When I went to Vietnam, thatÕs what I expected to be - a hero - like John Wayne, fighting to save the South Vietnamese from Communism. If I had known that no one else thought of us that way - not our parents, not the rest of the country, and certainly not the Vietnamese people - then maybe when it was over IÕd have felt differently.
Before I went to Vietnam, I wanted to be a hero. Once I got there, all I wanted to do was survive and come home. I accomplished that and returned to the United States in 1967. I took the diary I kept during my one year tour, hid it in a closet, and tried to begin life again. As you read this story, there will be gaps. Some days were so much alike that they blended into each other. Most days were a repeat of the one before.
IÕve done the best I can to piece it all back together, to get it all straight. In many ways, it is such a long time ago Ð over 50 years Ð but in other ways, it feels like I never left.