What was war like for you U.S. Veterans?

Having been in modern day “wars” I can only say that I have a more profound respect for those that served in previous wars. The physical and mental toll today is incredibly costly, but it pales in comparison. God Bless those that went before me and paved the way for this incredible country!

No matter how Hollywood makes it look, being in a war zone is the most horrifying place you can be. I served during Vietnam, and after going through the constant threat of dieing every minute of every day, then we got to come home, taking shelter every time you hear thunder, ducking for cover when you hear a car backfire, we also had the honor of being called things like baby-killer by the cowards who ran to Canada rather than serve. Then you get to watch the people you served with get sick and die from all the chemicals our own government sprayed over us, then hear then deny it does harm.

No one should ever have to go through a war. And for the Korean veterans, it was a war, not a police action. I’m starting to rant, so I better quit

Whoever said war is hell made the understatement of the millenium.

long hours of tedium broken only by brief unending moments of sheer terror.

My uncle told me a story of when he was in Korea. He was front line marines, and was ordered to keep a hill from being overrun. He started with a partial platoon of 28 men. Through the night, they fought and one by one the men were killed around him. By the morning there were three of them left, one of them wounded. When the morning rose, the enemy attack ceased and they came off the hill. As they were coming off the hill, one of the three who was not wounded got hit in the head with a shell and got crushed. My uncle was left helping the wounded man off the hill—they were the only two left.

That’s how war is.

During the Korean War, I worked in Army Hospitals and helped take care of the guys coming back: blind, brain damaged, missing limbs, mentally ill. It made me a confirmed peace-nik.

As a US Army veteran, I would like to quote one of my favorite military documentaries; Gunner Palace. (it’s one of the most true-to-life military documentaries I have ever seen, and I highly recommend it)

“Someone being sympathetic to this? I don’t know if I’d be sympathetic if I wasn’t in the Army. After you watch this, you’re gonna go get your popcorn out of the microwave and talk about what I said, and you’ll forget me by the end of this. Only people who remember this – is us!”

See above. Just like they always say. Hours of boredom, seconds of terror. And chaos.
It does, however, make every other one of life’s challenges seem like no big deal.

Actually I do not sharply remember being in Vietnam as a door gunner anymore. Some of us are that way. We did our duty and we left it alone.

I do sharply remember that Vietnam was hot and stunk. First impression off the plane at CRB and it stuck a lot harder than some of the hairy stuff.