Just learned a good friend from college died a few years ago. Not sure of
the details, however his wife and those close to him said what really
killed him was ‘Nam. 32 years later and what happened to him in Vietnam
took him down.
I know two people, one an adventurer, the other a retired MD, who
helped in the recovery and clean up after 9/11 at the World Trade
Center. Both said the same thing, they “saw things no one should ever
have to see.”
So I wonder, what did my my friend see in ‘Nam that haunted him forever? And
how many more like him will be coming back fromr Iraq, only to crash
and burn years or decades later?
Vietnam was so pointless. What was the US fighting for? There was that
dumb ‘Domino Theory”, which stated the US had to stop the Commies else all of Asia
would go Communist. Well, Vietnam did go Communist. It still is. The
world didn’t end. Except for those who died fighting a war with no
purpose, that is.
Iraq is different. The US, now more than ever post-hurricanes, needs
that oil and geoplitical dominance. But like in Vietnam, a home grown
insurgency is defeating them.
Bring the troops home now.