Fallen Soldiers
I have already recounted some of the history of the Vietnam War through my previous Hubs. However, there were many episodes and heroics that remain unsung. My fear is that lessons of this era have not been learned. Foremost in my mind is my social studies teacher, Mr. Frantz, saying time and again, "If we do not learn from history, we are destined to repeat it!" If I learned nothing else in his class, I definitely learned that!
We all know (most of us "pushing" 60), that this war was an atrocity. It wrought the Mai Li massacre. Although this was not WWII, I still think of the line from the Patton movie: "and when you stick your hand in a puddle of goo that use to be your best friend's face...". Horrifying, and too accurate to ignore.
No war is a good war. No one ever really wins. In case you are wondering if that is true, visit your local Veterans Hospital. Both of my twin brothers served in Vietnam. They both came home. However, the experience was devastating. They had changed. Both have done well in this life. I always wonder, though, when they see a movie of Vietnam, or even watch the evening news, if they don't cringe at a memory that may surface.
I have a school friend who I recently connected with. Her brother was in Vietnam. He survived Vietnam, but never survived the memories of what had been done there. He drank and took drugs to forget. That was his way of dealing with the horrific memory. In the service, he was even given drugs to forget. One day, after his discharge, he didn't come home. He was found dead on a street in Dover. He couldn't live with the memories war.
He still had the needle in his arm. He was someone's brother, son, friend. He was an obedient soldier. He did his duty. We must believe, his reward was in heaven. If we do not, then his life meant nothing. He came from a good family. He was a good man.
The Reality
This is the reality of war. It is not always a bullet that brings death. Unfortunately, we need to have more facilities to help those coming home from combat. We need to take care of them. Our veterans are our heroes. Every one of them has served. Every one of them has given a large part of his or herself to protect our homeland and help others protect their homeland.
We are the United States of America. We are the strongest nation in the world. We need to take care of those who so diligently, and courageously, served to keep us safe.
God Bless America, on this Veteran's Day and every day!
Those Who Served
Please feel free to leave the name of a soldier who served anywhere using the "comments" option.
Walter Bell, Vietnam
Charles Bell, Germany, Vietnam
Clyde Cogelia, Vietnam
Jeffrey Vavzycki, Vietnam
Henry Pearce, Vietnam
Eugene Heffelfinger, Germany
Seakay
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