In my dad’s effects, I found a letter I sent to him nearly 45 years ago. He kept it because it is important to him. I share it with you for the same reason. It is as I wrote it, only edited for length. Here it is: “22 July 1969 Dear Dad, “In less than two days, I will be leaving Vietnam. As with the end of all adventures, there are mixed emotions. I face the end having seen the best and worst of this country. I will be glad to leave the bad, but sad to leave the good. Yes, there has been good here, a lot of it. The times my buddies and I had laughing through troubles, the pranks, and stunts we pulled will always be special. “Along this same line, I have acquired two sets of memories. One set I will treasure forever and remember with a smile. You cannot regret anything that made you smile. The other set I will remember with fears and tears. The sound of a loud explosion or a movement in the dark will haunt me forever. “I have been so hungry here that I would vomit nothing and long for the food I left on my plate in the past. I have been so thirsty that I haven’t been able to swallow, and I would remember swimming pools, and watering lawns. I have been so filthy here, and remembered when I was a child and enjoyed being dirty. I have been so scared that I would shake and fight to control my bowels and bladder. I just thought I was scared before. I have seen death in every tree, around every corner and in every hole. I was fortunate, I saw him before he saw me. Many others did not. I have seen the elephant. I have seen war. “No one but the people who experience it can understand the stupidity of war, ALL WAR! To fight for the right and cause of freedom and the things you hold dear with all that you know is wrong, such as hate and killing, is doubly stupid. That, I guess, is the irony of war. “I am fighting for the freedom of people who do not care and will not help themselves. It is no wonder that North Vietnam is ten years ahead of the south. The north cares about their cause, and is aggressive in their efforts to spread it. In a war where the odds are overwhelmingly against them, they have, and will, continue to carry the battle to us, and, I fear, win the war. “Why should the South Vietnamese want to end the war? As long as America is here, their economy is strong. War is their legacy. These people have been at war for hundreds of years. Why should we think they will change their way of life? “I love my country. She is here, and I have served her. That is the only thing that makes this right for me. God has been with my country, and me, as always, but I wonder how He can approve of this? It is a strange thing to have your faith grow through a hatred for another man, but it has happened. Prayers have been answered. There have been so many times when the Marine next to me did not survive, and it could have been me. “Questions, why? Why war? Why must we kill each other? Silence, no answer. The eternal silence of stupidity…” Reading this shortened version, I realize that the letter could have been written home from any soldier in any war down through history, and probably was, and sadly, will be. Although the question has become a punch line, I ask it seriously, “Why can’t we all just get along?” Easy answer, because there will always be those who want to exercise unrighteous dominion over others, and we others, will fight to be free.

David Wilson Atwood is a local writer whose human-interest columns offer a unique perspective. He may be contacted, at: www.starchasers.us, or david@starchasers.us.