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Arianna Allen and Gabby Franklin are students at the University of Southern California. Arianna studies English (Pre-Law) with a minor in International Relations. Gabby studies Business Administration. [Profiler bio] Upon meeting Tom Lynch, one would never think that he had seen the most brutal bloodshed and destruction. He smiles as he offers us coffee cake in his cozy living room in Indio Valley. Adorned with Asian inspired art and memorabilia, his home is embodied by Asian influences, subtle reminders of the culture that he fell in love with and spent seven years living in after the war. Tom Lynch served in the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969 as an American helicopter pilot. Originally, he joined for a reason that many reckless boys his age did: adventure. He laughs as he describes the more politically correct responses to the question of why one joins the war. But he admits that his involvement wasn’t for God nor was it for a deep sense of patriotism. In hopes of finding something exciting, he dropped out of college as a sophomore and enlisted. It was as simple as that. But soon, Lynch would discover that his experience would be far more complex and dark than his expectations. Lynch was in the army for four years in which he completed a full one-year tour of Vietnam. During the war, Lynch’s perspective of life, society, and himself altered deeply. Admittedly, he was never under the misapprehension that he was fighting to save the country however, he delves into how youth inhibited one from understanding the immense power that was in a soldier’s hands. After all, Lynch turned 21 in Vietnam…with a machine gun in hand. Lynch would drive through the bases at the end of the day and pick up the dead. He reminisces about the casualties and the sight of a child’s burned face, an image that will forever haunt him. He reminisces about the comrades that went on to be successful and the ones that got shattered irreparably by the war. But that’s another story. Lynch has a deep appreciation for war, but admits Vietnam is where he fell out of love with his country. After the war, Lynch lived outside of the country for ten years. [Profile bio]
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