They were boys. They were so young,not even old enough to drink off-base,two of them. They are on this wall, those three boys of my youth. They will be forever young in my mind,unlike ex-husbands or relatives. Michael,Gus and Luke were never able to grow up and see what life held for them,unlike me. So today it is thoughts of them, and how they would be now,staring middle age in the face like I am. Dealing with the problems and enjoying the good things that life has when you get past the age of worrying about the rat race. No war before Vietnam affected me. My father served in Korea but was in the Navy and therefore on a ship. He served for 20 years,he was deployed during the cuban missle crisis. But this war, the Vietnam war, it affected me by taking childhood friends in the beginning of their manhood. Michael jumped in the lake once to save me from drowning. He then proclaimed I was not really drowning, I just wanted his arms around me..he was right of course.These three boys did not go willingly. They were drafted. I remember sitting in the dark,watching the lottery no one wanted to win. I remember the gasps when someone's number came up. I remember the silence when no one knew what to say. I lived in a military town, Lompoc,outside of Vandenberg AFB. But no one really wanted to go,they could see the war each night on the news, the living room war as it was called. But they went. Demand the truth,don't let our government hide behind a wall of secrecy. We owe it to them all. The ones that went inspite of their feelings,or those that went because of them.
5 people gave us their .02 cents:
I lost a couple of friends in Nam, too, and two others were POWs. One escaped, and the other was released at the end of the war. My number(95) came up twice in 71-72, but I never was called for my physical. Not that I would've been able to serve anyway, because of my 4F status. But it still scared me, nonetheless.
Sadly, not everyone learned from the lesson Beth :(
too young, i. for that one. too old for this one. purely blessed. but my brother (wake) was called for his physical and psychological interviews. he always supposed it had more to do with j. edgar wanting to know about everyone that marched back then...
amen, dusty in remembering the lives of our soldiers. may the national memorial day afford their families and friends a moment of peace, may they feel our gratitude for just that instant before the hurt and "what for?" returns.
that wall is SAD, man. my dad's a vet and we went there and it SUCKED. glad it exists as a reminder, though it certainly seems like it wasn't given a second thought. and in washington dc no less. pathetic.
that war changed my life and my familes too...
wonder how many lives this one is effecting (long-term).
JQP
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