[ladyamalthea]

Don,

I don't know you, but you seem like such a wonderful person. IMHO, there is a huge difference between going to war, where you have to kill your opponents to survive yourself, and being a murderer. In the first scenario, the killing is little short of self defense; if you didn't kill them, they would have eagerly killed you. And you did our country such a large service by being over there. Thank you for that.

You deserve our most sincere gratitude, not judgment. And gratitue and honor, my friend, are all you will find here.

I know what you mean, though, about opening up to someone and then being nervous about it. But, whether they judge me or not, at least then it's off my shoulders, and out in the open, and I can breathe much more easily. And I'm sure your family feels honored that you shared such a dark and deep part of your past with them. It probably makes them feel important, knowing that you love them enough to trust them with that kind of information. If my father, who is also a Vietnam Vet, was to share war stories with me like that, I know I could never judge him for anything he did in battle... or anything my grandfather did, either, who was an Army Ranger.

I hope something in my rambling has been of use to you. I'm tired and it's past my bedtime hehe... but I just had to thank you for your hard work and service to our country.

*hugs and prayers*