Twenty ready to experience a new way of life only, your never really ready for some life changing experiences! You may think this story is about simple changes one may go through from a boy to manhood, this could make a good story onto itself, though you would be wrong!
This story begins...

Training extensively would perfect our skills to prepare us for survival an I wer fast to learn each skill required by my commanders. Basic Training I recall havin' all my hair shaved off my head, an this to me wer hideous, though not so bad cause it wer a requirement of all inductees, a humbling experience to walk around with no hair, only this action wer to provide us a value of camaraderie a sence of bonding with your squad, everyone did dress the same, look alike, an studied the same things, worked at the same skills. Advance Infantry Training I recall wer to prepare us on a more serious level where each solider wer placed in actual combat situations to prepare us, an should we get captured how, what we wer expected to react in such an event. horror genre that are designed to elicit fright, fear, terror, or horror from viewers...
  Oh' yeah! you will have to read between the lines to understand this in my story! I will say this from the start; From the moment they shaved my head to the day I wer to be honorably discharged as it wer, I wer all the above! A level of which I live with to this very day as I'm PTSD myself, yet not in a sense you my be thinking! I live with this disorder, with the aid of meds so I'd be able to sleep an cope with confinement be it any form of transportation, elevator, a closed room, an my prevalent disregard for authority figures! I do not justify my condition only I cope with fright, fear, terror in my head each an every day cause I wer a special solider an wer awarded many combat awards (Medals an such) for acts of bravery in serious combat situations! O' yes I wer responsible for saving hundreds of lives, only cause I wer always in a state of fright, fear, terror an never let my guard down an I wer ready for the worse always, this is what makes me special for a combat situation, also in my current walk in life. Advance Infantry Training we practiced war games! Though the idea wer to go into the enemy strong hold retrieve some important item an return. This I did, an when I wer captured an interrogated, chained to a weapons rack an threatened in a horrible manor...Well, I escaped sure did, though it weren't an easy thing to do! I had to beat my way out...
  Fight or save the consequences they had in store for me the next day! AIT wer rough on all of us an we wer ready for combat I can assure you! I trained for demolition, I wer able to destroy anything, an operate any weapon known to man, an dismantle any mine, bomb an the like...O' yeah! a very special skill indeed, though grateful, for this training, as these skills enabled me to protect, save lives, an serve my country with dignity, pride. and so I LIVE...I'm Free. Viet Nam this is all I need to hear! This is the trigger for which their is no cure, only to cope. Easter Sunday a day of horror, when that helicopter fell from the sky by enemy fire on our position, gathering pieces of human flesh instead of easter eggs I wer gathering Easter Legs en one of my most memorable horrific experiences, though someone had to do this duty an others would get sick while in tears trying!
   I did pray to cope as I served my fallen comrades, may they rest in peace.  Twenty now an fighten every day is deadly, also memorable! Sleeping on ammo boxes on my armor Track each day for cover as my unit were a support unit an activated at each an every encounter! when one night we fell upon attack an although many gave their lives I wer lucky cause the rocket entered through my armor an did not explode! Good God when I stepped out to witness my comrades with helmets in hand an jaws wide open for my appearance, did cause horrorabe thoughts in them, To see the fins of the missile stuck in the side an the swelling of metal wer an awesome sight to behold, an only I wer inches from certain death in the belie of the beast! God had been with me on that day. To see two hundred an fifty dead an to be one of fifty alive after is a wonder I live with today!

  The mail arrives, an a friend from home Glenn Petersen send a box of cigars fifty in the box, on that day Incredible as it wer, while handing each one out to the exact remaining troops whom survived, that reality struck home once again, praise God for his keeping! Once again on a sunny day we were attacked, only this time we wer on the move to assist others when all hell broke lose an the first, lead Tank were wiped-out with a spray of rapped fire an this wer to keep us from moving completely. I'd have to run through open fire, remove the now dead driver an replace him so I could move the convoy forward through dense jungle of bamboo covered in red ants as I'm facing a rocket to be launched directly at me, only after three shaken tries an missing me wer nothin' short of a miracle. Jerry warned me to stay moving an not sit still for an easy target will help me survive...so true. Although their are many more such stories I live with, it is important to understand that only when one is trained an prepared for a task; Then one can make a reasonable good decision when called upon to act in an emergency. Easter, Christ will rise on this day, all whom have past, while serving his will, shall have their spirits ascend into God's heaven an rest my soul and yours. God and Jerry Timons have this advise in common; Beware of the booby traps, in life and be prepared to handle what may come at an instant and when you least expect it and when it is your turn to act. In my church I pray to my God for saving me to pray for those souls that have given so much for us all to enjoy our freedom, an on this day tears I wipe away, remembering  my fallen comrades, each year I live. Bye for now!