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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
Click the Frog…you know you want to.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
AUTUMN FRAGRANCE
“How are you, GI Joe?”
Even though we listened to her every day, nobody took her seriously.
“They have forgotten about you back home. Your sacrifice means nothing to your people.”
Let her spout her bullshit, we looked forward to the music from home.
“Your great nation has abandoned you.”
After months of being shot at by the VC and suffering jungle rot, my orders came. I was headed for home!
At Travis I was met not with ticker tape and hurrahs, but with protesters screaming, “Get back on the plane, baby killer!”
Hanoi Hannah was onto something, after all.
***
A tragic (and, for some, liberating) loss of innocence for a generation of Americans and a catastrophe for the Vietnamese. Even now, I wonder if this may open wounds
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Dear Neil,
Vietnam was truly a fiasco, leaving no real winners. Americans have gone out of their way to make it up to the vets, but I fear it’s a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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By the way, the frog icon doesn’t lead to a Link up
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Sorry about that. It’s fixed now.
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Got a problem with the link, Rochelle
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Sorry, Tony, it’s fixed now,
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War brings out the worse in people. No one wins (perhaps some elite do). People really aren’t fighting for what they think they are and are pushed into doing things they might not want to do. Topical.
Well written Rochelle.
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Agree. It does seem that way. Signing up and joining in with all the best intentions, some sense of the ‘good’ they’re doing. To be disillusioned and despairing in the end, engaging in behaviour they may feel shame about.
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Dear Trish,
There were no winners in Vietnam, were there? Over 50 years later, the scars run deep.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Tanille,
You’ve just summed up the Vietnam war. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A ghastly exercise in futility, with the blame shovelled in the wrong direction.
Sad tale, m’lady.
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Dear CE,
Sad it is and whole lotta other adjectives beside. The soldiers returning home certainly didn’t deserve the venom, did they? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Gosh, she was right though, wasn’t she?
My FF story is up on my blog but The Link isn’t working, Rochelle.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Dear Susan,
That is disturbing, isn’t it? Thank you for commenting.
The link is working now. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That war was a tragedy and it’s been proven the American people were lied to about its progress. It caused suffering on both sides. Many of our soldiers were just kids and were drafted. Good writing, Rochelle. —- Suzanne
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Dear Suzanne,
I doubt anyone will ever know the whole truth. It seems Hanoi Hannah was telling the truth. 😦
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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No winners in war. I don’t understand why young men in the US still join the army when there is no direct threat to the country. Why are they going to all these proxy wars when there is no need?
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Dear Joy,
The military is not all about war, although that certainly is the chance one takes when joining. Being married to a career Navy man, I can tell you there are education opportunities some wouldn’t have access to outside the military.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Surely the answer to that is to widen educational opportunities, not train people to kill?
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Hi Rochelle,
You keep saying this words… (the link is fixed now) I don’ think you know what they mean. All I get s a picture of a frog, not the usual suspects and links to their stories. It’s 9:56 New Zealand time on the 27th of May. God only knows what that is where you are.
Good 100 on Hanoi Hannah. (Is that a Jewish name?). I agree with NeilMacdon.
Cheers,
Doug
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Dear Doug,
Try clicking the frog now. On my end it is working and should take you to the Hollywood squares as Russell calls it. Perhaps you need to refresh your browser.
At any rate, writing such a story is a risk. Yes, it’s a Jewish name, few are aware she shortened it from Hanoi Hannahvitz.
As I reply it’s 05:36 and the pale purple light of dawn has yet to shine through my window. Happy to read your voice here. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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The propaganda war is one that keeps going in both peace and wartime – only now it is done on social media and everyone can take part! Knowing who to believe is the tricky part. Good story Rochelle.
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Dear Iain,
How very true. There are so many more ways to spread lies these days, isn’t there? So annoying. Thank you re my story. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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So sad they way they were treated. Good as usual
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Dear Andrea,
They were treated shamefully. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It is too bad many took their frustrations about the war out on the soldiers, many who were conscripted and forced to go. Anyway, good story.
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Dear Trent,
I remember when that draft notice seemed a death sentence. More often than not draftees didn’t pass Go but went directly to Nam. Thank you re my story. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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No one can understand the pains and sacrifices.
So many have had to suffer…
Nice one, Rochelle. Much said in a few words.
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Dear Anita,
True story. Many thanks.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, I have friends who still talk about her. And about getting spit on when they got home. Not a good memory. And yet most of them laugh at her even now.
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Dear Genia,
She was something of a joke. Sadly, venom was foisted upon anyone in uniform. My husband didn’t go over, nonetheless was spit on. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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This story brings back memories of the treatment of military personnel. I was the recipient of many of those barbs. What a difference we received after the 911 incident and the Desert Storm Gulf war, where I was treated exactly the opposite. As for Hanoi Hannah, this is another example of the terrible effect the media can have on morale. And it is just as prevalent today as ever on the divisiveness it can have as well as the good. Good historical fiction although very little fiction.
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Dear Jan,
Speaking of media and morale….;) I’m glad the overall attitude toward the military has changed, but what we did to Vietnam vets can never be fully erased.
Thank you re my ‘fiction’. ❤
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Great story, Rochelle. I do take issue with some of the comments,
The Vietnamese see the conflict as a victory, not a tragedy at all. They successfully fought off the French, the Japanese, the French again, and finally the Americans. We tend to look at this was through the same distorted lens that got us in there in the first place. Vietnam wanted democracy and independence. We gave them Diem, an indulgent CIA-installed puppet. Ho Chi Minh, like Mao, promised to kick out the western imperialists. He kept that promise and now Vietnam is its own thing. Remember too that the US dropped more bombs on Laos than it did on Vietnam. In fact, it dropped more bombs on Laos than on it did on all of Europe and Japan combined through the entire course of World War 2. Be nice to think that the US learned its lesson, but what they learned was to get rid of the draft and remember to say thank you to the maimed young men and women who are sent on these mercenary expeditions.
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Dear Josh,
Lesson? What lesson? No I doubt we have. 😦 Quick to bomb, slow to consider. That said, thanks for the tome and the kudos.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Great story with an important message.
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Many thanks, Tony.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Sad truth for sure.
Shalom,
Ronda
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Dear Ronda,
Very sad. Very true. Many thanks.
Rochelle
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Great job, Rochelle. Vietnam seems a long time ago, when we’ve been embroiled in the latest war against the coronavirus. That said, I’m embroiled in WWI research. Time goes by so quickly. My kids constantly remind me of this. My memories are ancient history to them.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Dear Rowena,
I’m sure my memories are ancient history to you. 😉 I do remember the Vietnam war era since it took up a lot of my adolescence. My father fought in WWII, and I remember thinking how his memories were so far away and long ago, when in fact, at the time it was about 20 years prior. Kids do have a way of reminding us how fleeting is the time.
Thank you so much for your lovely comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I find all that happened so very tragic. So many mistakes with no real winners… and it is probably not the last time when we end up with so many victims.
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Dear Björn,
To quote Hawkeye on MASH, war is worse than hell. In hell there are no innocent bystanders. Thank you for reading and commenting. You’ve been missed.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I will try to write something… but strangely enough I have only managed to write to my own poetry site (we have three prompts per week) The Covid situation means a lot more work even when I work from home and have no commute.
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War has never done any good to anyone. Good one
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Dear Neel,
Too bad governments can’t settle their differences in chess tournaments instead of using young men and women for pawns. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I remember. It was the war that took so many of the young men who would be my age now.
And the irony, to me, is that they were reviled for being “baby killers” when they were barely older than babies themselves.
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Dear Linda,
Human life is precious. Too bad we don’t value it more. So many lives lost in senseless killings. Thank you for reading and for your comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Well written, Rochelle. Good idea to tie-in Hanoi Hannah with the protests in your fiction. The young men who fought were just young men trying to survive. Most of the guilt for that conflict lies with their rulers. The only way we will ever see an end to war is when individuals refuse to take up arms. Hard to imagine, but I pray it will happen eventually.
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Dear Penny,
Your comment puts me in mind of a Simon and Garfunkel song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_a1zgftXPM. Wouldn’t it be loverly? Thank you for your kind words re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
Thank you for the link to the Simon and Garfunkel track. It had me tearing up.
Shalom
Penny xx
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Fake news! Actually, that was real news. American soldiers in Vietnam got shafted from all angles. As a pacifist, I’ve never understood celebrating the military, but the treatment returnees from Vietnam got was brutal.
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Dear Nobbin,
Being married to a Lifer I have mixed emotions. Sadly the war still rages in the heads of those sent over to take part in an exercise of futility only to be vilified when they returned. All too real. Thank you for coming by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Men and their wars. Don’t get me started…
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Amen, Lisa.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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And before her was Tokyo Rose during ww2. At least when the troops returned from ww2, nobody spat on them. The poor kids coming back from Vietnam didn’t deserve the treatment they got. Good stuff, Rochelle.
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Dear Rochelle,
We all know there was no good in sending the US to Vietnam. That said, they did, and there is no rhyme nor reason to blaming kids who were forced to go fight there in the first pace.. Love that you picked this part of the story to tell.
Shalom and lotsa free love,
Dale
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Well done and important, Rochelle. War is always a fiasco, and some wars are worse in that regard than others. It is always a disaster. There are ALWAYS better solutions, if we only seek them. Thank you for shining a light. Na’ama
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Wow. This is a tough one for me.
I am an Vietnam ‘era’ vet who worked for US DoD for 45 years. Lately I’ve taken to reading Nam-era, in country, warrior memoirs (what a mish-mash!).
One of my favs is a novel, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. Currentlyd, I’m reading “Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam (American Empire Project) by Nick Turse. It makes me sick and I have to stop for a while.
I consider myself a life-long warrior willing to kill to defend America. But…
regarding what I consider ‘my war’ (The Nam), I can only swallow hard and look down. The Vietnam War was not America’s finest hour, either in the lies that got us into it, the execution of its terror, nor the cowardly resolving of it.
We lost that war on moral grounds. And yes, we did learn. But too many of us seem not to care and blame the VC or NVA (also warriors). Lessons learned are too often ignored.
I recall this trope, “My country right or wrong.” I didn’t see it like that 50 years ago and I still do not.
Aim High! (For the record, I was never mistreated during those years. Not sure why.)
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Thanks for sharing that Bill. I read “The Things They Carried” which, despite my best efforts, has been the only Tim O’Brien novel I’ve read. Have you written anything about this time? I like your attitude.
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I consider myself a Cold War person. I do have work in progress from that era. However, since I was never in Vietnam, I have no in-country experience to write about, perhaps to my good fortune.
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However trite it might sound, Bill. Thank you for your service. ❤
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Dear Bill,
I was a teenager during those times and really couldn’t tell which end was up using a compass. I remember asking my dad, a WWII Purple Heart vet, what he thought about the war to which he quoted “My country right or wrong.” At the time I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I know how I feel about it now. Probably very much the same as you do.
My husband is a Vietnam era vet also. He put in for the patrol boats but for some reason his orders mysteriously disappeared. His brother, on the other hand, did go and is only now opening up about it.
I’m glad you were never mistreated. My husband was.
In the book I’m working on, one of the characters is a Vietnam vet with PTSD. I’ve watched a lot of videos and read some articles. Still I’ll never fully know what it was like.
I apologize (kind of) if my story has dredged emotional wounds.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a comment. Perhaps I should look into the books you mention for my character.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Well written, Rochelle, and poignant.
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Many thanks, Sascha.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle.
I have no emotional wounds regarding this topic and I liked your piece. I like to read and to write about it, and to share my perspective(s) (got a chapbook on it).
My problem is my own cognitive dissonance. I see things both ways and I’m conflicted. In some ways I regret things like not being a grunt in-country, but as for vets of that time, PTSD (what George Carlin and I prefer to call shell-shock) is a real thing.
Apparently, one of the issues that currently upsets those who were there (and did that) is when people falsely claim to be Vietnam (in country) vets. I agree with them, but the irony of it captures my curiosity.
Shalom,
Bill
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I think we’re either in the same boat or our boats are in close proximity. I agree, being a Vietnam era vet is not the same thing as having been there.
The book I’m writing centers around PTSD, the main character having been molested as a child and her husband, Vietnam vet. She is being treated for anorexia. Her story is basically my own, but his is neither mine nor my husband’s. How I’ll resolve their relationship and bring the book to a satisfying end is still hovering in the air. 😉
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I agree.
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Nice to see she put her “private lessons in English” to good use…
Vietnam was one of those ones where lots of people pitched in, many people at home didn’t think they should be there anyway, lots of the indigenous population thought the same, lots of people died and it just sort of petered out.
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Dear Ali,
In watching an interview with her, she believed in what she was doing. Vietnam changed a lot of things, didn’t it?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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If this was a fictitious story rather than an account based on fact, some would say it could never have happened in real life. But it did, and for that many should be ashamed.
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Dear Keith,
There are those deniers who would say it never happened regardless of the facts, aren’t there? Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It may be hard to believe, but Viet Nam’s aftermath was just as destructive as the other twentieth century wars’.
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Dear Larry,
Not hard to believe at all. The aftermath lives and breathes and walks among us. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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As usual, your story rang a bell somewhere in my brain, and I’m so glad you include further information on the characters. Where would we be without those who are willing to serve? I respect and appreciate our military and the sacrifices of so many. Sadly, the Vietnam vets suffered on the field and off. History and hindsight can be rather harsh I think. Thank you for your thought-provoking and extremely interesting stories, Rochelle.
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Dear Brenda,
I wish there was some way to truly make up to these vets what was taken from them. Saying “Thank you for your service” sounds hollow. Thank you for your affirming comments/compliments. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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she did her duty as she saw it.
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That’s one way of looking at it, Plaridel.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Well done story! And, yeah, Hanoi Hannah was onto something.
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Thanks, Cuzzin Kent. 😀
Shalom,
Shelley
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And still the cruelty of war continues around the globe, those in power it seems never learn. The bombing of Syria and other countries is just the same as firebombing Vietnam
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Dear Mike,
I hear Pete Seeger’s refrain, “When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?” Thank you for commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle,
Such a powerful, heart-moving, and educational story with so many layers. I’d never heard of Hanoi Hannah before so had to look her up. It gives a whole new angle to the idea of propaganda doesn’t it? I like to think we’re getting better about the whole mess, including *welcoming* our soldiers home, but we still have a ways to go. Looking forward to a day with no more war. Even if it never comes, it’s worth wishing and “fighting” for.
Shalom,
Anne
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Dear Anne,
Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? I won’t go into platitudes or ranting about the senselessness of war, although I could. I’ll simply say thank you to a wonderful, affirming comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow Rochelle! Another lesson in stuff I don’t know, you are a wonderful mine of fascinating information, brilliantly written and really interesting, thanks
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Dear Shrawley,
Some of this one is Google and some is memories. Thank you very much. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Always a pleasure
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Such a tragedy.
As always, you tell the tough stories so well
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Thank you for such a wonderful compliment, Laurie.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very sad, not just the war, but also the unwarranted stigma those who gave up their lives to be in it had to bear. Imagine the price their families had to pay, not just with having to deal with their PTSD, but also this stigma!
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Dear Sabina,
It was all so very sad. We’ve done our share of backpedaling but I think maybe it’s too little too late. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Great use of historical fiction in this one Rochelle. I didn’t realise she passed away only a few years back. One of the books I read this year was The Sympathizer which was the debut novel by Vietnamese American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is a tragicomic novel that presents the view from the Vietnamese perspective.
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Dear Subroto,
The Sympathizer sounds like an interesting book. Thank you re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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We learned so much from this conflict, but at what cost? And I am not just talking about the mental pain inflicted upon soldiers that were just doing their job and had already been through so much but through the years to today when the subsequent rhetoric of supporting the troops and flag waving often becomes a veil of illicit behavior…uh oh…think you might have gotten me started…
Good story, thought provoking, indeed. 🙂
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Dear Dawn,
At least we don’t treat our vets like dirt anymore. I guess that’s something. 😉 Thank you re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What can I say about war that hasn’t already been said? Powerful writing as always, Rochelle.
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Many thanks, Mags. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re welcome, Rochelle.
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At times I feel its very sad to be a soldier. What a doomed life they live whether they win the war or die while fighting. And this feeling is all the more prominent when the war is fought for the political agenda. The sense of patriotism simply dies at the altar of the vested interests.
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Better late than never, right? Last week was a slog, but I wanted to write something for this and read what everyone else wrote. Thanks again for choosing my picture. This is a great story, too. Psychological warfare is most effective when there’s truth behind it. It was a great injustice to take out all the anger on the soldiers instead of the administration making them fight.
-David
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Dear David,
I’m always happy to see you here whenever you show up. Thank you re my story. Since I knew where the photo was taken, I kind of had to ‘go there.’ 😉 Thank you for letting me borrow it.
That war had all kinds of injustice surrounding it, didn’t it?
Shalom,
Rochelle
PS Here’s a link to my post about the creator of Friday Fictioneers and how I came to take her place. https://rochellewisoff.com/2020/05/29/meet-the-creator-of-friday-fictioneers/
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