Journey to Joy : หน้า 250/376

Journey to Joy I first set foot on Thai soil in July 1967. I was a soldier during the Vietnam War, from 1964 to 1968. I enlisted in the military at the age of 17, just one month after graduating from high school. 250 That final year of my military service in South-East Asia was to change the course of my life forever. I was thrust into that horrific, futile conflict at the height of the war, and was to return home far older than my years, for the pain, suffering and death I witnessed. I was fortunate never to have taken a life, but I served for a period of time attending to the wounded and saw many of my young comrades maimed and killed. The average age of all the soldiers that served was just 19 years old. We were young and vital, and with the