My DH was in Viet Nam. He was a door gunner in a helicopter and he was assigned to the motor pool at headguarters. This means they were on the front line but behind the other units who were fighting. DH was technically a mechanic but he was sent into various behind the lines missions. There is no record of alot of this as the hut that had the records were destroyed. He was sent on missions to clean up after the VC bombed orphanages. Kids walking up to our guys were not to be trusted as they were often strapped to bombs. Lots of really bad things happened and I only know the tip of it all. My DH was in a jeep that got blown up and then later a 2 1/2" ton truck (deucenhalf) that was blown up. He was sent home in a body cast and then when he recovered he went back over. He was in a Japanese hospital for a while also. He enlisted and is really proud of that in a time when most were drafted.
Glen had told me he was captured and held for 3 mos and then they escaped and walked out of the jungle. But this is not on any record. When we were arguing one time several years ago he began to have a flashback. He stumbled against the wall and fell down to sit against the wall and the look in his eyes was pure terror. He was cowering and screaming no more no more - he was acting as if he was being electrocuted and in water and then rats running over his legs. It was not fun to watch. I helped him come out of it and he has had other flashbacks but none as bad as that one.
He also had a head injury in 1977 and that plus the Nam experience has left him with serious problems health wise. He is in a wheelchair part of the time and has seizures and loses the use of his legs and arms from time to time as well as he has paranoia and PTSD which means he is constantly on alert for danger and questions every sound. The doctor says his subconsious is still playing these memories behind the scenes so he is always filtering life through those experiences. I have had a hard time understanding why he can't just ignore things like I do but he can"t
Yes living with a Viet Nam vet is a daily trial. But he remembers a lot of the fun things they did too. They had a pet rat they fed beer to it and coke. He had a shephard that was a point dog to hear anyone moving before the guys did.
They had local girls that were maids and the girls were well trained to give massages.(anything beyond that I didn't want to know! LOL) He learned alot about massage from them. He used to give me great massages but his hands won't let him do it anymore.
I was only 12 when he enlisted at 18 so Viet Nam is a bit hard for me to relate to. But I am very proud of him!
He enlisted in Sep 69 and was honorably discharged May of 72
Another thing was he was engaged when he enlisted and while over there he was one to get a Dear John letter. She decided she didn't want to wait for him. I am so glad she didnt' wait!!! LOL