I have been thinking a lot lately about what it was like to come home from war. How different was my experience coming home from Vietnam (twice) from my fathers at the end of World War 2. My Dad came home after occupying Japan for several months. He was on a slow ship to San Francisco with men he knew. They were able to talk and work things out (kind of). They were greeted by bands and cheering people. He had a steak dinner served by German POW’s. He took a train and arrived in Chicago and instead of rushing home he and a buddy went to the Drake Hotel and had a few drinks. He was very reluctant to go home to the woman he married during the war. It had been a long time and he had been through so much. He no longer knew her. He did go home and picked up where he left off over 2 years ago. Life went on. I came home twice. The first time was after I had been in Vietnam 13 months. I flew home on a commercial airline (Flying Tiger). I arrived in the U.S., called home and got on a bus to Oakland Airport. There were protestors outside the gate yelling and calling us baby killers, murderers, etc. I got on a flight to Chicago and in the aircraft lounge (yes, there was one) I was asked by a couple people about the racial situation in Vietnam. My family were waiting for me when I landed. The second time I came home I was out in the bunkers the night before I left the country. I was stressed out and nervous. I flew on an Air Force cargo plane and we blew an engine over the Pacific. I was sitting on a crate playing solitaire. Flames were shooting out of the engine and I thought “I am going to die like this after all I have been through” Well, the crew put out the fire and we landed in Hawaii. Then I caught another flight to San Francisco. I was able to get on a flight to Chicago on first class. It had been 3 days since I left Vietnam. I hadn’t slept, shaved or washed for 3 days. When I arrived in Chicago no one was home. I took a cab home and broke in my own house. I want to write a book about coming home and need your stories.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 02:52:16 +0000
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