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We called him "Rabbit". Because he was the best football player in the school and he could run like a rabbit. He was about 20 years old when he went to Vietnam. He made it thru his first tour still intact and came home. And, for his country and his buddies, he went back for a second tour. He was fearless. Always had a big smile for everyone.
Watching the tragedy unfold on television today with all the soldiers or Marines killed , I thought about Rabbit. The local television station showed a vet who had recently returned from Iraq with his legs paralyzed. He was shown lifting his own legs as he scooted himself into his bed. I know that as the months and years pass, his legs will become heavier and heavier to lift. He will lose his present state of denial and will become somewhat bitter and angry. As the years pass, he will grow to hate what has happened to him.
Rabbit was like that. He went back to Vietnam for his second tour and he came back paralyzed with both his arms blown off. He took to drinking and grew bitter with each passing year. He could no longer run like a rabbit. It was all a distant memory. Rabbit died at 28 years of age. He drank himself to death.
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