All Comments on 'Coming Home'

Interesting, especially as a vet. I could see the details in my mind. The violence thing added reality to the feeling I had after returning from Viet Nam.

My first gay male story. Well done, insightful. Sharon, Virginia

I feel this gives a really deep aspect to war in general as to the trauma of it. I love this story, I guess I love anything that tells psychologically about the Vietnam war is a plus for me. I am also a huge "yaoi" fan so the m on m was another wonderful aspect.

You as a author is also amazing I love to read your stories PLEASE keep them coming.

I'm expecting to read a story about love and get the almost-rape of two boys by a veteran soldier.

I was expecting something like it, the title brought to mind the movie with Jon Voight. It took me back to those times and the many soldiers who came back and had a hard time coping with the banalities of life in the US after having experienced and survived Vietnam. It takes time to adapt and to lose those automatic responses that are necessary to stay alive. In the story, the distraction of the boys serves to ground Dan in the present reality. Though initially he seems violent, as he interacts with the boys he seems to be more accepting, almost welcoming towards the end.

I had a friend named Alan who was a medic in 'Nam in the closing years of the conflict (Vietnam was NOT a war). He was a couple of years older than me, a really nice guy who worked with teenagers at a local church and wanted to be a psychologist and played a mean guitar. His job overseas took him into the battles, flying out in choppers to patch up the wounded so they could be evacuated to field hospitals (think M*A*S*H in a different era without the laugh track).

Anyway, one of his choppers was shot down. Alan was trained to use a gun and how to defend himself, but he wasn't a soldier. He spent four days alone in the jungle trying to get back to our side, totally traumatized about being captured. The Viet Cong didn't treat our POWs well.

I remember Alan when he came back after his stint in country. He was so totally different- didn't sleep well, zoned out a lot and jumped at the slightest sound. One time, he had to be pulled off from pummeling my boyfriend into dust when he accidentally came up behind Alan and scared him as a joke. He just lost it. The mental violence, now recognized as PTSD, was very real and ruined a lot of lives.

This story was done well and totally realistic. You think about what our men went through over there, many of them still in their teens (AND in an age where they were considered old enough to fight but not old enough to vote) and getting hooked on pot and heroin. They returned to a USA who treated them with contempt, so what Dan did to David and Bill was exorcising demons.