Dehumanized By The Vietnam War | A Marine Veteran’s Haunting Story

Tony Blount was drafted into the military in 1968 and spent seven months in Vietnam as a riflemen with Delta Company of the Fifth Marine Regiment before being wounded by a grenade and evacuated to the United States in 1969.

[Radvapordeath]

He’s speaking out of shame not pride . Rest easy warrior

[larrygill]

I had a friend who was a gunner on a Huey….. I talked to him at work about it, at first he told a funny story and then it quickly became a sad face and he turned to tears. He just said “I can still smell the blood”.
He thanked me as he said it helped him talking about it. At the time he was 64. For him to cry like that, man… I can’t imagine what those boys went through

[colerogers]

It’s time to get as many interviews as possible with these guys before it’s too late.

[michaeldavis]

War is Hell. I didn't have it this bad in Afghanistan, but I came back a wreck. A head shrinker asked me about it, and I told him it was about five years before I had what I would describe as a regular day. I scared the Hell out of my wife recently when she overheard me say to a friend, "It gets better; I thought about suicide every day for the first two years after I got home."
But my wife stuck by me. She and the kids gave me a reason to keep breathing in and out and to get help. Family and God got me through it.
It gets better.

[Roach_Dogg_JR]

This guy is truly humble. His reaction to the dead enemy wasn’t even that bad and yet he feels such guilt. There’s soldiers who did worse, so much worse, to living enemies.

[rctheycallme]

Baghdad 2004 - Tour two. I remember eating an MRE in my turret shortly after a VBIED was detonated. The area was as secure as it could be and I was hungry, although, I was anticipating mortar fire at any moment.

I ate my lunch while looking at body parts that had rained down from the explosion. I was trying to tell if I was looking at the heel of a foot, or an elbow, while chewing my meal. All the chunks of flesh around me were charred and stank - human does not smell like beef or pork when grilled. There were intestines tangled in the power lines above me as I ate skittles and watched them drip.

I realized this was not a normal situation when I got home and reengaged my emotions. At the time I was just hungry at work.

edit: Thank you all for the support and allowing me to share.

[king_loser]

I worked at an old folks retirement home as a janitor and there a few vets from Nam there. One had bad shell shock and would freak out and cry for his friends and mom. But when he was on his meds he was all in tact and great to talk to. Unfortunately he passed away due to old age. I would always talk to the vets about it and it always made the time go by fast. Thank you all for your service young and old. Much love y mis respetos to you all

[slammysammy]

My grandfather was in Vietnam. He has horrible dementia, he doesn’t even remember my name or who my siblings are sometimes, but he still remembers Vietnam. He told me a story about how he had to shoot two boys because they snuck into the base one night with rifles. He remembered their names and who their parents were to this day. He actually sat there and just repeated their names over and over to himself for a minute. He said that he remembers all he could think was “why are you doing this? Don’t make me do this” This stuff never leaves a person, ever.

[DERTHIX]

Growing up in Canada my dad would always remind me "The Vietnam war was wrong... But it was the government's choice to go their, not the soldiers. You show them as much respect as any other war veteran." ... It's always stuck with me.

[Dabrandman]

I work with a Vietnamese man, who was young during the war and was telling me a similar story about him running for his life over bodies ran over by tanks. Man had me in tears that day at work, when he decided tell me about how he came to America.

[Mia-yqmx]

I strongly suggest watching this man's entire story. Not only is it very well told, you can hear it in his voice and see in his eyes how deeply affected he was by this experience. Hopefully he found some peace in the rest of his life.

[bodhi-swayze]

I’m not American & I was only a kid when this was happening but I remember a little Vietnamese girl suddenly appearing at my school one day. I was 5-6 but even I could tell that she had been through something that my little brain couldn’t comprehend. I’m 47 now and I can remember her clear as day. I hope she has a good life.

[bobturner]

My dad felt the same way after coming home from the Korean war. He questioned his sanity because upon returning he felt no remorse for the cruel things he had done in that war, so cruel im embarrassed to talk about them. He went to see a priest who surprisingly told him that the things he did happen in war.
I dont believe my father ever truly believed that but it gave him enough mental strength to continue with life. It took him 50yrs to ever tell anyone except the priest. War is sad for everyone

[santhegemini]

takes real guts to get this vulnerable and tell this story. i commend this man and wish him peace in his twilight times

[FloridaManMatty]

My father was with 5th SF early in the conflict. One of the only times I ever saw my father cry was after he had a nightmare - a memory of a young VietCong fighter whose throat he had to cut to keep the guy from shooting another American. Dad slipped up behind him and just plunged his German made blade through the guys neck and pushed it out.

Daddy wasn’t sad that he killed that man. He was ashamed that he never gave the other guy, the enemy fighter, a chance for a fair fight. That haunted him until the day he died (Memorial Day, 2011). Dad saved far more lives than he ever took after 30 years as a Fireman and EMT, but in that one brutal moment he protected his own team mate and was haunted by it for the next fifty years.

[robertvaughan]

My grandpa served in WWII, my two uncles in Vietnam, myself in desert storm, as well as my 3 sons. It changes your perspective on life, it jades you, it’s hard to comprehend with just words, but at times to many people around you puts you on guard & at times being alone let’s the demons in. God bless my wife for trying to understand me and never leaving my side…and god bless you sir for your service and just know your not alone. Honestly I don’t even know why I wrote this

[oleheat]

The way so many of them were treated when they returned home was truly a shameful occurrence in our modern history. They deserved so much better….😢

[trogdortrogdornia]

My father lost his battle with his mind 20 years ago, vietnam made those men see things our nightmares couldnt make up. This man is still fighting behind those eyes, rest easy sir your brothers wouldnt want you feeling like this.

[secretsquirrel]

I’ve got six deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. No one but another soldier will ever understand how desensitizing war is. From one soldier to another, thank you for your service, sir.

[MetalSkShred]

That’s the highest level of callousness there is. Much respect to this man, one of the baddest dudes to walk the earth