Most nations, if not all, have military organizations within themselves. Some of these nations have militaries, not for defense or protection of their people, but for aggression and threat. America has always considered herself to be a defender of the oppressed, both here and abroad. Much of America’s history reveals she has enjoyed safety from aggressors on her homeland, with a few exceptions. Our US Constitution guarantees that we have many rights as citizens; we often refer to them as our Freedoms. However, many of our citizens have paid the high price of sacrificing their very lives that we might cling to, and enjoy, these Freedoms.
I do not intend to leave out mentioning the many victims of US wars, but here I will only speak of that which I know about by experience, having served in Vietnam in 1966 and ’67. Approximately 58,300 Americans died in the Vietnam era, some of which were not directly the result of combat. I want to share some of the risks of the Vietnam war besides the enemy.
Venomous snakes, such as the yellow-bellied bamboo pit viper referred to by American troops as the “two steppers”, due to its deadly venom, which was believed kill you within two steps. I stupidly played with one before I discovered the risk I was in.
While it takes more than two steps to die from bamboo pit viper venom, it is fatal. The Viet Cong would often hang them from their tunnel ceilings. When a soldier investigated a tunnel looking for explosives or hiding enemies, an apparatus would release the snake on their head.
King cobras were also common throughout the war. Soldiers might find these giant snakes in the jungle, rice paddies, outhouses, and even curled up in unexpected places. I found one such beauty when I rolled into my foxhole one night, also avoiding a few punji stakes. I was so blessed and shaken at the same time.
Aggressive insects like weaver ants, the Vietnamese centipede (one bite can be deadly), along with scorpions and spiders, were common problems in the jungles of Vietnam. Not to mention the overgrowth of the jungle itself. Too many dangers to mention here. However, the heat and humidity were killers, too, and then the monsoons. Oh, did I mention the man-eating wildlife, such as, Tigers, crocodiles and elephants?
One part of the risks of combat were the Viet Cong tunnels. This concentrated arrangement of stealthy tunnels and booby traps were common and deadly. These tunnels ran for miles, and included hospitals, ammunition stores, and living quarters. Storing food and water, plus a complicated aeration arrangement, the Viet Cong could live within them almost indefinitely. This complex system also gave the enemy the perfect place to initiate shock attacks.
The US had “tunnel-rats” to attempt to take these out. Deadly job.
And if the Vietnam jungle wasn’t bad enough, our soldiers also had to be watchful for traps posed by the Viet Cong. Their purpose was to damage, not kill, American soldiers. Not only for the physical injury, but they also had a psychological influence, diminishing self-confidence. Punji stakes, which were sharpened bamboo poles sticking out of the ground and were covered in either feces, urine, or poison to ensure that those who run into them not only endured cuts from their sharp points, but also a severe infection. Also, the swinging mace, the bamboo whip, and the grenade-in-a-can (grenades and tripwires were used with many applications).
And of course, fatalities from the customary courses of battle, which were extremely high.
According to an assessment by the American Veterans Administration, roughly 500,000 of the 3 million American servicemen who served in Vietnam suffered, and suffer from, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), resulting in notably higher divorce, suicide, alcoholism, and drug addiction among our veterans of that war.
For 10 years during the Vietnam War, the United States military, by authority and order of her government, used a diversity of compounds known as rainbow weedkillers to destroy the jungles that provided cover to enemy warriors. The most well-known was Agent Orange, a chemical dust that contained dioxin, which causes foliage to fall off trees and plants. Dioxin has since been linked to a multitude of life-threatening health concerns, including cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Meniere’s Disease, heart disease and beyond. More than 4.5 million acres of terrain in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, were sprayed by the U.S. military, exposing our own civilians and troops alike to the lethal biochemical.
Yes, beloved, Freedom has its price and toll. Altogether in our major wars, America bought Freedom by the offering of 1,236,640 American lives. That’s an extreme price for Freedom, but our service men and women were willing to risk it all for each American citizen, whether they give them a thought or not. They are our heroes, and perhaps our only deserving heroes.
I hope you have read this. I pray that it has somehow touched your heart. I pray that this weekend, including Monday, will be seen by you for what it was, and is, intended; to honor those who have died to make you free. Freedom is valuable, but it has a high price. Have a blessed Memorial Day!