Page 155 - Stand Down Vietnam

A lot of those soldiers simply could not assimilate
after coming home from Vietnam. They had no idea about
the consequences and the chain of command ignored the
root problem(s). In that respect, yes, it did affect
unit readiness.

In my opinion, race relations amongst the soldiers were
good. Other than the fact that we listen to different

music, that sort of thing, we were soldiers; we all had
the same problems. There were groups, but they were
friends; we all had a mission: Stay alive and don’t
get hurt.

As far as the way the NCOs and officers treated us, I
certainly did see some discrimination. The “I’m better
than you, and you’re lower than me” attitude. As for
race being a problem, that I did not see.

I’ve been asked about witnessing soldiers hurting
themselves. If a soldier is not getting medicated and
not seeing doctors and starts drinking, I believe that
is a form of self-medicating. To start using drugs
could be considered self-medicating also. I think
that's not the real question.

I think what people want to know is did I see them
physically hurt themselves. My answer is no. I knew
of no one that physically hurt himself to get

attention.

Did I see them commit suicide or did I know of soldiers
committing suicide? Yes, I did see it. The fact they
were committing suicide was a shame; in almost every
case, that soldier had reached out to the chain of
command trying to get help.

It was a disgrace that soldiers returning did not get
help; in fact, I believe the order came from top
officials to not recognize the psychological injuries.