"You feel like you're fighting for someone's else's freedom and you don't have your own." (Audio Interview, 16:50)

Daniel Edward Burress

Daniel Burress, en route to Vietnam, 1965 War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Marine Corps Unit: 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division Service Location: Vietnam Rank: Sergeant, E-5 Place of Birth: Chicago, IL

A "gung-ho" Marine recruit at 21, Daniel Burress received a liberal education when he was shipped off in 1967 to Vietnam, where "a good day was a dry day" and "a bad day was stacking bodies." During battles, he found little racial tension, but back at the garrison, it was a different story. The news of Martin Luther King's assassination only fed his disillusionment about a war in which he trusted very few people. But on his last night in country, he did find himself sharing a bottle of whiskey with a white Marine to whom he had spoken very little during his tour.