This picture was taken in February of 1970, when I was stationed in Vietnam. I was 19 years-old. (I turned 20 while in-country) I was a Combat Engineer (31st Eng Battalion).
My specialty was Enemy Ordinance Disposal (EOD), but I also drove heavy equipment - like bucket loaders, as shown in the photo below.
Looking at these photos today, I looked impossibly young and thin. Was I really that young once? I left Vietnam an old man in a young man’s body.
This Veteran’s Day I find myself thinking of my buddies who didn’t survive that hell in Vietnam. Some came home, like me, only to fall prey to PTSD. The casualty rate still continues today.
I recently read about how the military is basically blackmailing people who are locked up for going AWOL. The soldiers end up staying in jail for long periods of time (some for over a year) before their cases even go to trial.
Some of these AWOLs have already served combat tours and don’t want to go back. The authorities offer soldiers a way out of jail if they will agree to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. Blatant blackmail by a military that is running short of bodies to sacrifice.
I look at the record numbers of soldiers coming back from these wars with PTSD. Their numbers are overwhelming. The VA’s in need of a major overhaul to help them.
On this day to honor veterans I’m torn between remembering those who gave their all to this country, and the challengers our veterans face today. My heart is with each and every one of America’s veterans every day.
Don’t expect jingoism from me. I think war is wrong. I’m unhappy with the president, and the punks in the Pentagon who don’t want our protracted wars to end. Their reasons are dark, and colored with greed and mindless imperialism.
Instead of martial rhetoric for this day, I hope to see a Veteran’s Day when we are not at war with other countries. John Lennon’s song comes clearly to me this morning. Join me, if you will, in singing “Imagine.”
--Dave Stancliff
