I'm no hero and I'm no expert.

I enlisted for 2 years in the Navy Reserve when I flunked out of college so I could avoid being drafted in the infantry for the same length of time. I could have married my girlfriend and gotten her pregnant, thus avoiding the draft, but I knew I was not ready to be a father, and certainly not for such a self-serving reason.

If a 4 or 6 year Regular Navy enlistment had been my only option, I would have taken my chances with the grunts. Minimizing my stay in the military was my primary motivation, but avoiding combat and packing 80 pounds of gear in the bush was a very close second.

I can't say I did so for any moral or political reasons. At the time, I was not opposed to the Vietnam war. I actually believed all that Domino Theory bullshit.

The only thing I can say for myself is that I did not ever consider going to Canada, or faking a religious or medical exemption, a family deferment or claiming a conscientious objector status (an honorable option, but I just wasn't one). Almost everyone I knew was going through this at the time. I was 19, doing the right thing seemed very important, I knew I would have to justify whatever actionI took to myself for the rest of my life.

I knew I had to go, and I had to serve as best I could if I did. I took my oath seriously, I would have followed whatever orders where given to me, but I was determined to use any legal means possible to ensure I got out alive and as quickly as possible.

Even after all these years, I have to make my position and choices perfectly clear. I owe that much to the guys who came back all fucked up, or didn't come back at all. At the very least, I can honestly say that I showed up.