Matterhorn Is My Metaphor Of The Vietnam

He Lay Before God As A Woman Opens Herself To A Man, With Legs Apart, Stomach Exposed, Arms Open. But Unlike Some Women, He Did Not Have The Inner Strength That Allowed Them To Do Such A Thing Without Fear. There Was No Woman’s Strength In Mellas At All.

I Don't Want Any Romantics To Go Into The Military. I'm Not A Pacifist. I Think We Need A Military, And The Better One We Have, The Better Off We Are. I Don't Want Kids Going In There Thinking That It's John Wayne On Iwo Jima. That's Not Healthy.

I Knew Many Marines Had Done Brave Deeds That No One Saw And For Which They Got No Medals At All. I Was Having A Very Hard Time Carrying Those Medals And Didnt Have The Insight Or Maturity To Know What To Do With My Combination Of Guilt And Pride.

It Was All Absurd, Without Reason Or Meaning. People Who Didn't Know Each Other Were Going To Kill Each Other Over A Hill None Of Them Cared About

In The Military I Could Exercise The Power Of Being Automatically Respected Because Of The Medals On My Chest, Not Because I Had Done Anything Right At The Moment To Earn That Respect. This Is Pretty Nice. It's Also A Psychological Trap That Can Stop One's Growth And Allow One To Get Away With Just Plain Bad Behavior.