Page 175 - Stand Down Vietnam

EPILOGUE
VIETNAM-ERA VETERANS

Using oral history, story-telling techniques, and
individual cultural heritage; the Veterans in this book
offer the reader a legacy of first-hand information.

The Veteran storyteller often provided insight and

perspective to take you along on their journey.
Pictures and the spoken word; contributed by the
persons who served during the Vietnam-Era, might be
disputed, but not often successful.

Our society remembers or disremembers depending on
their knowledge of events and whether those events were
or are personally important. The Vietnam War was
started in controversy, fought with great debate and
under passionate protests at home. It ended in
disagreement and remains in deliberation today.

Politicians, debaters, protestors, and historians tend
to rewrite what happened and often they obscure the
events and sacrifices of those who served our nation in
troubled times.

“A society “protected” from the reality of war can
rewrite the narrative, shaping and forming it into
something less terrible and costly by emphasizing only

the heroism and triumphs rather than the dark, ugly
deeds that occur with much greater frequency than we
care to imagine or discuss.”

Things They Cannot Say

Kevin Sites
Vietnam War Journalist