BEYOND THE WAR: VIETNAM’S LEGACY OF SURVIVAL

When our tour in Vietnam was over, the places we stood, the weapons we carried, and the battles we fought, won, and lost didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was we had survived. Surviving was the only thing left to do. In combat, there is no turning back. The past is gone, the future is nothing but smoke. We lived only for the moment, and in that moment, we hoped it meant something. We didn’t expect easy duty. But what we faced was often impossible.

Back home, the newsreels ran the footage. The folks watched, and they sympathized. But we didn’t have a choice. Our only hope was our best would be enough to keep us from dying, from getting hurt. And still, more than fifty-eight thousand of us died. Another hundred and fifty thousand came back broken. That was the price we paid for the mistakes of men in suits.

We dreamed of a simple thing on the battlefield — a summer evening. The sun is setting gold across an open field. We’d sit, drink something cold, laugh at the absurdity of it all. But we couldn’t imagine the change waiting for us. The people back home, the ones who didn’t fight, would blame us for the war. That would become harder to deal with than the enemy. Because it was a battle, we could never win. And the wounds that came with it, that invisible injury, stayed with us. They called it PTSD. And it was just another part of Vietnam we carried home.

Vietnam Uncensored — 365 Days in a Nightmare tells the story of the war as it was — no sugarcoating, no false glory. It’s a story of misguided politicians, survival amidst chaos, military corruption and incompetence, and the sheer absurdity of it all. The reviews tell you it’s worth the read. It’ll open your eyes. Net proceeds go to the Kaufman Fund to help veterans who need it. Buy it. Read it. Help out. You’ll be glad you did.