I wrote this article about 4 years ago shortly after my Dad passed. I will never forget his sacrifice.

As I stood there next to that bed back in January, watching a soldier fight for his last breaths, I reflected back on Dad's lifetime of sacrifice for his country. Growing up with a true American hero, there are certain things that one takes for granted....watching that American hero lose a battle with Agent Orange instantly put things back in perspective for me. I watched my Dad suffer greatly for his country the last ten years or so of his life. He did so without one word of regret or complaint. Little did he know 46 years ago, that it wouldn't be a Vietnamese bullet that would end his life, it would be a herbicide that he literally was bathing in on a daily basis. Dad suffered bouts of illness throughout his adult life due to the exposure....but he did so silently.
I never heard my Dad brag about any of his many accomplishments...and he had many. I never heard him say how things could have been different if he hadn't volunteered. I only saw a Green Beret that went to work every day, always told the truth, and made an outstanding example for his children to follow. I will never know all the missions he went on or the battles that he waged. All I have are a few pictures and a uniform that is filled with proof of things he would never talk about.
The Green Beret...it says more about a man than he would ever say about himself.

Humbling. And sad.

That God Damned war will never be over....

That was just how those guys were, great tribute.

This.

Salute to your father; we owe him and his a debt that can never be repaid.

Your dad was a great American, he sounds like a man I would have liked to met and talked with.

GOD Bless these great warriors.

You come from great stock Sir. And Ingwe is right. That war, it's residual effects, took the man that inspired me to serve. So Damn all the politicians to Hell, and remember our bravest.
Lest We Forget.

Dang allergies ...

Rest in peace William F. Mischke thanks for your service Sir .

Deerhunter555 - as stated you come from good stock !

RIP soldier, thank you for your service.

I'm sorry for your loss and his suffering. RIP sir!!!

I kind of feel that way, i can't seem to get away from it. but there is hope, when we are all finally dead it may pass into history.
they put up a memorial in the city park in prescott, arizona, my home town. For a long time they didn't have a fence on it, so kids were playing on it, which greatly aggravated me. The 18names on that plaque were mostly known to me. We have a high school reunion coming up, and that always brings up one name in particular. Tony Yesces. Lynn was pregnant with his kid when news came he had been killed. He never saw the child or vice versa.
They finally fenced that monument. But i learned to get over my anger when i realized as a kid i was playing on the statue of bucky o'neil, best known for the charge up san juan hill in cuba.
And that was no different.

Define "we", friend.

34% of the guys in my graduating class have there names on the Wall.