Sad details of the Vietnam War
- Thread starter havasu
- Start date
Help Support House Repair Talk:
I just missed the draft loto by a short amount of time, couple weeks. The classes ahead of me in high school were all trying to figure out what to do enlist or be drafted some got college deferments.
I had a good friend at work that was drafted into the Army and served on the front lines in the war and he told me the worst part was getting past the first few weeks and figuring out how to not get killed. He had a short time to go and got a letter from home that his younger brother was drafted and would be shipped over. At that time they had a rule that two brothers wouldn’t be in the war zone at the same time. He took it on himself to reenlist for 2 more years knowing his brother would likely stay state side or go to Germany or something. His girlfriend was looking forward to him getting out and getting married and she wasn’t too happy. He said he had hunted with his younger brother for years and just knew he made too much noise and didn’t think before he acted and would be one of the ones that wouldn’t make it a day.
It was a different time to grow up watching the news each night and hearing the death reports every night like a weird score card and wondering if it would end before it was our turn. Amazingly our town and high school only lost one guy in that war. I always thought there should be a monument or something in the town park but nothing was ever done for him.
I had a good friend at work that was drafted into the Army and served on the front lines in the war and he told me the worst part was getting past the first few weeks and figuring out how to not get killed. He had a short time to go and got a letter from home that his younger brother was drafted and would be shipped over. At that time they had a rule that two brothers wouldn’t be in the war zone at the same time. He took it on himself to reenlist for 2 more years knowing his brother would likely stay state side or go to Germany or something. His girlfriend was looking forward to him getting out and getting married and she wasn’t too happy. He said he had hunted with his younger brother for years and just knew he made too much noise and didn’t think before he acted and would be one of the ones that wouldn’t make it a day.
It was a different time to grow up watching the news each night and hearing the death reports every night like a weird score card and wondering if it would end before it was our turn. Amazingly our town and high school only lost one guy in that war. I always thought there should be a monument or something in the town park but nothing was ever done for him.
Each year I would look at the draft numbers starting at about age 16 to see what I would have had if it was my turn. the year I would have been drafted I had a low number but right before my birthday Nixon ended the draft. Changed all my plans in a hurry.
I was thinking back as a kid to our local Memorial Day Parade in our little town. I don't think I missed one until I was well into my 20s. As a kid we had soldiers marching in it from Korean War, WWII and then we had a float with the guys from WWI still fitting into their uniforms. The WWI guys are all gone and almost all the WWII as well as Korea. makes one think how fast time flies by and what real first hand knowledge of things like war are lost. Those wars you were lucky to get a letter once a month and Vietnam we would get a small reel to reel tape if the person was away from the action. Now soldiers can skype with their phones. I just saw a blurb where a guy was deployed overseas and his kids were talking to him everyday when they left for school or came home over the Ring Doorbell. Never saw that coming in my lifetime.
