The American Of The Vietnam War - 1208 Words

Kenneth Penn, 69, stepped into the coffee shop clad head to toe in purple and gold. The emblem across his hat and jacket pictured a purple and gold heart, encircled by the words â€Å"Military Order Purple Heart, 1762 of the U.S.A. 1932.† When Penn first sat down with me to tell me his story, he asked if anyone in my family had ever served in a war. I responded by telling him my father was a marine before I was born. â€Å"No, your father is a marine. Once you’re a marine, you’re always a marine,† Penn corrected. Gentle in his demeanor and free with his sense of humor, Penn went on to tell me his story as a veteran of the Vietnam War. Penn graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in business in 1967. He initially took two†¦show more content†¦It is important to know, says Penn, â€Å"There is nobody that joins the military and says, ‘Let’s find a war!’† The military does as the government tells them, and faces negative treatment from the American public as a result, which is an unfortunate truth, Penn says. After his time in Oklahoma, Penn spent the following six months in Khe Sanh, located in South Vietnam. When he first arrived, the veteran says the land was quiet and peaceful. Penn recalls when they first started out there was almost no difference between home and Vietnam. They received three meals a day and two beers a day, Penn says with a laugh. The hot â€Å"chow† and nightly movies, though, were an early luxury for Penn and his fellow marines. On January 21, 1968, chaos ensued. The Battle of Khe Sanh had begun. Mortars and rockets came down from dusk to dawn in an attempt to take over the base. Back home, newspaper headlines addressed President Johnson’s focused desire to win the war. Meanwhile, back on the base, the only desire Penn and his men held was for food, water, and ammunition to keep them going until the siege was under control. â€Å"You learn something in every war,† says Penn. While stationed in Vietnam, Penn and his fellow marines learned they were greatly underprepared. The veteran considers himself lucky though, because his men were able to exchange their sea rations with Seabees, who dug holes for them to create a