Comment from Begin Again

Excellent

This story deserves a six plus plus... I could feel every word you wrote. I have had close family in Vietnam and Desert Storm. You are right to say unless they have walked in those military boots, they have no idea what it's like...including me. I can only feel for each and everyone of you. Awesome story! Thank you for sharing and standing up for our country and what we believe in. i am very proud to say I read your story and salute you!
Smiles and hugs, Carol

 Comment Written 31-Aug-2024

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reply by the author on 31-Aug-2024

Carol, your words are too kind. But well appreciated. I guess like all writers, you hope the person reading your story finds a meaning in it.

Comment from Michael Ludwinder

Excellent

I'm truly sorry for what you've been through. Your story captures the emotions of a terrible time in your life so well. The way you've detailed your experiences, from the carefree days after graduation to the tragic news of your brother's death gives a heartfelt picture of how this impacted your life. Your story is powerful. I think it honors both your brother's memory and your own journey through an incredibly challenging time.

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 Comment Written 31-Aug-2024

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reply by the author on 31-Aug-2024

Michael,

Believe it or not, this was a fictional story, but based on actual events my older brother went through in Vietnam 1968 to 1969.

He was in the 5th/7th Cavalry. The battles are ones he fought in and told me ever so much about. The Lieutenant in the story is actually Lt. Michael Sprayberry - Please check him out on line. I had the chance to meet him several years ago at my brother's 1st Cavalry reunion. It was an honor to shake his hand. He is a very humble man. My brother did go with him on that night raid. He said; "I had to take him. Soldiers with that much desire to help their comrades are my type of soldiers."

The character Neil Martin was actually Neil Meyer. What happened to him is true. My brother was pissed that they army sent Neil back to finish his tour. Neil was not the same when he came back.

The part about the hammock is true. All of the situations in Vietnam are true. My brother experienced them and the way he was treated at the airport.

I am guessing you got as far as the quote from William Shakespear. Below it I wrote the following.

This story is dedicated to my brother, John. I based the Vietnam writing on his actual stories he told to me. He survived the war but took years to come home. The war engulfed him, and he drank to solve his nightmares.

Thankfully, his "brothers" got him the help he needed. I am so proud to write John is back to being the brother I knew before Vietnam.

I ask a small favor, the next time you see a Vietnam veteran. Please thank him for his service. It will mean the world to him.

First, thank you for the kind words. In most stories, I try to write them with that are so believable that readers think they are true. From the reviews such as your I think I accomplished that goal.

I love my brother dearly, growing up watching him struggle with alcohol. Vietnam destroyed him. John had it all: looks, intelligence, and a great personality.

I am eternally grateful to his army brothers. What they did was a blessing. My brother is back being the brother I knew before Vietnam.

If you look at my other stories, you will see several about my brother.

Thank you again for reading my story.

Comment from pome lover

Excellent

I have always heard of the horrible way the VietNam vets were treated after they got home. Totally inexcusable. I heard a lot of the young men went round the bend after that kind of treatment when they got home.
That was quite a story, very realistically written, except I am confused. If the story is based on your real brother, John's Vietnam experiences, then Richard was just a character in this story? Did you actually fight in Vietnam? You made it sound so real, maybe because you WERE there, I thought you were, all the way through until you said this story was based on John's, your real brother's experiences there. So he didn't die?
It could be that it's midnight and I'm tired, and I may have missed something here, but I wanted to get an answer to you, except now I'm embarrassed to ask if you went, because if you did and went through all that horrible experience, I feel terrible asking. But if the story is your brother's, I must ask, were you there, too? and from the last part of the story, it seems your brother didn't die. Is that right?
Katharine

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 Comment Written 31-Aug-2024

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reply by the author on 31-Aug-2024

Katherine,
I try in most of my stories to make them seem so real the reader believes they are real. From the reviews I have received, I accomplished that.

All the events in Vietnam are real. All based on my brothers, now as far as dates and battles. I used the computer to help me.

Let me tell you a story. I had graduated and our involvement in Vietnam was winding down. I was eighteen and had registered for the draft. Like Richard in the story, I wanted to follow in my dad's footstep as well as my two brothers. My oldest brother Donald served in Vietnam 1965-1966. He was a Navy Seabee. His job was to building bases for the Marines. My father flew B-29s in the Pacific.

Having coffee one morning, I told John I had registered for the draft. He stood up and said: "You are not going in the God Damn army. I will drag your sorry ass to the Air Force recruiter if you are so intent on serving."

Fortunately, I went to college, got a degree and became a police officer. I retired after twenty-eight years as a Detective Lieutenant.

The Chief I wrote about is true. He loved Vietnam veterans. At the beginning, most of the guys were vets. I heard some of their stories about coming home. Like John in San Francisco, they all suffered when they returned. Sadly, most were drafted and just did what our government asked them to do. People today do not understand in those days' duty to serve was in most young men. That was true for my brother and me.

I often think about what my poor mother went through having two of her sons go to Vietnam and worry sick about them. When I became a police officer, the first thing my father told me was never tell your mother anything bad that happened. She worries sick about you. I never broke my promise.

In 2015, John asked me to come with him to a Veteran's Day reunion in Washington DC. You can only imagine how I felt when I met the three men that saved his life from alcohol addiction.

I should mention in the story the part about the lieutenant was actually Lt. Michael Sprayberry. You should Google him and read why he received the medal of Honor. He is a very humble man.

My brother did go with him on that night raid. He said to me; "I had to take him. Soldiers with that much desire to help their comrades are my type of soldiers. John was an excellent soldier."

The character Neil Martin was actually Neil Meyer. What happened to him is true. My brother was so pissed that the army sent Neil back to finish his tour. Neil was not the same when he came back. John told all the guys to keep a close eye on Neil. They all did.

The part about the jumping off the chopper was true. It was Lt. Sprayberry that found him and dubbed John "Frog." It was so funny at the reunion no one called him by his real name.

The part about the hammock is true. All of the situations in Vietnam are true. My brother experienced them and the way he was treated at the airport.

Thank you once more for reading one of my stories. I should mention there are several on Fan story I have written in honor of John.

reply by pome lover on 31-Aug-2024

Interesting story of a patriotic family, though I don't blame your mom for crying. Such a scary thing.
I'd be interested in what you think of our present administration,and the situation in our country, if you'd care to remark on it. If not, fine.

Comment from LJbutterfly

Exceptional

There IS a lot of truth in your story. It brought me to tears, especially the description of the ignorant reception Vietnam veterans received when they returned home. I spent 30 years employed at the VA, counseling veterans as they returned from Vietnam. I've heard hundreds of actual stories. I posted one such true story about a veteran with PTSD, called "I Can't Take It." I posted another essay about women in Vietnam.

Your story is so real it sounds like it came from the pages of Tim O'Brien's book, "The Things They Carried," which was about his experiences in Vietnam.

I'm glad your story is fiction based on truth, and your brother is alive. Your story is well written and captivating. I wish you the best in the contest.

 Comment Written 30-Aug-2024

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reply by the author on 30-Aug-2024

Thank you for the kind words. They are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your service to our veterans.

I worked for a police department that the chief was a Korean War veteran. He gave vets priority in hiring. He knew they would make excellent police officers. Over the years I worked with all of them. He was absolutely right about them.

Thank you 😊

Comment from zanya

Exceptional

Though described as fiction it has a ring of truth about war and all the horror that war unleashes. especially for those brave soldiers and their families.

 Comment Written 30-Aug-2024

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reply by the author on 30-Aug-2024

I tried to do the Vietnam vets justice in writing this. I can only hope I did.

Thank you for the very kind words!!