A Dubious Homecoming

I was an infantry combat soldier. My tour began in June of ‘69 and ended prematurely on Christmas Eve of that year after I was traumatically wounded by a round from an enemy rifle. The bullet entered my abdomen, lacerated my liver and fractured my spine on the way out of my back.  Amazingly, I lived through it.

After many weeks in the hospital both in Vietnam and Japan, I was medevaced back to the United States for further hospitalization. Upon arrival at Travis Air Force base in California, we were carried off the plane on stretchers. 

As we were carried into the hospital, a crowd of people had assembled behind a fence about 20 yards away. They shouted out that they hoped we died from our wounds. They continued on to let us know how very pleased they were that we were seriously hurt and in pain. Welcome home from Vietnam.