Why A Nam Vet
WHY: Because most of us were brought up by Fathers and Uncles who were either in WWII or Korea. We were taught HONOR-RESPECT-DUTY.
HONOR: The Flag, the country, your family. RESPECT: Your elders and those in charge, your teachers, policemen.
DUTY: To protect our country, our way of life. The movies and stories we heard instilled these heart felt feelings in most of us. I believe this might be the reason most of us volunteered for service in Vietnam.
WHY: When we returned from Nam didn't we receive the the same HONOR and RESPECT that our Fathers and Uncles did upon their return? Could it be that one year of our life in Vietnam was not considered as 'war' to them? Being scared, shot at, wounded, and dying, ISN'T THAT WAR? Maybe because it wasn't called a 'war', or maybe nobody wanted to hear about the 10 year war.
WHY: Didn't we want to talk about it when we got home? Maybe we felt we lost respect from our elders, or maybe we just wanted to forget or just felt guilty.
WHY: Didn't I die or even get shot?
WHY: Did my friends die? They died for the HONOR, the DUTY, the RESPECT of our families and country like all the men and women of all our past wars. They died for this country, for FREEDOM, for future generations so they too will know that life in the United States is great and worth fighting for.
WHY: After 30 years of being back from Vietnam am I finally, now writing this? It's been 30 years of silence and now that I am older, maybe it is time to start speaking out. I am tired of hearing that Vietnam Vets are losers, drug addicts, homeless, cons, etc. No doubt there are some who are the above, but MOST of us came home, completed our service obligations, got jobs, and raised families. We pay our taxes. We are your neighbors, your fellow worker. We are your family.
WHY: It's time for us to be proud of being Vietnam Veterans. We did HONOR our country, RESPECT our Flag, and did our DUTY. GOD BLESS US ALL.
ALLEN BENNETT: November 8th, 1998
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