I’m starting to get old now,
but I was of age and going to college at the time.
My draft # was 126 in 1971.
My daddy knew somebody that knew somebody
and pulled some strings and found a way out for me
and got me into the national guard (1971-1977).
So I went to basic and AIT, but I did not go “over there”.
Daddy (RIP) was a WWII vet (Honolulu, Solomans, Guadalcanal)
but he could not understand the purpose of vietnam.
I have felt a sense of guilt ever since,
thinking that “somebody” “somewhere”
must have had to sacrifice in my place.
May God bless all of you.
Those were some strange days, indeed.
God Bless you for caring, and.... Nobody took your place. The Lord has a plan and we each play our role in it.
If I could take back a million things I did as a kid, I would.... But would I have taken the same path?
Would I have met my beautiful wife and had our kids?
If I had done things differently, my life would’ve turned out differently... And I most certainly would not have the beauty around me that I could not imagine my life without.. ( my wife and children )
Everything happens for a reason.
Thank you for “YOUR” service.
I was never ordered to SE Asia either so it can certainly be said that I didn't sacrifice much...not *nearly* as much as many did.Men like LT Peterson and "elcid1970".I understand your sense of guilt...I've felt the same from time to time.Mine was so great that I felt the need to visit Vietnam a few years ago to try to drive out my demons and pay tribute,in a small way,to those who sacrificed so much.I must say that that boat ride I took up the Mekong was very spooky.But enough of that.
In my own defense I served a full hitch,never ran afoul of the UCMJ and my DD214 reads "honorable".Assuming the same is true of you at least we can both say "hey,there are those who sacrificed far less than I did" at the same time we remain aware of...and honor...those who sacrificed more.
Amen...
I grew up thinking the Army would be part of my future but the incredible waste of Viet Nam sickened me.
A KIA from our high school class of ‘65 came back and I went to his funeral in our little Iowa town. Someone said only part of him was recovered.
A farm kid from the same class was an APC driver in VN. He drove over a mine and the explosion came up through the floor. Among other less serious injuries, he lost one testicle. He was granted a 95 percent disability.
He returned home, married a girl from the class of ‘68 and had several children.