LaCross, Vietnam vet, recalls life as a soldier

Jeff LaCross said he didn’t have it bad catnapping on mud, losing nearly one-fifth of his body weight from malaria and hepatitis, and cutting holes through jungle underbrush in Vietnam for days and weeks at a time — at least compared to Revolutionary War soldiers.

He figures having 25 out of 28 men survive a year in a hot combat zone was pretty good — compared to the casualties of most platoons.

And LaCross said the Army has gone out of its way to provide counseling for the many combat vets who returned to the states suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. At least lately.