JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 For many veterans who served in Vietnam, the years since have been filled with PTSD and painful memories.<\/p>\n
Samuel Nelson served 50 years ago. He\u2019s 77 now and lives in Arlington, but remembers every moment leading up to the Vietnam war.<\/p>\n
” My Aunt told me, she said, \u2018this is a letter from you from the White House.\u2019 And then I opened it and it said, \u2018greetings from the President of the United States, you have been inducted into the United State Army,” said Nelson. <\/p>\n
Just like that, Nelson went from high school graduate to soldier. <\/p>\n
He spent 13 months in Vietnam. <\/p>\n
\u201cI seen a lot. I lost a lot of friends. I got wounded on May 14, 1969. We went out that day with about 60, 70 people. Four came back, I was one,\u201d said Nelson. <\/p>\n
He mailed pictures home to family and told them he was doing well but his reality was far from that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d stay awake two- or three-days fighting. I went 52 days without a bath or shave sometimes. I stayed in the water for six months. I pulled up my sock, my flesh came off my feet. It\u2019s called jungle rot,\u201d said Nelson.<\/p>\n
His service earned him two Purple Hearts, four Bronze Stars and a \u201cV\u201d for valor in combat. He\u2019ll tell you quickly, he didn\u2019t fight for recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t look for no Purple Heart, no Bronze Star. I did my job. That was my duty to do,\u201d said Nelson. <\/p>\n
In the decades since being honorably discharged, Nelson said he still deals with PTSD and sleepless nights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey treated me bad coming back. There was no welcome parade or nothing like that,\u201d said Nelson.<\/p>\n
Nelson says a simple \u201cthank you for your service\u201d goes a long way for him and every veteran.<\/p>\n
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