I was too young by about four years to participate in the war, but as a youngster I knew some who did, including my uncle, Fred S. Taft, who had also served in Korea and WWII, and friends of the family. I dreamed of being a helicopter door gunner, even though a Marine friend said the life expectancy in the air was short, talking minutes, but I was undaunted. I graduated in 1975, a fateful year for Vietnam, and look back on the war now as something that neverthless touched me, if not directly. I was part of the culture, as were all who lived in the US of A at the time. God bless our vets!