VIETNAM UNCENSORED — SURVIVAL BENEATH THE SHADOWS OF WAR

I often wonder about the marks my brothers and I left behind in Vietnam. What footprints did we leave? What traces of our lives?

In another life, we slogged across the battlefields, trying to keep our feet under us. We fought to stay alive, to keep from slipping into the madness of war. We tried to stay clear of the sins that come with battle and the creeping insanity that grows in the dark corners of combat. But it followed us home, that poison. We kept our heads above water, but its weight dragged us down.

I will admit our fate was unfair. But fairness had nothing to do with it. We were there to survive, and that was all that mattered. But why were we there? History would answer but be full of lies, deceit, and propaganda.

Did we create the nightmares we lived through? Was the cost of our sacrifice ever going to mean anything?

It became clear we had to remember how to respond and act. Our lives and survival would be defined by our choices in those moments. I had to teach myself not to react to the stupidity of it all, to calm the anxiety, and to temper my frustration with something steadier. In chaos, I needed to stay calm and make the right call. But I also had to act fast. I had no time to waste. Our lives depended on it.