Yondering

I had lunch today with a friend. We get together every week or so at noon. Today it was his favorite place, Taco Bell. This guy is a bit older, 73, and a Vietnam veteran.
While we were talking, conversation shifted to another mutual acquaintance. My friend had been to this guy's office earlier. That fellow too is a vet. My friend asked if I'd ever inquired about this fellow's service. I had, he'd been a Marine, and when I asked what he did, he said, oh, I was just an embassy guard.
Well, his story to my friend was just a tad different. Yes, he'd been an embassy guard. No, not the one in Tehran. He was in Saigon when it fell.
His job had been control of the crowds when they were loading the choppers, and at one point, when the bird was full, he waved at the pilot and told him "Go!" The pilot said no, you get on, this is the last bird. Well, this guy took a hard look, the bird was packed with mostly children and women, and in order for him to board, it would have meant kicking some of them off. This guy just wasn't going to do that. He was confident they would send more birds.
Several hours later, reality dawned as he realized no more birds were coming. Orders arrived to abandon the embassy. There were still twenty Marines on the grounds, so this guy being the highest ranking, organized them and they set off for Cambodia, then on to Thailand. Eventually he located his unit and reported to his commander. What did the commander do? Chewed his ass for deserting his post.
Go figger.
I understand his glib answer to me, some folks just do not understand. I do, now, that fat old guy was one tuff mudder. Probably still is. He does wood work these days, intricate detail, stuff that would make people cry, and it is Christian and Patriotic. Not what you expect from America's best? I know a former sniper who does needle point.