"William Charette and countless others have spoken about survivor guilt. Johnson had the guilt of surviving coupled with the knowledge that he would have died along with his friends in his original tank, but for the Army's reassignment. He also had the experience of what officials in Vietnam called a "personal kill." Hardly any soldier, no matter how hardened, can walk away from a face-to-face killing like this without being affected. On top of that, he had the memory of the enemy's rifle pointed at his chest and the sound of the click. Everyone at the scene of the battle could see he was highly disturbed by what he'd just experienced. At home, however, no one knew what he'd just been through and no one could even approach understanding what happened to him. According to Dwight Johnson's father-in-law, "He always said he should have died over there. He said he couldn't understand why he didn't.""
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Allen Mikaelian, Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes From the Civil War to the Present (2002), New York: Hyperion, first edition hardcover, p. 250
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dwight_H._Johnson
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Dwight H. Johnson
Dwight Hal Johnson (May 7, 1947 – April 30, 1971) a native of Detroit, Michigan, was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in January 1968 during the Vietnam War.
7 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Dwight H. Johnson →
Related Quotes
"I don't know how many I killed. I wasn't thinking. I wasn't counting. I was just shooting."
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp5c. Johnson, a…"
"Six days after his first and last battle in Vietnam, he was back at his mother's home, in the last week of January 19…"
"President Johnson had used previous Medal of Honor ceremonies to vilify the war protestors. This time, however, with …"
"Johnson walked down the block to the Sip 'n' Chat bar and sat down. He ordered a shot of Johnnie Waler and a Pabst. H…"
"Years later, the Veterans Administration ruled that Johnson was not able to "make a rational decision," opening the w…"
"Our Nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal."
"the farmer takes Jill down the well & all the king's horses & all the king's men can't put that baby together again c…"
"death is where jimi hendrix is, where our revolution ended up."
"There has always been something wrong wif the tesses. The tesses paint a picture of me wif no brain. The tesses paint…"