He Did What He Had To Do

A good friend of mine died the other day…He was a Patriot, he was bad to the bone…he liked needed to kill people and blow up shit…had to do it to survive. He was put into a difficult situation. He was young. He wanted to stay alive. He had to do some “things” that bothered him for the rest of his life. He was my friend.

Eric served this country for you and me. He did what had to be done…he adapted to new rules…rules that were unfamiliar to him…he was a good man.

Eric did three tours in Viet Nam…which changed the way he thought about you and I and himself….forever. He never could adjust when he got “back home”…he was bad to the bone…he was the guy you want on your side when the chips are down, and he was spit on when he returned. He never really understood how the people he killed for, could be so disrespectful. Never could get a grip on it. Never did.

He was shot shot 8 times, on several different occasions, and damn near blown up by an RPG…survived a Huey helicopter “rotate in”…controlled crash…twice. Crawled out of the muck through his fellow soldiers guts in a rice paddy…killed children who had bombs to save his own. I think this REALLY bothered him. He told me, “when you have a child running toward you with a satchel bomb…you have no choice…you have no time to think…you kill them, or you will die”. I don’t think he ever had a good nights sleep after that. He had to do it more than once, and it weighed on him for the rest of his life.

He did what he had to do….to survive, but the fact is…he could never forget.

He was never the same…our country made him like that. He did it for us. It was his job. He is without a doubt the baddest and truest motherfucker I’ve ever known. He conquered his limitations. He was put into situations that most of us can never imagine. He did what he had to do.

Eric, may God rest your soul. You will be missed.

I have more to say, but I’m all teared up, so I’m signing off.