FROM WAR ZONES TO HOME FRONTS: A VETERAN’S JOURNEY TO A SIMPLE DREAM

Insights into understanding Vietnam Uncensored

My buddies and I returned from Vietnam with little expectations of becoming rich men. After succumbing to the worst year of our lives, we all wanted to acquire the love of a good woman, becoming a father, a small house with a back lawn holding a swing set, a barbeque, and a few chairs around a table to have picnics.

There would be a garage for a car, a driveway to hold a pick-up, and a front lawn with a flower bed. It didn’t seem like much to the shakers and movers, but it would forever represent enough.

Unfortunately, our PTSD made it impossible to work for another, so I started a business. On one deal, the supplier offered the evening of an escort.

When I refused on the grounds I was married, he laughed. “Come on, man!” he chirped good-naturedly, “She’ll never know.”

I shook my head and smiled. “But I’ll know! I’m a Vietnam vet and a one-woman kind of guy. I’m not going to F up a dream.”

He agreed, and we finished dinner, and I returned to the hotel. When I told my wife the story, she snuggled into my caress and kissed me warmly. “I love you very much,” she whispered. “But you do realize you’re a loser.”

“Yeah, that may be the case,” I answered. “But I got you, the kids, the house, and a business bought and paid for.” And that remained the truth of it…