Why Vietnam Still Matters, by Jake Jacobsen

Why Vietnam Still Matters, by Jake Jacobsen

I think the war taught us ALL many things, good & bad.

It was truely a time of insanity. But for many of us, turning insanity
into sanity is a positive way to deal with the aftermath. It also made
us aware of many things which we can use to educate & create a better
community.There is a myth out there in society that these issues are
strictly veterans issues.To some degree that is true, but in the
over-all scheme of things, our issues are "WORLD" issues. Pick anyone
of them & you will see that the world is dealing with the same things.
America, today, has within its boundries ALL the attributes of war,
right at our door steps.

We recognize that & have the where with all to deal with it. Part of
learning is knowing what you don't want & that puts us all in the
drivers seat. Out of all the things that happened to Vietnam Veterans
the one thing we all share, & America needs, is COMMRADRIE! Many
people use that word without understanding what it really means. We, &
other veterans,experienced ! A wielding of the soul. Such an awesome
thing. I believe we can have a wielding of the souls during peace
time. We can make it happen.

Jake Jacobsen served as an Air Commando with 6th ACS in the
Highlands, Pleiku.

To comment on this reflection, or to express your thoughts on
how you felt about the war, homecoming, or America's feelings toward
the war or its veterans, please leave your thoughts at URL:

http://home.pacbell.net/veterans/mythoughts.htm

Reprinted by special permission from the book: "Why Vietnam Still
Matters"" The War and The Wall", compiled by Jan C. Scruggs.
You can contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund via:

VVMF, 815 15th St, NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20005
(202) 393-0090, Fax (202) 393-0029
Or, its WWWsite at URL:

http://www.vvmf.org

---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com