Surviving Vietnam & Processing Moral Injury with Steve Andrews

Surviving Vietnam & Processing Moral Injury with Steven Andrews What was it really like to be drafted into the Vietnam War and dropped into the jungle while the home front tore itself apart? In this episode of Coming Home Well, host Tyler sits down with veteran and author Steve Andrews to discuss his unique historical fiction "docu-novel," See the Light, Kiss the Ground. Andrews shares his raw experiences going from a college draftee to an unexpected E-6 Staff Sergeant, and how he turned contemporaneous notes into a powerful reflection on combat, gallows humor, and moral injury. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction to Steven Andrews and See the Light, Kiss the Ground 02:00 - Getting drafted in 1969 and the reality of military service 05:00 - The "Shake and Bake" NCO school and heading to Vietnam as an E-6 08:00 - Writing the book: Using 50-year-old notes, letters home, and journals 13:00 - Gallows humor, combat realities, and processing trauma 17:50 - The "docu-novel" concept: Juxtaposing Vietnam timelines with Kent State and domestic history 21:50 - News on the ground: Stars and Stripes, the Cambodian incursion, and the home front disconnect 25:40 - Coming home to a hostile America vs. modern military homecomings 32:50 - The My Lai Massacre trial, lack of accountability, and moral injury 48:00 - Political polarization then vs. now and the human cost of war 57:40 - The meaning behind the title See the Light, Kiss the Ground https://www.steveandrewscolorado.com/ Mentioned in This Episode Book: See the Light, Kiss the Ground by Steven Andrews (Available on Amazon) Books & Authors: Karl Marlantes (Matterhorn, What It Is Like to Go to War), Catch-22, Slaughterhouse-Five, Johnny Got His Gun Historical Events: The Vietnam War, Kent State, Jackson State, My Lai Massacre, and the Pentagon Papers Our Partners Big Frog Custom T-shirts & More (New Braunfels, TX): bigfrognb.com V2M Veteran Magazine at v2mag.com