In the story "My Dear Wife…I've killed", I was really taken back by some of the stories within the story. When he thinks the airport is under attack and he's "going to get it the first day," but it turns out the airport hasn't been attacked for months-what a mindf**k! Or how long it took for his request to get through the system and he was a desk jockey by the time it got back to him-his own desk and had to compose an official army response-to himself! I thought it so sad reading of the story of the kid, the dog handler, who was assigned to work with Charlie company and been shot to death. His dog didn't leave his side till he was "dragged away." So sad.
Also, this is actually the first time I really understand what napalm is. I thought it was just a type of bomb, but it's actually a substance that sticks to human flesh and keeps burning till it burns itself out-brutal!
When I hear stories about Vietnam, I often think back to the early 90's. I was in a band with a drummer, Jim Haggerman, who was a bit older than the rest of us and had been to Vietnam. He surely had problems caused by his time in the war. But one day he said to me something like, "You probably would have been alright over there. You're calm and have ahead on your shoulders and probably would have survived." I often wonder if that's true. Bullets and bombs don't care how smart or dumb you are. If you get in the path of one, your gonna get it. I miss Jim and wish I knew how he was doing today.
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