I know that Vietnam war was and remains a deeply divisive subject in American hearts and minds. As a teen sent by the Soviet powers that be to demonstrate against the "imperialist invasion", I didn't have yet any opinion of my own.
I know that many of the American youngsters sent to fight and to die in the rice fields and jungles of Vietnam also didn't have much of an opinion (or an option). However, they fought bravely and died for something that many of their countrymen scoffed at.
It took me some years to grow up and to become grateful to all the Cold war warriors and to the millions of people who worked, fought and died to rid the planet of the Soviet menace. And to understand that the soldiers who fought and died in Vietnam were a part of this chapter of our history.
And to be thankful.
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