Do you consider yourself a hero?

No, I don't count myself as a hero as a 19-D Scout I did what I needed to do to come home to the U.S.A. If someone calls me a hero because of what I did in the war or because of what I do now, I just say thank you out of respect. To me the true HERO dies doing the job. But at the same time, anyone who sign up and said I am willing to Die for others is a Hero to me. So thanks to all you Heros who stood and served under the Flag of our land!!!

Those that volunteered all wrote a blank check to our country, which included possibly giving up our lives. I think this is heroic in a way, but by most of our idea of being a hero, no we were not heroes, but what we did should be respected. I volunteered to go to Viet Nam twice, but the Corps decided to keep me just where I was to an extent. I was sent to WESTPAC in 1971. Our squadron, H&amp;MS - 17 was in MCAS Iwakuni. Many of the squadrons left to go back into Viet Nam in the Spring of 1972, but we were left behind. We were packed and ready to go, but the call never came. The read heroes have the medals, the wounds, or damage caused by war. I just have the experience of being on the perimeter of the time, I'm no hero, but those who fought in the battles are my heroes. I feel terrible that I didn't get to go incountry, but close friends of mine who went, tell me that I should thank God that I didn't go. It was a hard pill to swallow, still is.<br>

If you think about it, the vast majority of those of us who served would never be in a position to be a "hero". We were support troops for a few individuals who actually were sent into dangerous and life threatening situations. But, we did our assigned tasks, endured a lot of hardships, spent many lonely days and nights away from our loved ones and did all that for a basic wage that would make a worker at Burger King quit his or her job.

Hell no. Ain't no hero. Went over and did my job; came back in one piece. The real heroes are the ones who felt the real brunt of battle with scars on their bodies and scars that reaches into their souls.

I do not, but I've met a few. Shaking the hand of two survivors of the Bataan Death March was one of the most humbling experiences of my military career. COL Ralph Puckett speaking to us at Ranger School during RAP week would be a close second.

I am a hero, I invented cabbage!! Or maybe it was lettuce. Get the two confused. :)