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My neighbor to the south of me is one of gentlest souls I've ever encountered . Retired teacher . It was later that I learned he had done three tours as a LRRP . One of my neighbors to the north was forward observer officer. He told me once about standing on a mountain watching the early morning fog roll through , he said it was " beautiful ". Then he mentioned that what was coming was also beautiful. I understood exactly what he meant by that. War is full of paradox.
Honor a Soldier. Be the kind of American worth fighting for.
My neighbor to the south of me is one of gentlest souls I've ever encountered . Retired teacher . It was later that I learned he had done three tours as a LRRP . One of my neighbors to the north was forward observer officer. He told me once about standing on a mountain watching the early morning fog roll through , he said it was " beautiful ". Then he mentioned that what was coming was also beautiful. I understood exactly what he meant by that. War is full of paradox.
And you men are heroes.... every one of you. Keep being the heroes this world needs.....
Dad served in the air force but was never sent overseas. He enlisted in 58 or 59. My step dad was there and won't talk about it , I know he got a bronze star door with a V as gunner and crew chief on a chinook and cancer from agent orange. He holds no ill will towards anybody , liked the people and can't stand the left here.
My uncle Fred , did 2 tours in nam.. and is an oak leaf recipient. I didn’t know what that meant for a very long time… what messed him up badly ( physically and mentally) he and some other fellas were surrounded and they found a hidey hole of sorts… the enemy had dogs( which I didn’t know they had dogs) sniffed them out… a gernade was thrown in the hole and it killed everyone else except my uncle… he was seriously injured though, shrapnel was spread all over like a shotgun blast. He still had shrapnel embedded in his body for years. He was a very smart man,, was very scholarly, but Vietnam messed him up.. I found a poem he had written online, that I never even knew existed… I’ll have to try to find it and post it here…. It was about Vietnam, and something happening during an ambush. He passed away about 20 years ago… his body was poisoned from the orange..
To those that served, each and everyone one of you have my deepest and heartfelt thoughts… we can never truly understand what that was to experience… and then come home and treated as villains.
Stand by your principles, Stand by your guns, and victory complete and permanent is sure at last. Abraham Lincoln
Served with 42 nd regiment, 1st Cav LRRP, agree with White 17, If you weren't there don't ask. As Big BoB said it's the forgetting, Can't stop the crazy stuff that sneaks in while I'm sleeping . Had problems, went to Topeka Ks., trama center finally got the switch turned off. Myself, 2 brothers, cousin, and uncle made that trip. Uncle, and older brother went through TET, I showed up Jan went north. When I hear certain music about the war I turn it off, don't watch documentaries, on the tube
I was drafted a couple months after the Kent State shootings, so yes being in service and coming and going were not fun events for sure. In 1971 I spent a lot of my time training RVN troops to fix avionics for our planes and choppers and also how to repair shot up wire bundles etc. It was easy to see even that early that things were not going to go well. I don't put that blame on the troops that were left. The south had been fighting since 1949 and many of the better trained and seasoned troops had been dead for years already if not decades. The other issue was as we were leaving starting in late 1970 there were 1 million men leaving the military over the next 2-4 years and millions of men were not enrolling in college to try and skirt service and the draft ended in 1973. Not easy to find a job, housing etc. with that many looking for work and many looking at you cross-eyed in those early days back home. It seems nice that others thank one for their service but in reality when it comes 40 to 50 years after the fact, many have worked out their issues the best they could, but when it really matter it was not there. Even the VFWs were not enthused then to have us and some out right did not want us at all, so it just was not a bunch of long-haired hippies that we faced. In some ways they were the easiest to get past and deal with.
My neighbor to the south of me is one of gentlest souls I've ever encountered . Retired teacher . It was later that I learned he had done three tours as a LRRP . One of my neighbors to the north was forward observer officer. He told me once about standing on a mountain watching the early morning fog roll through , he said it was " beautiful ". Then he mentioned that what was coming was also beautiful. I understood exactly what he meant by that. War is full of paradox.
And you men are heroes.... every one of you. Keep being the heroes this world needs.....
I don't know how to respond to that,Angela. But it's a great sentiment.
And sometimes... I really miss it. Every part of it. Even grieve it.
Just time to move on and be 'Pa' to a grandson.
Honor a Soldier. Be the kind of American worth fighting for.
Re: Vietnam remembered
[Re: KeithC]
#8450062 08/07/2512:26 AM08/07/2512:26 AM
