I can't say that my father was a Pacifist, but he did his best to keep his oldest son (Paul) from going to Viet Nam. He was a man of duty, so it's not surprising that his second son (Daniel), upon leaving ROTC enlisted to fight on Viet Nam.

I remember my father on Friday nights would listen to Walter Cronkite give the body counts. This would often be followed by a long silence as my father choked backed the tears. Then a record was placed on the victrola, and my father listening (and sometimes sang along) to "Danny Boy". It seemed to me that it wasn't just for his own "Danny Boy" that he greived, but for every father that the war touched.

I have no choice in my beliefs, it is a fathers lament.