Introduction

A young man was born and raised in the turbulent times of the 1960s Civil Rights Era. Raised by a mother who was a die-hard segregationist, and who was an avid member of the Ku Klux Klan. The boy's father finally abandoned his family after he had been attacked by the Klan and beaten within an inch of his life. Frustrated by his wife's bigoted attitude, and her insistence in her effort to try turning their son into a bigot.

Family Background and Early Influences

The boy's father solved his situation by joining the Army and going off to the Korean War, and sending his wife checks to help her and the boy survive during the time he would be away. Once the boy was in his late teens, he felt like his mother was smothering his efforts to think for himself. So he joined the Marines, and with his being indoctrinated with thoughts and ideas taught to him by both his mother and the Klan, he now studied in depth the blacks he saw. He was mixed in his feelings about black people, but he had very limited contact with other people of color. This was a way to find out for himself whether his mother and the Klan were right about the things they were trying to teach him.

Military Service and Experiences

When he entered the Marines, and after basic training, he was shipped out to Tan Sunut Air Base in Vietnam. He was housed in a barracks where he found a situation that he couldn't control. A situation where he was housed with young men of all races. How he copes with what he's discovered as a member of the Marine Corps is what this story is all about. How he is transformed from a full-blown bigot whose younger life was completely dominated by the teachings of his mother, and the not too subtle ways of the KKK.

Transformation and Reflection

Into a young man, who through the oral as well as the physical teachings of the Corps, was turned into a true Marine. But! this is not a story about Vietnam; it is the story of how he's truly transformed after he returns from Vietnam. But! you, the reader, will have to come to your own conclusions about this story.