“I’m living on borrowed time.” That’s how a former GI describes his incredible luck in surviving the 1968 Tet Offensive, turning point of the Vietnam War. Fifty years later, he and a buddy relive the bloody attack that found them under siege in a house in Hue. His small unit fought a pitched battle against the Viet Cong until forced out by flames. Dodging heavy enemy fire, the two soldiers ran in opposite directions — split-second decisions that would impact the rest of their lives. Well into retirement years, they remain grateful to have survived a battle that killed so many brothers in arms. We doubt you’ll hear a war story with two such different twists.
Receiving a draft notice in the 60s felt like a death sentence. Add a growing resistance to the Vietnam War and it's easy to see why guys 18-to-26, like our friend Bob, looked for any way to avoid induction. His crafty ploy? LSD.
Rumor was that taking it could make you unfit for military service. So with the help of his girlfriend, Bob dove in. Did it work to avoid the Army? Let's just say there were unintended consequences and plot twists. And while his psychedelic escape didn't turn out how he hoped, Bob still took some positives from the experience.
You didn't have to attend high school in a small midwestern town to know a couple like Denny and Karen. They were always together, holding hands and whispering secrets. In the hall before class. After school. At the mall. Everybody knew a graduation ring would soon be followed by an engagement ring.
It all rings true for Karen and Denny — except the last part.
Theirs is the story of love that was lost and found more than once. How it survived through decades, and despite marriages to others. And how finding each other again was the first step on a new road of discovery.
How are high-mileage Americans outliving the undertaker?
Most of us remember little or nothing about being 5 years old. Frank Gregor is the exception. He recalls it all too clearly. Far better than he'd like to.