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Mike Paque

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When his time in Vietnam was up, Mike Paque flew to Cam Ranh on a C-130 with some odd Air Force procedures in flight. He made it there and had to wait three days while the Army watched departing soldiers for signs of drug use. Then it was home to a fractured country, where many people despised him for doing his job. (4:42)

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Why were there US tanks in Vietnam? Mike Paque answers that question and tells what happened when a new commander thought he had a better idea about how to use them. It was a civil war there and a difficult situation for an outside force to intervene on one side. (6:29)

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You didn't move at night unless you had to. Mike Paque took patrols out and they always made a secure position at night. He only had two disciplinary problems during his time as a platoon leader. One guy wanted to play his radio on patrol, but the other one had a bigger problem (5:46)

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While on foot patrol, Mike Paque's men found a whole case of rounds for an M79 grenade launcher. Too much to carry and not going to leave it for Charlie, so he prepped a charge to blow it up. It didn't go as planned. (2:05)

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Anytime you would move, you would walk artillery in front of you to clear out the enemy. This was how you did it, but someone high up decided that we were spending too much on shells in Vietnam and made a rule that you would have no artillery support unless you had enemy contact. Mike Paque reveals what happened next. (2:09)

Mike Peterson

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Mike Peterson came from a military family, but enlisted in the Marines with a certain degree of doubt. After a rocky start in training, he finds his place as a radio operator. (2:34)

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Mike Peterson arrives in Vietnam on the eve of the Tet Offensive, and wakes up in the middle of the night amid gunfire and chaos. A careless lifer causes a massive explosion that levels the local hooches. (4:54)

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Peterson learns about the Combined Action Program from an article in Life Magazine, and joins the CAPs after his first tour. His platoon comes to accept the complicated nature of their relationship with the locals, which ultimately leads to betrayal - and the death of a comrade. (5:22)

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Haunted by the fall of Saigon - and the death of a friend for which he wrongfully shouldered the blame - Peterson unpacks his service pistol and contemplates suicide. He manages to turn his life around; he meets his wife and returns to Vietnam for a chance to heal the scars of war. (4:27)

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Though he started as a true believer, Mike Peterson gradually became disenchanted with the Marines, and the Vietnam War. His reflections and research on Vietnam - and how the war was waged - lead him to the sober realization that we have become reckless with American lives. (5:42)