Saying Goodbye to Vietnam on Memorial Day brings a torrent of thoughts and feelings, some old, some new.  I didn’t consider the seeming contradiction when I booked my return flight home, but now as I prepare to head out to Da Nang for the flight to Seoul and then home to San Francisco, I can’t help but consider the wild card that was thrown my way.

Like most Vietnam Veterans, I don’t “celebrate” Memorial Day.  I pause on this day of remembrance and honor those who were called to make the ultimate and final sacrifice.  Not one of those men or women chose the path fate carved out for them. Each and every one of them is an American hero.  I thank God that I am not among them.

It is impossible to be here in Da Nang on this day not to think back to when I was here 45 years ago.  We lost many Americans during our time here fighting a war that will always draw a debate.  The Vietnamese on both sides lost millions of soldiers and civilians fighting the Chinese, the Japanese, the French, the Americans, and themselves over the course of more than a century.  Yet, two-thirds of Vietnam’s population are too young to remember the war years.  They are the future of a growing, vital Vietnam. Change is in the air everywhere you turn in this beautiful country.  I am so thankful for my return to Vietnam this year to witness a young, energetic nation of hard-working people building toward a brighter future.  Paradoxically, my original experience in Vietnam was one of war — this experience, years later, has brought me peace.  Goodbye for now Vietnam.