When you wake up and everybody says, "How do you feel, Mike?" I say, "I'm alive." As long as I'm alive I can deal with anything that's out there.

War stinks! There's nothing good about it. But you know the whole thing, it's you or them.

I'll always have the memories of guys I lost in Vietnam. And I've lost friends since the war, but I'll always have the memories. The riches are great, but riches aren't everything, because when you go you can only take your memories and your word and your honor to the grave with you.

It wasn't the Medal of Honor that changed my life. It was being in Vietnam itself. The close situations changed my whole way of thinking about my life. It showed me that things can disappear like the snap of your fingers. As a young guy you thought you were invincible and nothing could ever hurt you, and stuff like that, and living life to the fullest.

This Medal of Honor does not belong to me. This medal belongs to every man and woman who has ever served their country. We were doing what we were trained to do. We were doing our job.

When you wake up and everybody says, "How do you feel, Mike?" I say, "I'm alive." As long as I'm alive I can deal with anything that's out there.

Just be happy with life itself, period. I mean, I live every day to the fullest, you know. Yeah, set your goals out there but make them reachable, because, you know, every day every situation changes, and that's in everyday life. That's not just in the war, you know.