A Place to Talk About War

I would like to hear from soldiers who have been in combat situations, from their families, or from others interested in this conversation. I am a graduate student interested in war rhetoric. I have no preset agenda: I simply want to listen, to learn, and to be supportive.

About Me

Name:
Location: Texas, United States

Married, two kids. Worked in the defense industry for 20 years before taking a different path. I'll be starting my dissertation on the rhetoric of war in a few months. This semester I am teaching Freshman Composition. I DON'T CARE ABOUT BLOGGERS' SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, OR ANY OTHER GRAMMAR MATTERS--I JUST WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Vietnam Purple Heart ceremony

Verbatim conversation between General Westmoreland and Purple Heart recipient First Sergeant Bud Barrow, at Long Binh evacuation hospital:

"I just want to congratulate you."

"Well, I'm not sure whether you oughta congratulate me or the enemy. They're the ones who won that one."

"Tell me, sergeant. What happened out there?"

"Well, sir, we walked into one of the damnedest ambushes you ever seen."

"Oh, no, no, no. That was no ambush."

"Call it what you want to. I don't know what happened to the rest of the people, but, by God, I was ambushed."

posted by English Professor | 9:35 AM