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I did three tours in Vietnam. I guess a total of about almost two years.

I went to Vietnam; it was my first assignment as a reporter for the UPI, and I never could get away from the war.

I went to Cuba maybe eight or nine times.

I returned to Vietnam in '94, and even then, all those decades later, walking around that place, I remained afraid. And, in some ways, rightly so.

When I visited Vietnam for Oxfam, the thing that really struck me was how the local farmers had to prepare to evacuate or climb to their mezzanines with their valuable family possessions.

Frankly, I would not have made any difference in Vietnam, but much more is what difference it would have made in me.

I had a lot of fun in Cambodia, much more so in Cambodia than Vietnam.

When I took command in Vietnam, I gave great emphasis to food and medical care - and to the mail.

At 19, I went to live in the Philippines for three years as a U.S. Air Force 'dependent spouse.' I lived off-base in Angeles City and had to haul water for drinking and cooking.