Vietnam was an ugly war. The horrors and atrocities witnessed by young American soldiers became their nightmares when they tried to sleep, and followed them home when their tour of duty ended.

Back home, many were greeted, not as returning heroes who had served their country, but with protests, disrespect, and rejection. Some were spat on in airports as they returned home to the country that had sent them into battle. There was little counseling offered to assist them in overcoming the post–traumatic stress many experienced following the brutality and savagery they had seen.

Much of what was written about Vietnam during that ugly time in our country’s history was distorted and sensationalized, shedding an extremely unflattering light on the American forces.

Robert “Bobby” Bacon was in Vietnam before the beginning. In 1963–64 he was sent as advisor to the South Vietnamese Army. American combat units had not yet arrived. As Bacon puts it, “We were basically alone.”

Veteran Robert “Bobby” Bacon stands beside honors received during his career in the Army Bacon recalls the early days of Vietnam, remembering taking a bullet in the leg and, with no American military medical backup available, being sent to a Chinese “hospital” for treatment. Patients were laid out on wooden slabs or benches in a smoke–filled facility. To Bacon it seemed more like an opium den than a hospital.

Larry Burrows, to Bacon one of the Great Combat Photographers, captured some of the ugliness of Vietnam in a photo spread in Life magazine’s June 12, 1964 edition. Captain Robert Bacon was featured on the cover as he led his men in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam.

Inside the magazine were photos of villagers massacred for trying to hold on to their little piece of the earth. The Viet Cong didn’t just kill the villagers, they locked them inside their homes and burned the home and entire families.

Bobby Bacon returned for a second tour in Vietnam as Battalion Commander of an American combat unit. Life magazine photographer Larry Burrows was killed in Vietnam several years later. Burrows’ objectivity in reporting the real truth during a time when many journalists were unfavorable toward the American fighting men continues to be praised by Bacon.

There was ugliness on both sides, but according to Bacon, much of the American fighting force fought a magnificent and courageous battle against very tough opposition.

West Point graduate Robert Bacon continued to serve his country in the Army for 30 years, earning numerous awards and medals, and retiring as a full Colonel. He has served in places like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. He was presented medals by President Lyndon Johnson and was called to consult with the Kennedy family when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. He assisted them in making arrangements for the burial in Arlington Cemetery.

Bacon now lives in Columbia with his wife, Sun. He has three sons, Robin is athletic director at Lower Richland High School; Bill coaches at Dreher High School; and Bruce is vice president of operations for Fairfield Rural Electric in Blythewood. His ten grandchildren live close by.

Bacon feels that in our country’s current war on terrorism, America is in for the long run and must be patient. He says the strategy to do more to cut down on collateral damage (killing civilians) makes it more difficult for our soldiers but will pay off in the end. He says to see a real change in terrorism, we must focus on the children in these extreme cultures. Securing the areas is not enough, we need to build schools to teach the children something more than extremism, free the women from near–slavery, and show the people that not cooperating with terrorists will give them a better way of life.

“The children are the future. Reaching the children is our hope for the future,” says Colonel Robert Bacon.

See related story on page 8.