Reviews

When the fighting stopped, there was that silent reminder that someone's hope had been taken away. Hope lost and gone forever. Strange as it seems to me now, I cannot remember ever thinking about the eternal destination of any of those enemy soldiers we faced in battle. They were the enemy and it was our job to kill them, and that is what we did. The days were long, hot, and very difficult, even if you did not make contact with the enemy. Just being a jungle fighter, with all you own and all you need to survive on your back, made each day so miserable, that there were times when you almost wished to die to put an end to the difficulties of the moment. The truth of the matter is, whether in civilian life or the life of a soldier, we need one another to be successful, to be assured of winning the victory. ...there is something about a soldier that will cause him to act in a way that would not seem normal to others. There is that desire to do well, but it's more than just doing well, more than just being successful, more than just winning, more than just living. A real soldier wants to fight with honor, whether in living or dying, to fight with honor. Howard and I made eye contact for just a moment. We didn't speak. There was just that look affirming that death was certain. We opened fire, never letting up on the trigger. I would kill until my ammo was spent and then I would die. Arriving home, back to the United States of America, does not end the hurt. You would think that to return home alive would put an end to all the hurt, all the pain.....you would think. Unfortunately this is not true. No war has been as unsupported as the Vietnam war, and no soldiers have been so disrespected as the Vietnam veterans. Coming home was not an end to the hurt, but rather a new hurt, one even more painful than hot shrapnel burning into your body.