by the time you got the engines primed and started loud as hell you were sure that every gook for fifty miles was running down there to kill your ass and then the chief hit the throttles and the boat jumped up in the water and you were flying down to the delta with the sweat drying in your hair and you never felt so good in your life so we didnt get killed the bosun says but jesus i thought we were going to die and you ask the bosun why the hell he joined the navy when it was vietnam and he said i woulda got drafted anyways and besides it was a good chance to get the hell out of east la you know , he says to you , it was either get killed in vietnam or get killed in la so what the fuck , you know .