Vietnam -- Would I do all of this over again?

I suppose it is time to do some reflection.  I have a few more chapters to write But they aren't significant enough to not finish this now.

Would I ever want to do all of this again?

If I just said, "Yes", it becomes more about a soldier who thinks he didn't get it right the first time.

If I just say "Maybe", I'd be wanting fate to deal me a hand from a new deck of cards that destiny would know who won or lost. I don't gamble.

If I just say "Maybe not", then I've matured and I know my travels along the road of mental and physical experience may or may not produce the same outcome.

If I just said, "No", I'm just another soldier with a soldier's story to tell. One who thinks he's got a better bead on getting his work published.

Will this get published?  I don't champion that much attention. So, once again, I'm relying on fate to shape my destiny.

So, what is my answer?

No story gets told in a as a matter of fact way. A reader actively reading this work is part of an Audience and all audiences want to be entertained.

If every line of this work was 100% accurate, it would be a documentary. A very dry, yawn producing boredom not to be remembered beyond the last page.

Only the dead knew their time line. That died with them.

The living have to wait to find out. Rewinding time isn't going to change our deads' outcomes. Nor is it going to bring them home to their loved ones.

Try flipping fate the bird the second you die. See if it works to stop your demise. Tell us all about it later. I'm sure there will be a mystic time and place.

Truth is, you can only shape your future by adjusting your outlook on life. Reactions built from wrong conclusions produce undesirable outcomes. If you can recognize the pattern which produces mistakes you can take corrective actions to not make them in present time.  And that can shape new pathways to options you didn't think possible in the future.

So, my answer is, unless I could find all of the steps I took the first time and not follow that exact same path, then the answer would be no. I would be insane to think otherwise.