Stuck in the Middle The Inspector General was coming and we had a stockpile of unauthorized equipment. The Colonel ordered us to get rid of it by any means necessary. Some of it was from the Korean war, some of it was Naval and Air Force equipment, and all of it was being chopped up, […]
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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes As we began our descent into Bien Hoa Air Base, darkness was settling over the Vietnamese countryside. We came in fast and high to discourage anti-aircraft fire. There was black smoke rising from dozens of fires as I looked out of the window. Each air-pocket bump and plume of smoke
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They’re Coming to Take Me Away Where does one start in trying to explain the definitive event of one’s life, as well as that of a nation and several generations? People, especially young people, don’t understand. They were raised on Black Hawk Down, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Not that I blame them. By all rights, Vietnam
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(In memory of Michael Levine) His red beard copper in the sun, he battled patiently in the black field against the sumac, sassafras, Canadian thistle. For years his forehead burned as he looked toward the oaks’ cool shade and gouged sweat from his eyes and bent again to address his enemies. The fine needles of
One good thing that came out of the Gulf wars, maybe the only good thing, is a belated recognition of Vietnam veterans. Somewhere in all of the “Support the Troops” fervor that gripped much of the country came a wave of guilt over how veterans of Vietnam were treated. What M.A.S.H. did for Korean War
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