My name is Dave Christie, and I am a Vietnam Veteran.

I was in country for 15 months with the 1st Div./2nd Reg Medevac Unit #6934.

I landed in Da Nang on June 14, 1971 and was sent North where I spent all my time as a medic. I too take medication, Nardil, a drug that is supposed to stimulate emotions in the brain. It must work, as I have not shot anyone yet. I was hit by shrapnel as well. I got bandaged up for, but nothing else. I was in Cam Ranh Bay (Buoc Choi) a munitions dump in the Lang Tri, Lac An and the La Drang Valley. We did hundreds of extractions from the Chu Pong Mountain (LZ-X-Ray) and did the Delta run, where we had our first casualties. I have a hard time with the “what ifs” because having been a medic with only split seconds to make critical life and death decisions, I have often wondered for over 43 years, as to whether or not I could have done better. I must have done okay, as I have 117 messages from other Vets that called me their Angel from the sky. But then, I always wondered why I made it back, when so many others didn’t…

My health has not the best lately. I still suffer with PTSD and get medication for it. Bernie Weisz has been helpful as well as Gus Gullen and my best friend Philip Isbel from Evansville, Indiana. Bernie Weisz tells me, that I am suffering from “Survivors Guilt”. Can you just imagine that now, after all these years? Sharing a full story is something, I will probably will never get around to doing. My reasons are very deep and personal. All those young men, they were the real heroes. Not everyone that received a medal deserved it, which is why I have such a deep dislike for John Kerry and his medal. Our Unit was there from July 29th until August 22nd where he supposedly got his MOH. I for one never saw him there. The fact that he was in Nam is enough though, I guess. We did our job, end of my story.

Glory seekers do nothing for me. It is way too late for a thank you. Why, my own brother spit at me, called me a coward and child killer. Welcome home! I never went back home to this day. Although I had my Mom visit me every so often for Christmas and other events. I drank for 17 years, trying to forget. We all lost in that war but coming home was the worst and the damage cannot be repaired. Few people know about the draft dodgers, or are willing to confess that they do, the latter being my honest feeling. I know that I served with the best group of men, I have or will ever know, the USMC. I welcomed my Brothers home, and the thank you’s are no longer needed or a requirement.
The hurt and damage is simply too deep.
~Dave Christie, Vietnam Veteran

We are grateful to Dave for sharing his personal story with Comes A Soldier’s Whisper, where we are all connected.
God Bless all who serve and keep us safe.
Jenny La Sala

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