For some of us, there's no escape from the Vietnam War

[pinboy3niner]

110. I wish Mike could have gone back, too

We likely spent some time on the same floor at Letterman, after he came down to the 4th floor--which was divided between amputees and facial casualties.

I discovered not long ago that his Chaplain amputee friend there was from my battalion in Vietnam. Small world...

You're part of our family, too. The war's casualties extend far beyond the statistics on KIAs and WIAs.

I'm sorry we lost Mike. We've lost so many along the way, and I'm constantly amazed that I'm still here. I don't know why I am. But I remember the epilogue from 'Platoon':

.... But be that as it may, those of us who did make it have an obligation to build again. To teach to others what we know, and to try with what's left of our lives to find a goodness and a meaning to this life.

I try to do what I can, but it never seems enough to truly honor the memory and the sacrifice of those we lost...