As of today, we are no longer enemies

Richard Luttrell was just eighteen when, in 1967, he came face to face with a North Vietnamese soldier on a jungle trail near Chu Lai. The man had his weapon raised but chose not to fire. Luttrell, trained to kill without hesitation, did not do the same. Afterward, as fellow soldiers searched the man’s body, a photograph slipped to the ground—an image of the soldier with a little girl.

Years later Luttrell wrote a  letter and left it at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington. It led to a journey of forgiveness. This is a heartbreaking story about the senselessness and futility of war and the damage it leaves in its wake.

Read the letter and more of the story here