Is it the obligation of the living to remember the heroic dead?

The war raged for eleven years and ten thousand medals deep.

More than 58,000 of us died, and 150,000 returned wounded.

The best America had to offer suffered and sacrificed until the U.S. finally gave up and withdrew.

The fact our country should not have been involved in Vietnam or those successive American administrations that betrayed the Vietnamese to end the war were incidental to our leaders.

Yet, those who took the oath of allegiance crossed the portals of Vietnam to an unimagined place filled with horror, anxiety, and death.

If I live a thousand years, I will not forgive every president who served from Eisenhower to Nixon, who added fuel to a war that should not have taken place.

Yet, I am proud of my duty to my country and the brothers with whom I served, and I remain a proud American.

We did what was asked of us and stood tall on the battlefield. God bless us all.

Read the first chapter of Vietnam Uncensored at vietnamjerry.com to receive insights and newsletters.