CHRISTMAS IN HELL: SURVIVING VIETNAM’S DARKEST DAYS

In the U.S., Christmas came, the presents opened, and Boxing Day saw the stores packed with those returning gifts or hunting for sales. Some took the week off. Others went back to work. Some were already thinking about the New Year. But there was no holiday for those of us still in the field. We hoped to survive what the North Vietnamese were about to throw at us.

It was 1968, and the TET Offensive loomed. In the jungle, the mud, and the constant noise of war, we kept our heads down, fighting through loneliness, injury, and the knowledge death patiently waited.

By the end of the week, over 1,400 of us would be dead. More would be wounded or disabled. Still, the Army sent replacements, as they always did. And the war would grind on for another five years.

We moved fast. The Army ran out of doctors, blood, and medical supplies, but not weapons or bombs. The stupidity was too much to bear, I could scream at it all.

Much later, when I found myself at the Memorial Wall in Washington, my fingers tracing the names of those who had stood beside me, I collapsed from the grief.

I’m old now, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I wrote it all down in “Vietnam Uncensored — 365 Days in a Nightmare.” The book continues to get good reviews, which I’m proud of. The net proceeds go to the Kaufman Fund to help veterans in need. There’s still time to pick up a copy, take advantage of the holiday price, and remember what we’ve been through. You’ll be glad you did.