April 3, 1973: In a column called “GI Vets Back Home,’’ the Globe tells the story of a Vietnam draftee, Gene Kelly, who was seriously wounded three times while serving — stepping on a land mine, hit by shrapnel, falling into a booby trap — and nearly left for dead by comrades who didn’t think he’d make it. Back home in Marblehead, he found himself unable to find work after a nine-month search. “At least 10 or 12 guys I went to school with somewhere along the line didn’t come home at all,’’ Kelly said. “They’re the real heroes. Me? I think I’m lucky.’’