Chapter One
American Heroes
Every child needs a hero and someone to look up to, and as has been established via multiple individuals who study the human psyche, the individual unto who they look for guidance will more often than not become the subject of emulation. The Nazis took full advantage of this human trait realizing that he who placed thoughts within the minds of youth created the mindset of the youth, and thereby altered the course of society.
“He alone, who owns the youth, controls the future.” Adolf Hitler
When I was a child, my hero was my cousin Paul Stasko Jr. (though I never met him as he was killed in ‘68 and I was born in ‘69) who was killed in Vietnam during the Battle of Hue which was the single bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War. It was a vicious urban battle that was performed via house to house killing that pitted an approximate 3,000 marines against 10,000 entrenched North Vietnamese.
December 3, 1947 to February 21. 1968
My dear Aunt Kay that was my Grandmother’s sister, was never told the circumstances of her son’s death except that he was killed in action. One day, approximately 30 years later, a letter came in the mailbox. It was from Paulie’s (as she always called him “Paulie” when she spoke of him) marine buddy who was with him when he was killed. He stated in the letter that he went to the “Wall Memorial” and saw his name there, and was inspired to write her and to tell her what happened that day.
He wrote that that day they were in a particularly fierce fight against a large contingent of enemy forces, and that they were a machine gun crew who were positioned in an upstairs room of a hotel firing at them. At some point they were targeted with RPGs (rocket propelled grenades,) and retreated from that position to resituate themselves with a clear line of fire.
As they left that position they went out a backdoor and through a small courtyard when Paulie stepped on a landmine. He stated that because the fighting was fierce he had to continue, and the last he saw of him a corpsman was holding him crying. The damage done was extremely severe as his casket was half closed covering the bottom half of his body.
When I was a child I would always question my Aunty Kay about Paulie. I was always looking at the pictures in his boot camp graduation book and reading the Marine Manual. I can still remember reading the section on bayonets saying, “Be vicious and utterly ruthless in your attack…,” and I collected marine and other military memorabilia.
One of my favorite posters was…
I read voraciously anything I could find about marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and WAR. If it was a war movie that was on I watching it! From the “Sands of Iwo Jima” to “The Longest Day” to “Apocalypse Now.” My mind as a child was filled with war and a desire to “kill the commies.”
