I came across this photo of Leroy the other day and realized I still had tears left in me that I haven’t cried for him and for many others. Leroy took my place on point some years ago. He was fairly new to the field and the Captain wanted him to get some experience. That…
As a writer, I enjoy creating characters for my fictional stories. Each character develops its own personality as I type it into existence. Although they may only be a name to me in the beginning, by the end of the story, they have become an intricate part of the completed work. By creating them, I…
In 1984, U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzales awarded me the Purple Heart in San Antonio, Texas. I was not given it in 1968 after I was wounded because Operation Mallard Duck was a suicide mission, and I was not supposed to be rescued. I was the last survivor off the field, and although the medivac…
The Venerable Duch Tel with Wayne Dale Matthysse October 2024 We were both renegades of sorts… non-conformists to different belief systems that at the time were being challenged by the HIV and AIDS epidemic that was taking the lives of so many Khmer citizens, back in the early 2000s. Duch Tel was a subordinate Buddhist…
Sorry for the silence these past couple of months but decisions at my age are not easy to make. I have missed Cambodia very much but because of my health was not sure that I could return, especially with the changes that have occurred in the Wat Opot Community. My health has improved and I…
Lovable is not a word one would use to describe Chhang … and he was well aware of that. At one time, before the sores started, his looks were a little more tolerable but he never did gain weight in his lifetime, and having AIDS was something he could not hide from others. Too weak…
I haven’t thought about self-fulfilling prophesies for some time now, even though I have had my suspicions that many of the major experiences in my Life could have come about because I thought about them beforehand. A good example of this would be my Vietnam experience. Before I enlisted in the Navy back in 1966,…
I have a feeling, That in the end of time as we now know it, When all things are revealed in their completeness, We will discover, That the only differences between us, Were… like the spectrum of light, That radiates from a perfectly cut diamond, The subtle variations in how each of us manifested, The…
To search for Truth beyond Oneself, Will only cause despair. No book contains the answers, No guide can lead you there. Created in His Image, Our hearts contain the Key. Learn to Love Yourself, And from doubt, you will be freed. I have had conversations with friends who are still stuck in Christianity. They are…
I attended a Christian church service a while back… a rare occasion for me, unless I am visiting with foster children (now adults) whom I once took care of in Honduras. Many of them are now very active in Christianity and some are even pastors of their own congregations. It was a good experience and…