He had grown up in a village on England's southwest coast and left at age sixteen to join the British military. He'd fought against Communists in Cyprus and Rhodesia. He then came to America, he said, so that he could enlist in the Army and go to Vietnam. He welcomed the opportunity to join the American cause in Southeast Asia.
The man was undoubtedly a hero. I don't want to detract from that. He was a brave man who ultimately gave his life for others. I know I could not have done it.
However, given what was known about the utterly futile Vietnam War even at the time, the above strikes me as the action of a certifiable lunatic, or at least an enormously naive young man. This kind of naivety is not something to be encouraged. We don't want the best of our young men scouring the globe for 'righteous' wars to fight in.
I am submitting this, no doubt highly controversial, post because I cannot stand mindless hero worship and the glorification of war. It makes me gag.