In 1969, William Broyles Jr. went to Vietnam as a Marine lieutenant. In 1984, he became one of the first American veterans to return to Vietnam after the war. He wrote about the trip and the effect it had on him in “Brothers in Arms: A Journey from War to Peace.”

I had gone back to Vietnam with the war still raging in my head. … And I discovered that I had more in common with my old enemies than with anyone except the men who had fought at my side. My enemies and I had shared something almost beyond words. We had been through war, and by accepting our memories of it honestly we were able to greet each other in trust and friendship, hoping that we would never see war again. We had tried to kill each other, but we were brothers now

(Broyles 1986:275).