Seacoast Veterans Conference. rod Doherty, Chris Sununu, Martha Fuller clark

Seacoast Veterans Conference I want to write this for the conference that I will attend today because Chris Sununu invited me at the candidate discussion the other night. This will be a letter to the public as well for you all believe that I am so scary. My view of what is my medical case that brought me back to the world. I was injured right out of Parris Island with a Traumatic Brain Injury. To this day I have no memory of any life before waking up in the Portsmouth Navy Hospital. I was sent back to active duty because of an admin error. I served the next thirty-one months in and out of the zone. My base camp was Royal Thai Air Force Base U-bore Thailand. I did eight convoys across Thailand, Laos and Cambodia as American Advisor to deliver surplus supplies to friendly posts deep in the “Bush”. My first kill came on one convoy when we stopped at a friendly village some place in Cambodia for the night. Three kooks took me several clicks to a campsite where they tied me up and occasionally poked and hit me while they sat near the campfire and drank rice wine. The youngest looked to be about ten or twelve years old was put on guard just out of sight from the fire. The TBI took all my memory so I actually enjoyed what was happening as the two eventually past out and I freed my hands from the rope. I picked up my bayonet as I left the site. I came across the young one put my hand over his mouth and killed him with the bayonet. I will never forget the pride that came over me for now I was a true US Marine. I came back to the world where I told that story once and was told how uncivilized it was to kill some one so young. I was 115 lb seventeen year-old when I joined the MC. I looked as a child even though I was a Sgt. in the USMC. I write about this but never talk to others. The loneliness of being the only English speak person on the convoys and the long hour after hour of just waiting for anything to happen is what keeps me awake at night. While on convoy I once left a friendly village with a pu-yng. (Girl) for you know the reason. I returned alone from her hooch only to come across an enemy patrol. My M-16 had no clip in it for the orders clearly stated to me before each convoy left was “do not lock and load until eminent danger of death”. I lay silently as the patrol passed scared or naïve is your call but not trying to lock and load to light up the enemy never leaves me. Many nights I stay awake not able to stop thinking of the thirty-one months of a different world living through and participating in two Vietnam offensives. The astonished faces of new bees as I order them into harms way just appear as a movement at a stop sign or a word someone not even in a conversation with me is heard takes my mind into another life. The hostess at the political discussion the other night stood behind me as the other candidate spoke. I felt my legs vibrate as they always did when I felt over there it was near. I quietly asked her not to stand so near. I am sure the audience notice and took some offense to it. It is like every time I have tried to tell VA doctors the questions trying to catch me in a contradiction to make what I am saying not true is the key to stop telling them any more. My VA medical has been stopped for combat disabilities until I stop writing opinion letters. I get treated for any other sickness to cover up the facts. I will end here because more than one page no one will read. Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper Fi 465 Packers falls rd Lee NH 03824 603-781-3839