COURAGE UNDER FIRE: THE VIETNAM VETEERAN EXPERIENCE

Insights into Vietnam Uncensored

I cannot say we considered the future except for its apparent existential threat. Each day arrived with a new set of encounters and trauma that eradicated all other thoughts except those focused on survival.

When there was silence, such as before sleep or the rare moments when we would do “plain talk,” memories of home would filter through the anxiety of survival. I do not remember anyone discussing plans other than the flight back to the U.S.A.

We started the day by cleaning our weapons, appraising the ammunition and ordinance supplies, and the next leg of our assignment. Should we stay or should we go? Was this location better than the hill to the right or left? What weakness existed in our strategy? On and on until my mind spun with so many details I created a migraine.

After all, it did not come as a revelation; everything was out to kill us. I always thought Vietnam existed solely to drink our blood. The North Vietnamese were ghosts. They appeared and disappeared like invisible ghouls or goblins. Akin to the Orcs from Lord of the Rings, they inhabited underground lairs from which they would emerge to attack, then disappear without a trace unless we happened upon one of their jungle tunnels or an ambush.