1984 . . . A friend of mine was a Vietnam veteran . . . And he drank vodka and stayed plastered every day and night . . . And I asked him one day why . . . He started crying and told me he came home and learned that his older brother had died in Vietnam . . . And he didn't even know it until 9 months later when he came home from Vietnam . . . In1985 a year or so after I had asked him about his drinking . . . He committed suicide and left a note to his family and he said he couldn't get the war and his brother out of his mind and just couldn't live with it anymore . . . His mother passed away three weeks later . . . And people said she grieved herself to death . . Losing another son because of a damn war . . . I still associate with his remaining family . . . And I go pay respect to my friend and his brother and mother . . . And I have hard feelings toward America and the way these veterans were treated . . . Forgiveness one thing . . . But forgetting is something else .

'They confused the war and the warrior and that hurt.' - I felt that.

What a brilliant and accurate characterization of my own experience. RVN 1968 to 1972. After 2.5 years in RVN I came home and was spit on at Oakland. My family turned me away, as did my home town friends. I went to school because I had the GI Bill but had no guidance or encouragement in finding a direction. My life has been a testament to survival and perseverence, not with the help of my culture but most often in spite of it. I am 68 and only in the last two decades have I been able begin to make sense of those years, though I cannot ever get my head around how I was abandoned then marginalized. I have sought out folks from that time and even They cannot explain why they behaved the way they did.I strive to Forgive, but cannot Forget. FWIW.

"No one wants peace moreso than someone who's seen war." - David Christian That comment made an impact on me.

For those who don't know, 3 purple hearts and you can go home. This guy had 7. So, the last 4 were on him since he could have went home and chose not to. He should have run for president except I don't believe honesty and courage like he has would have been welcome in the corrupt system we have now.

I figure this guy is about 70 now. Would love to hear his thoughts today.

At the VA they have a saying,"Vietnam the war that keeps on killing". My brother died at 68 because of agent Orange. RIP jimmy.

"That's one of the great things that came out of the 60s generation, is that we can agree to disagree." My, how times have changed in America.

The 60s were intense.Wasnt all peace and love.

David Christian Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star (2) Bronze Star (2) with "V" Device Purple Heart (7) Air Medal (2) Army Commendation Medal Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross (2) with Star and Palm

We lost 55,000 of these gorgeous bright baby boomer men. I'm 75 & never found guys my age through the years. They were either younger or older due to this horrific loss of great guys. We miss you & love you all R.I.P. 💔

This vet gave the most eloquent summary of the 60’s vietnam war era.

I am a Canadian Afghan Veteran and his words are just as relevant today as they were back then.... thank you for speaking truth

“I don’t ever ever see another protracted war that America is going to get into...” Oh............ 😢

i make sure every Vietnam vet i come across i tell them welcome home and im sorry it took so long

My best friend's oldest brother was one of the last Marines leaving Saigon when it fell to the North Vietnamese. We all had mad respect for that guy!

Wow a former Green Beret, a highly decorated one, some of the terrible things he saw can only be imagined. Yet he still comes across calm, collected and intelligently speaks right to the point taking to mind both sides of the story.

This man is what America is all about.

There were a lot of men that didn’t make it home from that unjust war, and a lot that came home broken and thrown to the curb, this guy is one of the lucky ones..

When I came home, I spent over ten years of working during the day and shutting down the bars at night. Outside of my small rural community I was treated at first like I had done something wrong or had some terrible disease. Eventually I just hid the fact I was a Vietnam veteran. Fortunately after about ten years of my social isolation a wonderful woman walked into my life and we have been happily married for over 40 years. I still will not wear any shirt or cap that identifies me as a Vietnam veteran.

"Somehow they confused the war and the warrior" ^^^ If this isn't the epitome of how the culture treats us Vets idk what it...

My brother in law came back from Vietnam a changed man and would not talk about it.Past away last year. He was a good guy.

My husband joined in 1974, and he said when he came home after his basic and schooling, the people at the airport spit all over him as he walk through the airport, unbelievable. He was only seventeen at the time. He still Blown Away over 40 years later, by the fact, that they did that to him. He calls it the gauntlet. I've seen tears coming down his face, when he recalls it. I Can Only Imagine.

This man is so articulate, wow, very eye-opening.

It's amazing to see a veteran of Vietnam tell a real story from that time. This man is an great voice of that generation. He's real. Have to respect that. I can't get enough of this soldier.

The 60s were good for a kid under 18 who did not have to face war or be involved in politics. Saturday morning cartoons, Friday nights at the movie theater, Fast food joints such as Mcdonalds and KFC were growing, Schools still served hot homemade lunches, Teenagers could find an after-school job, and the music was good. From the perspective of a small town school age person, life was good. Nowadays Children have to grow up to fast! :( I am a Marine who signed up in March of 1974 on the delay program while in High school. The Vietnam conflict was winding down by the time that I was ready to go. I enjoyed the interview, Thank you. I posted my commit because of, life may not have been good for adults in the 60s, but it was great for a kid. :)

A WW2 veteran who served four years in the Pacific would on average see 40 days of combat. A Vietnam veteran saw on average 240 days of combat in a one year tour. A WW2 veteran would have had to serve 24 years to see the same amount of combat. I think that goes a long way to explain why many did what they did.

BLESS YOU SIR FOR TELLING IT LIKE IT WAS !

This is perhaps the most incredible piece of historical points. To be ever pointed out about war.

Enjoyed the interview. I don't know a single person that benefited from the Vietnam war. I had a failed marriage thanks to myself and the war. It pissed me off how these men were treated. My husband and I cried when he got his draft notice. I really did not handle it well. Seeing the list of dead and the brutal footage every night on TV made me sick. I lost classmates, both during the war and suicides after. Many came back and prospered but like my relatives of the previous wars, they were damaged by war and kept it buried. I still think the sixties were a time of innocence. The CIA wasn't pumping drugs into our cities. Nobody I knew even tried pot til the 70s. Beer, pizza and smokes. I would not want to go through the cold war again though. Still remember being afraid of being bombed because we were poor and could not afford a fallout shelter. We had a plan in place where I as the oldest would round up the younger kids and somehow walk them the two miles home since in an emergency, we were too close for transportation. Still prefer it to now. At least there was little hate.

Great Americans went to that hell hole Vietnam and dealt with a lot. They all stuck together and had each others back from what I've learned. They did great in my eyes and I thank them

After watching these 4 videos.... I cried...

I had a potential employer pick up my job application and take one look at it and say "I don't hire veterans". Somebody told me "He can't do that it's against the law". I just told him I wouldn't want to work for him anyway. Even the police didn't like us. Sometime the subject will come up and I'll mention how it was back then to some young people. Immediately they're asking "What, what do you mean?". Just like David Christian tried convey you were confronted like you started the war. All the turmoil in the country was your fault. It was bizarre. People would say "I don't think I could kill someone". I'll bet you would if they were trying to kill you. I'm so glad to see the change in the way the military is viewed now.

I also went thru those times. This guy has a great reality of it.

I had two brother - in - laws in Vietnam we went packages to and all of us kids would make cards to enclose. They were always in my thoughts I was a kid but I still worried about them they didn't ask to go and I remember them being so different after they came back home. I miss what was taken from our family.

Really enjoying these clips, keep em coming

David Christian. 21 year old Captain 1st Infantry Division, Big Red One. Warrior’s Warrior. Looks young in this interview

This man was wonderful to listen to! Thank you sir for everything!

I was against the Vietnam war but not those who fought in it. All my friends from high school went and did their duty. Most were drafted right out of school. Some were sent in lieu of prison for minor crimes. Nearly allwere poor whites african Americans and hispanic Americans. It was a real shame the way these men were treated. A Real shame! Nearly all came home damaged inside and were treated like murderers.

My dad was there and I am so proud of him every day

5:00 It amazes me how relevant this is, even after almost 30 years.

As a vet I have to say this guy brilliantly and very accurately expressed what so many vets of my generation feel about our treatment after the war. I enlisted in the Army and my peers enlisted in a fashionable Marxist inspired movement. When I came home I didn't fit in and my generation made sure to point that out to me as often as possible. I was only comfortable in the company of other vets and I still feel that way today.

Thank you for your service and for your very articulate words!

Damn, a very well spoken and accurate vet and man. I have listened to vets all over the country and you win. From a combat vet 1968 -1969, thank you and welcome home

This is absolutely awesome! A lot of my teachers in school when I was growing up in the 1980's were Vietnam vets and by the time I was entering high school, they were getting ready to retire. I learned so much that was good form this generation of people. What a repository of wisdom for me!

i recall coming home in uniform and at a subway station in boston and getting a lot of bad looks and comments from people. but when i got out my military service helped me get a job because the manager was a vet. it was at a local municipal power co. andi stayed at that for 37yrs. that was a good thing for me but i know a lot of guys had their troubles.

Respect Thank you for your service

Most fair, intelligent and moving perspective I have ever seen.

I love this guy. What he says is so real, and what we need to know.

I have so much respect for this man.

I can tell you as an extremely crazed anti Vietnam activist that my friends and I had a deep and ever-lasting respect for the Vietnam vets. At a protest at Nixon's 1972 nomination in Miami our hero was Vietnam Vet Ron Kovick who was later portrayed by Tom Cruise in Born On The 4th of July. My friend who was with me in Miami later ran into Ron Kovick in Cambodia. They were in Phnom Penh both as anti-war journalists where they accidently met on the steps of the US embassy Together they barely escaped with their lives as the Khmer Rouge initiated the Killing Fields genocide...The fact that he met his hero Ron Kovick in that situation is one of the most extreme coincidences that I've ever known...

This channel has become to special and important to me. I'm 38. So most of what's being discussed I wasn't around for. But it still feels relevant in today's world. I hope more young people catch wind of these interviews and broaden their perspective a bit. Thank you for sharing these priceless bits of history, human experience and American culture.

What a man. Totally changed my perspective of the average American GI.

This is a great video. Lots of people don't know what happened to the Vietnam Veterans when they came home. When in country, the experience was intense beyond imagination in so many ways. When I came home people in the Airports walked as far away from me as they could; some cursed me screamed at me and flipped me off. I was asked to leave resteraunts and told that I was "upsetting the customers." Cabs would not stop for me, I was refused service in bars and guys wanted to fight me. A woman threw a bag of dog crap at me. I met a girl up at the lake and her Father shouted me away from his daughter...and girls simply would not date me even though I was a nice looking guy. I could not find a decent job...so I went back to Vietnam...where I was quickly accepted for my experience and ability. Then I got wounded again and got out. When I got rehabbed, I went to Canada and when they found that I was a Veteran and not a draft dodger, the Canadians embraced me...and I found girl friends and a decent job. After 2 years I went back to the States and returned to College never telling anyone that I was a Veteran and that I had moved down from Canada. When I got my MBA, I easily found work and began a successful life. It was a long time until I told people that I had been in the Military and in Vietnam. But really, though I have good friends and a good life, the result of that I still have a nagging feeling that I never made it all the way home... that I am on the outside looking in. I am retired and live a good lifestyle but I stay pretty much by myself. I just too a nice road trip...4500 miles through the Rockies and pretty towns.... I went by myself.

I will say he looks doggone great for being the age he is and especially after all he's been through in his life.

Fascinating insights. Only guys with experiences like this man’s experiences could give us these insights. Thanks for doing this interview sir.

What a powerful interview. As someone who was not around in that time, I really appreciate the perspective.

There is no better nurturer of wisdom than war, and this man epitomizes that wisdom.

David Hoffman this is probably the most interesting channel on KZfaq, these deserve millions of views

Beautiful man .. inside and out. Thank you, David Christian, for your service .. you ànd your comrades. With love and respect from the Netherlands✌

Something about these clips makes them so great.

One thing that stuck to me of a class I took in college on foreign politics through the prisms of military is that a war should never be fought held back by politics. The politicians should dictate a goal, and the soldiers on the front lines should decide how to achieve that. In other words, you either go all in, or you don't start at all. I think it's wonderful that the current American populace respects soldiers, but I am also concerned that the masses are also overly romanticizing the soldiers' roles and war itself. I agree with Mr. Christian wholeheartedly: a man who has seen war wants nothing more than peace. We should be listening to and taking care of the veterans not because they seem glorious from returning from wars, but because we should give them what they desire most: peace and prosperity. There is a fine line between deserving and entitlement, and it seems like people are having trouble distinguishing between those two nowadays.

I am 66 and have been living in Vietnam for five years. I am a veteran, but not a combat veteran. David Christian thank for your accounting and service.

I love these interviews....crazy good

his last words of this video are so timeless.

Thank you for this channel that shows true American Heroism and honesty. It amazes me how relevant this MAN'S viewpoint is.

This man is an amazing person. So very well spoken and articulate. I love his interviews.

Hard to imagine the mental and physical strength of this man

Thanks David Hoffman, this is still an important issue and still a bone of contention. There are veterans from this era who are hurting and feel under appreciated and rightfully so. They went ahead and served their nation and were never truly compensated or recognized. Furthermore, the protesters also sacrificed to bring this government to a more straightforward honest system of governance just to have it revert back to its old ways in later administrations.

very well said.....thank you sir

What an excellent video!

Love this. Should put this on the front page of KZfaq.

"We can agree to disagree." THAT is an axiom that is long gone today.

Thanks for the insight. I cannot imagine dealing with the stigma and what y'all went through. Bless you my brother.

Thank you David for this awesome interview!

That’s one of the most insightful and evenhanded interviews I’ve ever seen ,

As a young teen age girl growing up in the 60s and war on tv every night I for the first time looked at our politicians like they were the enemy. Soldiers from my town died over there. My parents and grand parents both hated this war but never looked at our soldiers like it was their fault or was ashamed of them. We hated seeing this every night and wanted this to end and bring our young folks home. Now and forever America MUST respect our military.

The biggest problem with the "counter culture" of the 60s is that they did not have anything to replace what they tore down. Now look at what we've become.

Thank you for posting this. Very interesting perspective.

Thank you so much for these videos. There is so much wisdom to be found in these people. I wish more people would watch this. It seems like the schism of people being able to talk to people they disagree with began with Vietnam. That schism is so much deeper today but more than anything we need to be able to talk to people and listen and respect each other to understand the whole picture.

“The media has portrayed...” As a Veteran myself, this rings a bell in 2020 June.

For all those veterans thank you for your service to this country. Welcome home. Remember everyone deployed. God-bless America.

BRAVO! Great video, thank you for sharing.

Thanks for sharing. The best thing about the 60's THE MUSIC. War or peace MUSIC IS BEAUTIFUL.

Very insightful analysis of America during that time.

I was a few years too young to go to nam but I I heard about it was bad. the war is bad, military is bad, all bad don't go. we heard the stories of atrocities but somehow when I looked at the returning vets I could tell something was not right. I could see in their faces and expressions that they were being mistreated and probably were not guilty of what we were hearing. I did not like the war but did not protest it either. I didn't really know what to do, I just had this feeling we were not being told the truth. now I know why I had that feeling. because we were being lied too. lied to by politicians , lied to by the news media and lied to by many hating protesters who spit on vets. I could not see how anyone could spit on a vet who had been to war wether drafted or not. I could not understand how a comfy college student could spit on a person who had been to a war zone on our behalf, no matter what the vet may or may not have done. something was not right about it. thank you for your service and welcome home !

Thanks, great to see these

This guy is awesome!! He lays it down straight out!!

This guy. A soldier. A man. A true patriot. Worth the watch man. I hope this guy is and has found peace 🙏 God bless him

I read a book about this man. He came home a major at 21, if memory serves. A hero by any objective standard...

Much respect! Very insightful man.

David, I am a UCF film graduate (class of 2016) thank you for this incredible series and for inspiring a young filmmaker like myself! Much love brother!

As some say - "I didn't leave my country, my country left me!"

Back then when you came home the advice you got from other Vet's was keep quiet about where you were what you did just blend in

Thank you, Sir, for your service and your voice. May you be blessed.

Amazing. I shared this with my family. Very professional

Still looks very young for the life and trials he's lived through

Amazing clips. A genuine and interesting man telling his story authentically, and absolutely worth hearing out. As with many vets, he displays the painful hindsight of understanding that he was suckered into and manipulated by the military industrial complex, yet those who at the time had the foresight to not allow that to happen to themselves are "gutless cowards"? He speaks his truth, which is admirable, but also this contradiction shows an old school macho resentment of those men who refused to kill. Id still have a beer with him though.

Thank you for your service & sacrifice David Christian. It is so important today to hear the stories of the forgotten war. Classes of both grade schools & high schools have moved away today from lecture on this war, as some say the war is offensive to them. Teachers prefer not to even mention the fact that it occurred. At the time, The United States was in troubled time & divided between those that supported the war & served as soldiers & those that did not support the war & ran to hide, most in Canada who welcomed them with open arms. The conflict in The United States over the differences between the rights & wrongs, was more of a conflict of ethics. Those challenges we still hold against us even today. I graduated high school in Sept of 1976, after complete the required course of study & completing extra credit courses during the summer. I can still remember all the trouble the war was causing on the Nation. You had a few supporters, & you had a whole bunch of crazy people running around doing all kinds of violent actions against themselves & everyone else around them, who were against the war. I remember the teachers at the time, from grade school on were threatening unruly students with the fact that there was an active war going on & that if the students did not straighten out & fly right, that is where they would end up. People have forgotten about the war, they have forgotten about thee troops that served in that war. The history books excuse that war from any existence. Your time talking of your thoughts of the time is a masterful remembrance. Some tell me today that I graduated in 76' & that that was many years past any American Troops in or around the Vietnam War. Those are the ones with the liking to forget. They forgot about the many thousands of American Troops that were killed & injured during the war. They tell me the war ended in 1969. I tell them it did not, that we were still losing American Troops up to Apr 30th, 1975. They tell me I'm full of shit. I tell them we lost American Security Personnel, US Marines, who were guarding important people we had there as advisors in the fall of Saigon. To this date the United States nor any history book even acknowledges that any such event took place, & that no American lives were lost during the Fall of Saigon, on April 30th, 1975. I did end entering the service after high school, I did 2 5 years terms with the United States Air Force. Looking forward to other interviews.

Priceless film footage David H. 💕