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There are some stories that do not make their way into bookstores. Sometimes the storyteller is unsure how their experiences will be received, especially if their story involves military service in combat.
My wife and I met a new resident in our condo community one evening during a community dinner. He was retired and the inevitable question was what he did before he retired. He said he was retired from the USAF, but said sometimes people did not want to hear about his time in the Air Force. He flew F-4's during the Vietnam War.
We asked him why we wouldn't want to hear about his experiences. He told us that he loved to fly, but said there were times flying in combat when you did not know if you were going to survive. You had to live with the loss of some of your fellow pilots who did not survive.
I suspect part of his reticence had to do with how returning Vietnam vets were treated when they came back from Vietnam.
I told him that when I was in AFROTC, my first fighter ride was with an F-4 pilot who flew in Vietnam. I gave him the pilot's name and our neighbor knew him. He still gets together with him on a regular basis, and then he opened up about his years in the USAF.
I came across a video of a SEAL Team rescue by an Air Force helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, who is telling his stories.
Discussion (5)
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Small world, Isn't it!? I love when people make those kinds of connections, whether it was you and your new neighbor or his fellow pilot. Lovely.
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I have read many books, fiction and nonfiction, about the war in Vietnam, and the politics and protests surrounding it. The entire history of that war just angers up the blood. Such a waste of human life. Good people died. A lot of good people died. A lot of good people lost their lives, even as they returned to friends and family. Was there an ultimate purpose, or are the architects of that horrible war doing time in hell?
I also remember the chaos and vitriol of the generational clashes between the WWII veterans and the hippie generation. The shock of a generation brought up in prosperity with no respect for authority, but with legitimate questions regarding war.
It truly was a time of upheaval in American society and I am not surprised that a Vietnam veteran would be leery about having a conversation.
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I have a photo of the pilot that we both know on my first fighter ride. I'm holding the helmet and our mutual friend is on the left side in the photo. He's holding the paperwork in his right hand.
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"He said he was retired from the USAF, but said sometimes people did not want to hear about his time in the Air Force."
I was a missile launch control officer in the Minuteman II system back during the Cold War. I get some strong reactions if I tell someone that. Mostly it's positive and interested, but quite often, around blue people, it's negative and cancelling. I've learned to not let that cat out of the bag unless I'm sure of my audience.
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A different breed.
I knew a Marine who flew combat aircraft in the Korean War. He recalled seeing a Chinese truck column, circling behind some hills and coming up behind the last vehicle as low and as a close to eye level he could achieve before opening fire--he wanted to see the expressions on the faces of the guys in the rear of the truck. I was inclined to believe the story, an odd fellow he was.