Bloodless Mercenary

To be a good soldier is no easy feat. It takes fortitude, determination and faith to complete the mission, along with tenacity. I am an African American patriot of the 1960s.I was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder in 1993. While in Vietnam, I received no Purple Heart. The medals I did receive were three bronze stars along with thirteen other medals for heroism, which included two commendation medals with the oak-leaf clusters.
My journey as an African American soldier at the young age of nineteen was preceded by relatives who made sacrifices for me. These relatives were soldiers in the Civil War, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Through the countless hours of rehabilitation with the veterans administration, my story was formed to show how I went through the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder.
This is a story about black youth during the civil rights movement in the United States. As a young boy in Washington DC, there was a feeling of being a warrior. In 1959 when the beginning of the Vietnam War started, there was a fresh sense of victory after World War II. To be a soldier during this period was something to be admired. To come from a military family, it was felt like a time for adventure. At the same time, when I became nineteen years old in 1968, after graduating from high school, there was a sense of knowing that I would be called upon to do military service for my country. My decision was made to become a voluntary draft for two years in the army. My preparation for being a warrior in Vietnam had been set in motion. To overcome fear was paramount while I was in the battlefield of Vietnam.
To be confronted and intimidated by millions of enemy soldiers, along with thirty thousand American soldiers who got killed in 1968 and 1969, meant that I was not to come back alive. I fought along with several nationalities from all over the world that were integrated into the combat units in Vietnam. President Harry Truman issued a message to Congress stating all segregation in the U.S. military would end in 1948, when I was born.