I find you have to truly understand the horrors and ills of war's past to fully embrace peace. I write as one who has been there/done that...sent by society and religious leaders who held our constitution and the dictates of our leaders decisions to be consecrated by God.

They said to me: "Thou shalt not kill," And well I understood. "Thy brother's blood thou shalt not spill," They spake, and it was good. And then I could not understand, Yet had to do their will; Cold steel they put into my hand, Saying: "Go forth and kill. "Go forth with rage of race and slay; Pile up the corpses for What's murder called in Peace - alway Is hollowed in war. The Church has blest your bloody blade, The which in peace is cursed; So go forth, son, all unafraid, And do your bloody worst." What's wrong in Peace in War is right, So I will do their will, And bear me bravely in the fight, And kill and kill and kill..... Yet as I brave the battle test With dripping sword in hand, Proving me equal with the best.... Christ, help me understand! I now speak as one who does not believe that what is wrong in peace is right in war...

I invite you to visit my, “Vietnam Picture tour,” from the lens and poet's pen of a combat infantryman. Take a walk through "the park" with the 1st Air Cavalry on combat patrol. http://PZZZZ.tripod.com/namtour.html

I served with B Company 2nd/7th 1st Air Cavalry '66 - '67, as a combat infantryman operating out of LZ Betty near Phan thiet in Vietnam's Central Highlands. My goal in writing today is to educate people who have no idea of the realities and atrocities of war...with the desire to promote peace. I wish the horror stories of what happened there to never die. I want them to live on in the telling and retelling...rubbing people's faces in the horror vested on a generation, until they become a firmly established part of our memory...so that we may understand this should never happen again.

I am a Vietnam poet, working in multi- media with the Internet, using colorful backgrounds, and haunting music that many veterans say reveal the anguished smell and textures and feel of war in Vietnam.

I was the sports editor of my college daily newspaper (BYU's Daily Universe) when I was drafted...and like so many others, Nam changed the direction of my life indelibly and forever. Nam imbedded my soul with a new set of senses...forever.

Many veterans have written me saying that for the first time in 33 years they read exactly what they felt, and for the first time they were able to sit down in front of the computer with their families and show them what war was like for them. School teachers have written me saying they think my "tour," should be required viewing for their students.

I wrote this poetry because all the people of the world continually need to understand how important an event war is. War will always be a determining factor of not only who we are, but will determine our very futures, as well as the futures of our wives and children. I sincerely hope we will not doom our children to fight senseless battles as did we, shackling them to similar fates suffered by their fathers in the latest in a series of "war-to-end-all-wars!" If we do not learn the history of war, learning there is no glory in war...only death, destruction of values and misery, then we are doomed to repeat it!

And the next war will inexorably come!

Sometimes war is a necessary evil...sometimes not...sometimes there's Vietnam! My fervent wish is that there be peace evermore, and war-no- more!

Vietnam combat vets have a lot of baggage they need to contend with, depending on how much blood they got on their hands...and how much of it was their enemies, their buddies, or their own. Combat Veterans of the Nam may or may not have been wounded physically, but have deep emotional, ethical and psychological scars. Most were just young boys who were like I was, gung-ho naive. We patriotically answered our countries call, and were made to kill and suffer killing, ravaged with the aftermath of learning hatreds and fearing, the skills of killing, Agent Orange and ptsd effecting many "boys next door" with life threatening maladies that still are a vital part of our lives today. I also have been exposed, numerous times, to that chemical miracle wonder that causes birth defects, cancers, diabetes, liver, heart and kidney problems....

There needs to be understanding, love and healing. Our nation must learn there is a better way to solve disputes. These are but some of my poems...I ask you to please read them before you judge:

"A Combat Soldiers Prayer," http://PZZZZ.tripod.com/prayer.html

"My Thousand Yard Stare," http://pzzzz.tripod.com/stare.html

“I Felt I’d Died,” http://Knights_Lance.tripod.com/vietnamwarpoems.html

“Soldiers Of The Wall,” http://pzzzz.tripod.com/wall.html

“A Soldier’s Seven guardian Angels,” http://pzzzz.tripod.com/sevenangels.html

"A Soldier’s Legacy," http://PZZZZ.tripod.com/warrior.html

“Papason,” http://pzzzz.tripod.com/papason.html

“Just Before The Battle Mother,” http://pzzzz.tripod.com/battlemother.html

“i’m no hero,” http://pzzzz.tripod.com/hero.html

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2000

Answers

Gary,

Thanks for sharing this with us - very well done. In this day and age, it is vitally important for things like this to be spoken because the schools and other institutions will not teach them to our kids. And as you know, when we fail to learn from history, we doom ourselves to repeating it.

I appreciate not only your work in this area but also your service to the USA. We need many more like you.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

We all hate war, and certainly as Christians we are called to be peacemakers. But WWII was enough to convince "the greatest generation" of the truth of the patriots words: "The only thing that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

The thing about war is that it goes against everything that is godly. Will there be war? You bet! But it isn't the place of Christians to take part. Christians are to love even their enemies....and pray tell, how can someone love another and send him into eternity. In war Christians kill Christians and Christians kill unbelievers. All of this takes away from the purpose God has for His children.

Nelta

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

And that purpose would be...? What, to kill non-Christians? It's what you guys have been doing for 2000 years, why stop now?

-- Anonymous, December 31, 2000

Kaophyre Tamdashi Serai:

You have implied that God's purpose for Christians is to kill non christians and have accused us of having been fulfilling this purpose for 2000 years as follows:

"And that purpose would be...? What, to kill non-Christians? It's what you guys have been doing for 2000 years, why stop now?"

Now what proof do you have that Christians have been killing non Christians for 2000 years? Your ignorance is equaled only by your arrogance. No one, who faithfully followed the doctrine of Christ( which is the true definition of a CHristian) has ever persecuted anyone much less the Jews.

The Jews who persecuted and killed Christians in the first century did not do so because they were faithful to the teachings of God's Holy Word found in their Old Testament Scriptures. If they had understood and faithfully followed those scriptures they would not have "with wicked hands" crucified their Lord and their Messiah.

You assert but do not prove what you say to be true. What evidence can you give to show that anyone following the teaching of Christ thereby set out to kill anyone?

Your hatred of Christians is appearant and what is worse you have no justification for it.

For the Messiah,

E. Lee Saffold

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2001

Thank you for your acknowledgement of my arrogance. It is indeed one of my weaksuits. I accept that wholeheartedly. I am far from ignorant, but what I said certainly would make it seem otherwise, non? I humbly say I was in a terrible mood when I wrote that: a Baptist substitute at my high school had preached to me the importance of following scripture even though she admitted she hadn't read much more than Genesis and Revelations and obviously didn't know the Bible wasn't written in English. Though most Christians are nothing more than Bible-thumping sheep hanging on their preacher's every word, I see you are a dutiful Christian. I apologize for my blatant disregard of politeness and tact; I shall return to learning Hebrew, reading the Kabbalah, and minding my own business.

Regretful apologies, Lady Kaophyre Tamadashi Serai

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2001

P.S.- Not to be forthright, but do read up on history: Jews have never persecuted anyone. The primary persectors of the Jews were Christians. Throughout history, they have been. However, many others have done so as well, so I'm not putting all the blame on Christianity. We've been persecuted by almost everybody, and we're still around, somehow. No wonder we piss off Southern Baptists so much!

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2001