On a side note, although wishing you all the best would be much more appropriate on Veteran's day, I was never in an active war zone, you were 
...... and you lost people.....those memories have to hurt....
Take care my friend 
Fubah
@fubah2
Thank you brother but I'm no hero. I was just one of thousands of kids shipped off to NAM. We had some ROTC freaks & of course, regular Army gung-ho professional soldiers who taught us how to stay alive. I was more fortunate than most because I was received with open arms when I returned home to my family & neighborhood. Other vets had to deal with the anti-NAM folks as well as other vets from the Big One & Korean wars who viewed us as the 1st group of Americans to "lose" a war.
We were taught to be self-sufficent because there would be times when we would be alone with no one else to depend on. Other than that we were responsible for each other. Most of us didn't have a clue what the hell we were doing but we learned fast. Keep it simple, don't overthink things, do what you are told to do. In retrospect our Sargent was from PA & he had this "Amish" type of work ethic. Half assed jobs were unacceptable. If you were ordered to clear a path in the jungle, that path had better be cleared. While doing this, we would be swatting mosquitos with our hands & snakes with our machetes. The afternoon rains, which were constant, would turn the newly clearded path into mud.
The worst thing you could do to your fellow soldier was to fall asleep on night watch duty. Imagine being 18 years old & your job is to protect everyone else sleeping. You are so stressed, you start seeing/hearing every little thing like a vine moving or crunched twigs caused by one of the village hogs rummaging for food in the jungle. If you did fall asleep, the squad would make sure you never did it again & our corporal would put that person on point for a couple days in a row. Being "onpoint" is one of the scariest siutations I've ever experienced.
When I got home, I didn't want the responsibility of watching out for another human being. I ddin't get married until I was 37 because of that feeling. For decades I didn't talk about my experiences in NAM & have just started sharing shit over the last 3 or 4 years. War is hell on earth & I keep trying to explain that to some in here without getting preachy about it.
So I try to remind everyone to fly our flag out of respect for the real heroes who gave up their lives so that we can bullshit on a forum like this. We have a majestic flag & it's a beautiful sight when blowing in the wind.
Mid.... many people do not understand all crap you been through during those times and now. Vietnam vets are very dear to me. Treated very differently and poorly. All the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, thank you.
Mid we might disagree on some political issues, people, sport teams, personalities... but I am proud to stand beside you. Thank you...
To all on covers... have great weekend with family ,friends, or just yourself.. enjoy!!!
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