Guest guest Posted April 18, 2003 Report Share Posted April 18, 2003 Hey Karen, This is a beautiful story .. and I thank you for posting it here. :-) The ending is great in that the reunion was held .. but the story itself is not so unusal .. contrary to the ideas of many who called us names like Baby Killers. > At the risk of starting a whole new discussion/ argument/ debate .... > I thought this was a GREAT story. Hope you all like it too! > http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/0403/12kathleen.html > > Karen J I was in the 'Nam at the time this story began .. though I knew nothing about this one. Medics and commanders and dust off pilots and damn near every other American I knew did all they could to help those civilians who needed help .. especially the children. I chuckled when I read the comment, " What they gonna do .. send me to Vietnam? " That comment is so typical .. we bent a helluva lotta rules there but with few exceptions they weren't bent for personal gain. Some of those violations would get us jail time today .. but nobody paid a lot of attention to it then. One of the ladies on this list does volunteer work in a VA hospital. She wrote me a few days ago about the condition of many who were still suffering post-traumatic stress .. and she commented that she hoped the same thing wouldn't happen after the latest series of military ventures. I commented to her that I thought we would not see the same thing now because those she works with were not wounded by the enemy .. but by their own fellow Americans. Participants in the Gulf War and those now in Iraq will receive a hero's welcome .. those in the VA hospitals are still suffering from the inhospitable crowds that waited for them. If they could be returned to a combat environment and be allowed to come back home to a warm welcome I am sure we would see far fewer veterans suffering from the narrow-minded attacks of many fellow Americans. Off my soapbox .. but this is one that's near and dear to me. Again, thanks for posting this story .. there are many like it .. many stories that began as incredible horrors perpetrated by that criminal guerilla force, the Viet Cong .. and ended happily in the USA or other civilized nations. This young lady was too young to remember the horror .. but imagine what it did to those young soldiers who were 18-19-20 and away from home the first time .. its easy to see why many volunteered for back-to-back tours in the 'Nam. Y'all keep smiling, Butch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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