Back in the spring of 1965, I was in fifth grade. Dad was a Navy Corpsman stationed in Kaneohe, Hawaii. One day Dad came home and gathered his four kids and my Mom together.
Dad said he was going to a place called Vietnam without us. The “good” government of South Vietnam was being attacked by the “bad” government of North Vietnam. Dad and his buddies had to go over there.
When I asked why, Dad said it was because Communists wanted to spread Communism. If we didn’t fight the Communists in Vietnam, we’d have to fight them in the streets of our cities. I got out a map and saw that Vietnam was very far from our cities.
Dad said Communists hated our freedom and wanted to enslave us. I looked up the population of North Vietnam and saw that there was no way they had enough people to enslave us. Dad said that the Russian and Chinese Communists had enough people to enslave us.
Dad was a career Navy man. He did what he was told to do and believed in the reasons he was given. Dad and his buddies went to Vietnam. Dad came back; some of his buddies did not.
Dad stayed in the Navy. In 1966 and we got stationed in Bethesda, Maryland.
Over the next two years, President Lyndon Johnson would come on television now and again and tell us we had to stop those Communists from spreading Communism by sending more troops.
That’s when I started paying closer attention.
I knew we had been in Vietnam longer than it took us to beat Hitler AND Tojo. I thought very hard about why we couldn’t beat such a tiny country with so many troops.
In 1968, I concluded that the war was being run by morons. That was frightening for a 13-year-old boy. Our government was killing its own citizens because it was incompetent.
In the spring of 1968, I was in eighth grade. One day Dad came home and gathered his four kids and my Mom together. Those Communists were still pesky. Dad and some new buddies would have to go back to Vietnam.
I wanted to know why President Johnson was trying to kill my father, but a serviceman’s kid is supposed to be stoic; I kept my mouth shut. Dad ruined the President’s plan and came home alive a second time. More of his buddies died.
Hugging your Dad goodbye knowing you might never see him again is terrible. If you are lucky, the first time you do it is when your Dad is an old man going into surgery after a long, happy life. I did it twice before I was 14.
Last week, President Bush went on television and told us we had to stop Terrorists from spreading Terrorism. He wants to send more troops to Iraq. He spoke of bloody sacrifice.
Hey, you little Texas idiot; what are you sacrificing besides your political legacy?
It’s the Mommies and Daddies that will die! It’s the kids that will hug their parents goodbye not knowing if they will ever see them again…some kids for the third and fourth time!
Make no mistake; your reasons are no better than President Johnson’s reasons.
March 19, 2008...5:37 pm
History Lesson
January 12, 2007
By Gene Clark
Back in the spring of 1965, I was in fifth grade. Dad was a Navy Corpsman stationed in Kaneohe, Hawaii. One day Dad came home and gathered his four kids and my Mom together.
Dad said he was going to a place called Vietnam without us. The “good” government of South Vietnam was being attacked by the “bad” government of North Vietnam. Dad and his buddies had to go over there.
When I asked why, Dad said it was because Communists wanted to spread Communism. If we didn’t fight the Communists in Vietnam, we’d have to fight them in the streets of our cities. I got out a map and saw that Vietnam was very far from our cities.
Dad said Communists hated our freedom and wanted to enslave us. I looked up the population of North Vietnam and saw that there was no way they had enough people to enslave us. Dad said that the Russian and Chinese Communists had enough people to enslave us.
Dad was a career Navy man. He did what he was told to do and believed in the reasons he was given. Dad and his buddies went to Vietnam. Dad came back; some of his buddies did not.
Dad stayed in the Navy. In 1966 and we got stationed in Bethesda, Maryland.
Over the next two years, President Lyndon Johnson would come on television now and again and tell us we had to stop those Communists from spreading Communism by sending more troops.
That’s when I started paying closer attention.
I knew we had been in Vietnam longer than it took us to beat Hitler AND Tojo. I thought very hard about why we couldn’t beat such a tiny country with so many troops.
In 1968, I concluded that the war was being run by morons. That was frightening for a 13-year-old boy. Our government was killing its own citizens because it was incompetent.
In the spring of 1968, I was in eighth grade. One day Dad came home and gathered his four kids and my Mom together. Those Communists were still pesky. Dad and some new buddies would have to go back to Vietnam.
I wanted to know why President Johnson was trying to kill my father, but a serviceman’s kid is supposed to be stoic; I kept my mouth shut. Dad ruined the President’s plan and came home alive a second time. More of his buddies died.
Hugging your Dad goodbye knowing you might never see him again is terrible. If you are lucky, the first time you do it is when your Dad is an old man going into surgery after a long, happy life. I did it twice before I was 14.
Last week, President Bush went on television and told us we had to stop Terrorists from spreading Terrorism. He wants to send more troops to Iraq. He spoke of bloody sacrifice.
Hey, you little Texas idiot; what are you sacrificing besides your political legacy?
It’s the Mommies and Daddies that will die! It’s the kids that will hug their parents goodbye not knowing if they will ever see them again…some kids for the third and fourth time!
Make no mistake; your reasons are no better than President Johnson’s reasons.
The Dixie Chicks were right.
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