Rocky,
As always, your words ring true and carry far beyond we simple mortals. I feel as you do and I know that what each of us endured at our own Dak To is imprinted forever in our soul. Which one of us has not contemplated what you speak of ? There are many ways to die and yet still live. Dying is easy, the difficulty is staying alive. Like you, I feel that a huge part of me has forever been lost and that I belong not in the present, but in the past. The old me disappeared and the new me wonders why I still exist. I don't belong here, yet can't return to what was. Often the guilt from surviving and the need to return to to a time when death and friends became one, is more then I can take. Someone smarter than me once said, to bear the unbearable, we must go on. Only my need to take care of my wife and children and my new grandson keep me more focused on living instead of dying. Again, thank you for your personal sacrifice, both in VietNam and what you do now, taking care of other veterans. Remember my friend, take care of yourself too.
Semper Fi, Scott
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