Life Lessons Learned in Vietnam

 I was told that I was the first Arkansas school teacher to be drafted during the Vietnam War.  I spent January of 1969 to January of 1970 there.  I was fortunate to serve as a Chaplain's Assistant.  I worked for a Chaplain who was a Lieutenant Colonel with about 18 different Chaplains under him spread out through the country with different Battalions of the 18th Engineer Brigade.  We were at Brigade Headquarters located between Cam Ranh Bay and Na Trang.  As a Chaplain's Assistant, I typed his letters, drove the jeep to take him wherever and was to be his protection when we were out away from our compound.  During services, I passed the Communion Tray, played taped hymns for the troops to sing along with, etc.

Some Life Lessons I Learned:

People you do not know and have never met can have a huge impact on your life and future.  When I arrived at 18th Engineer Brigade Headquarters my first day in Vietnam, I was scheduled to be sent to one of the Battalions that was in a difficult place with constant fighting, etc.  There were about ten Clerk Typists at the Headquarters who handled the paperwork and assignments of troops arriving and where they were to go.  One illustration of how crazy the Vietnam war was, three of these Clerk Typists were graduates of Harvard Law School (yes they were Clerk Typists).  One had been Editor of the Harvard Law Review and another had been an Assistant D.A. for New York.  They looked at my paperwork, which told some of what I had done prior to the Army and thought I might be better suited to be the Assistant to the Brigade Chaplain there at Headquarters.  I was an E-2 (the next lowest rank) and this person was normally an E-6.....an experienced veteran in other words.  I was sent down to interview with the Chaplain and it was determined that I would stay there at Headquarters instead of going to the much more dangerous assignment that was listed for me.

Your past influences your future.  It was because of my having served as a Summer Youth Minister four years, been the President of the Baptist Student Union at Southern Baptist College and Arkansas State University, etc  that caused them to consider changing my orders.  What we have done and have not done can determine the doors that are open or closed to us.  Our lives do not operate in a vacuum.  

People can and will tell you crazy stuff with a straight face.  With thousands of American troops everywhere, prostitution was widespread among the Vietnamese.  When we would drive through a small village, there would be men standing on the side of the road advertising for women.  There were even young boys yelling, "You want my mother....she virgin.".  Today, it seems there is less and less premium on unbiased truth.  People can and will tell you crazy stuff with a straight face. Its up to us to be discerning.

Those you deal with all the time don't always want the best for you.  While the 18th Engineer Brigade Headquarters was in a relatively safe place, we often received rocket and mortar fire at night.  The rockets and mortars were shot from beside the little village where many of the people who worked for us in the daytime lived.  

Many view the Bible as a "good luck charm".  There was a story that went around in Vietnam about a soldier who was shot by a sniper but the bullet hit the little green Gideon New Testament in his left breast pocket and it saved his life.  Lots of soldiers who did not claim to be Christians carried a little green New Testament in their left shirt pocket.  Having or carrying a Bible is not an end in itself.

Being a Christian has given me a sense of purpose for my life.  I lived in a hooch with six other guys.  They were generally good guys, but only one other claimed to be a Christian.  After being there a short time I thought, "How am I different from these guys who are not Christians?"  We all had good days and bad days, etc.  I realized it was the feeling that since becoming a Christian, I have continually had a sense of purpose for my life. They did not express or feel any sense of overall purpose. That sense of purpose has infused my life since I was nine years old and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.  It is a wonderful gift!

I came home from Vietnam with the overwhelming desire that I wanted my life to count.

Arliss Dickerson's book, Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.  Several of his College Ministry books are currently marked down and available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV