I competed welding school (1972) at the San Diego Naval Base, and soon after, I received my orders to a new destroyer escort, U.S.S. Trippe DE1075, whose home port was Newport, Rhode Island.
I flew to Providence, Rhode Island to report to my new ship. I took a local bus from the airport to Newport. Two women hopped on the bus and sat down in the seat in front of me. I leaned in as close as I dared. I didn't want to appear as if I were eavesdropping. I wasn't. I was trying to figure out what language they were speaking. It was English with a very heavy New England accent.
After spending a year on that ship and going home for the first time, my mother said, "Stop talking like that, you sound funny."
The accent had hopped on my tongue and followed me home. Most of my shipmates were from New England and had strong accents.
This book deals with my own awakening to the reality of war and the moral questions that war raises. Fighting in war is a messy and bloody business. We face a moral dilemma with our first kill. We are all taught that hurting people and certainly killing people is wrong. When we are put into a position where killing is "necessary", our moral compass goes haywire and we have to deal with it, not only in that moment, but for the rest of our lives.
Author's Bio.
- MUSHROOM MONTOYA
- Mushroom Montoya circumnavigated the globe aboard the USS Trippe DE1075 after killing soldiers, woman and children in Viet Nam. Now, as a shaman, he heals the planet one person at a time. Mushroom Montoya has an active shamanic healing practice in Long Beach, California and he teaches at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Cal State Univ. Long Beach.
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