
wheelchair
who
was
a
triple
amputee
and
I
kind
of
looked
at
him
and
then
I
said.
Are
you
were
on
from
the
VA
in
like
1967,
and
he
says
yes
and
I
said
well.
E
H
Was
in
high
school
and
we
volunteered
this
first
aid
groups,
we
went
into
the
battlefield,
they
helped.
Families
distribute
food
and
medical
education
and
also
the
refugees
camps
to
help
them,
and
so
that
was
the
first
time
we
saw
our
Air
Force
bombarding
our
own
buildings
and
then
corpses
stinking
bombardment,
massacring
thousands
and
thousands
of
civilians
are
trying
to
escape.
He.
E
E
Anybody
who
says
they
don't
have
it
is
lying
cuz
I
mean
I,
don't
care
who
you
are
it's
got
being
in
auras
gotta
affect
you
and
I,
don't
think
it
happens
right
at
first
it
kind
of
sneaks
up
on
you
and
I
think
it's
anxiety
and
depression
and
crying
about
stuff
that
you
think.
Why
am
I
crying
about
this
when.
K
We
got
married
I
was
not
aware
that
he
had
post-traumatic
stress
disorder
and
we
were
very
much
in
love
as
newlyweds,
then
and
happy
all
the
time
and
then
all
of
a
sudden.
Without
any
provocation
he
would
explode
and
become
somebody
I
did
not
know
a
monster
and
I
had
no
idea
where
this
anger
came
from.
We.
L
Should
get
the
Life
magazine
number
one?
The
Life
magazine
was
out
and
they
had
the
cover
of
the
Vietnam
War.
They
had
an
issue
where
there
were
children
by
the
vets
and
and
the
women,
and
so
they
had
a
picture
of
all
these
kids
that
were
dis
only
because
they
had
American
fathers,
okay
and
there
was
a
little
girl
in
there.
She
must
have
been
about
11
years
old.
It
was
a
picture
of
her
and
he
brought
that
magazine
to
me.
He
said
see:
I
told
you
and
that
look.
K
What
he
did
with
his
anger
is
every
time
he
got
anger,
he'd
stuck
his
musket
and
then
they
got
angry
gimme
stuff.
His
musket
tell
your
musket
gets
full
and
you
have
to
let
it
all
out,
and
he
we
we've
done
a
lot
of
work
just
between
the
two
of
us
of
talking
things
out
and
when
he
gets
angry,
don't
tell
me
he's
angry
or
if
he
thinks
I'm
angry
I'll
say.
Are
you
angry
with
me
or
no?
He.
L
F
L
When
he
would
start
drinking
or
he
would
be
on
his
medication
and
stuff,
he
just
what
attacked
me.
You
know
he
would
just
he
said:
I'm
gonna
show
you
what
I
would
do
to
one.
You
know
and
that's
that's
I
lived
in
a
very
abusive
relationship.
He
does
what
he
saw
in
me
when
he
saw
her
any
shorter.
Tell
me
that's
what
and
I
realize
that.
E
L
Told
the
story
about
a
good
friend
of
his,
and
that
was
with
him
in
Vietnam
and
they
were
coming
down
the
hill.
You
know
because
they
were
frontline,
they
were
in
the
combat
zone
and
a
grenade
came,
and
his
friend
pushed
him
out
of
the
way
and
he
got
hit
with
a
grenade
and
Eric
was
he
was
unconscious
when
the
medic
found
him
and
when
he
opened
his
eyes.
L
He
saw
his
hand
on
his
chest
and
his
ring
was
there,
and
so
it
was
his
part
that
was
on
Eric's
body
that
he
saw
and
that's
when
he
lost
it,
and
that's
the
only
thing
that
really
stuck
with
him.
He
kept
reliving
that
over
and
over
that's
what
messed
him
up.
Let's
just
was
to
see
that
to
to
go
through
next
I
think
everything
else
he
went
through
became
very
small
in
comparison
to
to
that
incident
right
there,
because
that's
the
only
thing
he
ever
talked
about.
We
didn't
talk
about
anything
else.
D
E
The
time
I
thought
it
was
doing
the
right
thing
and
I
still
think
I
was
over
there
to
take
care
of
GIS
and
on
the
side,
I
was
over
there
taking
care
of
little
kids
where
I
want
to
take
wherever
I
was
supposed
to
be
I
want
to
taking
care
of
people
in
Detroit.
I
want
to
take
care
of
old
people
in
Texas,
I
didn't
care
I.
D
L
Always
hoped
that
my
older
brother
would
talk
about
his
experience
in
Vietnam
because
he
held
everything
in
and
and
he's
quiet.
You
know
he's
a
he.
He
was
a
perfect
marine.
When
I
see
him,
he
he
still
walks.
You
know
completely
erect
with
his
head
up
high,
no
matter
what
he's
going
through,
even
when
he
was
told
he
had
cancer
and
he
had
to
have
this
surgery.
You
know
no
chemo
I'm,
not
doing
any
of
that,
but
I
have
also
seen
the
other
side
when
he
talks
about
Vietnam.
That
takes
him
to
a
dark
place.
L
You
know
and
when
it
takes
him
there
it
takes
you
there,
the
anger,
the
frustration
everything
comes
out.
You
know
the
profanity,
you
know
everything
comes
out
and
the
volume
goes
up
here
because
beyond
where
he
is
and
the
last
time
he
did
that
to
me.
I
just
completely
shut
down
and
I
didn't
say
anything,
but
when
he
started
coming
down
right
here,
he
thanked
me.
He
said
thank
you
for
listening
to
me.
Thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
get
that
out.
It's.
F
C
B
As
I
was
putting
that
together,
I
was,
it
was
curious
about
the
plastic
spoon.
It
didn't
make
any
sense
to
me
so
I'm
googling,
claymore
mines
and
plastic
spoons
and
tripwires
and
I
came
to
find
out
that
there
was
actually
an
official
army
issued
plastic
spoon
came
in
a
big
brown
box.
It
said
US
Army
and
there
was
a
you
know
thing.
J
B
The
army
actually
had
plastic
spoons
that
you
could
only
use
army
issued
plastic
spoons,
apparently
to
trip
Claremont.
What
you
just
saw
was
drawn
from
over
12
hours
of
conversation,
and
it
was
fascinating
and
I'm
deeply
grateful
for
the
privilege
I
had
to
visit
with
these
men
and
women.
But
now
it's
my
pleasure
to
introduce
our
panelists
we'll
have
some
conversation.
First,
our
moderator,
Katie
carpenter.
Katie.
Could
you
come
up.
M
That
was
a
powerful,
powerful
video
well
done,
and
thanks
to
all
of
you
for
sharing
your
personal
stories
and
helping
us
understand
this
powerful
time
in
history
and
just
being
so
open
with
your
experiences
so
and
learning
and
really
looking
forward
to
learning
from
you
again
tonight
Mike.
Can
you
just
tell
me
a
little
bit
about
your
experience
going
into
Vietnam?
Did
you
enlist
how
what
was
that
process
like
I
was.
D
A
college
graduate
1969
and
I
had
the
choice
of
either
enlisting
or
being
drafted
and
I
chose
to
enlist
in
an
area
with
the
US
Army
that
I
thought
it
could
be
helpful
and
that
was
in
geography.
So
I
was
a
map.
Person
and
I
was
able
to
be
assigned
to
the
artillery
and
I
served
in
Vietnam
in
1974.
My
two-year
part
of
my
two-year
tour.
M
L
Brother
used
to
get
in
a
little
bit
of
trouble
every
now
and
then
back
in
the
60s.
They
used
to
call
them
bad
boy,
schools
and
it's
like
juvenile
detention,
and
it
was
just
third
round
going
to
the
bad
boy
school,
and
so
the
judge
at
that
time
gave
him
a
choice.
He
could
either
go
into
juvenile
detention
or
he
can
enlist
and
the
draft
was
in
force.
So
he
did
not
want
to
go
to
the
army,
so
he
decided
to
the
Marines.
L
Did
I
feel
I
didn't
quite
understand
what
was
going
on
during
that
time
it
seemed
normal
only
because
I
didn't
understand
what
the
Vietnam
War
was
about.
Actually
didn't
come
to
terms
with
it
until
the
early
70s,
when
I
was
when
my
husband
came
back
and
I
had
to
deal
with
him.
That's
when
I
understood
what
the
world
was
about
well,.
L
M
E
Well
after
I
had
I
joined
the
army
about
three
months
before
I
graduated
from
college
and
I.
Think
in
doing
that,
I
pretty
much
knew.
I
was
gonna
end
up
going
to
Vietnam,
but
when
I
got
my
I
didn't
think
I
get
orders
quite
as
soon
as
I
did
I
thought.
I'd
have
a
little
bit
more
experience.
So
once
I
got
the
orders,
I
was
somewhat
nervous
going
there
I
had
four
months
experience.
E
It's
a
nurse
I,
don't
think
it
was
quite
ready
for
a
war
yet,
but
fortunately
the
people
who
I
ended
up
working
with
showed
me
what
I
needed
to
know
and
it
was
sort
of
on-the-job
training.
You
know
so
I
quickly,
caught
on
in
passed
on
what
I
knew
then
to
the
people
who
came
after
me,
kind
of
scary.
To
think
that's
the
way
we
ended
up
doing
things,
but
that's
just
the
way
it
ended
up
being
and.
N
I
was
in
the
third
grade
when
9/11
happened
and
from
that
point
on
I
decided.
I
was
gonna,
be
a
part
of
the
war
if
I
ever
had
an
opportunity,
and
so
when
the
time
come
for
me
to
list
I
figured
if
I'm
going
to
enlist
I
may
as
well
go
all-in,
so
I
joined
the
Marine
Corps
and
I
was
able
to
deploy
about
a
year
after
I
joined
the
Marine
Corps.
M
O
Nun
through
grade
I
was
30
and
I
just
want
to
make
some
changes.
In
my
life,
I
had
a
friend
that
was
in
the
National
Guard
I've
always
been
a
reservist,
I
didn't
really
know
much
about
the
guard
saw
him
come
back
and
how
he
was
changed.
He
decided
that
was
something
I
wanted
to
do.
I've
always
kind
of
had
a
need
to
serve
or
a
desire
to
serve
so
I
decided
to
join
I
was
31,
I
was
the
oldest
guy
down
there.
So
of
course,
I
was
grandpa,
but.
P
Q
Much
much
like
him,
I
felt
as
if
I
didn't
have
any
purpose
and
I
needed
an
opportunity
to
make
something
better
of
myself
and
I
come
from
a
line
with
my
grandfather,
who
was
a
fighter
pilot
in
World
War
two,
and
you
know
he
always
motivated
me
that
that
was
a
good
route
to
go
down
and
I
joined
up
and
before
I
knew
it.
I
was
in
Italy
with
the
173rd
and
jumping
out
of
airplanes
and
then
all
of
a
sudden
I
found
myself
kicking
dirt
in
Afghanistan.
M
Q
E
Remember
getting
off
the
plane
in
Tanzania,
which
is
fairly
close
to
Saigon,
and
it
was
close
to
evening
and
fortunately
there
were
two
other
women
on
the
plane.
That
I
was
on
the
rest,
were
all
men
and
we
ended
up
being
dropped
off
at
this
house,
sort
of
that
had
outdoor
plumbing
and
by
this
time
it
was
probably
nine
o'clock
at
night
and
dark
out,
and
we
had
to
go
outside
to
go
to
the
bathroom
and
Sola.
E
This
other
gal
and
I
were
on
our
way
outside
and
all
of
a
sudden
to
us,
it
sounded
like
someone
was
shooting
at
us,
tried
to
kill
us,
but
they
were
just
sending
off,
oh,
like
flares
in
the
air.
So
the
two
of
us
by
this
time
are
on
the
ground,
because
nobody
has
told
us
about
this
going
on
so
when
we
realized
they
weren't
trying
to
kill
us
at
this
point.
You
know
we
made
it
to
the
bathroom
and
got
back
to
this
place.
E
We
were
staying
there's
nobody
else
around
mind
you
it's
just
three
three
women
who
just
got
off
a
plane.
We
don't
know
what's
going
on
or
anything
so
the
next
morning
at
least
we
found
out
that
we
well.
We
were
alone
pretty
much,
but
at
least
no
one
at
you
know
where
you're
fairly
safe,
where
we
were
staying
back
down.
It
wasn't
really
a
good
experience.
Your
first
night
in
country,
I,
must
say.
D
I,
remember
my
coming
in
over
the
over
the
we
also
landed
in
town,
snook
and
I.
Looked
out
the
window
and
I
look
like
it
was
Disneyland
all
the
huts,
the
grass
huts
on
stilts.
It
was
just
surreal
and
when
they
popped
the
door
open,
the
stench
and
the
heat
came
in
like
I.
Just
like
a
huge
wet
blanket
there.
D
We
burned
theses
the
mixture
of
burning,
feces
diesel
fuel,
jp4
jet
fuel
seeping
in
and
then
we
walked
out
and
we
saw
the
troops
coming
on
the
freedom
bird
half
of
them
are
all
Ephrem
had
good
uniforms
on
the
other,
half
didn't
he
could
tell
who
was
in
the
front
lines
and
who
wasn't
and
a
line
of
caskets
going
back
to
the
States
they're
being
loaded
in
the
aircraft.
So
it
was
I.
Think
I
spent
the
first
night,
less
sleeping
in
a
conic
someplace,
I
didn't
even
have
a
place
to
sleep,
was.
M
D
I
heard
it
was
bad
and
there
was
no
question
in
my
mind
that
it
was
bad
after
that,
and
you
know
the
first
week
or
so
we
had
rampant
rampant
diarrhea
the
introduction
to
the
dirt,
the
dust,
the
mud,
depending
upon
where
you
were
either
full
of
dust
or
you
full
of
mud.
Where
we
were
in
that
we
were
in
the
Central
Highlands
just
south
of
pleiku.
You
know
a
firebase
Oasis,
so
yeah
it
was.
It
was
every
bit
as
bad
as
people
told
us.
D
F
J
D
Took
a
lot
of
damage,
we
were
on
without
any
military,
any
American
infantry
around
us.
There
were
about
75
to
100
of
us
depending
upon
the
base
hundred
and
fifty
maybe,
and
we
had
arvin
troops
near
us,
but
that
was
about
it.
So
we
were
on
the
point
point
of
the
spear
they
so
to
speak,
and
we
we
knew
it.
N
The
day
before
I
landed
in
Afghanistan,
the
airbase
I
was
laying
it
was
actually
attacked,
and
so,
when
we,
when
we
landed
in
Afghanistan,
we
were
expected
to
you
know,
be
guns.
Blazin,
you
know,
wild
wild
west
style
is
the
moment.
We
landed
that
wasn't
quite
the
story
that
we
ended
up
with,
as
they
were
able
to
clear
out
the
threat,
but
exactly
how
you
get
there.
And
then
you
have
your
fair
share
of
sickness.
N
The
moment
you
land,
you
know
you
you're
getting
used
to
the
new
environment
and
then
everyone
gets
sick
without
it
out,
everyone
will
get
sick
and
everyone
lost
at
least
1015
pounds.
The
second
you
land
and
then
you're
also
expected
to
operate
in
a
combat
environment.
The
same
time
we'd
have
the
humidity,
but
we
definitely
had
the
heat
in
Afghan,
and
so
it's
it's
funny
to
hear
that.
That's.
N
P
O
Thought
I'd
probably
be
dead
in
a
week
just
with
the
training
you
have
leading
up
to
it.
When
you
before
you
leave
the
training
they
throw
everything
at
you
like
you're
gonna,
be
snipers,
are
gonna,
be
there
and
there's
gonna,
be
mortars
and
rockets,
and
there's
riots
and
all
this
stuff.
They
just
throw
everything
at
you
during
your
training
and
then
you
get
there
and
that
the
first
time
you're
out
in
the
village
and
you're
gonna
open
your
door.
O
You're
like
I'm,
dead,
I'm,
never
gonna,
make
it
and
then
nothing
happens
and
or
the
first
time
the
Rockets
come
in
everyone's
diving
under
their
beds
or
heading
for
bunkers
and
then
within
a
month.
When
you
hear
rockets
coming
you
go
outside
to
see
if
you
can
see
where
it
impacts.
You
just
hope
it's
really
complacency,
but
you
just
kind
of
get
used
to
it
and
you
just
figure
it's
my
time
it's
my
time
and
it
makes
it
easier.
I
guess,
yeah,
worse.
Q
When
we
got
into
country
much
much
like
much
like
Chad
here,
we
were
told
that
we
were
gonna,
get
things
thrown
at
us
left
and
right
and
for
the
first
few
months
of
the
deployment,
we
didn't
really
hear
anything
and
we
were
at
a
combat
outpost
and
we
were
expecting.
Where
were
the
best.
The
Army
has
that's
what
they've
been
telling
us
for
the
last
year
and
nothing's
happened,
so
we
then
started
looking
for
it
and
before
we
knew
it.
It
found
us
and
it
started
happening
on
a
daily
basis.
Q
We
go
outside
the
wire
and
we
wouldn't
go
more
than
two
kilometers
down
the
road
and
we
hit
an
ie,
D
and
then
we'd
have
to
clean
up,
and
during
that
cleanup
we
would
start
taking
pop
shots
and
we
weren't
even
at
our
mission
yet
and
we
were
already
at
a
standstill
and
from
there
you
know,
we'd
come
back,
we'd
get
shelled
in
the
middle
of
the
night
and
we
didn't
have
hard
buildings.
We
slept
on
the
ground,
so
we
had
to
get
into
the
bunkers
and.
Q
Q
Yeah,
so
we
got
into
Bagram
Air
Force
Base
when
we
got
into
Afghanistan
they.
You
know,
you
see
this
place
and
it's
huge
and
they
have
all
the
facilities
they
have
a
Pizza
Hut
I
mean
we're
expecting.
That
is
this
really
gonna
be
what
our
deployments
gonna
be
like,
and
we
quickly
realized
when
we
got
on
on
a
Chinook
that
we
were
going
somewhere
else
and
we.
P
Q
Down
and
where
we
were
supposed
to
be
it
was
there
was
nothing
there,
weren't
buildings
for
us
to
sleep
in
and
we
were
told
we
were
gonna
have
to
build
them
and
the
unit
that
we
were
ripping
out
of
there
looked
like
they
hadn't
showered
in
weeks.
Well,
those
weeks
actually
were
more
like
months,
because
there
was
no
running
water
where
we
were,
and
these
guys
were
eating
MREs
and
field
rations.
Q
Q
M
E
Then
after
they'd
already
been
up
all
night,
usually
the
kinds
of
patients
that
we
took
care
of.
We
did
not
have
a
neurosurgeon
at
this
hospital,
so
those
kinds
of
patients
we
would
have
to
send
to
Queenie
on.
We
also
didn't
have
a
thoracic
surgeon.
So
again,
those
patients
would
have
to
be
moved
out
to
go
to
Queenie
on
to
where
they
had
a
thoracic
surgeon.
We
took
care
of
patients
who
had
orthopedic
wounds
or
any
kind
of
general
surgery
kind
of
injury.
E
We
also
took
care
of
Vietnamese
patients
anywhere
from
children
who
came
in
with
some
sort
of
not
necessarily
an
injury,
but
perhaps
illness.
We
had
children
who
were
treated
for
rabies,
tetanus,
yellow
fever,
illnesses
that
we
really
don't
even
see
in
this
country.
We
happen
to
have
a
couple
of
army
doctors.
One
was
from
Pakistan
a
couple,
other
ones
were
from
South
America,
and
some
of
them
had
seen
these
kinds
of
illnesses
before
so.
At
least
they
could
help
us
with
these
things.
E
We
also
cared
for
Viet
Cong
and
North
Vietnamese
patients
stabilize
them
until
they
were
at
a
point
where
they
were
either
turned
over
to
the
Arvin
soldiers
or
went
to
military
intelligence
from
the
US,
Army
I
think,
probably
the
hardest
ones.
Patience
for
me
to
care
for
were
the
kids
since
I
really
had
never
even
thought
of
taking
care
of
children
in
Vietnam.
O
I
think
that's
one
of
the
biggest
things
that's
made
deployments
a
lot
easier
in
my
opinion
is
just
the
communication
can
have
back
home
and
Iraq.
We
get
like
polling
cards
and
you
would
make
a
phone
call
like
once
a
week
or
something
home,
but
I
was
single
and
so
wasn't
a
big
deal.
On
my
equate
deployment
I
was
married
to
my
lovely
wife
and
we
have
the
Internet.
We
had
all
the
guys
in
the
unit
because
we're
Guard
members,
so
we
do
other
type
of
things
and
the
civilian
side.
O
It's
read
a
lot
of
like
IT
specialist
and
we
were
able
to
set
up
internet
in
all
of
your
rooms.
So
you
could
Skype
back
home
and
to
be
able
to
not
only
talk
to
your
loved
ones,
but
to
see
their
face
is
huge,
we're
previous
Wars,
you
might
get
a
letter.
That's
a
month
or
two
old
I
still
know
how
sometimes
even
found
you
guys.
J
O
O
Yeah,
you
have
to
be
kind
of
smart
about
what
you
say.
Part
of
you
wants
to
kind
of
vent
to
them,
but
then
you
realize
they're
they're,
worried
about
you
because
you're
somewhere
in
a
time
of
war-
and
they
see
what's
going
on
the
news
and
so
they're
they're
concerned
about
you.
So
you
kind
of
lean
on
your
fellow
you
know,
brothers
and
sisters
and
in
your
unit
because
they're
going
through
the
same
thing.
O
So
if
you're
having
issues
that
you
need
to
it's
best
to
talk
it
out
to
fellow
service
members,
that's
my
opinion.
I
just
didn't
want
to
worry
them
a
lot
because
then,
once
you
hang
up-
and
they
don't
hear
from
you
the
next
day
because
you're
busy,
you
don't
get
them
called
they're
there
thinking
you're
dead,
if
you
call
them
every
single
day
and
then
all
of
a
sudden,
they
don't
get
that
phone
call.
What
happened
to
him?
What
you
gotta
be
a
little
careful
about
that.
M
L
L
He
had
he
sent
him
back.
You
know
to
the
name
and
the
third
letter
I
received,
they
were
sending
him
home
and
that's
when
that
incident
took
place
and
I
did
a
lot
of
traveling
to
Great
Lakes
Naval
Hospital,
because
that's
where
they
sent
all
the
wounded
soldiers.
You
know
from
Vietnam,
and
that
was
that
was
a
hard
place
to
go
to,
because
there
were
a
lot
of
amputees
there
and
there
was
a
lot
of
sadness.
L
The
first
time
I
went,
I
was
I,
was
afraid
and
then
I
got
courage
by
being
there
and
I
started
baking
cookies
and
bringing
cakes,
and
you
know
and
sitting
with
some
of
the
other
soldiers
that
were
there
to
make
them
comfortable
and
and
I
did
that
for
about
six
months
and
but
communication
was
not
easy.
During
the
Vietnam
War,
you
got
a
letter
when
you
got
it.
Sometimes
it
came
two
months
later.
It
didn't
come
straight
to
you
all
the
time.
D
When
I
was
in
Vietnam,
my
parents
had
already
died
sometime
before
that
and
I
had
a
former
girlfriend.
So
there
really
wasn't
a
whole
lot
of
letter-writing
I
had
a
couple
of
friends
that
did
send
a
few
things
to
me.
We
kind
of
lived
off
each
other
I
had
a
section
leader
in
the
in
the
unit
or
basically
an
e5
that
had
a
father
in
Long
Beach.
It
was
a
doctor
and
we'd
love
to
get
packages
from
him
because
he
didn't
send
him
cookies.
He
sent
him
bottles
of
whiskey,
and
since
we
are
since
we.
D
And
listed
men
we
couldn't
buy
liquor
where
we
were,
we
could
drink
beer
assuming
that
the
NVA
didn't
blow
the
beer
connects
up
with
a
mortar
round
every
once
in
a
while.
So
we
enjoyed
that,
but
we
lived
off.
I
live
pretty
much
off
other
people's
stuff,
I've
got.
Maybe
he
had
five
or
six
letters
and
I
was
over
there
any
years
time.
Some
friends
wrote
me
occasionally,
but
it
was
slow
and
it
was
not
a
whole
lot
that
was
expected
and
not
a
whole
lot
of
it
came
through.
D
D
There
about
eleven
months
was
at
two
different
units.
After
our
first
unit
was
pretty
much
destroyed
and
I
was
wounded
and
went
into
Pleiku
for
treatment
at
the
hospital.
Then
I
was
benign
R&R
and
then
they
went
down
on
the
1st
Cavalry
Division
around
Saigon
and
then
I
was
left
there
and
came
back
to
the
States
and
one
with
the
82nd
airborne
and
Fort
Bragg.
So
were.
D
D
N
P
N
Later
so
that
was
a
very
unique
experience
for
myself
and
it's
always
a
it's
always
very
strange
to
be
able
to
go
home
and
you
know
just
expect
to
function,
and
you
know
you're
still
looking
for
your
rifle
yeah
when
you
wake
up
in
the
middle
and
I
and
you're.
Looking
for
your
rifle
you're,
looking
you're
wanting
to
wear
your
flak
jacket.
Are
your
you're
wondering
why,
when
you
take
off
your
shirt,
it
doesn't
stand
up
because
of
the
amount
of
sweat
and
salt?
That's
and
that's,
embedded
in
your
shirt,
I
mean.
P
N
It's
a
total
it's
a
night
and
day
difference,
and
luckily
I
had
some
family
that
supported
me
and
didn't
really
ask
a
whole
lot
of
questions,
which
was
great
I
was
able
to
stay
in
a
little
bit
of
contact
with
them.
I
one
house
over
there
particular
one
time.
I
was
on
the
satphone
with
my
mother.
When
there
was
a
artillery
strike
that
incoming
artillery
strike
I
said:
hey,
mom
I
got
to
go,
call
you
back
later
and.
N
O
First
appointment
was
22
months:
Iraq,
we
didn't
know,
we
were
gonna,
be
extended,
I
was
home
on
leave
and
then
my
dad
was
watching
the
news
and
he
said
you're
a
Red
Bull
aren't
you
yeah
and
he
said
well.
This
is
probably
an
affect
you,
uh-huh
and
so
I
came
out
there
and
saw
that
we
were
being
extended
so
I
emailed
my
commander
back
home
and
he's
this.
What
I
knew
before
the
media
knew
before
we
knew
so
that
was
kind
of
interesting
everyone
started
having
their
families
call
back.
It's
like.
O
O
Second
one
once
you
start
adding
family
to
the
mix,
it
gets
a
lot
tougher
family
and
just
civilian
life,
but
family,
especially
we
I,
also
took
leave
and
then
met
Denise.
We
went
to
New
Zealand
for
two
weeks:
cuz
they'll,
send
you
home
or
they'll.
Send
you
wherever
you
want
to
go,
so
we
thought
well.
New
Zealand
sounds
pretty
good,
so
we
had
a
great
time
there,
but
it
was
a
pretty
sad
departure.
While
she
went
back
to
the
states
and
I
went
back
now
with
the
two-year-old.
O
It
would
be
a
lot
tougher
and
I
look
back
at
those
guys
that
were
on
that
22
month
deployment
with
families
and
not
really
having
things
like
sky
I,
don't
know
how
they
did
it
I,
really
don't
a
lot
of
guys
had
kids
born
like
right.
While
we
were
down
in
training
and
there
wasn't
see
him
again
the
kid
to
be
walking
one
of
my
friends.
O
He
came
home
after
that
deployment
and
the
MA
their
mom
or
his
wife
said
you
know.
Daddy's
home
and
all
the
kids
ran
right
by
him
into
the
computer
room
to
go.
Look
at
the
monitor,
that's
what
they
knew
their
dad
is
a
monitor.
So
he
ran
right
by
him.
It's
like
he's
right
there,
so
it
the
family
piece,
isn't
a
tough
one.
If
you're
single
I
meant
I
can't
say
that
about
everyone,
but
for
me
it
was
whatever
it
was
pretty
easy,
but
once
you
start
adding
family
members,
it
gets
really.
P
Q
First
tour
being
married:
we
were
married
what
a
few
months
and
knowing
that
you're
gonna
be
gone
for
you're
for
a
year.
I
was
already
in
Europe
for
a
year,
and
we
were
you
know
just
a
few
months
into
this
and
to
go
for
a
full
year
and
it
puts
somebody
in
a
position
of
having
to
expect
to
not
talk
for
weeks
months,
getting
news
about
guys
getting
hurt
or
missions
that
are
going
on
in
these
long
periods
of
times.
Q
It
put
a
lot
of
stress
on
Jamie,
my
beautiful
wife,
that's
sitting
over
here
and
those
stresses
she
had
to
carry
with
her
not
only
for
herself
but
for
the
rest
of
my
family,
because
I
wanted
to
talk
to
mom
and
I,
wanted
to
talk
to
dad
and
I
wanted
to
talk
to
other
family
members.
But
you
know
the
person
that
you
love
and
care
about.
You
know
she
has
to
give
all
that
information
to
everybody.
Q
So
she's
got
to
wear
that
burden
and
to
do
that,
for
one
tour
is
one
thing
but
turn
around
and
have
to
do
it
for
another.
You
know
close
to
a
year
it
it's
a
lot
of
expectation
and
she
did
a
wonderful
job
and
that
support
that
you,
just
you,
can't
get
from
from
anybody.
It
takes
a
real
special
person
to
put
up
with
that.
M
Well,
Mary
Beth,
something
that
struck
me
in
the
video
that
we
watched
was
about
PTSD,
and
you
said
that
anybody
who
says
they
don't
have
it
as
lying.
Can
you
expand
upon
that
a
little
bit?
What
what
were
your
feelings
coming
back
from
Vietnam
coming
coming
back
and
processing
what
you
had
gone
through
PTSD.
E
There
was,
there
was
a
woman
at
the
Minneapolis
VA
who
had
started
a
group
for
women.
Vietnam
vets,
and
it
was
pretty
late-
was
probably
in
the
mid
90s
by
that
time,
and
she
used
to
say
that
if
you
don't
do
your
own
grieving
about
like
Vietnam,
you
put
that
on
your
ear
spouse
or
your
children,
and
the
one
comments
used
to
say
was
that
rolls
downhill
that
if
you
don't
do
it,
you
pass
it
right
on
down
and
somebody's
got
to
do
it.
E
E
This
is
just
her
thoughts
and
my
and
my
own
to
having
worked
at
the
VA
for
35
years
and
working
with
World
War,
two
vets
and
Korean
and
Vietnam
vets,
but
I
think
you
do
carry
a
lot
of
sorrow
with
you
having
been
through
some
Moors,
and
you
know
you
have
to
get
rid
of
that
sorrow
someway
and
you
can
go
through
a
lot
of
denial
that
I
think
there's
still
some
of
it
there.
So
that's
my
own
theory
anyway,
and.
M
Well,
I
know
also
in
the
video
it's
it
struck
me
what
you
said
that
you
know
when
somebody
is
talking
about
their
experiences
in
Vietnam
that
sometimes
it
takes
you
there
that
you
are
sort
of
absorbing
some
of
that
experience.
How
did
you
deal
with
that
as
a
family
member
and
also
with
your
husband's
PTSD?
M
L
At
that
time
they
didn't
call
it
PTSD.
They
just
claimed
that
through
the
medication
that
the
government
gave
him
that
he
was
you
know,
delirious
you
don't
I
had
to
fight.
That
was
the
difference
in
in
my
relationship
with
mine,
with
my
first
husband
was
the
fact
that
he
got
lost
in
the
system
like
many
of
the
Vietnam
vets.
Did
he
didn't
get
the
care
that
he
needed
and
and
because
I
took
him
back
to
Vietnam,
just
by
merely
looking
the
way
that
I
do
my.
P
L
P
L
L
L
He
actually
scared
me.
I
was
scared
to
be
in
his
presence
when
he
went
there
because
he
did
two
tours
in
Vietnam.
To
this
day
he
is
very
comfortable.
Going
to
Afghanistan
he's
been
there
twice
as
a
contractor
he's
going
back
to
Iraq
as
a
contractor,
because
the
war
zone
is
a
comfort
zone
to
account
being
in
the
United
States.
He
doesn't
feel
like
he's
an
American.
He
has
not
found
his
place
here.
J
L
F
L
L
D
Thank
You
Vietnam
vets,
for
that
comment
is
no
no
I
thought
it
was.
There
was
no
support
whatsoever.
As
far
as
I
could
tell
my
experience.
For
example,
I
was
a
college
graduate
I
had
been
working
at
been
trained,
working
them
to
work
into
urban
planning.
The
University
of
Minnesota
I
was
working
Ashley
as
an
intern
at
the
Metropolitan.
For
it
one
end
I
had
expectations
that
had
perhaps
could
come
back
and
you
can
go
there
that
wasn't
open
to
me
at
all.
D
Even
though
I
had
a
recommendation
from
one
of
the
directors
there,
it
took
I
had
a
hire.
An
employment
agency
out
of
my
own
pocket
to
find
a
job
took
me
seven
months
to
find
a
job
in
an
area
in
banking
which
I
had
no
background
him,
but
it
was
a
job
Ashley,
the
people.
Nobody
really
wanted
to
talk
about
it.
I,
usually
I,
could
scare
the
hell
out
of
somebody.
If
they
knew
I
was
a
Vietnam
bad.
All
I
have
to
do
is
look
at
him
and
somebody
said
it
worked.
D
Fine,
so
some
people
are
I
did
want
to
scare
the
hell
out
of
it.
I
did,
but
he
wasn't
good
for
going
out
on
a
dates
that
way,
but
yeah
it
was.
It
was
really
not
much.
I
stayed
with
my
aunt
and
she
was
stiff.
Anybody's
ever
stayed
whether
they're,
whether
whether
they're
your
oldest
aunt
for
a
period
of
time
and
you
just
come
out
of
a
combat
zone,
trying
to
go
to
I,
have
a
drink
at
a
bar,
not
a
good
deal,
but
yes,
it
was
it
was.
D
M
N
Directly,
coming
back
from
Afghanistan,
because
I
was
a
late
war
veteran
a
lot
like
ambivalence,
people
just
didn't
care,
because
there
was
a
long
war
that
people
have
been
hearing
all
about
and
they
just
got
tired
of
hearing
about
it.
So
I
mean
and
I
survived
the
Marine
Corps.
By
always
thinking
of
always
someone
always
has
it
worse,
and
so
you
know
during
that
time
that
you
know
I
didn't
necessarily
feel
like
no
people
care
to
halt.
N
I
was
like
well
at
least
I'm,
not
being
booed
as
I'm
stepping
off
the
plane,
and
so
the
VA
and
a
lot
of
other
resources
have
stepped
up
their
game
recently,
which
you
know,
there's
still
cess
to
be
taking,
there's
still
progress
we
made,
but
at
least
there's
something
happening,
and
but
overall
I
would
say.
This
support
is
better
for
us
than
Vietnam.
So
I'm
not
gonna,
complain
about
anything.
Q
I
think
we've
learned
that
you
can't
treat
human
beings
like
this
and
I.
Think
that's.
The
bottom
line
is
that
men
and
women
who
have
gone
into
combat
whether
you
know
back
in
the
World
War
one
and
to
the
Vietnam
to
now
they're
human
beings,
and
they
should
be
treated
as
such,
and
you
know
I
I,
think
about
the
struggles
that
I
deal
with
and
the
way
that
I
handle
you
know
just
being
here
and
being
in
a
room
full
of
people
talking
about
it.
Q
You
couldn't
do
this
30
years
ago
and
and
to
me
whether
that's
government
or
whoever
that
is
I
personally,
think
it's!
It's
us.
You
know
the
setting
the
setting
the
bar
the
Vietnam
veterans
by
coming
out
and
being
here
tonight
and
by
representing
you
know,
their
generation
of
I
call
a
war
hero
because
that's
what
you
are
to
me
and
you
know
we're
just
trying
to
set
the
set
the
bar
higher
for
the
next
generation,
because
we'll
be
there
again.
Q
O
Think,
as
far
as
we've
come
a
long
ways
like
they
mentioned
I
mean
you
look
back
at
like
World
War,
two
vets,
you
come
back,
you're
a
hero
of
Korea
you're,
a
hero,
Iraq
Afghanistan,
your
hero,
Vietnam
you're,
a
baby
killer
stuff
like
that,
just
it
saddens
me
and
it
really
angers
me
when
I
got
back
here.
We're
heroes,
welcome
and
I
think
they
I've
always
been
a
guy
in
the
guard.
O
So
I
know:
we've
like
beyond
the
yellow
ribbon
was
started
by
the
Minnesota
National
Guard
and
they've
identified
how
horrible
the
treatment
of
these
Vietnam
vets
were.
I
mean
I,
I,
volunteered
I
know,
I
knew
I
was
gonna,
deploy,
I
mean,
there's
no
question
about
it.
A
lot
of
these
guys
were
drafted,
I
mean
they
didn't
necessarily
want
to
go.
So
have
them
go
through
that
experience,
which
was
a
far
worse
one
than
I
ever
had
to
do,
and
they
didn't
want
to
be.
They
want
to
be
part
of
it.
O
I
mean
they
might
not
have
believed
what
it
was
about
and
then
to
sit
there
and
say
that
to
them
when
you
could
have
been
in
their
shoes.
It's
just
appalling
to
me
and
not
to
have
the
support
network.
They
do
now
now.
There's
ample
support
out
there.
So
me,
if
you
know
any
service
member,
that's
struggling
a
lot
of
service
members
want
to
ask
for
help.
O
But
if
you
know
they
need
it,
there
is
a
ton
of
whether
it
be
financial,
emotional,
marriage,
counseling,
there's
so
much
out
there
we
were
in
Kuwait,
we
put
everyone
at
a
list
either
you
were
going
to
school.
You
had
a
job
when
you
got
back
or
you
were
on
the
other
list
and
the
other
list
meant
that
you
had
to
come
up
with
the
plan,
but
you
got
back
because
they
identified
you
know.
Unemployment
was
like
20-some
percent
by
returning
service
members.
So
we
we
had
people
come
over.
O
So
there's
some
individuals
from
execs
from
target
court
came
over
and
gave
classes
on
what
they're
looking
for
in
employees
and
we
had
him
do
let
resume
writing
courses
and
apply
for
jobs.
So
nobody,
everybody
had
to
have
some
kind
of
plan
when
they
got
back.
It's
we
didn't
want
and
then
yeah
just
a
support.
I
mean
you
still
see
it.
E
And
I
think
it
was
a
terrible
thing
to
what
they
ended
up
having
to
come
back
to
in
this
country
and
I.
Think
a
lot
of
us
who
came
back
back
were
hopeful
that
perhaps
we'd
learn
from
this
war
and
maybe
not
have
to
go
through
another
one
like
this,
but
I
guess
we're
destined
to
that
to
keep
on
going
through
Wars.
L
The
only
thing
I
basically
have
to
say
during
that
time:
I,
don't
think
we
knew
you
know.
I
didn't
know
what
the
Vietnam
War
was
about.
I
didn't
know
why
it
got
started.
I
didn't
know
why
we
were
there
I.
Don't
my
brother
didn't
know
a
lot
of
the
men
that
were
drafted,
which
were
my
high
school
class,
my
neighbors,
nobody
knew
nobody
would
explain
to
us
or
tell
us
why
we
were
there.
That's
what
the
protest
was
about
in
assembly.
L
We
didn't
know
why
we
were
there
and
I
I
believe
that
once
people,
young
people
start
realizing
that
in
my
generation
that
we
had
no
place
there,
that's
when
they
stood
up
and
I
believe
that
a
lot
of
the
veterans,
the
military
men
that
were
serving
in
the
war,
they
realized
that
they
had
no
place
there
and
a
lot
of
them
got
dishonorable
discharge
because
they
didn't
want
to
go
back
and
because
they
didn't
believe
in
it
anymore.
That's
what
I
think
is
misunderstood
among
many
of
us
just
didn't
know
why
we
were
there.
M
D
Any
advice
for
veterans
well
I,
have
applauded
the
veterans
that
are
serving
today
with
the
multiple
tours
to
me.
If
I
had
to
do,
five
tours
in
Vietnam
I
worked
with
I,
basically
served
with
the
82nd
airborne
for
a
while
when
I
came
back
here
and
we
had
a
number
of
number
of
officers
and
I
counted,
it
serve
three
combat
tours
and
very
few
of
them,
I
mean
they
were
fewer
and
far
between.
D
Most
of
them
were
either
killed
or
wounded,
and
by
that
time
taking
those
combat
units,
the
only
thing
I
could
say:
that's
my
if
I
think
with
Vietnam
is
that
it
seemed
to
me.
There
was
just
a
high
degree
of
hubris,
the
willingness
to
sacrifice
young
men
and
women
instead
of
dealing
with
a
political
reality.
D
Well,
let
the
killing
continued,
regardless
of
what
no
one
seemed
to
have
any
idea
that
that
was
winnable.
Certainly
after
the
first
two
years
have
you
study
any
of
the
reports
from
Johnson,
McNamara
and
so
forth
that
trade-off
that
unwillingness
to
deal
with
it
and
to
spend
men
and
women
into
that
into
that
fulcrum
to
be
eaten
alive
is
a
terrible
thing
and
that's
the
most
bitterness
that
that's
the
bitterness
that
I
have
about
Vietnam,
just
the
willingness
to
do
that
any
government
that
would
do
that
willingly.
Is
this
terrible
situation.
N
As
a
late
war
Afghan,
but
looking
back
on
Vietnam
I
know
that
what
you
guys
saw
is
absolutely
incredible
and
I
and
on
many
many
different
ways,
but
the
younger
generations.
We
truly
look
up
to
you
as
the
epitome
of
what
the
human
spirit
can
do,
and
you
really
are
heroes
to
us.
Whether
or
not
you
agree
with
why
you're
over
there
or
not
what
you
went
through
has
inspired
the
youth
being
over
there
and
coming
back
and
so
I
just
want
to
say.
Thank
you.
O
B
R
R
Anchors
Aweigh,
my
boys
Anchors
Aweigh
off
we
go
into
the
wild
under
climbing
high
into
the
Sun.
We
sing
your
praises.
We
memorialize
your
heroism
in
epic
poems.
We
tell
you
that
we
thank
you
for
your
service,
but
it
is
not
enough.
No
not
enough
to
sing
your
praises,
not
enough
to
speak
of
your
heroics
and
sacrifice
in
epic
poems
not
enough
to
pay
lip
service.
When
saying,
thank
you
for
your
service,
more
is
required
of
us.
R
Now
we
must
march
with
you
shoulder
to
shoulder
even
putting
our
backs
into
it
and
lifting
you
upon
our
shoulders
even
carrying
you
securely
in
our
arms,
in
our
hearts,
enacting
real,
honest,
concrete
ways
to
help
you
heal
from
what
you
went
through
over
there
and
what
you're
going
through
over
here.
Your
battle
continues
with
all
of
its
unpredictable
and
treacherous
possibilities,
but
now
the
rest
of
us
must
stand
forward
ready
to
do
battle
with
all
manners
of
storms
in
your
names,
for
you
are
brothers,
sisters,
fathers,
mothers,
uncles,
aunts,
nephews,
nieces,
cousins,
friends,
neighbors.