They fought the longest war in American history. In 1965 Vietnam seemed like just another foreign war. But it wasn't. It was different in many ways. And so were those who did the fighting. In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was 26. In Vietnam he was 19.
The heaviest fighting of the past two weeks continued today 25 miles North West of Saigon. I wasn't really sure what was going on. In Vietnam the combat soldier typically served a twelve-month tour of duty, but he was exposed to hostile fire almost every day.
In Saigon a U.S. military spokesman said today that more than 700 enemy troops were killed last week in that sensitive border area. Throughout all of South Vietnam, the enemy lost a total of 2.689 soldiers.
"You're eighteen years old and you're wearing some bodies’ brains around on your shirt, because they got their heads blown off right next to you and that's not suppose to affect you" "I could never understand" "What would scare me?
It is that we were to send a group of eighteen year olds 12.000 miles away, and subject them to in a year of that insanity, and have them not be affected ..." "That's what would frighten me". All those who remember the war won't forget what they've seen; destruction of men in their prime whose average age was 19.
According to a Veteran's Administration study, half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffer from what psychiatrists call Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or guilt. Some succumb to suicidal thoughts. Eight to ten years after coming home.
Almost eight-hundred-thousand men are still fighting the Vietnam War. None of them received a hero's welcome. Purple Heart, Saigon, I wasn't really sure what was going on…
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