![]() “I had to be tough in order to survive,” he said “And the ones that picked on me regretted it because I took care of business.”Ī U.S. His short stature and Jewish identity ensured he was met with a good deal of antagonism, but he learned to deal with it. Since his older brother kept mostly to himself and his younger brother had a “behavioral pattern problem” (Jerry said they didn’t really have a name for it back then), he was pretty much on his own. ![]() His father was a tailor, and the family was relatively poor. Jerry grew up in a small town in the Northeast, the second of three boys. Most of what Jerry did in Vietnam was classified and almost 60 years later, Jerry still isn’t going to break that code. “Things I don’t want to relive.” And then there were subjects Jerry couldn’t talk about because they never happened. “Things in my mind that I’ve put way back,” he said. ![]() He agreed to speak with me as long as the stories remained anonymous, and he made it clear there were things he simply would not talk about. Jerry’s real name isn’t Jerry by the way. It’s hard to talk to him about his past without being affected in some way. He told me this in a straightforward manner, as though he’s worked a great deal on saying it out loud without letting it affect him too much. She tried to kill him first, but that didn’t make it any easier. He told me the first person he ever killed was a teenager. We became acquainted through a friend, exchanging the usual pleasantries and talking about frivolous subjects that I can’t now recall.ĭuring our conversations, Jerry told me he is a Vietnam War veteran. A short, stout man, well built, usually wearing a baseball cap. Jerry is about my father’s age, somewhere in his 70s. They will help ensure Soldiers' legacies live on even when they're no longer with us and hopefully remind them of the difference they made during their service to our great country. Stories from former Soldiers can provide insight, inspiration, preserve their memory, and shed light on the part they played in the history of our country. I remember the old man's ruddy skin, age spots showing through white hair in a receding hairline, the narrow walk space between shelves crowded with fascinating military items, but I don't remember the specifics of his stories. I clearly remember seeing the missing toes on one foot, he had a big toe and the one next to it and that was it. The thing is, over the years the specifics of that random encounter have faded to the recesses of my memory. It was as if the flood gates opened and he had to let it all out to the wide-eyed new guy. ![]() He wasn't shy, he seemed to relish the opportunity to talk about that part of his life. For nearly an hour he regaled me with stories of that experience, he showed me the missing fingers and toes lost to frostbite and a bullet wound scar. He was a veteran of the Korean war, one of the "Chosin Few" or the "Frozen Chosin," a Marine involved in the fighting withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir to the port of Hungnam in 1950. He saw my haircut, I saw his fading tattoos and we stopped to chat. In 1989, fresh out of boot camp, I met an old warrior at an Army Navy surplus store. An old Soldier's first-hand recounting of his experiences during the Vietnam War 57 years ago. It is not an academic article supported by research, only a subject interview, and it does not have a coherent thesis or provide an analyses of some sort. When the NCO Journal team first reviewed it, it was almost a consensus, we should reject the submission because it doesn't meet our publication guidelines. This article veers from our normal format. ![]()
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