Leaving his college deferment behind, this son of a WWII veteran enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1967 to take part in the Vietnam War. He was sent to Officer Candidate School, became a 2nd Lieutenant and in 1969 led an infantry platoon in combat when he was 21. In late 1969, President Nixon began withdrawing troops creating doubt about the successful outcome of the war and when the author returned home in 1970 he realized his Vietnam service was not respected. He put the war out of his mind, got married and began his career, but after retirement went back to write about his war experiences. Writing brought some closure but also compelled him to join some other veterans in 2019 to return to a mountaintop in western Quang Tri Province to revisit the old FSB Russell. In so doing he learned some things he had repressed or never knew and gained a truer understanding of the emotional cost of the war.