picnics...
going joy riding...
...or hanging out
with the guys...
You even got
to tour a tropical paradise
by air...
...lie around on
the beach...
and to stay at
a Five Star resort
for a year...
or more...
It sure beat staying home and dealing with the frustration of civilian Life.....
Back home, your friends had to put up with all sorts of inconveniences that you were able to avoid, like
Needing to be someplace and
having your car break down...
...or...
getting tied up in traffic...
...because something was blocking the road.
Now, don't misunderstand. Vietnam wasn't just one big party. There was the occasional minor glitch which could cast a cloud over the holiday atmosphere...
Nothing really major, mind you...
But the telephone service
did leave something to be desired.
Either the line was busy....
...or the background noise made it hard to hear.
True, you never had to worry about boredom...
There was always something happening...
You got to take some interesting field trips...
but you had to carry everything you owned with you...
...and it seemed every route was either uphill...
...straight dead down...
...soft and muddy...
...or presented some other unseemly obstacle.
But the strongest recollection the average Vietnam veteran has, is of the human element...
You certainly came across a variety of characters in that place...
You met happy people...
You met serious people...
You met pretty people...
You met people who were pretty tired...
You met people who'd been places...
...people who were going places...
and people who were going home!
You met people who had nothing...
and you met people who would eventually lose everything they had...
And of course you made new friends...
Friends you'll always remember because...
During those days, in that place,
they were your family...
They were your brothers...
they stood by you.
Some were young when they got there...
...but they were never young again...
You saw some come...
You watched some leave.
Sometimes you got
to say goodbye to them...
Sometimes they left suddenly
...without a word...
...or vanished without a trace...
And even if you have trouble recalling their names from time to time...
You will remember
their faces...
...for the rest of your life.