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I vividly remember that while I was in my 1st tour in Vietnam at age 19 with USARV in Bien Hoa air base, I was with an Army Aviation Company living in tents, and I bought a bolt of expensive blue silk that I sent home to my oldest sister, Linda, and she made a beautiful pair of pajamas [for Home EC class- in high school] for her baby sister Denise, and then sent me a picture. I don't talk about this much, but there was a small girl in a "hot LZ" one day--one mission, when I got to my next Hel. Co. the 240th AHC, the next [2nd] tour at Camp BearCat, RVN [Vietnam], and she reminded me of that picture of my little sister. I will tell you the rest of the story some other time... OK? Let me put it this way... I NEVER shot anyone who wasn't an enemy who was shooting at me, or my ship/ people! But being in a "kill zone" --there were 3 ships [helicopters/ slicks] following my ship with all guns firing for "full suppression" and everything was 'fair game.' I saw my bullets dancing around that girl of about 6 years old and pulled up/ stopped firing in a heart beat. But a few seconds before the A/C [air craft commander] gave the order to "open up" fire and kill everything in that kill zone, and I could have legally killed her! But I did not. Many strange and terrible things happen in the heat of battle, and then a soldier's mind [has a little tape recorder in the back of his brain] keeps playing it over and over again... tormenting himself forever, that is just one part/ facet of PTSD --Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
That was just one of many days that stuck in my mind laying dormant until a few minutes ago when I opened up this email sent to me by my sister, Linda. Linda has a son, David, who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and is now a Lt. serving near a combat zone, and a lovely daughter named, Emily, who is a college grad working with mentally challenged children, and another son, Kent, who was 'acquired' Autism... many think that he got it from shot/injection that is given to new born babies. Linda was the president of the National Autism Society a few years. Her hubby is an Electrician in WI and I saw them all last at a Christmas party in 08.
Now... we don't use the term, "White-American", or 'European- American' or German-American [unless we are trying to distinguish our extraction from another group] DO WE ??? Why is it that Dark skinned people who live in America seem to need to ?? If they don't love the term AMERICAN-- why can't they just leave/ go to another country.. like Iran...lol ? Just some food for thought... and my own personal opinion.
Got to leave for dinner.
Tom
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