It was a stupid war, but the men that went anyway were indeed some of the realest men. A few days ago, it was the 8th of November. There's a Big 'n Rich song about it, and I don't care if it sounds corny, every 8th I play that song, let a tear out, and throw a few back in memory of those guys. Haven't seen the documentary, I'd love to watch it.
One of my biggest influences in my life was an old mountain man named Pat, kinda ended up being my surrogate father in a lot of ways. He was a SeaBee in the navy, served four in the Da Nang, and said he almost lost his mind. Mattress patching bombed ships under fire, at night, under water for hours at a time, alone, welding with total focus, totally alone... he tells some gut-wrenching stories. He came back to the states and lived in a tipi for a decade or so because he was too shell-shocked to live in normal society. He now drinks heavily and makes beautiful art at his cabin he built himself. Awesome fuckin guy.