August of 1969
This is a true story.26 total reviews
Comment from Father Flaps
Hi Regina,
This is a terrific story from your 13th year of life. You've told it perfectly. I'm surprised it didn't win the contest.
As a Canadian, we didn't have to think much about the Vietnam War. I was 18 that year, just graduated from Saint John High School. That fall I began university (UNB/Business Administration). I played 2 years on the soccer team, but never finished my degree. Instead, I joined the workforce at Moosehead Breweries. Spent 39 years there, retiring in June of 2010. I was married in 1975, and we had 2 sons and a daughter. Now we have 3 granddaughters. The young men who died in the Vietnam War couldn't live their lives as I did. Such a shame.
My favorite portion of your tale...
"I began to hear my mother, a
strong woman, weeping. I heard her
flip-flops snapping as she walked
into my view. Her golden beehive
had become disheveled under her
Paisley kerchief. Her eyes were
bloodshot, streaming tears. She
could barely speak, but I already
knew what our sadness was.
She said, "Our soldiers, our
soldiers so young, getting shot,
dying!"
Nicely penned!
We need to always remember those who fought and died in the wars.
Hugs,
Kimbob
reply by the author on 25-Jul-2023
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Hi Regina,
This is a terrific story from your 13th year of life. You've told it perfectly. I'm surprised it didn't win the contest.
As a Canadian, we didn't have to think much about the Vietnam War. I was 18 that year, just graduated from Saint John High School. That fall I began university (UNB/Business Administration). I played 2 years on the soccer team, but never finished my degree. Instead, I joined the workforce at Moosehead Breweries. Spent 39 years there, retiring in June of 2010. I was married in 1975, and we had 2 sons and a daughter. Now we have 3 granddaughters. The young men who died in the Vietnam War couldn't live their lives as I did. Such a shame.
My favorite portion of your tale...
"I began to hear my mother, a
strong woman, weeping. I heard her
flip-flops snapping as she walked
into my view. Her golden beehive
had become disheveled under her
Paisley kerchief. Her eyes were
bloodshot, streaming tears. She
could barely speak, but I already
knew what our sadness was.
She said, "Our soldiers, our
soldiers so young, getting shot,
dying!"
Nicely penned!
We need to always remember those who fought and died in the wars.
Hugs,
Kimbob
Comment Written 09-Jul-2023
reply by the author on 25-Jul-2023
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Thank you so much, FF. Your
generous review means so
much to me. Your own story
as a Canadian during the
Vietnam War Era is interesting. Thank you for
your kind review.
Comment from JSD
A short but shocking insight into the effect of the war on an individual's life in 1969. I'm too young to remember, but watch the films of course. This is so effective in its domestic simplicity.
reply by the author on 18-Jun-2023
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A short but shocking insight into the effect of the war on an individual's life in 1969. I'm too young to remember, but watch the films of course. This is so effective in its domestic simplicity.
Comment Written 18-Jun-2023
reply by the author on 18-Jun-2023
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Hi JSD, I remember my childhood growing up in the
1960's-70's. Of course I don't
remember everything, but I
recall the tragedy of the
Vietnam War, we lost so many young men. We lose
young people in every war,
as do other countries. The
spectre of death always
present. I remember the
raging conflicts between
Americans, even in families,
over the Vietnam War. And
now, I hope and pray, our
Vietnam veterans, along with
Middle East wars veterans,
will get the good medical treatment that they earned,
with the PACT Act. My
deep thanks for your 5 star
review. Blessings to you.
Comment from Paul Manton
Regina, I really loved this poem. You paint with words and imagies in a powerfully evocative way - and although I live far away in London, I remember 1969 very clearly. We saw some of those pictures from Vietnam on our tv and cinema newsreels - and I also remember the Archies' song because we are the same age! All the images: the beehive hair and the Paisley kerchief focus everything perfectly. A wonderful piece of writing.
Best wishes, Paul
reply by the author on 18-Jun-2023
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Regina, I really loved this poem. You paint with words and imagies in a powerfully evocative way - and although I live far away in London, I remember 1969 very clearly. We saw some of those pictures from Vietnam on our tv and cinema newsreels - and I also remember the Archies' song because we are the same age! All the images: the beehive hair and the Paisley kerchief focus everything perfectly. A wonderful piece of writing.
Best wishes, Paul
Comment Written 17-Jun-2023
reply by the author on 18-Jun-2023
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Thank you very much, Paul,
for taking the time to read
and review my story. I really
appreciate the 5 stars. Many
blessings to you.
Comment from irishauthorme
This is a well-written story. I get the feeling this was taken from your life, just as it happened. The Vietnam war was not only a tragedy, it was the result of misconceptions by non-military elected officials in our government, believing they knew more than our educated military personnel.
Vietnam was a stinking country, inhabited by the only people who could bear living there.
You didn't explain why you and your mother are estranged but it must have been a major disagreement.
Hope you can reconcile before she leaves so you won't have to carry that with you.
irish
reply by the author on 19-May-2023
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This is a well-written story. I get the feeling this was taken from your life, just as it happened. The Vietnam war was not only a tragedy, it was the result of misconceptions by non-military elected officials in our government, believing they knew more than our educated military personnel.
Vietnam was a stinking country, inhabited by the only people who could bear living there.
You didn't explain why you and your mother are estranged but it must have been a major disagreement.
Hope you can reconcile before she leaves so you won't have to carry that with you.
irish
Comment Written 18-May-2023
reply by the author on 19-May-2023
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Thank you so much, irish.
I have much bereavement
also for our U.S. military in
general. The way our war
vets were negligently treated
with sickness from
Agent Orange, and sickness
from the Middle East wars
is a mix of sadness and
anger. I know the PACT Act
passed a little while ago,
about damn time. So many
of our soldiers that were
sickened by the Agent Orange and burn pits toxins
passed away with much
denial from the U.S. gov't.
I carry grief from wars when
our young men and women
soldiers are wounded, or
fell in battle. Another
injury is the psychological
wounds. I forgive my mother
for her trespasses that have
occurred the past 30+ years.
When my father died 8 years
ago, I donated to the
American Cancer Society
in his name, and the ACS
sent her a card that let her
know about the donation I
made. Crickets. My mother
can be quite stubborn and
proud. I forgive her, but I
don't know if she'll reconcile
with me or not. I've made my
peace with it. I really appreciate you taking the
time to read my story and
give me 5 stars, very kind of
you. Have a good poetry
weekend. Blessings to you. ~
-
Hi Regina, thank you for your response!
Will write to you on your contact page!
irish
Comment from Wendy G
An excellent story, very moving, and all the more because it is true. War is so futile, it really never solves things and the young are the brave ones who offer themselves and pay the price. Best wishes for your powerful story.
Wendy
reply by the author on 19-May-2023
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An excellent story, very moving, and all the more because it is true. War is so futile, it really never solves things and the young are the brave ones who offer themselves and pay the price. Best wishes for your powerful story.
Wendy
Comment Written 18-May-2023
reply by the author on 19-May-2023
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Thank you so much, Wendy.
Yes, war takes a tragic
human toll. I also grieve for
war horses and war dogs
that fell. So many young
men and women gone.
You're so kind to give me
5 stars. Have a happy poetry
weekend full of inspiration.
Blessings!
Comment from Liz O'Neill
A strong sensory image for the setting. This will draw the reader in to want to read more: " I began to hear my mother, a strong woman, weeping." I love this onomatopoetic image. We can hear the familiar sound we know of flip flops. Without telling us the era, we know. Great work: "Her golden beehive had become disheveled under her" This is a powerful topic for us 'baby boomers A+
Paisley kerchief."
reply by the author on 18-May-2023
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A strong sensory image for the setting. This will draw the reader in to want to read more: " I began to hear my mother, a strong woman, weeping." I love this onomatopoetic image. We can hear the familiar sound we know of flip flops. Without telling us the era, we know. Great work: "Her golden beehive had become disheveled under her" This is a powerful topic for us 'baby boomers A+
Paisley kerchief."
Comment Written 18-May-2023
reply by the author on 18-May-2023
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Thank you so much, Liz.
I really appreciate the 6 star
review, it's very kind of you.
Many blessings to you.
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To get 6 stars, A+ comes honestly in my estimation. I was a creative writing teacher, A+ came with great talent
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Thank you so much, Liz. This has
really touched my heart. May you
have a wondrous and creative
upcoming weekend. Many blessings
to you and your family. ~
Comment from Andrea Kepple
This story really brought the feelings home. There is the feeling of loss when leaving the home you have lived in. There is the feeling of loss with your strong mother breaking down. There is the feeling of loss of the soldiers being lost in the war. There is the feeling of loss that comes from not seeing your mom in 30 years. Well communicated.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
reply by the author on 17-May-2023
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This story really brought the feelings home. There is the feeling of loss when leaving the home you have lived in. There is the feeling of loss with your strong mother breaking down. There is the feeling of loss of the soldiers being lost in the war. There is the feeling of loss that comes from not seeing your mom in 30 years. Well communicated.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 16-May-2023
reply by the author on 17-May-2023
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Thank you, Andrea, for taking
the time to read my story,
and for the 4 star review.
It's a sad story that I felt I
needed to share. Blessings
to you. ~
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Thank you for sharing this contest entry with us. In 1969 I was 15 years old. I do remember that time period. It wasn't good and we, as a nation, still haven't learned that nothing is accomplished by war. You did an excellent job writing this. I can find no way to improve it. Good luck with the contest.
reply by the author on 16-May-2023
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Thank you for sharing this contest entry with us. In 1969 I was 15 years old. I do remember that time period. It wasn't good and we, as a nation, still haven't learned that nothing is accomplished by war. You did an excellent job writing this. I can find no way to improve it. Good luck with the contest.
Comment Written 16-May-2023
reply by the author on 16-May-2023
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Thank you, Barbara, for your
generous review with 5 stars.
Yes, our nation was all tore
up with rioting and war protests. We lost so many
of our young soldiers in
the Vietnam War, and the
Middle East wars. Humanity
never learns. You're only two
years older than me, I have
reminiscing on not only sad
times, but good times too,
from years ago, and today
with poets my own age. Many blessings to you. ~
Comment from estory
That's a poignant memory of that time. Massapequa. I was 7 years old in Mineola at that time. I remember my parents watching Walter Cronkite on CBS news every night and it seemed the Vietnam war was endless. I remember when I was 13 wondering with my cousin if we would have to register for the draft. I remember all the protests, the country being torn apart by this issue. One of my cousins was a bit of a hippie and her brother was in the air force. So there was great disparity between even immediate family members. estory
reply by the author on 16-May-2023
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That's a poignant memory of that time. Massapequa. I was 7 years old in Mineola at that time. I remember my parents watching Walter Cronkite on CBS news every night and it seemed the Vietnam war was endless. I remember when I was 13 wondering with my cousin if we would have to register for the draft. I remember all the protests, the country being torn apart by this issue. One of my cousins was a bit of a hippie and her brother was in the air force. So there was great disparity between even immediate family members. estory
Comment Written 16-May-2023
reply by the author on 16-May-2023
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Thank you, estory, for reading
and giving my story 5 stars.
My mother took us to see a
Peter Pan play at the playhouse in Mineola a long
time ago. It's nice to converse with another
Long Islander. I've been living
in North Carolina for the
past 35 years, but miss my
NY. The Vietnam War still
haunts America. Such a
heavy tragic human toll.
I read the average age of
our U.S. soldiers in Vietnam
was nineteen. Such a sad
loss. As a thirteen year old
you worried about the draft.
It must of cast a shadow
over your adolescence. I
remember the angry protests, Kent State tragedy,
RFK, Martin Luther King
assassinations. I still recall
JFK's funeral with his casket
being pulled by beautiful
white horses. Years later I
was stationed in DC on the
same Army base the horses
for the funerals were stabled
at. The Vietnam War sure
did divide our country, I
remember in Massapequa
neighbors arguing with each
other about it. I really appreciate hearing from you,
thank you, many blessings ~
Comment from Spitfire
A beautiful and haunting write that pits the horror of young men dying in battle against the playfulness of squirrels and the melody of sparrows. Third paragraph is a perfect portrait of a woman in sorrow.
reply by the author on 16-May-2023
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A beautiful and haunting write that pits the horror of young men dying in battle against the playfulness of squirrels and the melody of sparrows. Third paragraph is a perfect portrait of a woman in sorrow.
Comment Written 15-May-2023
reply by the author on 16-May-2023
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Thank you so much, Spitfire.
What a tragic time in U.S.
history. Still haunts all these
years later. My mother and I
United in grief that hot
August day so long ago.
Thank you so much for
reading my story, and for the
5 stars. Many blessings to
you. ~
