Tag Archives: viet-nam

APOCALYPSE NOW AND THEN by Peter Nolan Smith

November 10, 2020 – 1:56 pm

In 1968 I lied about my age and tried to enlist in the Marines soon after my 16th birthday. My mother refused to sign the papers. The Tet offensive fed her doubts about the final outcome of the Vietnam Conflict. Boys were returning in coffins, wheelchairs, or hooked on heroin. Returning soldiers were portrayed as […]

By Peter | Posted in 70s, america, politics, semi-fiction, War | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Damaged Done With The Needle In My Arm

October 2, 2019 – 9:44 pm

After the Viet-Nam War wounded veterans deadened their pain by shooting heroin. It was cheap and available. A knife, a fork, a needle, and a cork was the way Rastas spelled New York, the smack capitol of the USA and the other night my friends were telling me about this opium they smoked in New […]

By Peter | Posted in america, Drugs | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

DARKNESS DARKNESS by the Youngbloods

March 23, 2013 – 7:38 pm

At summer’s end radio stations compile the 1000 best songs of all time. HEY JUDE was dethroned by STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN. SATISFACTION by the Rolling Stones enjoyed a brief moment in the sun, however my choice for best song was always DARKNESS DARKNESS, which Jesse Colin Young wrote in 1969 and performed with the Youngbloods. […]

By Peter | Posted in 60s, music, Nature, peace | Also tagged | Comments (0)

Happiness Ala Viet-Nam

May 25, 2012 – 2:20 pm

Sometimes you have to share a joke in this modern world, especially if its humor addresses an eternal question. An American, a Frenchman, and a Vietnamese refugee had a discussion about the happiness of life. “To me, happiness is returning home on a Monday evening, having a wonderful dinner prepared by my wife, then slouching […]

By Peter | Posted in Asia, Humor | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Vietnam Non-Vet Syndrome

May 18, 2010 – 12:53 am

I protested the Vietnam War from the time I was 17. 1969 was late to turn against the Pentagon, but I never wavered from my commitment to stop the destruction of a country 9000 miles from the USA. The Pentagon has yet to honor my service against the war effort with a pension despite three […]

By Peter | Posted in War | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)