Photo provided to the Times Observer Bruce Williams spent most of his Vietnam tour in 1969 in the JAG office at USARV (United States Army, Vietnam) headquarters near Saigon. He said that, working with JAG officers, he would at times go to Saigon or villages, meeting the Vietnamese.

It’s a question without an easy answer.

You can’t end it on a high note because there isn’t a high note to end on. Understanding the significance of the war with the benefit of 50 years of hindsight and history doesn’t necessarily help either.

Then I got some mail from a Vietnam veteran who now lives in Warren.

And I knew that was the answer.

Photo provided to the Times Observer The Vietnam Bruce Williams saw in 1968 - and then a few years ago, with highrises in the cities - were hardly the same place.

The way to end this series is pretty easy – perspective from someone who was there.

Bruce Williams was in Vietnam in 1968-1969, the peak of American involvement.

A Youngsville High School graduate, Williams completed his undergraduate work at Penn State.

“At that time all male students had to take the first two years of ROTC,” he said. “There was a choice of Army, Navy or Air Force. If you took all four years you would be commissioned a lieutenant or a Navy Ensign.”

There was one problem, though.

“I had no desire to be an officer or serve in the military,” he said. “At that time nobody saw the Vietnam War coming.”

So, as he says it, he did his two years “and let it go. I graduated with a pre-law degree and then went to the Dickinson School of Law for one year.”

Vietnam was starting to enter into the American lexicon in fresh ways.

Williams graduate school deferment expired.

So he enlisted in the Army.

“My first assignment was not Vietnam but Germany,” he explained. “I served in the 14th Armored Cavalry. We patrolled the ‘Fulda Gap’ along the ‘Iron Curtain’ border with communist East Germany. This was the likely invasion route if there was ever an attack from the Russians.”

We know that attack never materialized but this wouldn’t be the only place that Williams would be stationed in the struggle against Communism.

“After a year in Germany I got orders for Vietnam,” he said. “When I arrived I could have been assigned to an infantry division.”

That year of law school resulted in a different path.

“Because of my law school background I was assigned to the JAG office at the top Army headquarters in Long Binh near Saigon,” he said. “I worked with Army lawyers. Most of my time was in the office, but sometimes we would go to Saigon or villages on business.”

“I had a non-combat job but I came across many guys in combat units that came through headquarters. I heard stories about what was happening.”

It was become clear that America wasn’t winning. Atrocities were occurring. He was becoming “disillusioned.”

“After the January 1968 Tet Offensive it was clear that the war was unwinnable,” he said. “Our government escalated the war, sending in more troops when it was a lost cause.

“We were told we were winning. Troop morale was flagging. A process called “fragging” emerged. If a gung-ho lieutenant tried to lead a charge, some of his troops might shoot or grenade him (fragments),” Williams explained. “Then the troops would retreat to safety. It is hard to believe that this could take place but it did.”

Even with the benefit of hindsight, it can be challenging to try to place oneself in such a situation and have any conception for how you might respond.