He was always able to hide pretty well the scars he bore from those days. I don't think he ever had nightmares or flashbacks or anything like that, but I do believe that he was a sadder person than he would have been had he never been faced with such death and destruction.

We all face death and destruction in our lives whether its from accidents or people throwing their lives away or someone taking a life.

Although not at the magnitude of war these experiences leave us with a sadness. It just seems like it's part of being human.

I think strength come from the sadness in the realization that much of the world is far from perfect and the sorrow we feel turns to acceptance. We learn to get on with our lives and are somewhat hardened by our experiences.

I know a handful of Vietnam vets and none of them are the whiny head cases that the media loves to portray. They remain silent for the most part unless your lucky enough to catch one in the mood to talk. Gary "O" was a "trainer" in 1964, Bob was a door gunner on a huey. Gary "W" was a mechanic at an airfield and only Gary W got choked up telling me about guys he saw killed and there was nothing he could do about it.

He didn't shed a tear but he had to turn away.

Just one way to look at it.