Return to Vietnam, The Memories: Facing my Demons and Coming to Terms With Them

When I was waiting to board the aircraft in Saigon in July 1968, following my 13-month tour of Vietnam, the last thing I would have expected was to come back to Vietnam. Not until forty-five years after the Vietnam War ended, I was dealing with nightmares, and was diagnosed with PTSD. I was encouraged by my counselor and others to write about my experiences from Vietnam. That resulted in my first book, You Are Never Alone. I started to have a better handle on my daily images, nightly dreams, and nightmares. It was about that time I began thinking about the possibility of returning to Vietnam to face my demons.

This book, "Return to Vietnam-The Memories," Began a trip to face my demons. It was more than I expected, by meeting a VC soldier during peacetime and making friends with several gracious Vietnamese people. A cruise down the Mekong River brought memories of crossing the river during convoys. My main goal of the trip was to find the orphanage in MyTho where during a VC attack a couple of kids were killed. Having a knowledgeable tour guide that followed many leads to locate our objective worked endlessly. We saw where the orphanage was, which now was replaced with a school, but finding the last of the living nuns that worked at the orphanage in 1967 when the VC attacked and interacting with someone who was virtually there and remembered that day was overwhelming. Sister Renee and I visited parts for three days. This book covers the details of this fantastic trip and the results it had on me.