Vietnam Service – United States Army
“It sounds strange, but when I think of Vietnam, I think of how beautiful the country is. I was in the 82nd, but my primary job was to work with the South Vietnamese troops and call in support when it needed help. I wasn’t one of the men who was out in the jungle every day fighting. Those are the men who deserve the most adulation. But there were four men from my neighborhood who were killed in Vietnam and my father wrote me all the time to be careful and never volunteer to do anything.
“After the war, I wanted to go back. I felt like I had to go back. I think I needed closure. Two friends and I eventually went back and took a month to travel the length of the country from the Mekong Delta up past the Hanoi Hilton in the north.
“Vietnam may be the most beautiful place that I have ever seen and going back gave me the closure that I needed.”