Read Rebuke Resist
Even with all the news, I have to admit that I’ve seen a worse January. That of 1968 comes to mind. I’d only been “in-country” a few weeks when what was then called “North Vietnam” decided to launch the historically infamous Tet Offensive.
In brief, all hell broke loose, and I was cast into it but certainly not to the extent that the Marines in Hue were. I was in Naval security on the Tien Sha peninsula outside of Da Nang. We pulled six-hour watches, six hours fortifying our bases, and six hours sleep for 26 days. But we made it through.
Despite what you read, it was not a surprise. Everyone knew it was coming. It’s just that those in charge, following the lead of General William C. Westmoreland, didn’t take the warnings seriously. As our modern dilemma shows only too well, things go badly when we don’t take danger seriously.
Truth is, there was one major difference between what I experienced in 1968 and what I fully expect to experience in short order.
The people wanting to destroy me in 1968 were not people whom I had once considered dear friends who loved America as much as I.
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