Automatic Reflex, Automatic Fire
I was talking to a fellow soldier on Fire Base Schueller
near An Khe, Vietnam in 1970.
He told me he had recently come in from the bush,
and was getting some rest before he went out again.
It was late evening, and I remember a beautiful sunset.
We didn't say much, just talked about home and
where we were from back in the World.
Later that night I had a conversation with a medic
who knew him pretty well.
This medic, who I knew, told me his friend had
recently killed five North Vietnamese soldiers
when he came upon them suddenly while walking
point when they were all taking a bath in a riverbed.
Full Metal Jacket.
Automatic reflex.
Automatic fire.
And the river runs with waste.
What a waste.
That is what this 19-year-old American
soldier had to do to stay alive.
This is what he has to live with for the
rest of his life, if he is still alive,
while U.S. Corporate Warlords plan the next
war, far away from the public domain.
Serial Killers!
Do I hear a " Fuck You ?!"
Mike Hastie
Army Medic Vietnam
August 30, 2017
Full Disclosure