[ music ] >> VIETNAM WAS THE MOST DEFINING MOMENT OF MY LIFE AND, TODAY, I COUNT IT AS THE MOST VALUABLE EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE.

>> VIETNAM IS MORE THAN A COUNTRY TO AMERICA.

IT SHAPED AND CHANGED THIS NATION.

THIRTEEN VIETNAM VETERANS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND PERSONAL PHOTOS TO TELL US ABOUT THEIR TIME IN COUNTRY.

>> LOOKING BACK, I DONT KNOW HOW I DID IT.

SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT MY YEAR IN VIETNAM, AND ITS LIKE A DREAM.

I HAVE TO LOOK AT MY PICTURES SOMETIMES TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS REALLY THERE.

>> I WAS TOTALLY TERRIFIED.

I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO OVERRUN THIS SMALL BASE.

WE ONLY HAD THREE HUNDRED FORTY OR FIFTY GUYS.

>> THIRTY YEARS LATER, I HAVENT HEARD A THANK YOU.

YOU KNOW, THIRTY YEARS.

>> IF SOMEONE TRIED TO THANK ME, ID LIKE TO HIT EM.

WHAT ARE YOU THANKING ME FOR?

ARE YOU THANKING ME BECAUSE I KILLED A GUY OR SHOT AN NVA LIEUTENANT?

WHAT ARE YOU THANKING ME FOR?

>> VIETNAM SOLDIERS STORIES COMING UP NEXT ON PBS.

>> FUNDING FOR THE PRODUCTION OF "VIETNAM SOLDIERS STORIES WAS PROVIDED BY THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FRIENDS OF WILL TV [ music ] [ drums playing ] [ marching band music ] >> (Lyndon B. Johnson) IT IS NEVER EASY TO ASK MEN TO LEAVE HOME AND HAPPINESS FOR DUTY FAR, FAR AWAY.

BUT THE DUTIES OF FREEDOM HAVE NEVER BEEN EASY.

[ drums playing ] >> I WENT TO SEE THE MARINE CORPS RECRUITER.

I HAD GONE TO SOME OF THE OTHER RECRUITERS, AND HE ASKED ME WHAT THEY PROMISED.

I GAVE HIM A LIST OF PROMISES, AND HE SAID, WELL, WE HAVE THIS WAR, AND THE MARINE CORPS WILL PROMISE YOU A PACK, A RIFLE, AND A HARD TIME.

>> MY FATHER HAD BEEN A SOLDIER IN WORLD WAR II.

MY GRANDFATHER HAD FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR FROM ILLINOIS.

AND, I THOUGHT IT WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY, WHEN IT WAS MY TURN, TO SERVE MY COUNTRY.

>> AS A LITTLE GIRL, I WAS ALWAYS ANGRY BECAUSE I WAS NOT BORN A BOY, AND I COULDNT GO INTO THE MILITARY.

THEN I FOUND OUT THAT THEY DID HAVE WOMEN IN THE ARMY, AND THEY HAD NURSES.

FROM THE TIME I WAS AROUND SEVEN OR EIGHT I KNEW THATS WHAT I HAD WANTED TO DO.

(John Foster Dulles) >> COMMUNISM IN PRACTICE HAS PROVED TO BE OPPRESSIVE, REACTIONARY, UNIMAGINATIVE.

ITS DESPOTISM, FAR FROM BEING REVOLUTIONARY, IT IS >> I VOLUNTEERED BECAUSE I WAS A DEDICATED ANTI-COMMUNIST.

ID GROWN UP IN THE 50s.

ID READ ALL THE BOOKS.

I THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS BEING CONTROLLED BY AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST CONSPIRACY.

>> MY PLAN WHEN I ENTERED WAS SIMPLY TO SERVE MY COUNTRY, VERY SIMPLE, VERY BASIC.

I HAD, OF COURSE, NUMBERS OF RELATIVES THAT HAD BEEN THROUGH THE SERVICE BEFORE ME, AND I KNEW IT WAS MY TURN.

>> I CHOSE THE MARINE CORPS BECAUSE I THINK I PERSONALLY WANTED A CHALLENGE, AND I D HEARD THE MARINE CORPS WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHER BRANCHES.

ALL OF THE MEN IN MY FAMILY HAD BEEN IN THE MILITARY IN ONE BRANCH OR ANOTHER, AND NONE HAD EVER ENTERED THE MARINE CORPS SO I WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST.

THERE WAS THE PRESTIGE THAT WENT ALONG WITH BEING A MARINE.

>> (Senator Ted Kennedy) THE ADVANTAGES OF DRAFTING THE YOUNGER, RATHER THAN THE OLDER, THAT IS, A BOY OF NINETEEN YEARS OF AGE RATHER THAN A BOY OF, WELL IT REACHED AS HIGH AS ALMOST TWENTY-FOUR YEARS PRIOR TO THE VIETNAM BUILDUP.

THE FACT IS, FIRST OF ALL, THAT THE BOY OF NINETEEN WILL KNOW WHETHER HE WILL GO IN THE SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY OR WHETHER HE WILL NOT, AND THEREFORE HE CAN MAKE HIS OWN PLANS WITH REGARD >> I WAS CALLED DOWN TO THE INDUCTION CENTER.

THEY SAID, THIS IS FOR A PHYSICAL.

YOU KNOW, JUST TO SEE IF YOU ARE MILITARILY PREPARED.

WELL, ABOUT HALF THE DAY LATER THEY WERE TELLING SOME OF THE PARENTS AND SOME OF THE WIVES OR WHATEVER THAT, YOU CAN GO HOME AND LEAVE HIM HERE BECAUSE THEYRE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

>> WELL, IF MY PARENTS WOULD HAVE HAD ANY MORE PULL, IM SURE I COULD HAVE GOTTEN IN THE NATIONAL GUARD LIKE SENATOR QUAYLE OR SENATOR GRAHAM OR SOME OF THOSE OTHERS, MR.

FORBES.

THAT NOT BEING THE CASE, I WAS 1-A AND ELIGIBLE FOR THE DRAFT AFTER THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BOUNCED ME OUT FOR GOOD CAUSE.

[ bombs whistling ] [ machine gun fire ] >> I WANTED TO GO BECAUSE I WAS IN THE ARMY DURING A WAR, AS I SAW IT THEN.

I WAS VERY PATRIOTIC, AND I WANTED TO GO DO MY PART.

I JUST COULDNT NOT BE THERE.

I THOUGHT IF I DIDNT GO THAT I WOULD ALWAYS FEEL I HAD MISSED SOMETHING.

>> I WENT IN TWENTY-SIX DAYS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.

I DIDNT WANT TO MISS THE ADVENTURE OF VIETNAM.

IN SOME SENSE, AT THAT AGE, I DIDNT UNDERSTAND MY MORTALITY.

I WANTED TO GO THERE FOR THE ADVENTURE.

I DIDNT WANT TO MISS IT.

I DID GET MY WISH.

THREE DAYS AFTER I WAS THERE I THOUGHT, MAN, WHAT AN IDIOT.

NOW IVE GOT TO PAY ATTENTION.

>> (John F. Kennedy) TO THOSE NATIONS WHO WOULD MAKE THEMSELVES OUR ADVERSARIES, WE OFFER NOT A PLEDGE, BUT A REQUEST [President Kennedys speech continues in the background.]

>> I DONT THINK ANYONE WHOS YOUNGER THAN MY GENERATION REALIZES HOW CHARISMATIC JOHN KENNEDY WAS AND HOW OPTIMISTIC THE COUNTRY WAS.

THE WORDS KEEP RUNNING THROUGH MY MIND, ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY.

I THINK THAT WAS THE PREVAILING OPINION AMONG MANY OF MY CONTEMPORARIES.

>> I FELT A NEED TO SERVE MY COUNTRY, AS FAR AS WHAT WAS GOING ON IN VIETNAM.

I WANTED TO GO INTO THE ARMY, AND IF I DID GO TO VIETNAM, ALL THE BETTER.

>> IT WAS LIKE STEPPING INTO A WET BLAST FURNACE.

ID NEVER FELT SO MUCH HEAT AND SO MUCH.

IT WAS WHAT WE CALLED LIQUID AIR.

IT WAS OPPRESSIVELY HOT AND HUMID.

AS I WAS GETTING OFF THE PLANE, FIRST OFF, I WAS DRESSED IN MY NAVY WHITES, AND I FELT LIKE A TARGET.

SECONDLY, I REMEMBER FEELING THIS WAS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG YEAR.

[ Asian music ] >> I DONT THINK ANYONE THAT WENT TO VIETNAM, NO MATTER HOW MUCH LANGUAGE OR HISTORY OR TRAINING WE WENT THROUGH, WAS TOTALLY PREPARED FOR THE EXPERIENCE.

>> THERE WAS NOTHING THAT COULD HAVE PREPARED YOU FOR THE FACT THAT YOU GOT PATIENTS IN THAT HAD BEEN LYING THERE IN A RICE PADDY FOR DAYS OR HOURS BEFORE THEY WERE EVACED OUT, AND THE WOUNDS WERE FILLED WITH MAGGOTS.

OR, THE FACT THAT MAYBE YOU DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH ANTIBIOTICS THAT YOU NEEDED OR THE RIGHT TYPE OF ANTIBIOTICS, AND THE EQUIPMENT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WHAT YOU NEEDED AND JUST THE OVERWHELMING NUMBERS OF PATIENTS YOU HAD AT TIMES.

>> I WAS JUST AN INNER CITY KID, A POOR BLACK KID FROM KANSAS CITY, NEVER GONE ANYWHERE, NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE, HADNT SEEN THE COUNTRY, EVEN THE UNITED STATES.

THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOURE SENT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.

>> I REMEMBER PEOPLE SAYING TO ME WHEN I WENT TO VIETNAM, KILL SOME FOR ME.

NOW, I KNOW THEY WERE NERVOUS AND DIDNT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY.

BELIEVE ME, AFTER ID KILLED SOMEONE THAT WAS NOT SOMETHING I COULD DEAL WITH.

>> ALL I REALLY KNEW ABOUT VIETNAM IS WHAT I WAS TOLD IN THE ARMY, WHICH WAS THAT WE WERE GOING TO VIETNAM TO PRESERVE DEMOCRACY FOR THE POOR PEASANTS OVER THERE WHO WERE BEING INVADED BY HO CHI MINH.

[ gong ] >> THE COUNTRY WAS JUST A BIG MYSTERY TO ME RIGHT AWAY.

WE GOT HIT BY MORTAR SHELLS THE FIRST NIGHT WE WERE THERE.

WE SAT UP IN A BUDDHIST GRAVEYARD.

>> THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT FLYING IN ON THE AIRPLANE WAS, IS THERE REALLY A WAR GOING ON HERE?

YOURE FLYING IN OVER THE JUNGLE.

YOURE IN AN AIRPLANE COMING FROM THE UNITED STATES, FLYING IN AND LANDING ON THE TARMAC, AND YOU CANT FIGURE OUT WHERE THE LINES ARE.

>> I WANTED TO SAVE THE WORLD.

[ smack! ]

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN: SAVE THE WORLD.

I GOT OVER THERE AND IT WAS LIKE YOU AINT SHIT, MAN.

YOURE NINETEEN.

>> THE BUSES THAT WE WENT FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE ARMY BASE HAD CHICKEN WIRE ON THEM SO PEOPLE COULDNT THROW HAND GRENADES AT YOU.

MY FATHER HAD BEEN A WORLD WAR II VET, AND WHEN THEY WENT TO FRANCE THERE WERE PEOPLE THROWING FLOWERS AT THEM.

>> I ACTUALLY FLEW OVER ON A COMMERCIAL PLANE, HAD STEWARDESSES AND EVERYTHING.

IT WAS PRETTY BIZARRE.

WE GOT OFF THE PLANE, WHICH HAD BEEN AIR-CONDITIONED, AND WE GET THIS 110 DEGREE TEMPERATURE WITH 100 PERCENT HUMIDITY.

IT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY.

THAT WAS PRETTY FRIGHTENING.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, EVERYONE AROUND US HAD BLACK PAJAMAS ON, SO I THOUGHT WED LANDED IN HANOI AS FAR AS I KNEW.

I WAS TERRIFIED.

>> CONCEPT MET REALITY AFTER THE FIRST FIREFIGHT WE WERE IN.

[ bomb blast ] THE BOAT IN FRONT OF US TOOK TWO ROCKET HITS.

THEY HAD SOME SEVERELY WOUNDED NAVY PERSONNEL ON THAT WE MED EVACED OFF.

[ machine gun fire ] IT WAS CHAOS FOR THE TEN MINUTES WE WERE SHOOTING AND GETTING SHOT AT.

YOU COULDNT HEAR ANYTHING EXPECT THE SOUND OF MACHINE GUNS EVERYWHERE, ROCKETS.

IT WAS AN INSTANT OF TERROR.

THEN, WHEN WE MED EVACED THOSE TWO GUYS OUT, IT REALLY CAME HOME THAT THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE LIKE.

[ eerie music ] I WAS A 20-MILLIMETER MACHINE GUNNER.

IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THEY USED IT FOR ANTI-AIRCRAFT, BUT WE WERE USING IT AGAINST PEOPLE.

I ALWAYS KEPT AN M-16 IN MY GUN MOUNT WITH A COUPLE OF BANDOLIERS OF AMMUNITION JUST IN CASE WE GOT SUNK.

I ALWAYS KEPT MY SURVIVAL KNIFE.

I ALWAYS KEPT MY CAMERA.

I WROTE A LETTER HOME AFTER MY FIRST FIRE FIGHT, AND MY DAD ASKED ME TO NEVER WRITE A LETTER LIKE THAT HOME AGAIN.

HE SAID, IF YOU WANT TO WRITE, WRITE ME AT THE OFFICE, BECAUSE IT JUST DEVASTATED MY MOTHER.

WE HAD SOME GUYS WOUNDED SEVERELY IN THE BOAT IN FRONT OF OURS, AND BY THEN IT HAD BECOME AN EVERYDAY THING.

YOU GO OUT, GET SHOT AT, TAKE SOME CASUALTIES, AND IT WAS LIKE GETTING UP IN THE MORNING AND GOING TO WORK.

[ music ] THERE WAS ALWAYS THAT LITTLE THOUGHT IN THE BACK OF MY MIND, WONDERING IF I'M GOING TO MAKE IT.

FORTUNATELY, BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO MED EVAC PEOPLE OFF OUR BOATS DIRECTLY, WE HAD A LITTLE HELIPAD ON THERE, WE DIDNT HAVE A LOT OF GUYS KILLED, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE WOUNDED.

WE LATER BECAME KNOWN AS THE LUCKY SEVEN ON ELEVEN.

WE WERE A SEVEN-MAN CREW, BOAT NUMBER ELEVEN, AND OUR SYMBOL WAS THE DICE BEING ROLLED.

WE HAD NOBODY WOUNDED AND NOBODY KILLED ON OUR BOAT THROUGHOUT A WHOLE YEAR.

I THINK EVEN IN VIETNAM I FELT THAT ITLL NEVER BE WORSE THAN THIS, AND ITS NEVER BE BETTER THAN THIS.

>> BY BETTER: THE INTERACTION WITH ALL MY BUDDIES.

THERE WAS A GREAT SIMPLICITY TO LIFE BACK THEN.

YOU HAD VERY LITTLE TO WORRY ABOUT OTHER THAN STAYING ALIVE AND DOING YOUR JOB.

>> MY JOB WAS SIMPLY TO WORK THE RADIO, TAKE COMMUNICATIONS.

WE DID THAT IN SHIFTS, NEEDLESS TO SAY, TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

>> WE HAD SO LITTLE TIME TO SLEEP.

WE WERE FORTUNATE IF AT TIMES WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY JUST TO HAVE A BEER TOGETHER, ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT BE WARM, SOMETIME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BETWEEN SLEEPING, WORKING ON THE AIRCRAFT, AND THEN FLYING ALL DAY.

>> YOU JUST DID WHAT YOU HAD TO DO.

YOU GOT OFF DUTY, YOU DRANK, YOU DRANK YOURSELF INTO OBLIVION, YOU JUST NOT EVERYBODY DID IT.

I DID.

WHEN I WAS IN COUNTRY THERE WERE TIMES THATS WHAT I DID.

I DRANK TO GO TO SLEEP AND TO FORGET, OR JUST NUMB, AND JUST DRANK BECAUSE THATS ALL EVERYBODY DID.

THEY JUST DRANK.

>> IN NINETEEN MONTHS WE WERE NEVER IN A BUILDING, EVER.

NEVER INSIDE A BUILDING.

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE, NEVER IN A TENT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT AT ALL, JUST ON THE MOVE.

>> A TYPICAL DAY WAS WHETHER YOU SHOULD GO BUY A PACK OF CIGARETTES BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING GOING ON.

YOUD BE STANDING AROUND IN YOUR ASBESTOS FLIGHT SUIT WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN IF YOU WERENT ON A MISSION.

YOUD SMOKE ABOUT TWO OR THREE KOOLS OUT THERE, AND THEN MAYBE THIS CRASH PHONE WOULD RING.

IT WAS A CHOPPER COMING IN AND ITS GOT PEOPLE, AND THEYRE WOUNDED.

SO, WE GO OUT TO THE RUNWAY AND PICK UP THESE BODIES, MOSTLY BODIES.

>> THE LIFE OF AN INFANTRYMAN DOES GET SOMEWHAT MONOTONOUS.

THERES A LOT OF DIGGING.

THERES A LOT OF WALKING.

THERES A LOT OF PATROLLING, STANDING LINES AT NIGHT.

PROBABLY THAT WOULD BE AN AVERAGE DAY IN VIETNAM WHEN NOTHING HAPPENED.

[ harmonica music ] >> TOM WANNAMAKER ENLISTED IN THE MARINE CORPS IN 1965.

TOM GREW UP IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

TODAY HE LIVES IN ARCOLA, ILLINOIS.

HE AND HIS WIFE, JOHNNY, HAVE OPENED A MUSEUM DEDICATED TO THE ART OF HER GRANDFATHER, JOHNNY GRUELLE, THE CREATOR OF RAGGEDY ANN AND ANDY.

>> I LANDED IN VIETNAM ON THE FOURTH OF JULY IN 1967.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS VERY EXCITED.

I WAS ALL PUMPED UP.

THERE WAS NO, REALLY, FEELING OF DANGER AT THAT TIME.

IT WAS MORE ANTICIPATION.

I HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A MARINE, AND I HAD A CHANCE TO ACTUALLY LEAD MARINES IN COMBAT.

NO MATTER WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME, NO MATTER WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME, IM ALWAYS, SORT OF IN THE CENTER OF MY BEING, IM GOING TO BE A YOUNG GRUNT MARINE IN VIETNAM.

I THINK THE THING I REMEMBER MOST ABOUT VIETNAM WAS THE HUMOR.

THERE WAS A LOT BLACK HUMOR, LIKE ON A PATROL SOMEBODY WOULD SAY, IF YOU GET KILLED, CAN I HAVE YOUR BOOTS?

AND EVERYBODY WOULD LAUGH.

IT SORT OF BROKE THINGS UP.

WHEN YOURE IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON YOUR COMRADES, 24 HOURS A DAY FOR A YEAR OR MORE, YOU FORGE A BOND.

YOU BECOME A MEMBER OF A SOCIETY THAT DOES NOT EXIST IN THE CIVILIAN WORLD.

IT DOESNT EVEN EXIST IN THE MILITARY UNLESS YOURE IN COMBAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU LITERALLY BECOME CLOSE ENOUGH THAT YOU KNOW WHAT THE MAN NEXT TO YOU IS GONNA DO BEFORE HE DOES IT.

>> I WAS CLOSER TO THE MEN IN MY UNIT THAN I WAS TO MY OWN FAMILY BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY DID PUT OUR LIFE ON THE LINE EVERDAY FOR EACH OTHER, AND EVERY NIGHT.

>> THERE WAS A NIGHT, THIS WAS OVER BY THE GULF OF THAILAND, WHERE TWO OF OUR BOATS WENT OUT ON PATROL.

THEY GOT AMBUSHED RIGHT OUTSIDE THE BASE WHERE WE WERE TIED UP.

WE DIDNT EVEN HAVE OUR BOAT CAPTAIN ON BOARD.

WE GOT UNDERWAY TO HELP THEM, AND ANOTHER BOAT DID, TOO.

THE BOAT WAS OVER BY THE BANK OF THE RIVER, AND WE JUST KNEW THAT WE WERE MAYBE BEING SET UP FOR A MUCH LARGER SCALE AMBUSH.

WED BE SUCKED RIGHT INTO THAT, BUT THERE WASNT ANY THOUGHT PROCESS OF MAYBE I SHOULDNT DO THIS.

MAYBE THIS IS DANGEROUS.

MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST LAY OFF AND PROVIDE SOME FIRE SUPPORT.

>> HEROISM HAPPENED EVERY DAY.

PEOPLE SAVED PEOPLES LIVES.

PEOPLE THAT TRIED TO DO GOOD.

PEOPLE THAT TRIED TO DO DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, MISSIONS.

THOSE WERE HEROES.

THOSE WERE NOT HEROES BECAUSE THEY GOT MEDALS.

THOSE WERE HEROES BECAUSE THEY MADE A TOTAL, COMPLETE COMMITMENT OF THEMSELVES TO SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THEMSELVES.

>> I THINK MOST OF US NURSES DONT FEEL THAT WE DID ANYTHING EXTRAORDINARY OR SPECTACULAR.

WE JUST DID OUR JOBS, JUST LIKE ANY GRUNT IN THE FIELD, JUST LIKE ANY HELICOPTER PILOT.

I SAY ITS HUMBLING BECAUSE, SOMETIMES, I THINK THE GUYS TEND TO PUT US ON A PEDESTAL WHERE WE DONT FEEL WE BELONG.

>> ANYONE WHO WENT THROUGH THAT BUSINESS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZED BY WHAT YOU CAN DO: HOW LONG YOU CAN GO WITHOUT SLEEP, HOW LONG YOU CAN GO WITHOUT FOOD, HOW PEOPLE CAN PULL TOGETHER AND DO THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE THINGS.

>> ALL OF A SUDDEN I DECIDED IM GOING TO HAVE TO GET IT TOGETHER TO STAY HERE.

IVE GOT THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE.

IM A TEAM, THEYRE DEPENDENT ON ME.

AND THE REST OF THE TIME I WAS THERE, WE WERE A TEAM.

WE ROTATED IN AND OUT OF THAT PLACE.

THEY WERE THE CRAZIEST AND FINEST PEOPLE I EVER MET.

>> THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN US THERE WERE SO TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING ELSE ANYWHERE.

WE BECAME A FAMILY, AND I THINK IT WAS BECAUSE OF WHERE WE WERE AND ALL WE HAD WAS EACH OTHER.

IT WAS LIKE ALL THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE WAC COMPANY WERE SISTERS.

>> LINDA EARLS SERVED FOR 24 YEARS IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

SHE SPENT A YEAR IN VIETNAM BEGINNING IN 1968.

SHE WAS 22 YEARS OLD AND THREE YEARS INTO HER MILITARY CAREER.

>> I WROTE A LOT.

I WAS CLOSE TO MY MOTHER, AND I TOLD HER EVERYTHING.

SHE SAVED ALL MY LETTERS FROM VIETNAM, THANK GOODNESS, BECAUSE I USE THEM AS REMINDERS.

THERE MUST BE CLOSE TO 200-300 OF THEM.

THIS LETTER IS DATED THE TWENTY-THIRD OF FEBRUARY, 1969.

THIS MAY NOT BE MUCH OF A LETTER, BUT I HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING.

THIS MORNING AT 2:00 ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE HERE.

[ bombs bursting ] I WAS BLASTED OUT OF BED BY INCOMING ROUNDS AND GRABBED MY FIELD GEAR AND HEADED FOR THE DOOR TO GO TO THE BUNKER.

JUST AS I GOT IN THE DOORWAY, ANOTHER ROUND CAME IN AND HIT THE FINANCE BUILDING RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM MY ROOM.

I SAW THE FIRE FLASH AND SHRAPNEL FLY INTO THE AIR, AND I TOOK OFF FOR MY BUNKER.

[ bomb explosions continue ] OF COURSE, I WAS IN MY PAJAMAS, BUT ID GRABBED MY FIELD GEAR ON THE WAY OUT.

SO FAR, THERE ARE CASUALTY REPORTS OF APPROXIMATELY EIGHTY WOUNDED AND SEVEN KILLED.

I THINK I WROTE EVERYTHING AT THAT TIME.

I DIDNT EVEN THINK ABOUT MY POOR MOTHER BACK HERE WITH HER ONLY CHILD IN VIETNAM.

I TRIED TO TELL HER, DONT WORRY, WERE SAFE.

THERES A BIG FENCE AROUND THE WAC COMPANY, AND ALL OF THAT.

I PROBABLY WISH I HADNT TOLD HER SO MUCH DETAIL ABOUT THE WAR AROUND ME.

AT THAT TIME, I WANTED IN THE WORST WAY TO BE ABLE TO BE IN COMBAT.

I WANTED TO BE A DOOR GUNNER.

I DONT REALLY KNOW WHY I WAS SO ATTRACTED TO IT.

I RODE IN HELICOPTERS QUITE A BIT.

I GUESS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EXCITING, ADVENTUROUS.

I DONT KNOW, I WAS A TWENTY TWO-YEAR OLD KID.

>> I WAS AN OLD GUY FOR VIETNAM.

I WAS TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OLD.

WE HAD GUYS EIGHTEEN, NINETEEN AND TWENTY.

I THINK NINETEEN WAS PROBABLY THE AVERAGE AGE.

>> MY NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY WAS IN VIETNAM.

I FELT TOTALLY POWERLESS TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT MY SITUATION.

IT WAS SOMETHING I HAD TO ENDURE UNTIL I WAS SET FREE.

I JUST WENT ABOUT ENDURING IT AND SURVIVING IT WITH ALL THE SKILLS OF AN INNER-CITY KID.

>> EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS EXPECTED OF EVERYONE, SO THE ROLE THAT YOURE GOING TO PLAY IN THIS IS NOT THE ROLE OF A BOY AT ALL.

WHEN YOU GET RIGHT DOWN TO IT, ITS KILLING.

>> AS A NINETEEN-YEAR OLD LIEUTENANT, I COULDNT HAVE RUN MY PLATOON AND KEPT MY PEOPLE ALIVE IF IT WASNT FOR MY RTO AND MY MEDIC, WHO WERE TWENTY AND NINETEEN AS WELL.

THEYD BEEN IN COUNTRY FOR A WHILE, AND WHEN I TOOK OVER MY PLATOON, THESE MEN TOOK ME UNDER THEIR WING AS THEIR OFFICER AND MADE SURE THAT I DID THE RIGHT THING.

>>BARRY ROMO WAS A NINETEEN-YEAR OLD SECOND LIEUTENANT WHEN HE WENT TO VIETNAM IN JULY OF 1967.

HE MADE COMPANY COMMANDER BEFORE HE WAS 20, BUT NEVER CONSIDERED A MILITARY CAREER.

HE SAYS HE WENT AS A CITIZEN SOLDIER.

>> MY FATHER WAS FORTY-EIGHT WHEN I WAS BORN.

WHEN I WENT IN THE SERVICE, HE SAT ME ON HIS LAP AT SIXTY-SIX YEARS OLD AND CRIED.

HE SAID, DONT GO.

MY FATHER AND MY BROTHER CAN LOOK AT THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

MY FATHER EVEN SAID IT TO ME WHEN I WAS GOING INTO THE SERVICE.

HE SAID, LOOK, I WAS GOING TO FIGHT PEOPLE, NAZIS WHO WERE PUTTING HUMAN BEINGS IN OVENS.

YOURE JUST GOING TO FIGHT SOME POOR, DUMB FARMER WHO DOESNT WANT YOU THERE.

SLOWLY, BUT SURELY, I LEARNED THAT THE PEOPLE DIDNT WANT US THERE.

THEY NEVER HELPED US.

THEY DIDNT TELL US WHEN WE WERE GOING INTO AN AREA TO STEP ON MINES.

IM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN TOWNS WHERE THE PROSTITUTES WERE.

IM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO RAN THE BARS OR CLEANED FOR THE BASES.

I M TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE WERE IN THE FIELD, WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE VILLAGES THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE LIBERATING.

[ music ] >> WE WERE FIGHTING AN ENEMY WHO WAS PROFESSIONAL, SKILLED, DEDICATED, AND VERY CAPABLE OF KILLING YOU.

>> RICHARD JAEHNE JOINED THE MARINE CORPS IN 1966.

HE WENT THROUGH OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL AND WAS COMMISSIONED IN JUNE OF 1968.

HE WENT TO VIETNAM IN FEBRUARY OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR.

HE WAS TWENTY-ONE AND THE COMMANDER OF A RIFLE PLATOON.

>> THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A YOUNG LIEUTENANT WERE TOTAL.

EVERY MAN WHO WAS HURT OR WOUNDED OR DIED OR UNPREPARED WAS A PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THE OFFICER.

WHEN I ARRIVED, WE FELT AS IF WE WERE GOING TO WAR AND WE WERE AGGRESSIVELY PURSUING THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY FORCES.

WE WERE GOING TO BEAT THE ENEMY.

I HAD BELIEVED, AND STILL DO BELIEVE, THAT WHEN YOURE IN A DEFENSIVE POSITION YOU HAVE TO PRESENT THE ENEMY WITH AS MANY CHANGING FACETS AS YOU CAN.

SO WE CONSTANTLY MOVED.

WE CONSTANTLY WERE PATROLLING.

WE WERE CONSTANTLY DOING THINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE PROACTIVE IN THAT PROCESS.

I THINK, HONESTLY, THAT IT HELPED MORALE.

I THINK IT HELPED PEOPLE KEEP THEIR HEAD INTO WHAT THEY WERE DOING INSTEAD OF WAITING AROUND FOR THE NEXT USO SHOW AND AN AIRPLANE HOME.

I SAW OTHER UNITS THAT DIDNT DO THAT, QUITE FRANKLY.

I LEFT A HILL.

I WAS THE DEFENSIVE COMMANDER OF THE HILL.

LESS THAN TEN DAYS AFTER I LEFT, IT WAS OVERRUN.

I PERSONALLY, AND I FRANKLY DONT KNOW ANYONE WHO REALLY SERVED IN COMBAT, FACE-TO-FACE WITH AN ADVERSARY, THAT DOESNT RELIVE THAT EXPERIENCE OVER AND OVER.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS TO YOUNG SOLDIERS, I THINK, IS THAT EXPERIENCE, HOWEVER HORRIFIC, HAS GREAT HONOR BECAUSE YOUVE DONE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW HOW TO DO, THAT YOU'VE BEEN ASKED TO DO, BY THOSE THAT YOUVE SWORN TO SUPPORT.

IN DOING THAT, YOU FIND SELF-WORTH.

>> COMBAT, TO ME, WAS, ONE, AN ADRENALINE RUSH, AND, TWO, I HAD THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THESE MEN UNDERNEATH ME.

IM GOING TO GET AS MANY OF THEM BACK ALIVE AS I CAN.

IM NOT GOING TO HAVE THEIR DEATHS ON MY CONSCIENCE.

>> IF YOU HAVENT BEEN SHOT AT, YOU KNOW, YOU CANT EXPLAIN IT TO PEOPLE.

>> I THINK DURING THAT FIRST TOUR I BECAME A LOT MORE EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO THAT WAR THAN I REALIZED.

I WENT BACK SEVEN YEARS AGO TO DO A PROJECT IN VIETNAM.

WE LANDED IN SAIGON, GOT OFF AND GOT ON OUR LITTLE BUS OUT TO THE SITE.

I FELT LIKE I HAD JUST COME HOME.

[ anti-war demonstrators chanting ] [ music ] >> WE ARE NOT GOING OUT TO FIGHT THE COPS.

I MEAN, WE BASICALLY HOPE THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A NONVIOLENT SITUATION IN THIS PARK.

[ sirens ] HOWEVER, IF THE VIOLENCE COMES, WE WILL SOAK IT UP.

[ music continues ] >> IN 1967, I THINK THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT WAS JUST BEGINNING TO GATHER STEAM.

INTO 1968, WE BEGAN TO READ, HEAR AND GET LETTERS ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> GENERALLY, WHILE IN THE STATES WHEN I WAS AT FORT HOOD, THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE POLITICS OF IT, TO INCLUDE SOME ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT.

WHEN I WAS IN THE STATES, THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF CRITICISM OF THE ARMY BY THE SOLDIERS.

GENERALLY, IN VIETNAM, AT LEAST OUT IN THE FIELD, YOU REALLY DIDNT HEAR MUCH OF THAT, PRIMARILY BECAUSE WE HAD OTHER THINGS TO DO.

WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT DOING OUR JOBS AND, OBVIOUSLY, STAYING ALIVE.

>> THE PEOPLE WHO PROTESTED THE WAR IN THE COLLEGES OFTEN WERE PEOPLE THOSE OF US WHO CHOSE TO GO DIDNT HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT FOR.

[ music ] THEY DIDNT REALLY RESPECT THEIR COUNTRY, THEY WERE JUST AGAINST WHATEVER THE WAR REPRESENTED TO THEM.

IT WAS ILL-DEFINED, WHAT THEY DIDNT WANT TO DO.

MANY OF THEM, I THINK, WERE FRIGHTENED.

>> I RAN INTO AN INCIDENT AT THE AIRPORT IN ST.

LOUIS WHERE A YOUNG PERSON WITH THE LONG HAIR AND FRINGED VEST, THE TYPICAL STEREOTYPE OF A HIPPIE BACK THEN, SPAT AT ME AND CALLED ME A WHORE.

>> IM SURE THERE WERE PEOPLE WITHIN THAT GROUP WHO WERE CONVICTED DEEP DOWN THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

MY PERSONAL FEELING IS THAT MOST OF THEM WANTED TO SAVE THEIR HIDE.

THEY WERE PLAIN SCARED.

WELL, I WAS SCARED, TOO.

EVERY TIME WE GOT UNDERWAY, I WAS REAL SCARED.

EVERY TIME I LOADED MY WEAPON I WAS REAL, REAL SCARED.

>> THE PEACE MOVEMENT DIDNT SPIT ON ME.

THEY DID SOMETHING A WHOLE LOT WORSE.

THEY ASKED ME QUESTIONS, AND I COULDNT ANSWER THEM.

>> YOURE GONNA HAVE TO DECIDE: ARE YOU GOING TO LOAD THIS THING AND USE IT?

IF YOURE NOT GOING TO LOAD THIS THING AND USE IT, THEN YOU OUGHT TO PUT IT DOWN.

>> I WAS ACTUALLY BACK WHEN KENT STATE OCCURRED.

[ music ] I THINK ANYBODY WHO WAS IN UNIFORM, WHO HAD COME BACK TO A COUNTRY THAT DID NOT WELCOME THEM, WOULD HONESTLY TELL YOU THAT THERE WAS A PIECE OF THEM THAT SAID, THEY GOT THEIRS.

IT WASNT THE STUDENTS WHO WERE KILLED.

WE WERE JUST TIRED OF THAT WHOLE MOB.

IN TRUTH, PART OF YOU SAID, GOOD.

I HATE TO SAY THAT.

THATS THE TRUTH.

THE OTHER PART SAID, HOW IN CHRISTS NAME CAN THIS HAPPEN IN OUR COUNTRY?

[ music ] [ sirens ] [ music continues] [ bombs exploding ] >> AS WE GOT TOWARDS THE END OF MY FIRST TOUR, YOU GOT THAT KIND OF SHORT-TIMER ATTITUDE WHERE YOURE WORRIED ABOUT GOING OUT ON OPERATIONS.

YOU GOT LESS THAN 50 DAYS, AND YOURE STILL OUT ON OPERATIONS AND YOURE STILL GETTING SHOT AT.

YOURE HOPING THAT THE BULLET WITH YOUR NAME ON IT DOESNT FIND YOU.

WE HAD THE NEW BOAT CREW ON OUR BOAT A WEEK BEFORE WE WERE DUE TO GO HOME.

THEY WANTED TO GET THEM SOME EXPERIENCE UNDER FIRE, SO THEY SENT US TO THIS ONE AREA WHERE THEY KNEW WED GET AMBUSHED.

OUT OF THE WHOLE YEAR I SPENT THERE, THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST FEARFUL TIME.

I MADE IT THE WHOLE YEAR.

AM I GOING TO GET IT TODAY?

I EVEN PUT ON TWO FLAK JACKETS THAT DAY.

IF YOU TALK ABOUT SUPERSTITION, I WAS THINKING IF ONE IS GOOD, TWO ARE BETTER.

>> THE TOURS WERE A SET AMOUNT OF TIME.

THEY WERE TWELVE MONTHS IN MOST SERVICES, THIRTEEN MONTHS IN THE MARINES.

FRANKLY, EVER MANS WAR WAS HIS OWN WAR WITH THAT CALENDAR.

>> I WAS AWARE OF MY ROTATION TIME, BUT I TRIED TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY.

I DID HAVE TWO OPPORTUNITIES TO GO OUT WHEN THEY WERE SHORT JUST WITH GUNNERS.

FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS SOME OTHER STUFF TO DO, SO I FIGURED THAT WAS TWO FLIGHTS I DIDNT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.

>> I WAS SCARED TO TAKE MANY RISKS THAT LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS I WAS IN COUNTRY.

AND, LIKE EVERY OTHER SOLDIER THERE, WE COUNTED THE DAYS.

WE HAD A CALENDAR.

I HAVE THAT CALENDAR SOMEWHERE AROUND THE HOUSE.

>> RICHARD ADKINS GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL AT 17.

BY THAT TIME HE HAD ALREADY JOINED THE MARINE CORPS.

HE SAYS HE WAS A CONSERVATIVE KID, WHO GREW UP IN SOME PRETTY ROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WANTED TO DO WITH HIS LIFE.

TODAY, HE IS A POLICE OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS.

>> I VOLUNTEERED FOR THE MARINE CORPS, BUT I DONT THINK THE REALITY OF BEING SENT TO VIETNAM EVER REALLY HIT ME.

I VOLUNTEERED FOR THE MARINE CORPS BECAUSE I DIDNT WANT TO BE DRAFTED TO THE AIR FORCE, THE NAVY OR SOME OTHER BRANCH AND DIDNT HAVE ANY SAY IN WHERE I WENT.

I JUST WANTED TO BE PART OF SOMETHING THAT PRESTIGIOUS AND ELITE.

THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF MINORITIES, HISPANICS AND BLACKS, AND POOR PEOPLE IN GENERAL THAT WERE IN THE MILITARY AT THAT TIME.

THERE WAS KIND OF AN UNDERSTANDING, MAYBE EVEN A RUNNING JOKE, THAT IF YOU DIDNT HAVE WEALTH OR AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO COLLEGE YOU WERE GOING TO GO TO VIETNAM.

[ music ] QUITE OFTEN, I REMEMBER SEEING REBEL FLAGS INSIDE OF HOOCHES AND MOTOR POOLS AND DIFFERENT PLACES WHERE WE HAD TO WORK.

WE HAD TO LOOK AT THIS REBEL FLAG DAY IN AND DAY OUT.

YOURE THERE AS AN AMERICAN SOLDIER.

THE REBEL FLAG, TO US, REPRESENTED SLAVERY, SEGREGATION.

IT REPRESENTED DISCRIMINATION.

TO LOOK AT THAT DAY IN AND DAY OUT WHEN YOURE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD FIGHTING PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER REALLY DONE ANYTHING TO YOU AS A BLACK PERSON, FIGHTING FOR PREDOMINANTLY WHITE AMERICA, IT WAS A TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW.

SOON AFTER WE ENTERED THE COUNTRY AND REALIZED THAT THE CULTURE AND THE VALUES WERE SO VASTLY DIFFERENT, I JUST INSTINCTIVELY KNEW THAT IT WAS NOT RIGHT FOR US TO BE THERE IMPOSING OUR VALUES AND OUR WILL ON THESE PEOPLE.

>> IM NOT APOLOGIZING TO ANYBODY.

I WAS TOO YOUNG TO GO.

NOW IM TOO OLD, AND ITS ALL OVER ANYWAY.

>> I THINK THE LONGER I WAS THERE, THE MORE I THOUGHT WE SHOULD BE THERE BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT THE PEOPLE OF VIETNAM HAD A RIGHT TO LIVE FREE.

>> I CANT EVER REMEMBER BEING OVER THERE AND SAYING, WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

>> AS FAR AS THE POLITICS OF WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE OR SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN THERE, I THINK MOST OF US NURSES DIDNT HAVE ANY FEELINGS ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

WE JUST WENT THERE, HAD A JOB TO DO, AND WE DID IT.

>> ANNA RUTALLIE WAS ONLY THREE MONTHS OUT OF NURSING SCHOOL WHEN SHE WENT ON ACTIVE DUTY.

THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE VIETNAM NURSE WAS TWENTY-THREE.

THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE SOLDIER WAS NINETEEN.

VIETNAM, SHE SAYS, WAS ESSENTIALLY A CHILDRENS WAR.

>> ONE OF MY CLASSMATES BROTHERS THAT I HAD DATED MY FRESHMAN YEAR WAS TRANSFERRED TO VIETNAM.

HE WAS KILLED IN APRIL OF 68.

IT HIT ME REAL HARD.

HE WAS A SWEET, YOUNG KID FROM NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA, A FARM BOY.

HIS ONLY DREAM WAS TO GET OUT OF THE MILITARY AND GO HOME AND WORK HIS FATHERS FARM.

I GUESS I FELT A LOYALTY TO HIM.

THE NIGHT BEFORE I WAS TO LEAVE, MY DAD WAS SITTING ON THE FRONT PORCH, AND MY MOM COMES IN AND SAYS TO ME, ANNA MARIE, GO TALK TO YOUR DAD.

I SAID, WHATS THE MATTER?

SHE SAID, YOUR DADS CRYING?

MY DAD NEVER CRIED, SO I WENT OUT THERE AND SAID, "WHATS THE MATTER, DAD?

HE SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, ANNA MARIE, YOUR MOM AND I WERE ALWAYS SO THANKFUL THAT WE HAD DAUGHTERS, THAT THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE TO KNOW WAR LIKE WE DID.

NOW IM SENDING MY DAUGHTER OFF TO WAR.

IM PROUD OF YOU, BUT YOURE BREAKING MY HEART.

I SERVED AT THE 91st EVAC HOSPITAL IN CHOU LI FROM JULY OF 70 TO JULY OF 71.

I WAS TWENTY-TWO.

IN FACT, ID JUST TURNED TWENTY-TWO THAT MAY.

I THINK MOST OF US NURSES DONT FEEL WE DID ANYTHING EXTRAORDINARY OR SPECTACULAR, WE JUST DID OUR JOBS LIKE ANY GRUNT IN THE FIELD, JUST LIKE ANY HELICOPTER PILOT.

YOURE LIVING FOR A YEAR ON AN ADRENALINE HIGH, AND THEN YOU GET BACK HOME, AND IT'S A LET-DOWN.

YOU GET HOME, AND, ITS LIKE, I GOTTA GO BACK.

THEY NEED ME OVER THERE.

I KNOW WHAT HAS TO BE DONE.

THERES SOME NEW NURSE TAKING MY PLACE, AND SHE DOESNT KNOW WHAT I KNOW.

SHES JUST TOO FRESH.

LOOKING BACK, I DONT KNOW HOW I DID IT.

SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT MY YEAR IN VIETNAM, AND ITS LIKE A DREAM.

I HAVE TO LOOK AT MY PICTURES SOMETIMES TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS REALLY THERE.

YEAH, I WAS THERE, BUT WAS I?

AT ONE OF THE LOCAL UNIVERSITIES HERE, THEY HAD THE VIETNAM WOMENS MEMORIAL STATUE ALONG WITH THE MOCK-UP OF THE MOVING WALL.

I HAD TAKEN MY KIDS OUT THERE TO SEE THE WALL, TO SEE THE STATUE.

IM IN THE TENT LOOKING AT THE STATUE, AND SOMEONE TAPS ME ON THE SHOULDER.

I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF MY KIDS, AND I WENT, WHAT?

YOU KNOW, JUST ANNOYED HOW MOTHERS CAN GET WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

IT WAS A GUY.

I SAID, OH, EXCUSE ME, I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF MY KIDS.

HE LOOKED AT ME WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES AND SAID, I WAS.

>> I LEFT SOMETHING BACK THERE.

I LEFT MY YOUTH THERE.

I CAME HOME TO A BUNCH OF LONG-HAIRED, GOOFY-LOOKING SON OF A BITCHES THAT I THOUGHT WERE WOMEN.

THEN THEY TURNED AROUND AND HAD BEARDS AND SHIT WHEN I GOT OFF AT THE AIRPORT.

THEY BROUGHT US IN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

THEY BROUGHT US INTO SEATTLE AT TWO A.M., AND THERES SOME GUY OUT THERE WITH A POLAROID CAMERA.

[ raspy voiced ] HEY, GET YOUR SHOT COMING HOME FROM VIETNAM, WAR HERO!

IT WAS LIKE, GET OUT OF MY WAY.

SOME SERGEANTS STANDING THERE, (bellowing) ALL RIGHT, YOU ASSHOLES.

COME GET YOUR STEAK, COME GET YOUR MEDALS, AND GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!

JUST YELLING AT US LIKE WERE CATTLE.

WE HAD TO TAKE OFF OUR UNIFORMS AND THROW THEM IN A GODDAMN PILE.

THEY GIVE US DIFFERENT UNIFORMS, GET ON A PLANE AND CAME BACK.

THEN WERE FLYING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND IM STILL IN BAMBITUIT.

>> IT WAS A TREMENDOUS RELIEF THAT I MADE IT THROUGH A WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT GETTING WOUNDED OR KILLED.

BUT, IT WAS ALSO TWO DAYS LATER THAT IM ON THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO BEFORE I CAME BACK TO CHICAGO.

THAT WAS A VERY STRANGE EXPERIENCE BECAUSE MY HEAD WAS STILL IN VIETNAM.

IM LOOKING AT ALL THESE PEOPLE.

THEYRE WALKING AROUND HAVING LUNCH, TALKING TO EACH OTHER, AND ITS DONT YOU KNOW WHATS GOING ON?

>> IT WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT FOR US TO BELIEVE THAT WE HAD GONE THROUGH THE PERIODS OF TIME WE HAD, AND WE WERE GOING HOME.

WE WERE BASICALLY ALIVE AND IN ONE PIECE, A LITTLE TRAUMATIZED UP IN THE UPPER STORY, BUT WE WERE ACTUALLY GOING HOME TO THE WORLD AND BE HUMAN BEINGS AGAIN.

>> A TYPICAL SITUATION WOULD BE I WOULD SEE SOMEONE IN MY HOMETOWN WHOM I HADNT SEE IN TWO YEARS, AND HE WOULD SAY, GEE, I HAVENT SEEN YOU IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

AND, ID SAY, ACTUALLY, ITS BEEN TWO YEARS.

I JUST GOT BACK FROM VIETNAM.

THE REACTION WOULD BE THATS COOL.

LETS GO SHOOT A GAME OF POOL.

>> BY THE TIME I LEFT VIETNAM, I CERTAINLY FELT EVERYBODY WAS THERE.

GETTING BACK TO THE STATES I REALIZED, EVERYBODY WAS NOT THERE.

THINGS WERE GOING ON HERE AS THEY HAD BEEN GOING ON BEFORE I LEFT, ALMOST AS THOUGH THERE WAS NO WAR.

>> I CAME BACK, AND I WAS COMPANY COMMANDER, SENDING 300 MEN TO VIETNAM EVERY NINE WEEKS SPECIAL FORCES, FORT ORD, CALIFORNIA.

[ chanting ] I STOPPED GOING TO MASS ONE DAY, LOOKED AT THE PRIEST IN CAMOUFLAGE FATIGUES, AND BEHIND HIM THERE WAS A PICTURE OF CHRIST, THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

AFTER VIETNAM, I COULDNT PUT THOSE TWO TOGETHER.

I WENT BACK TO THE BOQ AND THREW UP.

>> GOING OVER, I WAS NINETEEN YEARS OLD.

[ slow violin music ] ALL NINETEEN-YEAR OLDS HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, HOW TO HANDLE THEMSELVES, BUT THERE WERE NO DOUBTS WHEN I CAME BACK ABOUT HANDLING MYSELF IN JOBS IN A DAY-TO-DAY SITUATION.

I WAS MORE COMFORTABLE AFTER VIETNAM THAN I WAS BEFORE VIETNAM.

YOU MIGHT SAY ITS A GROWING UP EXPERIENCE.

>> MIKE CUNNINGHAM WENT TO VIETNAM IN MAY OF 1968.

HE SERVED AS AN ARMY COMBAT POLICEMAN.

HE WAS NINETEEN YEARS OLD.

HE SAYS HIS PARENTS WERE NOT HAPPY WITH HIS CHOICE, BUT ALL THE MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY SUPPORTED HIS DECISION TO GO.

>> THE BEST DAY OVER THERE WAS THE DAY WHEN I LEFT.

IT WAS PROBABLY A SIXTEEN-SEVENTEEN HOUR FLIGHT, LANDING IN SAN FRANCISCO ON AN AFTERNOON, AND BY THE NEXT AFTERNOON I WAS OUT.

[ music ] MY PARENTS MET ME AT ST.

LOUIS WHEN I FLEW INTO THERE, SO THAT HOMECOMING WAS EMOTIONAL, AS YOU WOULD IMAGINE, NOT SEEING YOUR PARENTS OR YOUR FAMILY FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.

IT WAS HARD TO GET BACK INTO THE DAY-TO-DAY OF CIVILIAN LIFE.

IT WAS HARD TO TALK TO PEOPLE.

ALL YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN TO COLLEGE, THEYVE DONE THE SOCIAL DEAL, AND YOURE COMING BACK.

YOU HAVENT BEEN IN THAT SOCIAL SETTING FOR TWO YEARS.

[ music fades ] YOU COME BACK, AND TO EVEN TALK TO A GIRL OR HAVE A DATE, I DOUBLE-DATED WITH MY BROTHER ONE TIME, COULDNT DO IT.

HE WAS IN HIS CAR, AND A GIRL FROM VILLA GROVE, I REMEMBER.

I HAD THEM LET ME OUT.

THE DATE WAS TWO HOURS OLD.

I SAID, I CANT DEAL WITH IT.

I CAME BACK IN SEPTEMBER, SO IT WAS TWO WEEKS BEFORE MY TWENTY- FIRST BIRTHDAY.

THE ONE THING THAT I WANTED WAS A COLD BEER.

I WENT TO A BAR AND NOT EVEN THINKING ORDERED A BEER.

I COULDNT HAVE A BEER.

HE ASKED FOR MY DRIVERS LICENSE.

I DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING, THE BARTENDER.

THE POOR MAN, WHEN HE SAID HE COULDNT SERVE ME, I DIDNT UNDERSTAND.

>> I WAS STOPPED BY A POLICE OFFICER DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD ONCE, AND I DIDNT THINK I WAS SPEEDING BUT DIDNT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

I PULLED OVER, AND HE CAME UP TO TALK TO ME.

HE SAID, IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR CAR?

AND I SAID, I DONT THINK SO.

HE SAID, WELL, YOURE DRIVING, LIKE, TEN MILES AN HOUR.

YOURE GOING TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT HERE.

I REALIZED WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT I WAS DRIVING DOWN THIS ROAD WHERE THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE IS VERY SCRUBBY AND BRUSHY AND SOME FORESTS LIKE VIETNAM.

I WAS WATCHING THE WOODS, FOR DANGER.

>> TO ME, IT WAS JUST A PART OF MY LIFE.

IF I SURVIVED IT, THAT WAS GREAT, BUT IT WOULDNT FORM AND MAKE ME WHAT I WAS GOING TO BE TODAY.

THERES NO PART OF VIETNAM THAT WOULD DO THAT.

>> MY NEPHEW WAS KILLED IN VIETNAM, AND I BROUGHT HIS BODY BACK.

WHEN I WAS NOTIFIED, MY BROTHER ASKED, HE WAS TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OLDER THAN ME, FOR ME TO BE THE BODY ESCORT.

WHEN I GOT TO THE REAR AREA TO PICK THE BODY UP, I ALMOST RE- UPPED FOR TWO REASONS.

ONE, INCREDIBLE GUILT THAT I WAS GOING HOME, AND MY NEPHEW WAS DEAD.

AND, TWO, THAT FEAR OF NOT FITTING IN ANYMORE.

>> EVEN NOW, ILL OFTEN WONDER ABOUT CERTAIN PATIENTS.

I CANT REMEMBER THEIR NAMES, BUT I WONDER WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THEM.

DID HE MAKE IT BACK ALIVE?

IS DOING WELL NOW?

ONE GUY WE HAD HAD BOTH HIS ARMS AND LEGS BLOWN OFF, AND I KEEP WONDERING, DID HE THANK US?

IS HE THANKFUL WE SAVED HIM?

>> YOURE TRYING TO FORGET THAT EXPERIENCE, PUT IT IN THE BACK OF YOUR LIFE.

THEN FROM TIME TO TIME, YOU WAKE UP IN THE NIGHT AND THINK, I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO SO-AND-SO.

I WONDER IF HE EVER MADE IT BACK.

I WONDER IF HES GOT HIS LEGS OR HIS ARMS OR WHATEVER.

IT WOULD BE ALMOST TO THE POINT OF A HAUNTING.

[ music ] [ truck door opens ] [ hammering ] >> WE CALL IT THE WALL THAT HEALS.

WE TAKE IT TO BETWEEN THIRTY-EIGHT AND FORTY-FIVE CITIES A YEAR.

WE SET IT UP IN PARKS, SCHOOL GROUNDS, CITY OFFICES, STADIUMS.

WE BRING THE WALL TO PEOPLE WHO CANT OTHERWISE GET TO WASHINGTON.

I WAS OVER THERE FROM NOVEMBER 1968 TO OCTOBER 1969.

IVE GOT THIRTY-NINE FRIENDS ON THIS WALL, SO I HAVE A VERY PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THIS WALL.

IT GIVES THE VIETNAM VETERAN A CHANCE EITHER TO REVISIT THEIR BUDDIES THAT WE LOST OVER THERE OR ALLOW FAMILY MEMBERS TO SEE A NAME ON THE WALL AND TOUCH THAT, SORT OF LIKE GOING TO A CEMETERY.

>> I SEE A MARINE THAT I SERVED UNDER, MAJOR PATRICK DUFFY.

HE WAS A GREAT MARINE.

HE WENT TO VIETNAM AND SERVED AS AN OPERATIONS OFFICER IN A MARINE BATTALION.

I UNDERSTAND HE WAS KILLED BY A MORTAR ROUND.

WE THOUGHT WHEN WE TRAINED UNDER HIM THAT HE WAS A PRETTY INDESTRUCTIBLE GUY.

I HAVE PROBABLY TWENTY-FIVE OTHER FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES ON THE WALL.

[ camera click ] [ music ] >> BERNIE NOVINSKI, MY BEST FRIEND OVER IN VIET NAM.

HE WAS KILLED WHEN A HOWITZER BLEW UP.

>> MICHAEL FLOOD FROM TOLEDO, ILLINOIS.

[ music ] >> FOR THE TROOPS IN VIETNAM, THERE WASNT WHAT ID CALL A SAFE PLACE.

>> MY SISTER-IN-LAW GOT THE TELEGRAM THAT SAID THAT MY BROTHER HAD DIED IN VIETNAM.

>> OUR COUNTRY, OR SOME VERY LARGE COUNTRY LIKE US, HAD TO GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH COMMUNISM SOME PLACE.

IT WAS A DANGEROUS TIME.

>> THE FIRST GUY THAT I KNEW THAT GOT KILLED WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE.

HE WAS MARRIED AND HAD THREE KIDS.

THAT ONE WOULD JUST KEEP CIRCLING AROUND IN MY HEAD.

YOU KNOW, WHY?

I CAME BACK, YOU SAW THE WAR NOT GOING VERY WELL, AND ESPECIALLY AFTER 75 AND THE FALL OF SAIGON.

I SAID, WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?

>> EVEN WHEN WE WERE THERE, WE KNEW THAT IT WASN'T GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING.

WHEN IT FINALLY, ACTUALLY HAPPENED, I WAS PRETTY ANGRY ABOUT IT.

>> I GUESS I WAS REALLY TICKED OFF WHEN I HEARD THAT WE HAD LOST.

WE DIDN'T LOSE ANYTHING.

HOW CAN YOU LOSE A WAR WHEN YOU'RE NOT THERE TO FIGHT, AND YOU NEVER LOST A BATTLE?

I MEAN, PERSONALLY, WE DIDN'T LOSE THAT MANY BATTLES OR WHATEVER.

I DIDN'T SEE US LOSING OVERALL.

ALL I SAW WAS SOMEONE IN CONG>> EVEN WHEN WE WERE THERE, WE KNEW THAT IT WASN'T RESS PULL THE PLUG AND SAY, "COME ON HOME."

>> FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY BE VETERANS OR NOT, IT'S NECESSARY TO COME UP WITH SOME REASON WHY WE LOST.

IT'S NECESSARY FOR ME TO DO THAT, ALSO.

MY ANSWER IS THAT, FRANKLY, WE LOST BECAUSE WE SHOULD HAVE.

I'M NOT DISPARAGING THE 58,000 MEN AND WOMEN WHO DIED THERE, NOR ANY OF MY FELLOW VETERANS.

WHEN I SAY "WE," I MEAN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

[ helicopter ] >> I WAS IN VIETNAM IN SAIGON ON THE LAST DAY.

WE FLEW IN HELICOPTERS FROM TWO SQUADRONS.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF MARINES AND SAILORS OFF THE COAST.

EVERYONE WAS FOCUSED ON THAT MISSION OF TRYING TO HELP EVACUATE AS MANY VIETNAMESE AS WE COULD.

[ machine gun fire ] WE WERE SURROUNDED BY AT LEAST EIGHT NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY DIVISIONS.

WE WERE OUTNUMBERED HUNDREDS TO ONE.

[ shooting continues ] [ helicopter ] THERE WAS AN ACTIVE BATTLE GOING ON ALL AROUND US.

EVERY MAN WHO FLEW ASHORE KNEW THAT IF THEY DECIDED THEY DIDN'T WANT US THERE, IT WAS GOING TO BE A REALLY SHORT DAY.

[ shooting ] I FELT A SENSE OF FUTILITY.

WE GOT ALL OUT THAT WE COULD, AND WE COULDN'T GET ANY MORE.

THEY COULDN'T GET TO US.

WE HAD PLANS TO FLY DOWNTOWN.

IN THE END, WE COULD ONLY REINFORCE THE EMBASSY.

[ helicopter crashing ] SO THERE WAS A SENSE OF FUTILITY AND FINALITY.

WE KNEW IT WAS OVER.

>> IT'S OVER OVER THERE, BUT IT'S NOT OVER OVER HERE.

>> RANDY EVANS WAS NINETEEN YEARS OLD WHEN HE WENT TO VIETNAM.

HE SPENT MOST OF 1970 IN THAT COUNTRY AS AN ARMY MEDIC.

>> I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL ANYBODY.

I JUST WANTED TO GO HELP PEOPLE.

ACTUALLY, THAT'S THE MOST RESPONSIBILITY I EVER HAD IN MY LIFE.

I HAD A LOT OF SURVIVOR GUILT WHEN I CAME BACK.

FOR YEARS I GRIEVED AND GRIEVED.

THINGS WEREN'T MY FAULT, BUT YOU COULDN'T HAVE TOLD ME THAT.

YOU KNOW, I COULD'VE DONE SOMETHING.

SO I PAINTED.

IF I DIDN'T PAINT, I'D GO THROW BRICKS.

I'M IN THIS FOR HISTORY.

I'M DOING THIS FOR THE BOYS, THE GUYS THAT DIDN'T COME BACK HERE.

THEY DIDN'T PAINT, AND THEY PROBABLY WOULDN'T APPRECIATE MY PAINTINGS EITHER.

I STARTED PAINTING, ACTUALLY, DEAD BODIES, DEAD KIDS.

THEN I DID AN ABSTRACT OF ORPHANS BURNING.

WHY NOT LEAVE THAT?

[ sing-song ] 'CAUSE EVERY DAY I WAKE UP, I THINK ABOUT VIETNAM.

EVERY DAY I DREAM ABOUT IT.

IT'S IN MY GODDAMN HAIR.

IT'S IN MY SKIN.

IT'S NEVER BEEN OVER FOR ME.

IT'S JUST, LIKE, HOW AM I GOING TO FORGET THAT?

>> RANDY EVANS HAS NOT FORGOTTEN, AND NEITHER HAVE THE OTHER ARTISTS WHOSE WORK IS ON DISPLAY AT THE NATIONAL VIETNAM VETERANS' ART MUSEUM IN CHICAGO.

[ music ] THE COLLECTION BEGAN TO COME TOGETHER IN 1981, BUT DID NOT FIND A PERMANENT HOME UNTIL 1996 WHEN THE CITY OF CHICAGO DONATED AN ABANDONED FACTORY BUILDING AND PROVIDED A MILLION DOLLAR GRANT FOR ITS RENOVATION.

>> WE HAVE 122 ARTISTS, MOSTLY AMERICANS BUT ALSO AUSTRALIANS, NEW ZEALANDERS, LAOTIANS, CAMBODIANS, SOUTH VIETNAMESE, AND NORTH VIETNAMESE.

>> NED BRODERICK JOINED THE MARINE CORPS AT SEVENTEEN WHILE STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL.

NEAR THE END OF HIS FIRST TOUR HE DECIDED TO EXTEND FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS.

WHILE VISITING HOME ON FURLOUGH, HE SAYS HE BEGAN TO REALIZE HOW MUCH HE HAD CHANGED.

HOME SEEMED A STRANGE PLACE.

HE FOUND HIMSELF WISHING HE WAS BACK IN VIETNAM.

>> I COULDN'T BEGIN TO IMAGINE WHAT MY LIFE WOULD BE LIKE IF I HADN'T GONE TO VIETNAM.

GOD KNOWS WHAT I WOULD BE DOING.

I WOULDN'T BE AN ARTIST, FIRST OF ALL.

I JUST WOULDN'T HAVE ANY OF THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ME.

I WOULDN'T HAVE THE VALUE SYSTEM THAT I HAVE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PLACE ELSE TO DRAW IT FROM.

[ music ] >> VISITORS TO THE VIETNAM VETERANS' ART MUSEUM WILL OFTEN FIND ARTISTS WORKING AS VOLUNTEERS, TALKING ABOUT THEIR WORK AND THE WAR THAT INSPIRED IT.

>> CAUSES CHANGE ALL THE TIME.

IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, WE LEARNED THAT THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A PERMANENT ENEMY OR A PERMANENT FRIEND.

WHO'S YOUR FRIEND TODAY MIGHT BE YOUR ENEMY TOMORROW OR A DISINTERESTED PARTNER.

>> RAY BURNS WAS DRAFTED AND ENTERED THE ARMY IN 1965.

TWO MONTHS BEFORE HIS SERVICE IN VIETNAM WAS TO END, HE STEPPED ON A LAND MINE.

HE WAS SENT HOME AND SPENT ALMOST TWO YEARS IN THE HOSPITAL RECOVERING FROM HIS WOUNDS.

>> I SHOT A LOT OF FILM WHILE I WAS OVER THERE, SOME THAT BELONGED TO THE GOVERNMENT, BUT ALWAYS CARRIED AN EXTRA AMMO PACK.

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS AMMO IN THERE, BUT I HAD A LITTLE KODAK 104 INSTAMATIC.

AFTER I DID THIS, I WOULD JUST PULL IT OUT AND GO, "CLICK."

THEN, I'D GO "CLICK" AGAIN.

WHEN I HANDED BACK THE CAMERA, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GOT ON THE CHOPPER OR THE TRUCK OR SOMETHING, I STILL HAD MY LITTLE INSTAMATIC UNDERNEATH.

I HAD SOMETHING I COULD TAKE BACK WITH ME.

[ music ] >> YOU KNOW, WAR CHANGES YOU FOREVER.

THIS PERIOD OF TIME FROM WHEN I WAS IN VIETNAM UNTIL THE SAIGON GOVERNMENT FELL, I DIDN'T IDENTIFY IT OR RECOGNIZE IT MYSELF, BUT I HAD CHANGED.

I BECAME MORE COMPASSIONATE AS A PERSON THAN I WAS BEFORE.

>> JOE FORNELLI WAS TWENTY-ONE WHEN HE ARRIVED IN VIETNAM IN THE FALL OF 1965.

HE SAYS AFTER THE WAR ENDED HE BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THE EXPERIENCE HAD CHANGED HIM, PROVIDING SOME BALANCE TO THE NATURAL PASSION OF YOUTH.

JOE IS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE VIETNAM VETERANS' ART MUSEUM.

>> TO THINK BACK AT THAT PERIOD OF TIME, I THINK OF THE PEOPLE.

I DON'T REALLY THINK OF THE POLITICAL TIMES OR THE MILITARY.

I THINK OF THE PEOPLE I KNEW AND SERVED WITH.

YOU KNOW, I WAS EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEM AT THAT TIME WHEN WE WERE TOGETHER.

I JUST HOPE THEY CARRY THE PRIDE FOR THEMSELVES THAT I CARRY FOR THEM.

[ music ] >> WE DIDN'T SAVE EVERYBODY, BUT WE SAVED MOST OF THEM AND JUST DID OUR DARNDEST TO DO THE JOB THAT WE WERE THERE TO DO.

THAT'S ABOUT IT.

[ music continues ] >> THINGS HAVE CHANGED POLITICALLY IN THIS COUNTRY AND PERSPECTIVES ON THE WORLD AND VIETNAM AND WHY WE WERE THERE.

I DON'T THINK IT DIMINISHES THE VALUE OF THE 58,000 THAT DIED THERE.

>> WE BELIEVED WE WERE FIGHTING THIS WAR, AND THE COUNTRY DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN.

>> WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM THERE, THE REST OF OUR LIVES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GRAVY.

THAT THING FOLLOWED US HOME.

MAYBE I'M STILL THERE.

THIS IS WHO I AM.

>> I THINK THERE WERE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO STILL WANT TO WHITEWASH OUR INVASION OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY AND WHAT WE DID TO ABOUT TWO MILLION OF THOSE PEOPLE.

>>I THINK I WAS VERY GOOD AT WHAT I DID.

I KNEW MILITARY PROCEDURES.

ONCE I GOT OUT, THE LAST THING I WANTED TO SEE WAS ANOTHER WEAPON.

>> I'D GO BACK AS A MEDIC OR CORPSMAN.

I WOULDN'T GO BACK AS A COMBATANT.

WHEN YOU CONFUSE YOUR SENSE OF ADVENTURE WITH KILLING PEOPLE, THAT'S A MAJOR CONFUSION.

[ music continues ] >> CLOSURE, I THINK, IS SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE DONE FOR A LOT OF US AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.

IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO CONSCIOUSLY DEAL WITH OUR PROBLEMS, NOT MAKE EXCUSES FOR THEM, BUT LOOK AT WHAT WE ACTUALLY DID AND OWN UP TO THAT.

>> WE WERE AT A PARTY AND WHEN I TOLD THEM I WENT TO VIETNAM, I JUST REMEMBER THE ROOM GOING SILENT.

AND, IT WASN'T A GOOD SILENCE.

>> IT MADE ME A STRONGER PERSON.

IF I COULD SURVIVE A YEAR IN VIETNAM, THEN THERE WASN'T MUCH I COULDN'T DO.

>> VIETNAM IS AN ARROW IN THE BODY OF OUR NATION THAT WE'VE NEVER EXTRACTED.

UNTIL WE EXTRACT IT BY OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES, WE'LL NEVER HEAL FROM IT.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT BEGINS WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL.

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