“If while alive you hurt or disappoint people you love, there's no use continuing such behavior when you're dead.”

“It dosnt matter how many mr. and mrs. johnsons are anti war- the actuall killers who know how to use the weapons are not.”

“I have gone to war and now I can issue my complaint. I can sit on my porch and complain all day. And you must listen. Some of you will say to me: You signed the contract, you crying bitch, and you fought in a war because of your signature, no one held a gun to your head. This is true, but because I signed the contract and fulfilled my obligation to fight one of America’s wars, I am entitled to speak, to say, I belong to a fucked situation.”

“Now I often think of the first time I received artillery fire, and the subsequent obliteration of the enemy observation post. I'll never know how many men manned the OP, but in memory I fix the number at two, and though at the time I was angry that the pompus captain took the handset from me and stole m y kills, I have lately been thankful he insisted on calling the fire mission, ans sometimes when I am feeling hopeful or even religious, I think that buy taking my two kills the pompous captain handed me life, some extra moments of living for myself or that I can offer others, though I have no idea to use or disuse these extra moments, or if I've wasted them already.”

“Was your old man in the war?""He was in the air force. He built runways.""The fucking air farce. He ever tell you about it? Did he live?""Yes, he lived. He spoke once about Vietnam.""If he only spoke about it once, he wasn’t lying.”

“My combat action has commenced... I've pissed my pants, but only a little.”

“My despair is less despair than boredom and loneliness.”