A 1970s American soldier in Vietnam actually thought he was fighting the Red Menace in China.

In 1977, I enlisted in the USMC. I knew a few guys who had served in Nam. They were always quiet about the subject of their time served. I enlisted for many reasons, including my interest in the Vietnam war. I wanted to see if up close what it was like. When I went in for my induction and physical I asked the recruiter if I could volunteer for Vietnam. He said “You mean Nam?” He said I wouldn’t be sent there because the draft had been discontinued but he would give me the option of volunteering for other assignments that would possibly be there. I volunteered for those assignments.<br><br>My dream was to serve in Recon and to see if the stories of the “Beast of Khe Sahn” were true. The stories of the Vietcong, NVA and PAVN all being commies and the stories of the US being the good guys were all I had been fed. <br><br>During my training, I learned that I would be going to Korea. The US had a huge presence there during the 1970s because of the Korean war. We had been there since 1950. I later learned that we were still at war with North Korea, so my purpose was to fight communism. My first duty station was Korea. <br><br>After Korea, I went to Camp Pendleton for Amphibious Assault school. My company Commander told me that we were all going to Camp Pendleton. He said that he was proud of me for volunteering for Vietnam. I asked him why I wouldn’t be going to Vietnam. He told me that the draft had been stopped, the war had ended and the US had pulled out. I was shocked. I asked him if he thought that I would be going to Cambodia or Laos. He said that I wouldn’t be going anywhere in Southeast Asia. <br><br>I asked him where I would be going if not to Vietnam. He said that I would be going to Camp Pendleton. I told him that I was disappointed and that I had wanted to see combat. He said that he was proud of me for volunteering for Vietnam that I would see combat in Korea and that I would make a great Recon Marine. I accepted his answer. <br><br>The next morning I received my orders and I shipped out for Camp Pendleton. <br><br>Later that year I got out of the Marine Corps and started college. I was in college for about a year before I realized that I had been lied to. I learned that we had pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. I learned that the US was no longer at war with North Korea. The Korean armistice agreement had been signed in 1953. I learned that the PAVN and NVA were part of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong was the southern communist insurgency group. I also learned that the war had ended in 1975, two years after I got out of the Corps. <br><br>The Commander said that he was proud of me for volunteering for Vietnam. He lied to me. I volunteered to fight in Korea. I would have fought communism in Korea. <br><br>Fast forward 47 years to 2024, I am an attorney in the US and a civilian. I have a house, car, good health and good wife. I have always felt that my dream of being a Recon Marine had never come true. I was proud of my service but disappointed that I had never seen combat. <br><br>Yesterday, I had a nightmare about fighting in Vietnam. In my dream, I was in a Huey over Da Nang and we were dropping in to take back the DMZ from the Commies. The helicopter dropped me off in a rice patty. I started moving towards the jungle with my M16. I saw a couple of VC. I shot them. Then I heard artillery fire. The artillery was from the USS New Jersey. I was glad to hear it because I wanted to help retake the Ho Chi Minh trail and get the Commies out of Cambodia and Laos. I knew we could defeat the Commies. We were good guys and they were bad. The war was over but the Commies were still in Cambodia and Laos. <br><br>I woke up from my nightmare. I felt a little off. I started thinking about my dream. I started thinking about what I was told when I enlisted and the things I had learned over the years. It hit me. That wasn’t Vietnam. That was my dream of what Vietnam should have been. The US shouldn’t have pulled out of Vietnam. I was lied to. The US pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. The US was not at war with North Vietnam in 1977. I didn’t get to see combat in Vietnam because we weren’t in Vietnam anymore. <br><br>I felt sad, angry, confused and defeated. I was lied to about the war. I had volunteered for Vietnam but didn’t go. I learned that the war was over. I was told that we were in Korea for the same reason we were in Vietnam. The Commander was proud of me for volunteering for Vietnam. He lied to me. <br><br>I thought back to the Commander. He lied to me. He knew he lied to me. I asked him if he thought that I would be going to Cambodia or Laos. He said that I wouldn’t be going anywhere in Southeast Asia. I was lied to by the Commander who said that he was proud of me for volunteering for Vietnam. I was lied to about Vietnam. <br><br>I’m an attorney. I’m a civilian. I’m an American. I’m 60 years old. I’ve always thought about my time in the Corps. I’ve always thought about the Commander and his lies. I’ve always felt that I never got to do what I wanted to do. I never got to see combat in Vietnam. I’m an American who was lied to. <br><br>I hope this is the last time that I will be writing about my Vietnam dream. I hope this is the last time that I will ever feel this way about the war. I hope that all of us can agree that it is wrong to lie to someone who volunteered to fight for their country. I hope that we can agree that it is wrong for our leaders to lie to us about the reasons we are in a war. <br><br>I’m sorry. I feel so bad about my feelings. I know that I wasn’t a regular American in 1970s America. I didn’t understand all of that. I was lied to and now I understand. I’m sorry.