Quitting is unthinkable and pain is just weakness leaving the body

He lay before God as a woman opens herself to a man, with legs apart, stomach exposed, arms open. But unlike some women, he did not have the inner strength that allowed them to do such a thing without fear. There was no woman’s strength in Mellas at all.

I knew many Marines had done brave deeds that no one saw and for which they got no medals at all. I was having a very hard time carrying those medals and didnt have the insight or maturity to know what to do with my combination of guilt and pride.

Cynicism is no more mature than naïveté. You're no more mature, just more burned.

It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called Agent Orange...and it won't bother humans.

When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.

When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. It was first person, and there would be pages about wet socks and cold feet.