History lesson: 'This is nuts and I want out'

This is a clip of poet and educator Bill Ehrhart - a very articulate Vietnam veteran who joined the military with patriotism in his heart.

Ehrhart served with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, from early February 1967 to late February 1968 in Vietnam..

Ehrhart became a well-known veteran poet.

Ehrhart began writing when he was 15 years old, and has been writing more or less continuously ever since. His first published work, a poem about Swarthmore College, appeared seven years later in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the following year eight of his poems were included in Winning Hearts and Minds: War Poems by Vietnam Veterans. Exclusively a poet until he was almost 30, he has since written and published a wide variety of nonfiction prose from 400-word newspaper commentaries to 40-page scholarly essays to 400-page personal narratives.

The influence of Ehrhart's encounter with the Vietnam War can readily be seen in his writing, but though he is known primarily as a "Vietnam War poet," in fact his subject matter ranges widely.

His wife and daughter are major sources of inspiration for his poetry. His poems also reflect his respect for nature, his love of friends, his active engagement with the world around him, and his consternation at the human condition.

You can find more at his website www.wdehrhart.com