Page 49 - Stand Down Vietnam

I remember seeing the caskets at Bien Hoa, of those who
didn’t make it. I admit to being scared; thinking that
at any time that could be me.

Going out on patrol, walking through the jungle where
Napalm and Agent Orange had been used was terrible.
Agent Orange was the worse. It burned; I’m affected by
it now. Part of my disability is from Agent Orange.

At the time, I supported the use of those chemicals;
the Viet Cong had been in country for years and had
tunnels. Our leadership told us that was the best way
to get them out. We had to be able to locate them.

I didn’t trust the South Vietnamese people. They
looked just like the North Vietnamese that we were
looking for. I always believed many of the South
Vietnamese people were sympathizers with the North.

No doubt we lost some men in the war. I believe, we
won the war. The training I received and the equipment
we used were adequate. The mindset was you either win
or you lose. Vietnam was more of a political war, the
politicians in Washington held the cards.

When asked about the Vietnam War, I don’t think about
it near as much as I used to. Some things, you don’t
want to remember.

My wife had to deal with my nightmares until I was sent
here to Thomson-Hood Veterans Center to live. She used
to wake me up and tell me about my nightmares. She was
afraid. I’d tell her: “I ain’t gonna hurt you”, but
she didn’t know that. She was affected by my PTSD too.