I got in my car after receiving my high school diploma in June of 1966 and headed for Canada to spend my last
few months before going into the Marine Corps. I left my
mom and my dad and rushed off headlong into more and
more sin than I could ever imagine. I figured if I was going
into the Marine Corps, there would be a good chance I’d
go to Vietnam; so why not “live it up,” I thought.
From June to September was a blur of sin and sensual
delight, as they say. Boot camp at Paris Island, South
Carolina, was a wake-up call; and so was landing at Danang
Airbase in South Vietnam in March of 1967. I was sure I
would be sent home in a body bag, so while in Vietnam, as
much as I could, I continued living it up. Down deep, I knew
the things I was doing were wrong.
I couldn’t wait for Sundays to roll around, because the Catholic priest would give what is called “general absolution” for our sins. That was the point in the Mass that I would wait for. When he said it each Sunday, I was so relieved. Everything was now OK, I thought. But then I would go right back out and live like the devil. The bad thing was that my life was on the line each and every day. Somehow, that was not enough to scare me into changing my ways.
Coming Monday, Chapter 2 Part 4
I couldn’t wait for Sundays to roll around, because the Catholic priest would give what is called “general absolution” for our sins. That was the point in the Mass that I would wait for. When he said it each Sunday, I was so relieved. Everything was now OK, I thought. But then I would go right back out and live like the devil. The bad thing was that my life was on the line each and every day. Somehow, that was not enough to scare me into changing my ways.
Coming Monday, Chapter 2 Part 4
