Crazy.....imagine if the Vietnamese had sent millions of Vietnamese to the USA....set up new camps everyday looking for "the enemy.,"
I understand that you were drafted and it's politicians and generals and war and weapons profiteers that decide when to go to war.....
And your story wasn't exactly about the war....sort of.....
Years ago I read and studied about Vietnam...crazy that during ww2 the Vietnamese independence fighters rescued and feed USA pilots since both were fighting the Vietnamese...
All these wars seem stupid to me.....but very profitable for some....
thanks Jeff, i never went to war but have lived a few months in very basic conditions far from any technology and learned how all the techy distractions we now have, and told we can't live without are just that distractions.
Dude you would be amazed at what you can survive, really. I spent 12 years, working in a war zone, though it was by choice, and survived every day of those 12 years. I realize that most of the crap we have now, we don't need, can live without and neither do we appreciate the fact that we have access to them. And seriously pointing out somebody's typo after they've written an article like this seems a little low. My older brother spent three tours in Vietnam as a tunnel rat. I've heard so many stories and seen so many photos and talked him down from so many panic attacks, feeling survivors guilt etc. As a country we have never ever given our veterans the help and the recognition that they actually deserve.
It seems to me that much of the time people need some significant experience of hardship to realize what we actually need to live as human beings. Indigenous societies have this sort of thing all over the world, initiations which often have an element of seclusion, hardship, travel, or some combination, and it seems to be one of the means by which they were able to create and maintain a sustainable culture.
Thanks for the story. It’s saying a lot, and probably my favourite one yet. I wasn’t sure where the message was leading.
In typically down-to-Earth, ever pragmatic fashion, find happiness thru simplicity, even in the Vietnam war.
My Dad served and has passed. He believed this time in life, defined who he was. He was funny and full centaur-Sagittarius. He loved life and shared that joy with others.
He had the best sayings. I’ll share one. He said there were two ways to get along in life. One was to be pleasant and the other was to be clever. Pleasant was easier than clever. But if you were pleasant and clever, the world would eat of your hand.
I’m married to a good man (!) AND my Dad is the best demonstration of pleasant and clever, that I’ve had the pleasure to know. He was a great leader and I wish there were more of him.
I'm talking into my phone Jeff but these are Patrick's words;
Dear Jeff, hold up you're a better writer than I knew, it's well written piece and you captured a lot of truths. You left only one thing out, we had a good day there and we had no Trump. There was no Trump in Vietnam. That son of a b**** stayed home.
Thank you for your story.
I don't know how many will understand. Of those that understand, I don't know how many will be able to change.
Lies have dominated our world for so long, the learning curve of the truth is fairly steep.
It's a life or death situation, whether people see it now or later can make a difference.
I hope you and yours are doing well.
Thanks so much for this. Powerful testimony, and conclusions won the right way. Take care.
Crazy.....imagine if the Vietnamese had sent millions of Vietnamese to the USA....set up new camps everyday looking for "the enemy.,"
I understand that you were drafted and it's politicians and generals and war and weapons profiteers that decide when to go to war.....
And your story wasn't exactly about the war....sort of.....
Years ago I read and studied about Vietnam...crazy that during ww2 the Vietnamese independence fighters rescued and feed USA pilots since both were fighting the Vietnamese...
All these wars seem stupid to me.....but very profitable for some....
thanks Jeff, i never went to war but have lived a few months in very basic conditions far from any technology and learned how all the techy distractions we now have, and told we can't live without are just that distractions.
Fantastic. Like, The Things That We Carried, but right to the point. Love you, Jeff.
Interesting read. I don't think I'd have survived if someone had given me a gun at that age and told me to do something I had no interest in doing.
Typo by the way: 'we did find our later that our side had sprayed'.
I saw that. I haven't gone back and fixed it. I might. 🤷
Dude you would be amazed at what you can survive, really. I spent 12 years, working in a war zone, though it was by choice, and survived every day of those 12 years. I realize that most of the crap we have now, we don't need, can live without and neither do we appreciate the fact that we have access to them. And seriously pointing out somebody's typo after they've written an article like this seems a little low. My older brother spent three tours in Vietnam as a tunnel rat. I've heard so many stories and seen so many photos and talked him down from so many panic attacks, feeling survivors guilt etc. As a country we have never ever given our veterans the help and the recognition that they actually deserve.
I honestly was waiting for something like this!
It seems to me that much of the time people need some significant experience of hardship to realize what we actually need to live as human beings. Indigenous societies have this sort of thing all over the world, initiations which often have an element of seclusion, hardship, travel, or some combination, and it seems to be one of the means by which they were able to create and maintain a sustainable culture.
What a great read and I wholeheartedly agree, what we call progress seems to involve destruction, exploitation and pollution.
What an artful way to make a fundamental point.
Thank you for this gift
Thanks for the story. It’s saying a lot, and probably my favourite one yet. I wasn’t sure where the message was leading.
In typically down-to-Earth, ever pragmatic fashion, find happiness thru simplicity, even in the Vietnam war.
My Dad served and has passed. He believed this time in life, defined who he was. He was funny and full centaur-Sagittarius. He loved life and shared that joy with others.
He had the best sayings. I’ll share one. He said there were two ways to get along in life. One was to be pleasant and the other was to be clever. Pleasant was easier than clever. But if you were pleasant and clever, the world would eat of your hand.
I’m married to a good man (!) AND my Dad is the best demonstration of pleasant and clever, that I’ve had the pleasure to know. He was a great leader and I wish there were more of him.
Aww, I love this
I'm talking into my phone Jeff but these are Patrick's words;
Dear Jeff, hold up you're a better writer than I knew, it's well written piece and you captured a lot of truths. You left only one thing out, we had a good day there and we had no Trump. There was no Trump in Vietnam. That son of a b**** stayed home.
Wow, thank you for this.
It reminded me of The Things We Carried.
Nice to hear your backstory, Jeff.
I want to say something really intelligent but pffffft will have to do. This hit hard and straight to the point.
Great essay and great perspective, Jeff. Glad you made it home to share your wisdom with us.