It could have been me as well

First, I want to say thank you and sorry to all the soldiers and families that were involved in the Vietnam War. I was born in 1970 in Tam Hiep South Vietnam. These pictures bring about great sadness.

Many horrible attrocities were committed during the war and my family as many others had endured a great deal. My father a U.S. soldier who had given me his name that I proudly accepted after he took it into his heart to adopt me and took me away from what are in those pictures. I wish all of those childern could have had the chance I had. On one side of the coin American soldier were called childern killers by protestors but what about the many great and kind and heroric deeds that soldiers had done like my father. He rescued this child and taught him courage, compassion and truth. Why is that these soldiers do not get the honor they trully deserve? This side of the war was just as important and full of merit as any other. So many died or were seriously scarred and hurt and these Vets told me they were able to selflessly risk their lives because of the suffering they saw little childern (just like in the pictures) enduring. A Vet in a wheel chair said this to me by the Vietnam Memorial when he first asked me if I was from Vietnam and I then said thank you. That was his response to me. I cried.

If anyone from that time and era would like to talk please email at johnjral@yahoo.com

To the Vietnamese kids that are now adults please prosper so the ones who died during the war did not die in vain.

To the soldiers, I owe you more than words can express.

Thank you dad.