Veteran journaling his experience as a pilot in Vietnam

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A veteran is reconstructing his time as a pilot in Vietnam through journaling.

“Every morning, I come into my little studio, and I come over here and I start to write about my experiences in Vietnam from the first day I arrived until the last day I was there,” Leslie Taylor said.

Taylor served as a pilot in Vietnam in 1967.

“It started with being a brat,” he said.

He grew up in it, an Army brat, seeing and experiencing a lot of different places. So, he says it was only natural for him to want to serve.

“I had these dreams of flying and one of the best ways to do that was in the military,” Taylor said.

He’s been putting the story of those dreams on paper.

“Maybe 200-300 pages.”

And posting on Facebook every day for several years to relive his experiences.

“That’s what made me feel the best was probably getting people out of danger,” he said.

From the first day he arrived in the Army, to the last day he was there, with flight records and photos from the 155th Assault Helicopter Company.

He says it’s funny the things that can jog your memory

“Sometimes the smell...areas...different places have a smell to them,” Taylor said.

Triggering his experiences is a way to get people to understand what it’s really like.

“It’s a way of purging all of the pain. I mean, you can’t ignore it, because it stays there and it will catch you when you don’t expect it,” he said.

Taylor says the pain will always stick as a veteran, but serving his country was reward enough.

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