A Lucky Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) who survived and lived to tell about it!

P.S. May we learn how to turn "swords into plowshares" -- May Peace Reign Supreme!

Following is my tribute to all veterans (including me) -- the pictures are of the Vietnam Memorial that I visited at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California.

1. I'm standing on the map of Vietnam that is embedded into the concrete at the entrance to the Vietnam Memorial, which is located at the eastern end of the Capitol Mall.

2. The bronze soldier reflects on his tour of duty in Vietnam.

3. I served as a medical corpsman (medic) because of my status as a "conscientious objector" (as a Christian, I believe you can serve your country without bearing arms, i.e. killing)

4. Those soldiers who took up arms and served on the front lines were usually referred to as "grunts."

5. Those soldiers who were caught in battle and were forced to become POWs (Prisoner of War) are honored in this section of the memorial.

6. Other aspects of the Armed Services.

7. Here I sit at the plaque that explains the monument:

Dedication
The people of the State of California
dedicate this monument to the memory
of those Californians who died, or remain
missing, in the
Vietnam War
1959-1975
and in doing so, Honor all the men
and women who served during that war.
ALL GAVE SOME
SOME GAVE ALL

8. Saddest moment for me was finding the name of a childhood friend who perished in the war: SSgt.(Staff Sergeant) Fedoroff, Alexander, 23, USA