Canadians in the Vietnam War

It’s the nights that Ron Parkes remembers most. Sitting behind a machine gun in the 40-degree heat and listening to the noises of the jungle as his fellow soldiers slept. He couldn’t see his own hands in front of him, let alone the Viet Cong in the distance, probing the makeshift American camp. “It was the waiting, the tension—you could almost smell it in the air,” Ron says. “It was almost a relief when you did start shooting. At least you knew what you were doing.”