If I may just say a word here..
In case you haven't pieced it all together (something I'm in the process of
myself), I was drafted in 1969. I had no favorable thoughts regarding our
efforts in Vietnam, and wanted no part of it. When I was drafted I had a
good job, was engaged to be married, and was living in Berkely in a
pretty nice apartment, had a new MG Midget, was 19 years old..(or was I
20?)..anyhow, I turned 21 in Vietnam and was AWOL a month before I
showed up in Oakland to go fight in a stupid dirty war that had an ugly
ending. It was a choice I made over leaving family and friends to run off
to Canada, going to jail, or joining some service for four years. Luckily,
as things turned out, I feel pretty good about what I did. If they had made
me a machine gunner or point man, I don't know if I could deal with it as
well. They had the tough jobs, drafted just like me, but were the ones
that were put in the position of eye to eye killing and being the one
pulling the trigger. None of them I knew relished blowing someone's
head off, but after all, it was them or us out there and more than a few
times these guys saved our asses by being very alert and making the
right decisions, or just plain kicking ass.
Seeing these letters after 37 years as Pat and Roger scan and e-mail
them to me is, dare I say, cathartic? Well, there, I said it.
I think I have them all posted now, and will be adding comments as the
mood strikes. They are in fairly close chronological order, but there are
a couple of missing pages, and perhaps some missing letters.
I hope you enjoy (ed) reading them.
Sincerely,
Tom Daly, medic, 2/3 Btn, 199th Infantry
myself), I was drafted in 1969. I had no favorable thoughts regarding our
efforts in Vietnam, and wanted no part of it. When I was drafted I had a
good job, was engaged to be married, and was living in Berkely in a
pretty nice apartment, had a new MG Midget, was 19 years old..(or was I
20?)..anyhow, I turned 21 in Vietnam and was AWOL a month before I
showed up in Oakland to go fight in a stupid dirty war that had an ugly
ending. It was a choice I made over leaving family and friends to run off
to Canada, going to jail, or joining some service for four years. Luckily,
as things turned out, I feel pretty good about what I did. If they had made
me a machine gunner or point man, I don't know if I could deal with it as
well. They had the tough jobs, drafted just like me, but were the ones
that were put in the position of eye to eye killing and being the one
pulling the trigger. None of them I knew relished blowing someone's
head off, but after all, it was them or us out there and more than a few
times these guys saved our asses by being very alert and making the
right decisions, or just plain kicking ass.
Seeing these letters after 37 years as Pat and Roger scan and e-mail
them to me is, dare I say, cathartic? Well, there, I said it.
I think I have them all posted now, and will be adding comments as the
mood strikes. They are in fairly close chronological order, but there are
a couple of missing pages, and perhaps some missing letters.
I hope you enjoy (ed) reading them.
Sincerely,
Tom Daly, medic, 2/3 Btn, 199th Infantry
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
