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

War is society's dirty work, usually done by kids cleaning up failures perpetrated by adults.

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.

The Marine Corps taught me how to kill, but it didn't teach me how to deal with killing.

Once we recognize our shadow's existence we must resist the enticing step of going with its flow.

In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I had done anything right at the moment to earn that respect. This is pretty nice. It's also a psychological trap that can stop one's growth and allow one to get away with just plain bad behavior.

Vietnam was the first time that Americans of different races had to depend on each other. In the Second World War, they were segregated; it was in Vietnam that American integration happened in the military - and it wasn't easy.