Everyday Hero
I had no expectation of going back to Vietnam but wanted to just be in the environment that had done so much to shape my life.
In March of 2023, I found myself 65 miles north of Saigon, off the beaten path, and a bit nervous as I walked in front of the car down a narrow dirt road deeper and deeper into the underbrush that was once tropical trees and bamboo groves. I knew there would be no trace of our outpost but just felt compelled to take a few more steps ... A man came out of a house, puzzled at the sight of Americans. "What are you doing here?"
We asked him of the Special Forces refugee camp called Bunard. He knew nothing but his mother might and led us to the porch. We were there! She pointed to the surrounding jungle and began talking without any reservation. Her voice quickened and shook as she described the horror of her village and the only life she had ever known being destroyed by a war she didn't understand. She escaped into the jungle with her infant son and survived three days of the fear of the journey. Her son now grown listened to things he had never known. Tears formed in her eyes and mine as she described coming into the clearing and Camp A-344. "You gave us rice”.
You see, I had heard her story before…
Our honor and pride are found in the service to our country and sacrifices in blood ... but sometimes a bowl of rice can be as significant to the heart as raising a flag. My compulsion to return and walk down that road to a location that I knew wasn't there was the same compulsion that made me keep one picture on my wall for 45 years.