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What American Youth Need To Know (poem)

By Mike Hastie

Once I realized I was the enemy in Viet Nam,
I emotionally defected to the other side.

That is where I found freedom for the

first time.

I carry that sense of reality deep inside of

me every time I think of the Vietnamese who

desperately fought against the brutal U.S. Military.

Their knowledge of suffering and sacrifice is

far beyond any American who was in Viet Nam.

The Vietnamese fought for the lives of every

member of their family and village.

American soldiers absolutely did not.
So, who really knows the truth of the
American War in Viet Nam?

—Mike Hastie
Medic Viet Nam
I was born in America, but my heart is Vietnamese.