13 Things the Marine Corps Never Told Grunts About Coming Home From Vietnam

He survived seventy-seven days at Khe Sanh. Nobody told him the hardest part was still ahead. This is the story of one young Marine's trip home from Vietnam in 1968, told in thirteen lessons nobody ever taught. The short-timer's calendar and the number on his helmet. Why nobody wanted to die short. Walking off the hill at Khe Sanh with red clay in his boots. A war that ended at a supply counter, not a battlefield. Leaving your friends behind on the line. The Freedom Bird, the civilian airliners that flew nine out of ten Americans to the war and back. The roar, or the silence, when the wheels left the runway. From a trench to an airport terminal in a matter of days. Nobody at the gate. A stranger at his own family's dinner table. The Fourth of July. Decades of silence. And the two words most of these men waited half a lifetime to hear. Note: Our Marine is a composite character, and his scenes are dramatized from many veterans' accounts. Every fact, number and quoted recollection is drawn from the sources below. Ken Rodgers (B/1/26) and Joe Petzel are real veterans, and only their own published accounts are used. If you came home from Vietnam: what year, where did your Freedom Bird land, and when did someone finally say "welcome home" to you? Tell us in the comments. We read every one. Chapters 0:00 Khe Sanh, 1968 1:18 #13 The calendar 2:50 #12 Nobody wants to die short 4:24 #11 The hill does not let you go easy 6:14 #10 The last days are paperwork 7:40 #9 The guys who stay 9:11 #8 The Freedom Bird 10:50 #7 Wheels up 12:20 A word for veterans (PACT Act) 12:56 #6 From the jungle to Main Street 14:30 #5 Nobody at the gate 16:08 #4 A stranger at the dinner table 17:48 #3 The Fourth of July 19:39 #2 He never talked about it 21:20 #1 Welcome home 23:04 Back in the trench 23:48 Your turn