The boy came into our village before dawn screaming hysterically. He begged us to come to his village. My squad armed themselves and, as point man, I carefully made our way to the village. Although it happened less than 10 hours earlier, the stench of death was already in the air. As we entered the village, the decapitated body of the village chief was at the entrance. His family — a pregnant wife, two daughters, and a boy — were all dead. They were mutilated in ways I will not even try to describe.

The village chief made a choice to support the South Vietnamese government and the Americans who were there to help his country. Communists and socialists do not like being told “no,” however. Simple farmers who just wanted to be left alone were not given that option. The 17-year-old daughter of the chief, Mai, was my friend and it cost her her life.

Today, Vietnam is a growing economic powerhouse and, like China, is dominated by a totalitarian government. There is the appearance of freedom like China, but it is an illusion. Talk about freedom of religion on social media and you may be visited by the secret police. If you’re lucky, you’ll get off with a warning.

Seeing what happens historically whenever a nation turns to socialism — always “for the good of the people” — the people eventually find out the only folks enjoying the fruit of socialism are the tyrants they willingly gave the power to enslave them.

We have politicians saying everything should be free; health care, housing, etc. “Free everything! All you need to do is elect us. We will take care of you from now on.” But, like the old saying, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Someone has to pay. Today, many think the government will do this.

The crazy radicals who took over college campuses during Vietnam are now the ones in charge. They have indoctrinated a generation of our youth to loathe our country and believe all of the evil in the world is because of America.

During the Vietnam War, the majority of Americans supported the troops and the war effort. But, for the most part, they stayed silent. Only the anti-war crowd was given the spotlight to condemn and criticize the war effort. Meeting with my former enemy, they have said North Vietnam could never have defeated America on the battlefield. They defeated us through our own media.

I believe there are still many Americans who believe in our nation. Today, the stakes are too high to remain silent and say nothing. Our very freedoms are at stake. Look at the nations that thought socialism was the answer. We need courage to stand up to the “white noise” of the media and defend our liberties while we still have them. I fought in Vietnam because I believed Vietnam should be free. Let’s not make the mistake here of assuming everything will just work out!

In 1961, Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

Something to think about?