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.

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.

Everything is touched by the holy when it is in the presence of death.

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

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

I mean, if you're proud of what you've done when you've served in the military, well then we call that bragging. And if you are unhappy about what happened, we call that complaining. And so what are you going to do?

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