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Organizations cannot succeed when leadership fails to clearly define mission legitimacy, objectives, or measurable outcomes. Yet it is individuals who bear the cost.

In this episode of Brungardt Law’s Lagniappe, Maurice Brungardt speaks with Vietnam veteran Rick McAllister, who served with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in 1970, including duty as a tunnel rat — one of the Vietnam War’s most dangerous and psychologically demanding roles.

Rick reflects on combat, underground tunnel warfare, PTSD, survivor’s guilt, veteran mental health, and the long-term psychological effects of war that followed him home for decades. He also discusses the disconnect between political leadership and battlefield realities, the silence many veterans carried after Vietnam, and the importance of trauma recovery and human connection.

After years of struggling with the aftermath of combat and health complications tied to Agent Orange exposure, Rick discovered an unexpected path toward healing through the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain. What began as physical rehabilitation after open-heart surgery became a transformative journey centered on reflection, reconciliation, resilience, and peace.

This is the first part of a two-part conversation documenting Rick’s preparation to return to Vietnam for the first time in 56 years to meet former North Vietnamese and Viet Cong veterans in pursuit of understanding and reconciliation.