Theodore's World

June 28, 2015

Vietnam Veteran's remains return to NC

Vietnam Veteran's remains return to NC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Vietnam War veteran missing in action for close to 50 years is back on U.S. soil. The remains of Chief Master Sergeant Edwin E. Morgan Sr. landed in Charlotte Thursday afternoon just after noon.

"This is a man who at 17 years old joined the service, actually he started in the Navy, then he went to the Army and then to the Air Force," said Patriot Guard C.W. Smith.

Edwin Morgan had been Missing In Action for 49 years.

"In 1966 his plane went down," Smith said.

Today he is home. The organization "Rolling Thunder Washington, D.C." says Morgan's remains had been identified through a match in dental records and landed at Charlotte Douglas Airport. The remains were carried from the plane and put into the hearse. A massive procession of over 100 motorcycles escorted him 47 miles to Rockwell in Rowan County, where he'll be buried next to his wife.

"This is a man who wrote his name on a blank check," Smith said. "It was filled out to pay to the order of the United States of America. Unfortunately on the amount paid was the ultimate sacrifice of his life."

Morgan was 38 years old at the time in 1966, but through all these years he was never forgotten.

"You know we were going to be here today either way to make sure we get him home," Smith said. "And it's just a fantastic feeling."

A visitation for Morgan will be held tomorrow and funeral services are scheduled for Saturday morning. The Patriot Guard says there are over 1600 American soldiers that are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

Wild Thing's comment................

Thank you for bringing this Veteran home.!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

April 29, 2015

Vietnam Vet Shames Baltimore Rioters With One Incredible Statement

Vietnam Vet Shames Baltimore Rioters With One Incredible Statement

During the Baltimore riots last night, CNN reporter Joe Johns walked up to a man on the street and asked him:

"Sir, who are you?”

The man responded:

“I’m just a soldier.”

That man was Vietnam veteran Robert Valentine, and what followed was one of the most incredible seventy-eight seconds that TV news has produced in a long time:

Johns: “You sort of took it upon yourself to tell those young people to go away. Aren’t you a little bit concerned for your own safety?”

Valentine: “Here’s number one. I did 30 years, okay? Came out a Master Sergeant. I’ve seen more than all this. I’ve been through the riots already. This right here is not relevant. They need to have their butts at home, they need to be in their home units with their family, studying and doing something with their life. Not out here protesting about something that’s not really nothing.

They do not respect this young man’s death, you know?…So I’m very pissed…

I love my country, I love my Charm City, and I’m an American. I’m not black, white, red, yellow, or nothing; I am American.”

Incredible words from Robert Valentine, an American hero.

Wild Thing's comment..............

God bless this man!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

April 02, 2015

Vietnam Veterans of the Son Tay Raid shared their stories with the Special Forces counterparts

Vietnam Veterans relived a moment in time as veterans of the Son Tay Raid shared their stories with the Special Forces counterparts.

Wild Thing's comment...........

It is so great that they did this, the special brotherhood of our Veterans and our troops serving today.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (2)

April 25, 2014

'Mysterious' Vietnam War Memorial

Vietnam veterans memorial on Sargents Mesa

"Cycle ride from Tomichi Creek off of Highway 50 near Gunnison, CO up to the Continental Divide, where we found this war memorial tucked away in seclusion. You won't find it on any maps. An old local at the Tomichi Trading Post said the Park Rangers keep it off maps...the story is that a Vietnam Vet somehow used a chopper to sneak the pieces in.

Wild Thing's comment..........

This is truly amazing. What a great find and to be able to see this, so very special..

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom

1st Aviation Brigade, US Army
RVN, Sep66-Mar68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

June 04, 2012

Vietnam Opens 3 Sites for MIA Search

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a historic visit to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam yesterday.

The visit marks the first time a U.S. defense secretary has visited the country since the end of the Vietnam War. The bay was the main point of entry for U.S. troops and ships who docked there. Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin reported that Panetta’s visit is significant because it came a day after he addressed other defense ministers to outline new strategies for the region in order to put two-thirds of the U.S. Navy’s vessels in Asia.

The Vietnamese did not send a senior representative to meet Panetta at Cam Ranh Bay, which Griffin said shows that they are wary of welcoming the U.S. openly in order to avoid upsetting China. Panetta said, “The more I am out here, the more critical I view this region in terms of our national defense and the defense of the world.”

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Vietnam Opens 3 Sites for MIA Search

FOX News

The Vietnamese government says it will open three new sites for excavation by the US to search for troop remains from the war, as Panetta and Vietnamese counterpart exchange war artifacts.

The announcement from Vietnam Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh comes as U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his Vietnamese counterpart participated in a first-of-its-kind joint exchange of artifacts from the war in Hanoi.

A Department of Defense spokesman said in a statement the department believes Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) research teams will greatly benefit from access to the new sites in their search for the approximately 1,200 U.S. service members still missing in Vietnam.

"The Department of Defense believes these sites are critical to locating missing-in-action troops from the Vietnam War," spokesman George Little said.

In the artifact exchange, Panetta gave his Vietnamese counterpart the Vũ Ðình Ðoàn diary, which was taken by Robert Frazure, United States Marine Corps following Operation Indiana in 1966.

In turn, Quang Thanh presented personal letters of U.S. Army Sergeant Steve Flaherty, who was killed in action in 1969.

Both leaders agreed to return the artifacts to the relatives of the soldiers.

The bilateral meeting in Hanoi came a day after Panetta visited the deepwater port and former American military base at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam as part of an effort to promote a closer military partnership with the Vietnamese and reassert the U.S. presence in Asia.

The trip was an important sign of American aspirations in the region. Panetta indicated that the U.S. Navy would like to once more have regular access to the bay, which commands a strategic location on the South China Sea, The Wall Street Journal reported.

On Saturday, before arriving in Vietnam, Panetta announced that by the next decade, 60 percent of U.S. Navy warships would be stationed in the Pacific.

Panetta is in Asia as part of an effort to explain the new American strategy in the Pacific region and begin to put it into effect by trying to make progress in developing deeper partnerships with Vietnam, Singapore and India.

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Wild Thing's comment...............

I don't trust them, nor China....all I can think of is God protect our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (4)

May 20, 2012

Salute To Vietnam Veterans ~ Awesome Video and Speech!

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Wild Thing's comment.......

I know this is long but it is soooooo good. I posted it on Facebook as well so you might have seen it there.

Thank you to our awesome Vietnam Veterans. To all our Veterans and our troops today.....thank you too.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (4)

April 23, 2012

Vietnam War Hero to Receive Posthumous Medal of Honor

Army Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr., who served with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Sabo will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously in a May 16, 2012, White House ceremony for his valor in the Vietnam War. Photo courtesy of George Sabo

Vietnam War Hero to Receive Posthumous Medal of Honor

Army News Service

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2012 – Army Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr., a rifleman with the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War, will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor in a May 16 ceremony, White House officials announced yesterday.

Sabo is credited with saving the lives of several of his comrades in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, when his platoon was ambushed near the Se San River in eastern Cambodia on May 10, 1970. Sabo shielded a comrade from an enemy grenade and silenced a machine-gun bunker before he was killed.

Sabo's widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown, and his brother, George Sabo, have been invited to the White House for the ceremony. President Barack Obama recently telephoned Sabo-Brown to inform her that her late husband would receive the nation's highest award for valor.

"It was a very emotional day -- a very, very emotional day,” she said. I couldn't even sleep that night. And … when I did fall asleep finally and I woke up the next morning, I went, 'Now wait a minute, did I dream this? Is it really real?' I couldn't be more proud of him.

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In her home near New Castle, Pa., Sabo-Brown has set up a museum of sorts in tribute to her late husband and his comrades who were killed in Cambodia.

When his platoon was ambushed from all sides by a large enemy force, Sabo charged the enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. While the platoon was securing a re-supply of ammunition, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded a wounded comrade with his own body -- absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade's life.

Although wounded by the grenade blast, Sabo continued to charge the enemy's bunker. After receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire, he crawled toward the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Sabo's life.

Sabo's unit nominated him for the Medal of Honor, but the paperwork was lost until Tony Mabb, a Vietnam veteran of the 101st Airborne Division and a writer for the Screaming Eagle Association magazine, came across a thick file on Sabo while on a research trip to the National Archives military repository in College Park, Md.

Mabb contacted his congresswoman, who recommended that the Defense Department reconsider a medal of valor for Sabo. Mabb also made contact with Sabo's widow.

"The Leslie I know would give his life to anybody," she said. "He would. He would give you the shirt off his back. That's the kind of man he was."

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Wild Thing's comment.........

Rest in peace Army Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. I wish we all could have thanked you in person. America owes our Veterans and POW/MIA's more then words could ever express.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom

1st Aviation Brigade, US Army
RVN, Sep66-Mar68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (2)

July 10, 2011

Air Force Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Identified

Air Force pilot missing from Vietnam War identified

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan

The remains of an Air Force pilot missing in action from Vietnam have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

The long-missing aviator, Maj. Richard G. Elzinga of Shedd, Ore., was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., on Friday.

Elzinga and his co-pilot went missing during a March 26, 1970, flight in their O-1G Bird Dog aircraft over Laos, according to a release. Search-and-rescue missions were held for two days after the two were declared missing.

Teams from the U.S. and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command uncovered the human remains and aircraft wreckage between 1994 and 2009, according to the release.

Using forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory matched mitochondrial DNA to Elzinger's aunt and his cousin.

Wild Thing's comment........

Thank God and I keep praying they one day bring all our people home.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (3)

March 12, 2011

Vietnam War Tribute

" We served. We suffered and 69 thousand of us died. We did our duty like the veterans of every war before us and those that have come after. This wall, scarred with the names of our fallen, remembers them so well with a dignified silence. Thank you for your service, our brothers. Thank you."

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Wild Thing's comment........

This was a wonderful tribute. Welcome Home and thank you!!!

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (4)

January 23, 2011

Tango Mike/Mike ~ Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavides Medal of Honor Recipient ~ Vietnam Veteran

Note from the person that made the video:

"I did this as a way to honor all those who have struggled to come back from serving our country in times of war. The most interesting part for me was something I didn't find out until after I created this photoplay, was that this was Roy's second tour. He had been so gravely wounded, by stepping on a landmine, on his first tour that he was drummed out of the Army after returning. Roy built his body back up and returned to the service after proving himself fit and joined the elite Green Beret's and went back to Vietnam for a second tour for which he received the Medal of Honor."

This is a well done video that honors Roy P. Benavidez remarkable courage in Vietnam that earned the Medal Of Honor. How remarkable was he? The Navy named a ship after this soldier extraordinaire.

As the medevac chopper landed the wounded were examined one by one. Staff Sergeant Roy Benavidez could only hear what was going on around him. He had over thirty seven puncture wounds. His intestines were exposed. He could not see as his eyes were caked in blood and unable to open. Neither could he speak, his jaw broken, clubbed by a North Vietnamese rifle. But he knew what was happening, and it was the scariest moment of his life, even more so than the earlier events of the day. He lay in a body bag, bathed in his own blood. Jerry Cottingham, a friend screamed "That's Benavidez. Get a doc". When the doctor arrived he placed his hand on Roy's chest to feel for a heartbeat. He pronounced him dead. The physician shook his head. "There's nothing I can do for him." As the doctor bent over to zip up the body bag. Benavidez did the only thing he could think of to let the doctor know that he was alive. He spit in the doctor's face. The surprised doctor reversed Roy's condition from dead to "He won't make it, but we'll try".

The 32-year-old son of a Texas sharecropper had just performed for six hours one of the most remarkable feats of the Vietnam War. Benavidez, part Yaqui Indian and part Mexican, was a seventh-grade dropout and an orphan who grew up taunted by the term "dumb Mexican." But, as Ronald Reagan noted, if the story of what he accomplished was made into a movie, no one would believe it really happened.

Roy Benavidez's ordeal began at Loc Ninh, a Green Beret outpost near the Cambodian border. It was 1:30 p.m., May 2, 1968. A chaplain was holding a prayer service around a jeep for the sergeant and several other soldiers. Suddenly, shouts rang out from a nearby short-wave radio. "Get us out of here!" someone screamed. "For God's sake, get us out!"

A 12-man team consisting of Sergeant First Class Leroy Wright, Staff Sergeant Lloyd "Frenchie" Mousseau, Specialist Four Brian O'Connor and nine Nung tribesmen monitoring enemy troop movements in the jungle had found itself surrounded by a North Vietnamese army battalion. With out orders, Benavidez volunteered so quickly that he didn't even bring his M-16 when he dashed for the helicopter preparing for a rescue attempt. The sole weapon he carried was a bowie knife on his belt."I'm coming with you," he told the three crew members.

Airborne, they spotted the soldiers in a tight circle. A few hundred enemy troops surrounded them in the jungle, some within 25 yards of the Americans' position. The chopper dropped low, ran into withering fire and quickly retreated. Spotting a small clearing 75 yards away, Benavidez told the pilot, "Over there, over there."

The helicopter reached the clearing and hovered 10 feet off the ground. Benavidez made the sign of the cross, jumped out carrying a medic bag and began running the 75 yards towards the trapped men. Almost immediately, Benavidez was hit by an AK-47 slug in his right leg. He stumbled and fell, but got back up convincing himself that he'd only snagged a thorn bush and kept running to the brush pile where Wright's men lay. An exploding hand grenade knocked him down and ripped his face with shrapnel. He shouted prayers, got up again and staggered to the men.

Four of the soldiers were dead, the other eight wounded and pinned down in two groups. Benavidez bound their wounds, injected morphine and, ignoring NVA bullets and grenades, passed around ammunition that he had taken from several bodies and armed himself with an AK. Then Benavidez directed air strikes and called for the Huey helicopter to a landing near one group. While calling in support he was shot again in the right thigh, his second gunshot wound. He dragged the dead and wounded aboard. The chopper lifted a few feet off the ground and moved toward the second group, with Benavidez running beneath it, firing a rifle he had picked up. He spotted the body of the team leader Sergeant First Class Wright. Ordering the other soldiers to crawl toward the chopper, he retrieved a pouch dangling from the dead man's neck; in the pouch were classified papers with radio codes and call signs. As he shoved the papers into his shirt, a bullet struck his stomach and a grenade shattered his back. The helicopter, barely off the ground, suddenly crashed, its pilot shot dead.

Coughing blood, Benavidez made his way to the Huey and pulled the wounded from the wreckage, forming a small perimeter. As he passed out ammunition taken from the dead, the air support he had earlier radioed for arrived. Jets and helicopter gunships strafed threatening enemy soldiers while Benavidez tended the wounded. "Are you hurt bad, Sarge?" one soldier asked. "Hell, no," said Benavidez, about to collapse from blood loss. "I've been hit so many times I don't give a damn no more."

While mortar shells burst everywhere, Benavidez called in Phantoms "danger close". Enemy fire raked the perimeter. Several of the wounded were hit again, including Benavidez. By this time he had blood streaming down his face, blinding him. Still he called in air strikes, adjusting their targets by sound. Several times, pilots thought he was dead, but then his voice would come back on the radio, calling for closer strikes. Throughout the fighting, Benavidez, a devout Catholic, made the sign of the cross so many times, his arms were "were going like an airplane prop". But he never gave into fear.

Finally, a helicopter landed. "Pray and move out," Benavidez told the men as he helped each one aboard. As he carried a seriously wounded Frenchie Mousseau over his shoulder a fallen NVA soldier stood up, swung his rifle and clubbed Benavidez in the head. Benavidez fell, rolled over and got up just as the soldier lunged forward with his bayonet. Benavidez grabbed it, slashing his right hand, and pulled his attacker toward him. With his left hand, he drew his own bowie knife and stabbed the NVA but not before the bayonet poked completely through his left forearm. As Benavidez dragged Mousseau to the chopper, he saw two more NVA materialize out of the jungle. He snatched a fallen AK-47 rifle and shot both. Benavidez made one more trip to the clearing and came back with a Vietnamese interpreter. Only then did the sergeant let the others pull him aboard the helicopter.

Blood dripped from the door as the chopper lumbered into the air. Benavidez was holding in his intestines with his hand. Bleeding almost into unconsciousness, Benavidez lay against the badly wounded Mousseau and held his hand. Just before they landed at the Medevac hospital, "I felt his fingers dig into my palm," Benavidez recalled, "his arm twitching and jumping as if electric current was pouring through his body into mine" At Loc Ninh, Benavidez was so immobile they placed him with the dead. Even after he spit in the doctor's face and was taken from the body bag, Benavidez was considered a goner.

Benavidez spent almost a year in hospitals to recover from his injuries. He had seven major gunshot wounds, twenty-eight shrapnel holes and both arms had been slashed by a bayonet. Benavidez had shrapnel in his head, scalp, shoulder, buttocks, feet, and legs. His right lung was destroyed. He had injuries to his mouth and back of his head from being clubbed with a rifle butt. One of the AK-47 bullets had entered his back exiting just beneath his heart. He had won the battle and lived. When told his one man battle was awesome and extraordinary, Benavidez replied: "No, that's duty."

Wright and Mousseau were each awarded the Distinguish Service Cross posthumously. Although Master Sergeant Benavidez's commander felt that he deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor in saving eight lives, he put Roy in for the Distinguished Service Cross. The process for awarding a Medal of Honor would have taken much longer, and he was sure Benavidez would die before he got it. The recommendation for the Distinguish Service Cross was rushed through approval channels and Master Sergeant Benavidez was presented the award by General William C. Westmoreland while he was recovering from his wounds at Fort Sam Houston's Hospital.

Years later, his former commander learned that Benavidez had survived the war. The officer also learned more details of the sergeant's mission and concluded that Benavidez merited a higher honor. Years of red tape followed until finally on February 24, 1981, President Reagan told White House reporters "you are going to hear something you would not believe if it were a script." Reagan then read Roy Benavidez's Citation for the Medal of Honor.

Benavidez however, did not regard himself as a hero. He said of his actions. "The real heroes are the ones who gave their lives for their country, I don't like to be called a hero. I just did what I was trained to do."

In addition to being a recipient of the Medal Of Honor, MSG Benavidez was the recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge for his Viet Nam war service, the Purple Heart Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Viet Nam Campaign Medal with 4 Battle Stars, Viet Nam Service Medal, Air Medal, Master Parachutist Badge, Vietnamese Parachutist Badge, Republic of Viet Nam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and other numerous decorations.

Upon retirement Master Sergeant Benavidez lived in El Campo, Texas, with his wife, Lala, and three children, Noel,Yvette and Denise. He was a member of the: Medal of Honor Society, Legion of Valor, Veterans of Foreign War, Special Operations Association, Alamo Silver Wings Airborne Association, and Special Forces Association, The 82nd Airborne Association, West Point Honorary Alumni Association, and countless other organizations.

An elementary school in Houston, Texas is named Roy P. Benavidez.

Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez died on November 29, 1998. Over 1,500 people attended his funeral to say goodbye. He is buried in the shade of a live oak tree at the Fort Sam Houston National Cementary, a fitting final resting place for someone who gave so much of himself to this great nation. In addition to his heroic actions in combat, he will also be remembered for his work with youths. He spoke at schools and colleges and even runaway shelters. He promoted patriotism, staying-in school, encouraged continuing education, and drug free programs for students. Vision Quest, an organization known for working with problem youths, named a youth boot camp Fort Roy P. Benavidez in Uvalde, Texas after him. Master Sergeant Benavidez was further recognized by the naming of the Roy P. Benavidez Elementary School in Houston, Texas.

In August 1999, the U.S. Army dedicated the $14 million Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez Special Operations Logistics Complex at Fort Bragg, NC.

On September 14, 2000, the U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig announced that the U.S. Navy plans to name a new ship after Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez. The ship, scheduled to be christened next summer as the USNS Benavidez, will be the seventh in a class of large, medium speed roll-on/roll-off sealift ships. Army Secretary Louis Caldera made these remarks on the Navy's announcement:

"Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez was a true American hero, rising from humble origins in South Texas to become an Army legen. Wounded over 40 times as he saved the lives of eight fellow soldiers under heavy fire in Vietnam, he always said he was only doing his duty to his fellow soldiers and to the country he loved. The Navy's recognition of his selfless service is truly an appropriate tribute to Master Sgt. Benavidez's memory, and to the ideals of our nation that he epitomized."

If you would like to read more about Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez's life, before, during and after the Vietnam War, then I recommend that you read his book co-authored with John R. Craig, "Medal of Honor - A Vietnam Warrior's Story" (Brassey's, Inc, 1995).

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Wild Thing's comment.......

De Oppresso Liber!

Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavides

The pilot's name was Larry McKibben.

You will never be forgotten!

God be with these heroes and may they know our hearts are full of thanks and saddness we could not tell them in person how much they meant to our entire country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (6)

January 11, 2011

Tribute To Some Of Our Vietnam Veterans

Special Forces in Vietnam

Wild Thing's comment.......

Thank you and Welcome Home!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (5)

December 22, 2010

Vietnam Wall Christmas

At the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, a Christmas tree tribute now stands to all those who sacrificed

Wild Thing's comment........

I am glad they did this. Our Veterans and all those that have given so much should always be remembered and never forgotten.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (8)

December 17, 2010

Family Seeks Fallen Vietnam Marine's Family After Delivery of Wrong Bible

Harry Brown and his niece, Rita Summitt, hope to find Horace Brown's family

Family seeks fallen Vietnam Marine's family after delivery of wrong Bible

A recently discovered Bible with a wedding date of Christmas Eve has special meaning to two families. One family is trying to find the other.

In 1967, much of the news in the U.S. was about the Vietnam War. That year thousands died in Vietnam, including a Marine believed to be from Greenback.

Harry Brown's young niece, Rita Summitt, watched her grandmother receive the news about his death. Along with the sad information, the military brought the Marine's ribbons and Bible.

"I remember as a child men coming through the door in uniform and her getting really upset," Rita said. "And I remember her saying, 'He's not dead. He's not dead, and that's not my son. That's not his name.' They were trying to tell her my uncle was dead. She was telling them that wasn't him. His name was not Horace. He was Harry."

Rita said her grandmother opened a tin with medals in it and dog tags. "She said that is not his name and that is not his address." They were for Horace Brown, Jr.

However, Rita remembers the men in uniform were insistent that her uncle was dead. They left the Bible and medals with her family.

Rita says a few weeks after that visit, a letter came from her Uncle Harry dated after his supposed death.

Horace Brown, Jr.'s Bible dates to 1958. Information in it says he was in troop 21, likely a Boy Scout troop.

A few weeks ago while Rita was in her attic going through some old things, she rediscovered the Bible.

"This is news to me. For some reason or the other, my mother failed to tell me about this," Harry Brown said. "Evidently Dad was working."

"Yes, he wasn't there," Rita said.

Besides Horace Brown's name, the Bible has other names in it, but no reference to a city or state.

It says Horace Brown, Jr. was married to Barbara Alice Robinson on December 24, 1966 at Christ the King Church. It lists the Rev. E.J. Riley and two witnesses, Fred Cottman and Bernice Robinson.

In the family section, it lists a sister named Pat, a brother named Erwin, and a son, Horace III.

Since Christmas Eve is little more than a week away, Rita wants to find Horace Brown's family. "I just felt like it was laid on my heart. It's one of those things that is eating at you and nagging. I would like to find him," she said.

Rita has gone online searching for Horace Brown, Jr. "And when I just use the name Horace Brown you get mega hits, and there is just no way I can sort through every one of them."

She's also gone to the Vietnam Memorial Wall site, other military sites and civilian sites and tried searches with no luck.

"He wrote on the side, 'God bless Home' so that mean a lot to him. I'm sure it would mean a lot to his family, should they be found," Harry said.

So where is Horace Brown's wife, Barbara Alice Robinson? "I know as a wife, if that were my husband, it would be important to get that Bible back," Rita said.

Christ the King Church is a name used by hundreds of churches when you do a search on Google. The Bible has no reference to a denomination.

If you have any information that might help find the original family, call 865-633-5974.

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Wild Thing's comment........

Wow what a story.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (5)

November 15, 2010

Democrat Pollsters Doug Schoen and Pat Caddell Write Op-ed: Obama Should Decide NOT to Seek Re-election

Democrat Pollsters Doug Schoen and Pat Caddell have written an op-ed appearing in today’s Washington Post arguing that President Obama should decide NOT to seek re-election in 2012:

One and done: To be a great president, Obama should not seek reelection in 2012

The Washington Post

By Douglas E. Schoen and Patrick H. Caddell

Obama must decide now how he wants to govern in the two years leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

In recent days, he has offered differing visions of how he might approach the country’s problems. At one point, he spoke of the need for “mid-course corrections.” At another, he expressed a desire to take ideas from both sides of the aisle. And before this month’s midterm elections, he said he believed that the next two years would involve “hand-to-hand combat” with Republicans, whom he also referred to as “enemies.”

It is clear that the president is still trying to reach a resolution in his own mind as to what he should do and how he should do it.

This is a critical moment for the country. From the faltering economy to the burdensome deficit to our foreign policy struggles, America is suffering a widespread sense of crisis and anxiety about the future. Under these circumstances, Obama has the opportunity to seize the high ground and the imagination of the nation once again, and to galvanize the public for the hard decisions that must be made. The only way he can do so, though, is by putting national interests ahead of personal or political ones.

To that end, we believe Obama should announce immediately that he will not be a candidate for reelection in 2012.

~ snipet ~

We do not come to this conclusion lightly. But it is clear, we believe, that the president has largely lost the consent of the governed. The midterm elections were effectively a referendum on the Obama presidency. And even if it was not an endorsement of a Republican vision for America, the drubbing the Democrats took was certainly a vote of no confidence in Obama and his party. The president has almost no credibility left with Republicans and little with independents.

The best way for him to address both our national challenges and the serious threats to his credibility and stature is to make clear that, for the next two years, he will focus exclusively on the problems we face as Americans, rather than the politics of the moment - or of the 2012 campaign.

~ snipet ~

It is no secret that we have been openly critical of the president in recent days, but we make this proposal with the deepest sincerity and hope for him and for the country.

We have both advised presidents facing great national crises and have seen challenges from inside the Oval Office. We are convinced that if Obama immediately declares his intention not to run for reelection, he will be able to unite the country, provide national and international leadership, escape the hold of the left, isolate the right and achieve results that would be otherwise unachievable.

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Wild Thing's comment........

Pat Caddell has been publically BLASTING Obama for several months, now, in print and on TV. Not sure what is up with these two pollsters doing this article, but one thing for sure Obama probably won't like it at all.

Actually both Pat and Doug have been very critical of the Obama Team regarding strategy, policy and public relations for awhile now. Doug and Pat need to wake up, smell the coffee and realize that the Democrat Party they once knew no longer exists.

Obama will never admit he’s blown it. He can't understand that America most of us anyway do not want a socialist, communist thrid world America.

Jihad Obama has nothing but contempt for Americans, and I hope our rejection of him on 2 Nov is eating at him like acid, however little value he places on our opinion. He deserves to suffer for the suffering his policies have inflicted on us.

Do you think this is some kind of game plan though, writing this article??? One has to wonder when democrats are involved.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (5)

October 05, 2010

"God's Own Lunatics" by Joe Galloway,The Video by The Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry

God's Own Lunatics by Joe Galloway Video by the Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry

This is also there website:

http://northwestvets.com/spurs/spurs.htm

God's Own Lunatics by Joe Galloway put to pictures by the Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry, Vietnam '67-'72.

"We had the honor of having Joe Galloway as our keynote speaker for our 2008 Silver Spur reunion. He will return to be our speaker once again in April 2010. Joe is a true friend of all military veterans and those who serve our beloved nation today".

Joe Kline has captured the teamwork, commitment, and devotion to duty required to complete the mission of extracting a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol under heavy enemy fire.

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Wild Thing's comment.........

I love this, it has the sacred whop, whop, whop of the Huey blades.

"God's Own Lunatics" is the phrase coined by noted reporter, Joe Galloway, as a description of respect and admiration for helicopter crews, and their willingness to go anywhere, anytime, in support of ground combat forces.

Joe Galloway was a reporter at the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley 1965. He co wrote, "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young" with Col. Hal Moore, the US commander of the battle. This battle was the initiation of the airmobile concept and the US force was the First Air Cav.

Welcome home to all our Vietnam Veterans.

Thanks too to Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry, Vietnam '67-'72. for putting this together.

The squadrons from the 17th Cav are still very active today and have been deployed both in Iraq & Afghanistan. The 3-17th is currently in Afghanistan.

During the Vietnam War, Joe Galloway often worked alongside the troops he covered and was awarded a Bronze Star for carrying wounded men to safety.

Galloway is a native of Refugio, Texas. His first wife Theresa M. Galloway (May 12, 1948-January 26, 1996) died of cancer. They had two sons, Joshua and Lee. In 1998, Galloway married Karen Metsker, daughter of Capt. Tom Metsker, a battalion intelligence officer killed in the Vietnam War. Galloway now resides in his home county of Refugio County, Texas in Bayside in a cottage overlooking Copano Bay.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (3)

October 02, 2010

Army Bids Goodbye to Last Draftee Who Served in Vietnam

Chief Warrant Officer Clyde Green and his wife Veria, in front of their house on base. Chief Warrant Officer Clyde Green, one of the last men drafted into the Army, and a Vietnam veteran, is retiring after 40 years of service in a ceremony to be held at Fort McPherson Sept. 30, 2010

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Two year old Jeremiah Green, staying with his grandparents for the retirement ceremony, looks up to his grandfather, Chief Warrant Officer Clyde Green.

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Last draftee who served in Vietnam retires

Army Bids Goodbye to Last Draftee

He was a kid who didn't want to be a Soldier. There was a war in Vietnam and a peace movement in America.

But then he got the government's letter and soon found himself on a cold December morning in 1970 in front of a post office in Sumter, S.C., listening to a Soldier read names until he heard his: "Clyde Green!" With that, the 20-year-old kid climbed on the bus headed to a U.S. Army base.

"I didn't want to join the Army," Green said last week. "The Army came and got me."

When he retired as a chief warrant officer in a ceremony this morning at Fort McPherson, Ga. --- after 39 years, 9 months and 15 days of continuous active duty --- he became, by the best accounting, the last U.S. Army draftee who fought in Vietnam.

"It's hard for us to speak in absolutes," said Richard Stewart, chief historian for the U.S. Army Center of Military History. "We're not good at keeping records like that. As soon as we say he's the last, another four will pop up. But he's certainly one of the last."

Finding a purpose

It is hard to imagine now the days when soldiering wasn't always by choice, when supporting the troops could involve a great deal more than car decals and applauding troops in uniform in airports. Often, it meant you might be one of them. It also meant you might go to war and it meant you might not come back.

Green, 60, is perhaps the last human link to those days.

The Army ended the draft in 1973 and at least one other draftee is still on active duty. But he was drafted later than Green and didn't serve in Vietnam. Green couldn't imagine serving in Vietnam either. At the time, his brother Willie was already in the Army, serving in the Signal Corps and stationed at Fort Gordon in Augusta. But Green wanted no part of this man's Army.

"When I got that letter, I thought my whole world was ending," he said.

The bus ride, induction and boot camp in Fort Knox, Ky., in January confirmed there was, indeed, a new world order and Green was at the bottom of it --- freezing his fanny.

"It was cold and really tough at first," he said. "But then I kind of got where I enjoyed it, once I figured out who was in charge."

The discipline of military life he had feared became a comfort.

"I liked the order," he said. And his uncertainty about what to study in college was suddenly a riddle solved: "I really liked the idea of military intelligence."

For the next four decades the kid who grew up on a farm in South Carolina, whose dreams had once stretched no farther than Orangeburg and South Carolina State University, traveled the world and lived a Soldier's life. Over time, the reluctant draftee became the career Soldier.

Attitudes change

He rose from enlisted man to chief warrant officer in military intelligence and served extended tours in Italy and South Korea. He visited 41 countries and posted in places --- the Middle East, Asia and East Africa --- he barely knew of, along with two stretches in the place he can least forget: Vietnam.

Green served his first stint there from June 1971 to May 1972 as an "intelligence Soldier," deciphering information gathered in the field. He examined captured equipment to determine, for instance, how many rounds an enemy anti-aircraft gun could fire. He interrogated captured enemy Soldiers in a war that a growing number of Americans opposed back home.

That experience, as a Soldier serving his country without any choice and risking his life, without much appreciation, still stings.

"At the time, we weren't really loved by the American people," Green said. "I never personally experienced it, but there was hostility. It was a different time. People weren't as supportive of the military."

It would be 23 years before Green returned to Vietnam. By then he had fought in his second war, the Persian Gulf in 1990. And he found America a different place for a returning Soldier, even an old draftee, by then a bit grizzled, who had served in Vietnam.

"If you were in uniform in public, people would come up and start talking to you," he said, "and tell you what a good job you're doing."

His second trip to Vietnam came with the Vietnam Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (MIA/POW), to seek any prisoners of war still in captivity and determine what happened to more than 1,700 Americans still missing in action in Southeast Asia. From 1995 to 2001, he and his team searched, scoured for remains and interviewed scores of witnesses.

They found no POWs but determined the fate of three MIAs, one of them an Army captain who served in Green's unit when he was in Vietnam the first time. They didn't find Capt. Frederick Krupa's remains, but they determined he was killed.

"He was shot in a helicopter and fell out during an extraction, so we were able to list him as KIA [killed in action]," Green said.

'Served ... with distinction'

At today's ceremony, Lt. Gen. Richard P. Zahner will praise the man believed to be the Army's longest serving draftee as a Soldier who "has served his country with distinction and has touched the lives of countless men and women in uniform," and who has contributed immeasurably to the Army's Military Intelligence in his 30 years as a warrant officer.

Green's family from all over the country will be there: his sons Brian, 29, and Stephen, 27, and wife of 34 years, Veria. He'll live at Fort McPherson for two more months --- "I have to pay rent now" --- in what, fittingly, is the oldest house on base, built in 1887.

After that, he has a farm in North Carolina where he might settle, unless Veria wins that argument and they move to Arizona.

"I hope I can talk her into it," he said.

And if he doesn't, it won't be the first time Clyde Green's plans for the rest of his life changed.

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Wild Thing's comment.......

Congratulations and thank you Cheif Warrant Officer Clyde Green!!

Great story, God bless Clyde Green and his family.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (7)

October 01, 2010

Welcome Home - Vietnam Veterans

Welcome Home - Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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A helicopter hovers over the field, ready to load personnel and equipment during Operation Masher in the Vietnam War, May 7, 1966. (AP Photo)

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A U.S. Marine shows a message written on the back of his flack vest at the Khe Sanh combat base in Vietnam on Feb. 21, 1968 during the Vietnam War. The quote reads, "Caution: Being a Marine in Khe Sanh may be hazardous to your health." Khe Sanh had been subject to increased rocket and artillery attacks from the North Vietnamese troops in the area. (AP Photo/Rick Merron)

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Captured: A Look Back at the Vietnam War on the 35th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon

Denver Post Photo Blog website

The photos offer a look back at the Vietnam War from the escalation of U.S. involvement in the early 1960’s to the Fall of Saigon in 1975.

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Wild Thing's comment.......

The website of Photo Blog has 141 photos and they also explain what each one is. It is really well done and they shown the good guys our warriros and the enemy the left war protestors.

Thank you to each one of you Vietnam Veterans, you are America's heroes and mine.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (4)

August 16, 2010

1st Battalion 9th Marines Network 2010 Reunion

1st Battalion 9th Marines Network 2010 Reunion

General Peter Pace-Guest Speaker

1st Battalion, 9th Marines T-shirt

First Battalion Ninth Marines Network Biennial Reunion

WASHINGTON D.C. REUNION

AUGUST 18-22, 2010
SHERATON NATIONAL HOTEL, ARLINGTON VA

General Honored Guest Speaker Peter Pace, USMC Ret.

Here is the proposed agenda for the D.C. Reunion. It is about 95% complete - the dates and events are set. Final details are being resolved and will be completed soon.

August 18 (Wednesday) - CHECK IN & REGISTRATION (After 3:00 PM) The Hospitality Room will be open.

August 19 (Thursday) – USMC MUSEUM – Buses will depart at 8:30 AM and arrive back at the hotel at approximately 4:00-4:30 PM, lunch will be on your own at the museum. Those that have visited the Museum are ready to go back again and for those who haven’t been there yet this is a must see. Approximate bus cost $36.00 per person.

August 19 (Thursday) – WELCOME RECEPTION & MEMORIAL SERVICE. The top floor of the hotel has a commanding view of Washington, D.C. The Welcome Reception will begin at 8:00 PM; a cash bar will be available. After sunset the Memorial Service will begin.

August 20 (Friday) – IWO JIMA MEMORIAL & the VIETNAM MEMORIAL. Buses will depart at 9:00 AM for the Iwo Jima Memorial and then continue to the Vietnam Memorial where the Battalion will assemble and conduct a wreath laying ceremony at “The Wall”. After the ceremony time will be allowed to visit the other Memorials located on the National Mall. Tour bus costs are being negotiated and will be provided at a later date. Buses will return at approximately 12:30PM.

August 20 (Friday) – DINNER MARINE CORPS BARRACKS & EVENING PARADE. Buses will depart hotel at approximately 5:00 PM for a short trip to Marine Barracks at 8th & I where dinner will be provided in the Mess Hall. Following dinner, seats have been reserved for the “Evening Parade”. Buses will return to the hotel at approximately 11:00 PM.

August 21 (Saturday) – MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS MEETING. The meeting will begin at 11:00 AM and continue until all matters of business are complete.

August 21 (Saturday) – DINNER BANQUET. The evening will began at 6:30 PM with a cash bar social hour followed by dinner and dancing. The guest speaker for the banquet is General Peter Pace. It is estimated that the cost for the dinner will be $45.00-$50.00 per person based on menu choice.

August 22 (Sunday) – Farewell Breakfast

Please call the Sheraton National Hotel direct to make room reservations ASAP.

RESERVATION TELEPHONE NUMBER: 1 (888) 627-8210 or 1 (703) 521-1900.
The GROUP NUMBER is 7936

And this is another one listed to be in September....

September 7-10, 2010
Las Vegas, NV

Contact: Robert W. Stewart
Phone: (727) 581-5454
Email: threenineusmc@aol.com

Official Website of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines

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Wild Thing's comment.....

This is great!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (2)

August 03, 2010

Where or When ....Vietnam War tribute

This is a great Dion DiMucci song, Where or When. This video is a tribute to the men who fought and died in the Vietnam War.

The video mostly pictures American soldiers, but there are also combat photos of ARVN, Australian, South Korean, and North Vietnamese troops.

Vietnam War veterans 1956-1975... Thank you.

Wild Thing's comment...........

Really well done video.

Thank you to all our Vietnam Veterans.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (13)

June 03, 2010

Dad's Rootbeer Was One Of The Sponsors for Indy 500 and Has Also Been To Vietnam

Two G.I.s drinking Dad's Root Beer on hilltop near A Shah Valley Vietnam June 1968

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Dad’s is one of America’s most popular soft drinks. The beverage was developed in Chicago in February of 1937, and its unique and delicious flavor has earned it a loyal following. Chicago Distilled Water & Beverage Company filed the first Dad’s trademark registration on September 24,1938. The Dad’s Root Beer Company, Chicago, filed a trademark registration February 14, 1939.

"We are very excited to have Dad's Root Beer as the primary for the No. 24 car. This is a perfect example of how our relationship has grown and how valuable our partnership has become. We look forward to an exciting month," commented Robbie Buhl, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing co-owner.

Wild Thing's comment.........

This is wonderful that Dad's rootbeer included our troops in Vietnam with their drink at Dad's Rootbbeer History page at their website.

.... Thank you Jim for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (3)

May 30, 2010

Rolling Thunder 2010 Memorial Weekend and Enemy Within Obama Will Not Be There ~ GOOD!

The roar of hundreds of thousands of motorcycles will fill the streets of our nation’s capital this weekend in tribute to military members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to our country as prisoners of war (POW) or who have been reported missing in action (MIA) as Rolling Thunder 2010 gets underway in Washington, D.C.

Started in 1987 by four Vietnam Veterans as “a demonstration to bring awareness to the plight of POWs and soldiers who are MIA,” the event has grown from its humble beginnings into a monumental patriotic tribute to soldiers and veterans from all wars that is appropriately held over Memorial Day weekend.

Rolling Thunder First Amendment Demonstration Run Washington, DC. This annual run to bring awareness to the POW/MIA full accountability issue will take place on May 30th this year.

The idea for Rolling Thunder was the brainstorm of Ray Manzo, Corporal USMC, who wanted to “host a motorcycle run in the nation's capital to show the country and the world that abandoned American soldiers in Vietnam still mattered to their fellow servicemen and the country for which they sacrificed their freedom.” Fellow veterans embraced his idea and helped turn the dream into reality, including retired Army Sergeant Major John Holland, head of the American Foundation for Accountability of POW/MIAs, Ted Sampley with Homecoming II Project at the Last Firebase vigil, retired Marine 1st Sergeant Walt Sides, president of the non-profit Warriors Inc,, and Bob Schmitt who had a POW family member. It is said that when Manzo discussed his idea of forming a motorcycle run to the group, Schmitt was staring in the direction of the Memorial Bridge while listening to Manzo's idea and blurted out, "It will be the sound of rolling thunder coming across that bridge.” The name has stuck since.

The first Rolling Thunder was an exercise of the First Amendment "Right to Petition and Assemble" and consisted of approximately 2500 motorcycles who rode through the streets of Washington, D.C. “in an attempt to petition the government to take responsibility for the soldiers that were abandoned after the Vietnam War ended.” The ride has since grown to mammoth proportions, as hundreds of thousands yearly make the trek to D.C. to honor our servicemen and women and POWs and MIAs from all wars.

Rolling Thunder 2010 Schedule
Friday, May 28, 2010
Candlelight Vigil - 9:00 p.m.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wreathlaying Ceremony – 10:00 a.m.
U.S. Navy Memorial
701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. (On the Plaza)

Saluting Our Troops - noon - 5:00 p.m.
Reflecting Pool Base of the Lincoln Memorial

Sunday, May 30, 2010
Rolling Thunder will assemble at the Pentagon Parking Lot - 7:00 a.m. - Noon.
Departure To Washington, D.C. - Noon
Musical Tribute - 1:00 p.m.
Speaker Program - 1:30 p.m.
The Stage is located at the Reflecting Pool across from the Lincoln Memorial.

Rolling Thunder at Facebook

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Obama Snubs Vietnam Vets of Rolling Thunder

Maybe he doesn't like the sound of hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riding freedom-fighters roaring through the streets of D.C. all day and night for four days?

Barack Obama is turning his back on the Vietnam veterans of Rolling Thunder who will gathering in Washington, D.C. this Memorial Day weekend for their 23rd annual demonstration to remind the nation of those servicemembers still missing or held as prisoners of war.

In addition to skipping out on his duties at Arlington National Cemetery so he can vacation at the family mansion in Chicago, Obama will be cancelling what, under President George W. Bush, had become a traditional meeting at the White House between Rolling Thunder and the administration.

Last year, after initially rebuffing the veterans group, the Obama administration invited Rolling Thunder at the last minute for a low-key meeting that Obama dropped in on.

Even though Obama toyed with them, Rolling Thunder released a gracious statement praising Obama and his wife for their attention given to veterans and military families.

This year, according to Jennifer Harper's Inside the Beltway column at the Washington Times, the Obama White House has frozen out Rolling Thunder completely. No meeting with staffers, no sit down with Vice President Joe Biden who is remaining in Washington, no nothing.

I wonder if Obama will pal around this weekend with his Chicago neighbor and friend Bill Ayers, the terrorist whose group, the Weather Underground, plotted to murder soldiers at Fort Dix with a massive nail bomb during the Vietnam War.

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Wild Thing's comment.........

Obama is a classless, arrogant,Marxist Muslim homosexual poser who deserves impeachment and a trial for treason.

Yes I know the good news is he won't be there, I agree with that too. I was torn when I first heard about his snub to Arlington, because I want the Office of the President to be there.

But thinking more about it, it would be a travesty for Obama to come anywhere near Arlington, or to attend Rolling Thunder. He is the enemy within, period! He is a communist fascist and our Memorials are to those who fought and died fighting communism and fascism.

UPDATE: Also I saw online at Rolling Thunder they have a press release that says :

Gen. Richard B. Myers, USAF (Ret.) will be the keynote speaker on May 30 ( hmmmm going against Obama's wishes apparently )

So far the speakers are:

Other speakers for the Sunday program include:

• Rolling Thunder Executive Director Sgt. Artie Muller

• Former Green Beret, Operation Enduring Freedom veteran and U.S. Senate candidate from Arkansas Trevor Drown

• Veterans’ activist and long-time Rolling Thunder supporter Nikki Mendocino

• Dolores Alfond, national chairperson, National Alliance of Families of POWs/MIAs

• Johnie E. Webb, deputy to the commander for public relations and legislative affairs, Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC)

Trevor Drown is a friend of mine and is there this weekend and has been doing updates at his Facebook page. You might like to friend him there as well. Trevoe served as a Green Beret in Afghanistan. While in the Special Forces he saw firsthand what happens in countries without democracy.

His Facebook page .

Trevor Drown

And this is his campaign page. Trevor Drown for US Senate (I) Arkansas:

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (8)

May 18, 2010

'Family Guy" TV Show Hits Rock Bottom As They Attack Dead Soldiers From The Vietnam War!

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Here’s what happens: On a search to find the source of all dirty jokes (which eventually leads them to Virginia) Peter, Quagmire, and Joe pass through Washington, DC where they see the Washington Monument, the Obama Monument (it’s black) and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Standing in front of the Memorial are two Vietnam Vets and a Vietnamese man who calls the Memorial a “scoreboard” and says “aw, what happened to your friends? Hey I know that guy, I killed him, he cried like a bitch. Vietnam! Undefeated!”

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Wild Thing's comment........

I have never watched this show but this kind of thing crosses the line BIG TIME!

I googled Seth MacFarlane the creator of the show, he is a Democrat and an atheist. The kind that can’t seem to get down in the gutter enough.

He has donated over $50,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama. per wikipukia.

Obsviously " Famiy Guy" is not a funny show. I have seen the other one a couple of times..... South Park and they can be funny, plus South Park is NOT Seth MacFarlne and South Park is the one that made fun of Muhammad that all the Muslims got ticked about.

.... Thank you Jim for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (9)

May 08, 2010

For Those Like Me That Love The Huey ~ Thank You Veterans and Troops!

This video is footage from various sources of the huey helicopter at work. It includes different models of the world's best helicopter. The song is by "Airtime" .

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Wild Thing's comment........

Excellent video.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (7)

May 01, 2010

Buddies, Hometowns Honor Last Two Marines Killed in Vietnam War

Cpl. Charles McMahon, left, and Lance Cpl. Darwin L. Judge were the last Marines killed in the Vietnam War

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South Vietnamese soldiers run across the tarmac during an attack April 30, 1975, at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Airport.

Buddies, hometowns honor last two Marines killed in Vietnam War

CNN

A blue-eyed Eagle Scout from Iowa and an athletic daredevil from Massachusetts hold a place in history that no one wanted for them.

On April 29, 1975, Lance Cpl. Darwin L. Judge, 19, and Cpl. Charles McMahon, 21, became the last Americans killed in action in the Vietnam War.

After the U.S. withdrawal in 1973, about the only Americans left in South Vietnam were a few dozen Marines assigned to guard the U.S. Embassy in Saigon and four consulate offices in other cities.

As North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces pressed in on the South Vietnamese capital in April 1975, McMahon and Judge were sent to the air base at Tan Son Nhut Airport to help with the evacuation of U.S. diplomats.

"They had only been in country for about seven days," said John Ghilain, who was a member of the Marine Security Guard Battalion with Judge and McMahon. Their commanders had sent them to the air base thinking it would be safer for the new arrivals.

"It was just a harsh reality that when everything went south, that's where they were," said Ghilain, 55, of Medford, Massachusetts.

About 4 a.m., an enemy rocket scored a direct hit on the checkpoint Judge and McMahon were manning, killing both instantly, said Ken Crouse, 55, of Folsom, California, who also served with them.

Judge had graduated from boot camp at the top of his class and probably was assigned embassy duty as a reward, said Crouse, who had trained with him for guard duty in Arlington, Virginia, outside Washington.

"That's not the type of duty that most people would end up with on their first tour out of boot camp," he said.

By all accounts, Judge was an outstanding young citizen of Marshalltown, Iowa, even before he joined the Marine Corps. He played guitar in his youth group at Hope United Methodist Church and carried groceries for customers at Clifton's grocery, said his older sister, Lori Desaulniers of Marshalltown.

He played second base for his Little League team and helped his brother Loren with his paper route before getting his own. Darwin and his friends rode dirt bikes, and he often rode out to the countryside to help farmers load hay. He was a gifted woodworker, Desaulniers said; his last project, a grandfather clock, keeps time to this day in the home of his 85-year-old mother, Ida.

He was cute, too.

Last to die?
Marine Cpl. Charles McMahon and Lance Cpl. Darwin Judge are generally believed to be the last U.S. military personnel killed in action on the ground in the Vietnam War. However, some would argue that others are more accurately described as the last Americans killed in the conflict.

• Capt. William C. Nystul and 1st Lt. Michael J. Shea perished when their helicopter crashed during a search-and-rescue mission from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock about 18 hours after McMahon and Judge were killed. Their bodies were never recovered.

• Two weeks after the war ended, a U.S. merchant ship, the Mayaguez, was captured by Cambodia's new Khmer Rouge regime. Although the crew had already been released, 41 U.S. Marines, sailors and airmen were killed during the rescue operation.

• Numerous U.S. service members have died since the war of injuries and ailments sustained during the conflict.
RELATED TOPICS
Vietnam War
U.S. Marine Corps
Iowa
Massachusetts
Boy Scouts of America
"Gorgeous, gorgeous blue eyes. Long eyelashes of which I was very envious," his sister said. "His baby face was so incongruent with the military uniform."

Marshalltown is the kind of wholesome place that could produce a boy like that, said Crouse, who visits the town annually to present a $1,000 scholarship in Judge's honor.

"He was an Eagle Scout in Marshalltown and grew up just a real active, positive, vibrant member of the community," Crouse said. "Everyone that I speak with is always, 'Oh, Darwin did this for me. Darwin did that for me.' His mother still flies the flag on the flagpole that he built as an Eagle Scout project. Marshalltown is purely the heartland of America ... and I think that a lot of those qualities and a lot of that character really exemplified itself in the Marine that I met in Washington and later showed up in Saigon."

Charles "Charlie" McMahon of Woburn, Massachusetts, was a fun-loving Pied Piper who attracted followers effortlessly, said George Holland, his best friend from the age of 10.

The two boys met at the Woburn Boys Club, where they swam in the pool and played games. Together they became lifeguards and then swimming directors at the club, and McMahon was named president of its community service group, Holland said.

"To give a speech or something on that end, not his cup of tea," Holland said. "He led by example. He was president of our Keystone Club there at the club. He definitely had leadership ability. People just gravitated toward him: If Charlie was doing it, everybody wanted to do it."

He had a bit of a wild streak, too, Holland said. The boys spent summers at Massachusetts' Hampton Beach, where they got jobs as lifeguards.

"He would express himself through activity, like jumping off the Hampton Beach bridge during Labor Day traffic -- you got cars backing up bumper to bumper. ... You're going out with Charlie, you know you're going to have a blast."

McMahon's initial plan was to join the Marine Corps, train as a military police officer and then come out and become a state police officer, said Holland, 56, a heavy-equipment operator in Woburn. But after some time in the service, the military started to look more like a career.

"He loved the Marines as much as anybody I ever saw in the Marines," said Holland, who served in the Corps for four years. "Hard to say, but I think he would have stayed in the Marines a long time."

It's been a long time since those Marines fought their way out of Saigon, but in the spirit of Semper Fi, they never forget.

The survivors formed the Fall of Saigon Marines Association to keep McMahon and Judge's memories alive. The association, with 65 surviving members, awards $1,000 scholarships each spring to an Eagle Scout in Marshalltown and to the "Top Boy" and "Top Girl" at the Boys and Girls Club of Woburn.

"They're a great group of guys," said Desaulniers, Judge's sister. "Several of them send Christmas cards to my mother, which she really appreciates. She calls them her boys."

On Saturday morning, Desaulniers and about 40 members of that exclusive club will gather at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to remember.

When the group first went to Marshalltown in 2000, Desaulniers questioned their motives, Ghilain said.

"I looked at her, and I said, 'There's nothing in this for us. ... Nobody's making a thing off of this. But what you will see is that something good is going to come out of this.' "

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Wild Thing's comment.........

We will never ever forget the warriors that have served our country and given so much and so many that will always be missed.

This story above is from HERE, a link at Facebook about our Marines........ and I also wanted to share about this. Marine Week is coming to Boston May 3 - 9, 2010. The week-long event will honor and recognize the contributions of Marines with air-ground demos, Marine band performances, sports clinics and much more.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (3)

April 22, 2010

David Ball - Riding With Private Malone

The story in "Riding with Private Malone" tells of a young man that just got out of the military and how he saw a classified ad for a Chevrolet. When he saw the car, he realized it was a 1966 Corvette and before he drove away he found a note in the glove box that was from another young man. It said "If you are reading this I didn't make it out of the war and I hope you take care of my car." A while after the purchase the young man got into a horrible crash, a witness said they thought they saw a soldier pull him out of the car and he knew who it was - his hero was Private Andrew Malone. They were riding together that night.

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Lyrics:
I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds
When an ad that said:"Old Chevy" somehow caught my eye
The lady didn't know the year,or even if it ran
But I had that thousand dollars in my hand

It was way back in the corner of this old ramshackle barn
With thirty years of dust and dirt on that green army tarp
And when I pulled the cover off, it took away my breath
What she called a Chevy was a sixty six Corvette

I felt a little guilty as I counted out the bills
Oh what a thrill I got when I sat behind the wheel
I opened up the glove box and that's when I found the note
The date was nineteen-sixty six and this is what he wrote:

He said, "My name is Private Andrew Malone"
"And If you're reading this, then I didn't make it home"
"But for every dream that shattered, another one comes true"
"This car was once a dream of mine, now it belongs to you"
"Though you may take her and make her your own"
"You'll always be riding with Private Malone"

Well it didn't take me long at all, I had her running good
I love to hear those horses thunder underneath her hood
I had her shining like a diamond and I'd put the rag top down
All the pretty girls would stop and stare as I drove her through town

The buttons on the radio didn't seem to work quite right
But it picked up that oldies show, especially late at night
I'd get the feeling sometimes, if I turned real quick I'd see
A soldier ridin' shotgun in the seat right next to me

It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone
Who fought for his country and never made it home
But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of his back when it was new
He told me to take her and make her my own
And I was proud to be riding with Private Malone

One night it was raining hard, I took the curve too fast
I still dont remember much about that fiery crash
But someone said they thought they saw a soldier pull me out
They didn't get his name, but I know without a doubt

It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone
Who fought for his country and never made it home
But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of his back when it was new
And I know I wouldn't be here if he hadn't tagged along
That night I was riding with Private Malone
Oh, thank God, I was riding with Private Malone

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Wild Thing's comment.......

This is really good, I had not heard about this before. It is such a sad story though and it is a true story he sings about.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:49 AM | Comments (3)

April 07, 2010

Vietnam-era Photo hanging in a Cafe Unearths Memories, Emotions

Family photographs of Army Sgt. John E. Miller, who died in Vietnam in 1966, lay on a table at the West Side Cafe in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Ada Randall, sister-in-law of Army Sgt. John E. Miller poses for a portrait at West Side Cafe in Fort Worth, Texas

Vietnam-era photo hanging in a cafe unearths memories, emotions

Stars and Stripes

FORT WORTH, Texas

War has a way of surfacing at the most improbable times and unlikely places.

The hostess and waitresses at the West Side Cafe can attest.

Not long ago, on an ordinary, crowded Thursday morning, a man visiting from Ohio came in for a plate of bacon and eggs, saw a photo on the wall and dissolved into tears, unable to speak.

The small portrait, just a few steps from the cash register, was of Army Sgt. John E. Miller, a man he had fought to save in a battle in South Vietnam nearly 44 years ago.

Within the span of a few minutes, Galen Taylor's spring break visit to Fort Worth had transformed from seeing the kids and grandkids to reuniting with Miller's family. The process unearthed distant memories and raw emotions — not all of them exactly welcome.

"I just couldn't believe seeing that picture down there," Taylor said by phone, having returned to Cincinnati.

Miller's sister-in-law, Ada Randall, could hardly believe it either. It was her idea to hang Miller's picture on the cafe wall a few months ago, not expecting to talk to someone who had been among the last to see him alive.

"It was like I had gotten a message from Johnny," she said. "It shook me up for several days."

Taylor had no idea of Miller's connections to Fort Worth.

Miller's hometown was always listed as West Point, Ill., where he grew up with six siblings. In 1954, at 18, he enlisted in the Army and found his way to Fort Wolters in Mineral Wells.

That's where he met Bonnie Ashby, who lived in Weatherford with her family. They married on June 1, 1955, in her church in Weatherford.

The Army seemed to take Miller away regularly. He did two tours in South Korea, another in Germany. His wife and two sons kept their home in Granbury.

"They had very little time together, except when he was on leave," Randall said.

He arrived in Vietnam in October 1965 as part of the initial buildup of major combat forces. He was with his two best friends from Fort Wolters days — Wade Linder and Vicente Rodriguez, all of them members of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry.

Rodriguez was killed May 12, and per his request, Miller had escorted his body from Vietnam back to Pharr in the Rio Grande Valley.

Before he headed back, he sat on the porch of Randall's house in Fort Worth.

"He didn't think he would come back," Randall said of that conversation. "I said, 'Oh, don't say things like that.' "

On June 11, 1966, about 9:30 in the morning, Miller was fatally shot in the head just after he single-handedly attacked and silenced a machine gun nest with grenades during a fierce battle in a rubber plantation. He earned the Silver Star posthumously for his bravery.

Thirty-four men from 2nd Battalion would die that morning in the same firefight.

Taylor survived his wounds, received as he laid down fire for two other men to retrieve Miller's body.

"He was all Army," Taylor said of Miller. "He was there to look out for his men. He was a good man."

Miller had been back in Vietnam three days.

Linder — the only one of the three best friends still alive — escorted Miller's body to Granbury, where he was buried by the same minister who married him. Linder, who insisted on seeing his friend's body in state, pinned the Silver Star on his uniform and closed the casket forever.

"I still remember Eddie running out of the church and waving as they loaded his dad's casket in the hearse," Randall said of Miller's oldest son.

Taylor, whose children have lived in the Fort Worth area for years, had eaten in the West Side Cafe many times. He even ate there several days on this visit. But the difference on that Thursday was that he had to wait for a table, which gave him time to look at the photos on the walls.

"I saw this big man just burst into tears," said Angela Rowell, the morning hostess at the cafe. "I asked him, 'Are you OK, sir?' He just pointed at that picture."

Eventually, he managed to get out: "That's the man whose body I pulled out of Vietnam."

Everyone at the cafe hoped to see Randall that morning, but she was running late after having dropped off uniform alterations at Naval Air Station Fort Worth. Taylor had just left when she walked in the door.

"We couldn't wait for her to get here," Rowell said. "We attacked her as soon as we saw her."

Over the next three days, Taylor met with Randall, two more of Miller's sisters, and finally, his two sons. (Miller's widow, Bonnie, died in 2001.)

Eddie and Ronnie Miller, both young boys when their dad was killed, still live in Granbury.

For Taylor, the visit proved to be deeply satisfying, but exhausting too. He has been going to counseling the last two years for post-traumatic stress, feelings and thoughts from Vietnam that seemed to manifest themselves after he retired from working.

"The visit took its toll on me mentally and physically," he said. "But I was very happy to find that picture."

.

Wild Thing's comment........

What a great story. Amazing!

.... Thank you Jim for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (6)

Hanoi Jane - Communist and Traitor Said On Larry King Show "Hanoi Jane ‘Myth’ ‘Created by Right-Wingers,’

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Jane Fonda Decries Hanoi Jane ‘Myth’ ‘Created by Right-Wingers,’

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2010/04/06/jane-fonda-decries-hanoi-jane-myth-created-right-wingers-palin-popula#ixzz0kOxxatxe

Newsbusters

On Monday’s Larry King Live on CNN, guest Jane Fonda portrayed herself as a victim of a “myth” that was “created” by “right-wingers” about her infamous “Hanoi Jane” visit to Vietnam to protest the Vietnam War. Without specifying what aspect of the “Hanoi Jane” story she considered to be a fallacy, though the “Product Description” at Amazon.com seems to shed some light on what she was referring to, she claimed that author Jerry Lembcke’s new book, “Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal,” is “about the myth,” and asserted that it is “sad” that some conservatives are “still stuck in the past”:

LARRY KING: Twitter question, King's Things got a number of Tweets referring to you as "Hanoi Jane." There's a new book coming out, get this, "Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal."

JANE FONDA: Yes, it's a good book.

KING: You know the book?

FONDA: Yeah, I advertise it on my blog.

KING: It seems to be a book critical of you.

JANE FONDA: No, it’s about the myth, you know, why it is that 300 people went to North Vietnam, people, many people before me, why me, why have they created this myth? You know, when I came back from North Vietnam, there was maybe a quarter of an inch of media about it in the New York Times. Nobody made any big deal out of it. It was created, and some people are stuck-

LARRY KING: By critics?

FONDA: By right wingers. There are some people who are like stuck there, you know, they’re still stuck in the past. I always want to say, “Get a life,” or, you know, “Read what really happened,” you know. The myths are now true.

Referring to people who sometimes protest against her, she continued: "But it makes me sad for these people who are stuck because they've not taken the time – if they're going to waste their energy on hatred, they should take the time in finding out what was really true."

The "Product Description" of the book at Amazon.com contends:

Hanoi Jane, the book, deconstructs Hanoi Jane, the myth, to locate its origins in the need of Americans to explain defeat in Vietnam through fantasies of home-front betrayal and the emasculation of the national will-to-war. Lembcke shows th t the expression Hanoi Jane did not reach the eyes and ears of most Americans until five or six years after the end of the war in Vietnam. By then, anxieties about America s declining global status and deteriorating economy were fueling a populist reaction that pointed to the loss of the war as the taproot of those problems. Blaming the antiwar movement for undermining the military s resolve, many found in the imaginary Hanoi Jane the personification of their stab-in-the back theories.

Ground zero of the myth was the city of Hanoi itself, which Jane Fonda had visited as a peace activist in July 1972. Rumors surrounding Fonda s visits with U.S. POWs and radio broadcasts to troops combined to conjure allegations of treason that had cost American lives. That such tales were more imagined than real did not prevent them from insinuating themselves into public memory, where they have continued to infect American politics and culture.

Hanoi Jane is a book about the making of Hanoi Jane by those who saw a formidable threat in the Jane Fonda who supported soldiers and veterans opposed to the war they fought, in the postcolonial struggle of the Vietnamese people to make their own future, and in the movements of women everywhere for gender equality.

When asked by host King what she thought of Sarah Palin, after asserting that "she should not be a politician, in my opinion," and that it is "sad when someone says I'm going to run for office and they can't answer basic questions, you know, about the world, about what they read, about history," the left-wing actress concluded that Palin’s popularity "worries me, frankly."

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Wild Thing's comment......

She can go to hell!!!!!!!!! She should have been taken into custody then executed the minute she stepped back on US soil.

My post from March 16, 2006 .................... my Hanoi Jane Encounter.

Here are the transcripts of Fonda's 1972 broadcasts on Radio Hanoi

November 22, 1970 -- During a fund-raising tour for GI deserters, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and the Black

Panthers, Jane Fonda is quoted in the Detroit Free Press as telling a University of Michigan audience:
"I would think that if you understood what communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees that we would someday become communist," and "The peace proposal of the Viet Cong is the only honorable, just, possible way to achieve peace in Vietnam."

January, 1971: Jane Fonda raises funds for the Winter Soldier Investigation through a series of benefit concerts. Participants include Fonda, Dick Gregory, Donald Sutherland, Graham Nash, David Crosby and Phil Ochs. Fonda is named Honorary National Coordinator of the event.

February 16, 1971: Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland form "FTA" (F*** The Army), an anti-war, anti-American road show that tours near Army bases in order to undermine troop morale. Skits and songs portray American defeats, soldiers refusing to fight, and the murder of officers by their troops. FTA cast members mingle with soldiers after the shows, encouraging them to desert or to sabotage the Army.

In July-August 1972 Fonda made her infamous trip to North Vietnam. By this time, over 50,000 Americans had been killed in the war. While there, she posed for pictures on an anti-aircraft gun that had been used to shoot down American planes, and she volunteered to do a radio broadcast from Hanoi. She made approximately eight radio addresses, during which she told American pilots in the area:

“Use of these bombs or condoning the use of these bombs makes one a war criminal … Examine the reasons given to justify the murder you are being paid to commit … I don’t know what your officers tell you … but [your] weapons are illegal and that’s not just rhetoric … The men who are ordering you to use these weapons are war criminals according to international law, and in the past, in Germany and Japan, men who committed these kinds of crimes were tried and executed.”

Fonda also quoted Ho Chi Minh during some of these broadcasts. She referred to President Richard Nixon as a “new-type Hitler,” and advised South Vietnamese soldiers to desert: “You are being used as cannon fodder for U.S. imperialism.”

These radio addresses were aired repeatedly by the North Vietnamese Communists.

http://www.wintersoldier.com/index.php?topic=Timeline

Fonda made the following statement at the University of Texas:
"We've got to establish a Socialist economic structure that will limit private profit-oriented businesses. Whether the

transition is peaceful depends on the way our present governmental leaders react. We must commit our lives to this transition ...... We should be very proud of our new breed of soldier. It's not organized but it's mutiny, and they have every right." --Karen Elliott Dallas Morning News December 11, 1971

From 1972: "I am not a do-gooder, I am a revolutionary. A revolutionary woman."

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (8)

February 24, 2010

God's Own Lunatics by Joe Galloway Video by the Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry

God's Own Lunatics by Joe Galloway put to pictures by the Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry, Vietnam '67-'72.

"We had the honor of having Joe Galloway as our keynote speaker for our 2008 Silver Spur reunion. He will return to be our speaker once again in April 2010. Joe is a true friend of all military veterans and those who serve our beloved nation today".

This is also there website:

http://northwestvets.com/spurs/spurs.htm

Wild Thing's comment.........

This is a wonderful video, really well done. Thanks too to Silver Spurs, A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry, Vietnam '67-'72.
for putting this together.

The squadrons from the 17th Cav are still very active today and have been deployed both in Iraq & Afghanistan. The 3-17th is currently in Afghanistan.

......Thank you so much Dap22 for sending this to me.

Major ( RET) Dustoff 22 (Dave)

Dustoff 22

USArmy
45th Medical Company Fort Bragg to Long Binh
VN (67-68)
Flight Instructor
USArmy Helicopter Training Center
70-88

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (8)

January 25, 2010

The Viet Nam Wall On The Web With Details! ~ Virtual Wall

This is truly remarkable.

The link below is a virtual wall of all those lost during the Viet Nam war with the names, bio's and other information on our lost warriors.

http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm

It is a very interesting link, and those who served in that timeframe and lost friends or family can look them up on this site.

Please pass this on to all of your fellow vets and their families.

First click on a state ... then when it opens ... a name ... then it should show you a picture of the person or at least his bio and medals...

.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I am so glad this has been done.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (8)

January 17, 2010

The Quiet Man

The Quiet Man

By Jim Mahone

American Thinker

A few years ago, I met a very stone-faced facility manager to give him a quote for janitorial service. He was an old-school Asian businessman, and he wasn't about to give anything away in our conversation. It took about an hour, and throughout, he was never more than icily professional.

It was a large facility in the suburbs, bordering some fairly wild open land. As we were winding up the quote, the room suddenly throbbed with the unmistakable beat of rotor blades and the growling whine of a jet-powered helicopter making a very low overhead pass. The melody was identical to a Viet Nam-era Huey. Suddenly, my indifferent friend's eyes widened as we exchanged glances, and both of us raced to the door to see what was going on.

It wasn't a remake of Apocalypse Now. It was just the power company using the helicopter to set some new poles on the land next door. However, something happened to that man in our dash to the door. The sound instantly connected us to another time in both our lives. He suddenly opened up and ultimately told me what happened to him in the wake of April 30, 1975.

His father was someone the communists wanted desperately to arrest. They badgered his mother daily in her home for over a month, but she never gave up her husband. When the daily interrogations stopped, they posted spies in the woods near this man's home. After six more weeks, the spies finally gave up and left. He said they could tell they were gone because they no longer smelled the cigarette smoke at night.

Some time after that, he escaped on his own, packed into a small boat with forty or fifty other people. They were at sea for weeks, encountering pirates who lost interest in them only once they spotted the .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the foredeck. They made two landings on the Malaysian coast. The first time, they were caught and forced back out to sea. Weeks later, they landed successfully, and the man spent the next two years living in the Malay jungle.

We ran out of time, so I never did learn how he made it to the States. Obviously, he had done well in America.

I walked away from that meeting with a sudden appreciation for the thousands of Americans who began their journey to citizenship in similarly horrid circumstances, those who have very quietly and very quickly triumphed in the same America as have countless others before them. Their stories inspire me.

This April 30, it will be 35 years since that last Huey hovered above the embassy roof in Saigon. For 35 years we've been told that that shameful image represents America's defeat.

It does not.

It wasn't America who abandoned her allies, leaving hundreds of thousands of people to the vengeance of a ruthless enemy. It was America's elite: her politicians, diplomats, and most of all, her media that condemned them to their fate. That helicopter is an image of their failure, their treachery, and their mendacity.

The shame and guilt is theirs, not America's.

On the contrary, it was America who welcomed the survivors of that disgraceful day. It was America, and everyday Americans, who sponsored them as they established themselves in a strange land, with its strange language and culture.

Once they got their feet under them, these new Americans quickly proceeded to write another chapter in their new country's success story. While the image of that last Huey stands for the failure of America's elite, their immigrant tale is a glorious testament to the real America, reflected in the everyday experience of real Americans. Their triumph is the triumph of the true America.

From restaurants to roach coaches, barbershops, nail salons, watchmakers, and countless other enterprises, no obstacle stopped the spirit of these amazing people. A quiet backdrop to American life for 35 years, they raised a generation of sons and daughters who in their turn seized their opportunity. Today, they are more often than not professionals in various walks of American life.

One of the more recognizable of these quiet Americans is Dat Nguyen. Certainly, he is symbolic of these remarkable people's determination to succeed in their new home. He played six successful seasons for the Dallas Cowboys as a middle linebacker -- no mean feat for someone of modest stature descended from slight Asian stock.

His generation's kids, grandchildren of the hearty souls of '75, are now entering college as fully assimilated as any other ethnic group before them.

The conditions their parents and grandparents faced were every bit as dire as the slave ships of earlier centuries. In fact, they were probably much worse. Packed into overloaded, rickety vessels, usually without sanitation, they faced starvation, drowning, pirates, disease, and indifference. Unlike slaves, their lives represented no investment to shippers or owners. They were on their own in a vicious, hostile world. Their only value was to pirates, who would happily murder them on the off-chance that they were carrying a little gold.

While over 58,000 Americans never came home, millions of Vietnamese died, and millions more woke up one day to find their nation dissolving around them. Many of them had their names on lists that guaranteed at least a few years in a reeducation camp. More likely, they'd earned a bullet in the back of the head.

By various miracles, many made it to America.

In the 1980s Thomas Sowell, wrote a superb book called Ethnic America. He describes the cultural characteristics of the various immigrant groups with uncanny accuracy. He then traces how those characteristics influenced where the immigrants and their children found themselves in American society.

Because the Vietnamese were busy writing their own story at the same time he was writing the book, there was no chapter about them, but if ever he thought about updating it, they would be another case confirming his hypothesis. It is human capital: the knowledge and skills, values and attitudes of Americans, both old and new, that profoundly influences success of individual members of any group.

In addition to whatever other challenges they faced, the Vietnamese also reminded many Americans of a very painful time in our history. Still we've never heard a peep from any pressure group or "leader" -- just the quiet hum of their success as they make their way and enrich all of our lives.

Today, our elites are at it again. This time it's not a foreign nation they are abandoning but our own. They may not be abandoning us to the whims of a conquering army just yet, but they are chaining us to an anchor of impossible debt. Curiously, our largest creditor also happens to be our most likely future military rival. We may have very little time indeed before the last Gulfstream departs Dulles.

As we look out to the challenges coming our way, take some inspiration from our quiet neighbors. They faced much worse and lived to triumph. Of course, they had the promise of America to look forward to.

We still have her. At least for the moment.

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Wild Thing's comment........

Wonderful article! I love to read stories like this.

He is right too about the "elites are at it again". This time we have to stop the communists in our own country that are many more then there ever have been and they are in our government.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (9)

January 02, 2010

VIETNAM Veterans Military Update: Law Expands Vietnam Veterans’ Benefits

Military Update: Law expands veterans’ benefits

The Sierra Vista Herald

The Department of Veterans Affairs will issue a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease) eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime this year. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits, and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on the association’s executive board.

The association also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to “accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions.” It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

“This is huge,” said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. His group has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the “Veterans Benefits Manual,” a 1,900-page guide for veterans’ advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can’t guess how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven’t filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans “who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won’t have to do it now if they’re Vietnam vets,” Abrams said. For VA, it will mean “a significant amount of money — and many, many, many people helped.”

Change of direction

The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.

He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don’t have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. VA contracts with the institute to gather veterans’ health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that “40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects.” VA and the Defense Department should have conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

“The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes,” Shinseki bluntly concluded.

He said VA “must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence.”

Health watch

John Miterko, chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October:

“If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we’ve contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying at a faster rate are the World War II veterans,” Miterko said. “We’re picking up diseases by our 60s that we shouldn’t be getting until our late 70s, early 80s.” Miterko doesn’t believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won’t be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone “who has smoked for 40 years and is morbidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail, as well.”

Latest challenge

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans:

Violante praised the decision. But he said VA faces a “logistical nightmare” in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

.

Wild Thing's comment...........

Millions of Vietnam War veterans have seen their health ruined because of exposure to Agent Orange. After years of denying its health affects they are finally doing something. FINALLY!

The list of the side effects of Agent Orange is long !

If you have never been to Vietnam I can tell you that the colors there of the various greens are different then anywhere I have ever seen. But on those leaves, in the foliage was poison for our troops. In the air, you name it.........poison !

The planes spraying Agent Orange would circle back and forth, brushing and spraying the troops, the foliage, and also the water supply.

Agent Orange Agent Orange is the code name for an herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. More than 21,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed across South Vietnam. According to the VA, between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.

Legal Help for Vietnam War Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange If you are a veteran of the Vietnam War, and have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease, you may be eligible for VA disability and health benefits, even if you were denied before. To find out how the VA's new Agent Orange policy affects you, please contact one of these veterans' disability benefit lawyers by filling out their online form, or call 1-800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636).

The decision to add Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemias and ischemic heart disease brings the total number of "presumed" Agent Orange illnesses on the VA's list to 15. Other presumed

Agent Orange illnesses include:

•Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
•AL Amyloidosis •Chloracne
•Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
•Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
•Hodgkin’s Disease
•Multiple Myeloma
•Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
•Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
•Prostate Cancer
•Respiratory Cancers
•Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:27 PM | Comments (14)

December 30, 2009

A Legend Among Legends In Special Forces Retired Army Colonel Robert L. Howard Most Highly Decorated Hero Passes Away

Retired Army Colonel Robert L. Howard

He served with 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam-Studies and Observation Group.

Col. Robert L. Howard, Retired US Army, 70, of Waco and formerly of San Antonio, and who at the time of his death was the most decorated American soldier, passed away Wednesday, December 23, 2009 in Waco.

.

Full military honors are pending and will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and will be announced by OakCrest Funeral Home of Waco. His flag draped casket will be in state from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, December 30 and Thursday, December 31 at the funeral home.

Col. Howard grew up in Opelika, Alabama and enlisted in the US Army in 1956 at the age of 17. He retired as a full Colonel in 1992 after 36 years of service.

During Vietnam, he served in the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and spent most of his five tours in the super-secret MACV-SOG.

Col. Howard was nominated three times for the Medal of Honor, his first nomination being downgraded to the DSC.

His second and third nominations were simultaneous for two separate actions and the Medal of Honor was awarded for the first of them and was presented to him by President Richard M. Nixon at the White House in 1971.

The other nomination was downgraded to the Silver Star.

Col. Howard was wounded 14 times in 54 months of combat duty in Vietnam and was awarded 8 Purple Hearts.

Col. Howard is survived by his children, Denicia Howard of Florida, Melissa Gentsch and husband, Asst. Chief of Police Frank Gentsch of Waco, Rosslyn Howard of California and Robert Howard, Jr. and wife, Tori of California; and his grandchildren, Victoria Batey and husband, Luke of Denton, Holley Gentsch of Waco, Trey Howard of California, Isabella Gentsch of Waco and George Harris of Florida.

Robert L. Howard, one of America's most decorated soldiers. He served five tours in Vietnam and is the only soldier in our nation's history to be nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor three times for three separate actions within a thirteen month period. Although it can only be awarded once to an individual, men who served with him said he deserved all three. He received a direct appointment from Master Sergeant to 1st Lieutenant in 1969, and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard M. Nixon at the White House in 1971. His other awards for valor include the Distinguished Service Cross - our nation's second highest award, the Silver Star - the third highest award, and numerous lesser decorations including eight Purple Hearts. He received his decorations for valor for actions while serving as an NCO (Sergeant First Class).

Robert L. Howard grew up in Opelika, Alabama and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1956 at age seventeen. He retired as a full Colonel in 1992 after 36 years service. During Vietnam, he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and spent most of his five tours in the super-secret MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group) also known as Special Operations Group, which ran classified cross-border operations into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. These men carried out some of the most daring and dangerous missions ever conducted by the U.S. military. The understrength sixty-man recon company at Kontum in which he served was the Vietnam War's most highly decorated unit of its size with five Medals of Honor. It was for his actions while serving on a mission to rescue a fellow soldier in Cambodia, that he was submitted for the Medal of Honor the third time for his extraordinary heroism.

Robert L. Howard is said to be our nation's most decorated soldier from the Vietnam War. He was the last Vietnam Special Forces Medal of Honor recipient still on active duty when he retired on Sept. 29, 1992. His story is told in John Plaster's excellent book, SOG The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam.

It is important for future generations that we remember our military heroes and the great sacrifices they have made for us in the name of Freedom.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon in which he said Howard “was the bravest soldier I ever met.”

“His unshakeable commitment to freedom, displayed in countless episodes of battlefield gallantry, lives on in the actions of our military men and women who continue to serve in hostile conditions overseas,” he said.

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MACV SOG FOB2 CCC - Awards & Decorations formation Dec-Feb 1967-68 - LTC Roy Bahr is presenting LT Ward the CIB, SFC Bob Howard is on left side of photo - 1st man facing left in formation. (Photo courtesy Jim Ringland)

In Vietnam, he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces and spent most of his five tours in the secret Military Assistance Command, Vietnam-Studies and Observation Group, or MACV-SOG, which was an unconventional force whose members were assigned to deep-penetration reconnaissance and interdiction missions.

As a staff sergeant of the highly-classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), Howard was recommended for the Medal of Honor on three separate occasions for three individual actions during thirteen months spanning 1967-1968. The first two nominations were downgraded to the award of the Distinguished Service Cross due to the covert nature of the operations in which Howard participated. As a Sergeant First Class of the same organization, he risked his life during a rescue mission in Cambodia on December 30, 1968, while second in command of a platoon-sized Hornet force that was searching for missing American soldier Robert Scherdin, and was finally awarded the Medal of Honor.

While leading a covert SOG platoon-sized mission in southeastern Laos on November 16, 1967, Sergeant First Class Howard carried out actions that led to his being recommended for his nation’s highest honor. While the main body destroyed an enemy cache, Howard’s team came upon four North Vietnamese Army soldiers, whom he shot. The team was then pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Howard first eliminated a sniper and then charged the machine gun position, killing its occupants. When a second machine gun opened up, he crawled forward to within point-blank range and threw a hand grenade, disabling that gun.

When more of the North Vietnamese took over the same gun, Howard stood in the open and fired a light anti-tank weapon, knocking it out once again. The team was then successfully extracted by helicopter. Although recommended for the Medal of Honor, Howard’s award was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross. This would be the first of three recommendations within 13 months for the Medal of Honor for Robert Howard.

In mid-November Howard accompanied an FOB-2 Hatchet Platoon into Laos. After four days in the area, on November 19, 1968, the force was ambushed by Vietnamese troops, including a Soviet-built PT-76 tank. Braving intense fire, Howard crept forward and knocked out the PT-76 with an anti-tank rocket. After a medivac helicopter was shot down, Howard, already wounded, charged forward 300 yards through North Vietnamese fire to lead the two pilots and a wounded door gunner to safety. He was again wounded, this time by 14 pieces of shrapnel, but all that this seemed to do was aggravate him.

He charged the Vietnamese, killed two and dragged back a third as a prisoner. North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire halted the extraction of the platoon until the following morning, when Howard, already perforated multiple times, moved forward and silenced a 37 mm anti-aircraft gun, allowing the extraction to be completed. For the second time, Howard was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but his award was again downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross.

This series of events illustrates the difficulties faced when special operations personnel exhibited extraordinary bravery in denied areas. Recommendations for decorations always stipulated the location and circumstances of the action, and since the award of such a high decoration became public knowledge, the citation would have to be changed to place the action within territorial South Vietnam. The U.S. Congress and President were loath to create any sense of falsehood about the actions of the nation’s most highly decorated military personnel, so, in many instances, awards were downgraded to keep the recipient out of the limelight.

On December 30, 1968 Howard was serving as a member of a 40-man Bright Light rescue mission into northeastern Cambodia. The unit was in search of MACSOG Private First Class Robert Scherdin, who had been separated from his recon team. Bypassing a North Vietnamese Army company, Howard was leading his men up a hill when he and Lieutenant Jim Jerson were wounded by a land mine. While administering first aid to Jerson, a bullet struck one of the wounded man’s ammunition pouches, detonating several magazines. His fingers in shreds, Howard was dragging Jerson off the hill when he was shot in the foot.

The remaining 20 men were organized by Howard, who administered first aid, directed their fire, and encouraged them to resist. After three and one-half hours under attack, Howard prepared for a fight to the death. The team was saved from that fate, however, when an emergency night extraction took them off without any further casualties. As badly wounded as he was, Howard was the last man to board a helicopter. After his third recommendation in 13 months, Robert Howard was finally awarded a well-deserved Medal of Honor.

Perhaps no man represented the quandary of the political and moral dilemma of the Vietnam War in the heart and mind of America better than Howard. He had become arguably the most highly decorated serviceman in American military history, yet few of his countrymen even knew who he was. Unlike Alvin York or Audie Murphy before him, Howard was not touted as a national hero by the media, he was given no ticker tape parade, and no Hollywood movie was made depicting his extraordinary exploits. Of course, none of this bothered the quiet, unassuming Howard. He remained in the Army and retired as a full Colonel, after 36 years of active service, in September 1992.

It is believed by some historians that Howard is the most highly-decorated living American soldier in history. His residence was in Texas and he spent much of his free time working with veterans at the time of his death. He also took periodic trips to Iraq to visit active duty troops.

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SFC Robert Howard (at left) standing in front of a badly shot up huey - Dak To 1968

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
FIRST LIEUTENANT
ROBERT L. HOWARD
UNITED STATES ARMY

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Howard (then SFC), distinguished himself while serving as platoon sergeant of an American-Vietnamese platoon which was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled territory in the Republic of Vietnam.

The platoon had left its helicopter landing zone and was moving out on its mission when it was attacked by an estimated 2-company force. During the initial engagement, 1st Lt. Howard was wounded and his weapon destroyed by a grenade explosion. 1st Lt. Howard saw his platoon leader had been wounded seriously and was exposed to fire. Although unable to walk, and weaponless, 1st Lt. Howard unhesitatingly crawled through a hail of fire to retrieve his wounded leader. As 1st Lt. Howard was administering first aid and removing the officer's equipment, an enemy bullet struck 1 of the ammunition pouches on the lieutenant's belt, detonating several magazines of ammunition. 1st Lt. Howard momentarily sought cover and then realizing that he must rejoin the platoon, which had been disorganized by the enemy attack, he again began dragging the seriously wounded officer toward the platoon area.

Through his outstanding example of indomitable courage and bravery, 1st Lt. Howard was able to rally the platoon into an organized defense force. With complete disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Howard crawled from position to position, administering first aid to the wounded, giving encouragement to the defenders and directing their fire on the encircling enemy. For 3 1/2 hours 1st Lt. Howard's small force and supporting aircraft successfully repulsed enemy attacks and finally were in sufficient control to permit the landing of rescue helicopters. 1st Lt. Howard personally supervised the loading of his men and did not leave the bullet-swept landing zone until all were aboard safely.

1st Lt. Howard's gallantry in action, his complete devotion to the welfare of his men at the risk of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

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SFC Robert Howard (front left) in Vietnam with some of the guys - MACVSOG (CCC). SGT Chuck Erickson (RT Colorado) is standing behind at far left. Erickson was later on the Son Tay Raid "Blueboy Element" chopper with Dick Meadows. (Photo courtesy John Plaster)

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Sergeant First Class Robert Lewis Howard (ASN: RA-14628152), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Command and Control (Central), 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces.

Sergeant First Class Howard distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 21 November 1967, as Special Forces Advisor to a joint American and Vietnamese reconnaissance patrol conducting a search mission near the Laotian border.

His patrol discovered a huge rice and ammunition cache surrounded by an enemy bunker complex. Sergeant Howard led a small team to provide security while the remainder of the unit began to destroy the stored supplies. His team encountered four North Vietnamese Army soldiers, and Sergeant Howard killed them with a fierce burst of rifle fire.

He and his men were immediately pinned down by a murderous curtain of fire which erupted from a nearby enemy machine gun position. With complete disregard for his safety, Sergeant Howard crawled toward the emplacement and killed a North Vietnamese sniper who was firing at him as he maneuvered. He then charged the bunker, eliminating its occupants with rifle fire. A second machine gun position unleashed a savage barrage.

Sergeant Howard moved his troops to a covered location and directed an air strike against the fortified bunker. While assessing the bomb damage, Sergeant Howard was fired upon by North Vietnamese soldiers in the bunker who had survived the blasts. Pinned down directly outside the strongpoint with a blazing machine gun barrel only six inches above his head, he threw a hand grenade into the aperture of the emplacement, killing the gunners and temporarily silencing the weapon. He then dashed to his team's location and secured a light anti-tank weapon. As the enemy machine gun resumed firing, Sergeant Howard stood up amid a withering hail of bullets, fired his weapon, and completely demolished the position.

His fearless and determined actions in close combat enabled the remainder of the patrol to destroy the enemy cache. Sergeant First Class Howard's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Service: Army
Rank: Sergeant First Class
Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 2018 (May 2, 1968)

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The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant First Class Robert Lewis Howard (ASN: RA-14628152), United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces.

Sergeant First Class Howard distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions from 12 to 20 November 1968, during an operation deep within enemy-held territory. As his platoon was being inserted into the area, it came under heavy fie from all directions.

Sergeant Howard leaped from his helicopter before it touched down and began to return fire, providing protection for his men while they dismounted and moved safely off the landing zone. Seeing two enemy soldiers in a wood line, he charged their position and killed them both. When the unit was attacked by a company-size force on the night of 16 November, he went to each platoon member, encouraging them and directing their fire while completely exposing himself to the communist barrage.

Two days later while Sergeant Howard was leading the point element, the platoon was ambushed by an estimated two North Vietnamese Army companies. He skillfully maneuvered his men so that the enemy was caught in a deadly crossfire and the ambush was broken.

The following day, Sergeant Howard had again taken the point element when he observed an estimated battalion-size ambush. Although wounded in the initial exchange of fire, he exposed himself to the aggressors to place effective fire on them and enable his platoon to take cover. Moving from position to position, he administered first aid to the wounded and set up a landing zone so that they could be evacuated.

As the first ambulance helicopter came in, it was struck by hostile machine gun fire and burst into flames. Sergeant Howard, although wounded a second time, ran one hundred and fifty meters to where the ship had crashed and rescued a trapped pilot from the blazing wreckage. Once the entire crew was free from the aircraft, he led them back to the platoon while providing covering fire.

Three hours later another helicopter succeeded in landing and the casualties were evacuated, but Sergeant Howard refused to leave. The next morning, he saw three North Vietnamese soldiers maneuvering towards his element and immediately opened fire, killing them.

Service: Army
Rank: Sergeant First Class
Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 371 (February 3, 1969)

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Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross (with one oak leaf cluster)
Silver Star
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters)
Bronze Star (with three oak leaf clusters and "V" device)
Purple Heart (with a silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters)
Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters)
Air Medal (with "V" Device and numeral 3. One award for heroism and two for aerial achievement)
Joint Service Commendation
Army Commendation Medal (with "V" device and one each silver and bronze oak leaf clusters. 4 awards for valor and 3 for achievement)
Joint Service Achievement
Army Achievement
Good Conduct Medal, 4 Good Conduct Loops (4 awards)
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
NCO Professional Development Ribbon with 2 device
Army Overseas Ribbon
Army Service Ribbon
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, w/3 Service stars (3 awards)
Army Presidential Unit Citation, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) 2001, Studies and Observations Group
Navy Unit Commendation
Army Meritorious Unit Citation

Foreign decorations

Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star (Corps citation)
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star (Division citation)
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star (Regiment or Brigade citation)
Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal 2nd Award
Vietnam Wound Medal
Vietnam Civil Actions Medal 2nd Award
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation with Palm, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster (Unit citation)
Republic of Korea Order of National Security Merit (Samil Medal)

Badges, qualifications and tabs
Ranger Tab
Special Forces Tab
Combat Infantryman Badge
Aircrew Badge
Master Parachutist Badge
Pathfinder Badge
Air Assault Badge
Expert Infantryman's Badge
Vietnamese Ranger Badge
Vietnamese Master Parachute Badge
Thai Master Parachute Wings
Korean Master Parachute Badge
Thai Balloonist Badge
French Parachutist Badge

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"I spent 37 years in the military, Korea and Vietnam. I've been fighting a war all my life," he said. "I'm fortunate to have served with Americans like you. In your heart, you love why you wear that uniform."

He also had advice for some of today's Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines during a small meet and greet session held in the chapel Saturday.

"Do the job the best you can and don't ask for help if you don't plan to use the help," Colonel Howard said.

Medal of Honor recipient retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard visits with Soilders March 15, 2009 who are transiting through Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.

Soldiers of the Army Special Forces Command, 5th Special Forces Group, pose for a photograph with Congressional Medal of Honor recipients at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, April 7, 2009.

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Wild Thing's comment...........

It has always been an honor for me to get to know our Veterans and today to be able to post about Col. Robert L. Howard is also truly such an honor. I never met him and had never heard of him until Tom sent me this. Our country has been so blessed to have such men in our midst.

Rest in peace Col. Robert L. Howard and thank you.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (12)

A Siagon,Vietnam Christmas

Hình mới chụp cảnh Saigon đón Noel

Saigon Center mail,au coin Pasteur et Le Loi

Nguyen Hue boulevard

Tax shopping mall

Tu Do bld.

TU DO bld.

Coin Le Loi et Tu Do bld.

Le fameux café GRIVRAL

Hotel de Ville

Coin Nguyen Hue et Le Loi

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Wild Thing's comment.............

What a difference these photos are.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:49 AM | Comments (7)

December 04, 2009

WWII, Korea and Vietnam Vet & Medal of Honor Recipient, Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, Fights Homeowners Group Over US Flagpole

Medal of Honor recipient Col. Van T. Barfoot, 90, lowers the flag outside his home in the Sussex Square subdivision in western Henrico County, Va., on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. According to the subdivision's homeowner association's board, Col. Barfoot is in violation because he flies the flag from a flagpole instead of a pole attached to his porch or doorway. Col. Barfoot has been ordered to remove the pole by 5pm on Friday or face legal action. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)

You don't ever want to mess with a Medal of Honor recipient. They've done better things in their life than you ever will with your pitiful existence.

This is especially true if you're a puny little homeowner's association who wants to take away a hero's flag.

Col. Van T. Barfoot, 90, of Henrico County, Va., who received the Medal of Honor for his amazingly heroic actions in World War II, raises and lowers the flag from a flagpole outside his house every day. His Homeowners Association wants him to cut it out, reports the Times Dispatch. They argue that the war hero's flag pole violates the aesthetic rules of the association.

So they've sicced the lawyers on him, telling him that he must take the pole down or risk heavy fines. Ooooh! Men in suits! Ooooh! "Aesthetic" rules! He trembles.

From the citation that accompanied his Medal of Honor:

"With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17."

And that's just from the morning. So those lawyers who want to take away his flagpole? They're no match.

That's especially true with the high-powered allies he now has on his side. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is looking to help break the impasse. Other members of the public have rallied to his cause -- including the ubiquitous Facebook group.

Who's going to win this battle? The puny little HOA or the war hero who, even at age 90, could still disembowel you with a golf pencil -- the man with more courage in his big toe than the sum total of any of us pansies reading this. I know where my money's going.

An additional story about this with a lilttle more information:

WWII vet fights homeowners group over Va. flagpole

AP

RICHMOND, Va.

One of the nation's oldest Medal of Honor winners was back in the fight Thursday, this time against a neighborhood association that wants him to take down a front-yard flagpole.

Supporters, including a U.S. senator, have been falling in behind 90-year-old retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, a World War II veteran awarded the lofty Congressional honor for actions including standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

Barfoot put up the 21-foot flagpole in September in front of his suburban Richmond home. He raises the American flag daily at sunrise and retires it at sunset.

"It's really ridiculous to want to keep the flag from being flown," he said in a telephone interview. "I've heard some terrible excuses out there."

The Sussex Square homeowners' association says the flagpole violates the neighborhood's aesthetic guidelines and ordered him to remove it by 5 p.m. Friday or face a lawsuit. The group has said Barfoot can display the flag, as long as it's in a way that conforms with association rules, such as from a pole mounted on the front of the house.

"This is not about the American flag. This is about a flagpole," the association said in a statement.

Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., is among those offering to help break the impasse, Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said. Warner and the war hero became acquainted at veterans' events when Warner was Virginia's governor from 2002-06. Others are backing Barfoot on the Internet, including with a Facebook page.

Barfoot won the Medal of Honor for actions while his platoon was under German assault near Carano, Italy, in May 1944. The award citation says Barfoot, then a 2nd lieutenant, crept up alone on German machine gun nests, killing and capturing enemy troops in three of them, stopped their three-tank advance and helped two seriously wounded comrades back to safety.

He also won the Purple Heart and other decorations, and served in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974. The Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center, a state nursing home for military retirees in Richmond, bears his name.

Barfoot's daughter, Margaret Nicholls, said her father has been moved to tears by the outpouring of support, and hopes the nine-member homeowners' board will use its discretion and let him keep the pole.

"A house-mounted pole? That is not an option," Nicholls said. "The flagpole is definitely what he's fighting for."

BARFOOT, VAN T.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Carano, Italy, 23 May 1944.
Entered service at: Carthage, Miss.
Birth: Edinburg, Miss.
G.O. No.: 79, 4 October 1944.
Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machine gun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans.

He continued along the German defense line to another machine gun emplacement, and with his tommy gun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machine gun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17.

Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks.

From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank,effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommy gun He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot’s extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.

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Wild Thing's comment.......

This really ticks me the heck off!!!

I know there are rules but I see nothing wrong with a Flag pole. How can that hurt anything. Our wonderful American flag flying from a flag pole is a beautiful site to behold. I hope Col. Barfoot wins and gets to have his flag pole.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (12)

November 11, 2009

Vietnam Veteran Gilberto Telles ~ Thank you

Marine who served in Vietnam War

EL PASO Times

Gilberto Telles, 70, is a former member of the 19th Rifle Company, a homegrown Marine reserve unit formed in 1953. Its members include combat veterans who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The company, now Delta Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, still is sending troops to war.

Telles, a Vietnam War veteran and El Paso native, is a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. He will be honored for his military service Tuesday during a local celebration of the Marine Corps' 234th birthday.

Q When did your military career begin?

A I joined in 1956. My goal was to go to college. There weren't that many things to take advantage of, ways to get ahead. In 1974, I was medically retired (from the Marines). ... I got my bachelor's degree in education from (the University of Texas at El Paso), and I taught school for 22 years for the Ysleta Independent School District.

Q When and where did you serve in Vietnam?

A I wound up doing two tours, from 1963 to 1964, and from 1966 to 1967. On the first tour I was an adviser, training the South Vietnamese how to defend themselves. ... When I went back, we operated in (a river delta just south of the demilitarized zone that split North and South Vietnam). I was on a recon patrol. I am part Apache. That's why I wound up as a scout.

Q You were conducting missions around Khe Sanh, Vietnam, before the brutal 77-day battle erupted. What happened there?

A Khe Sanh was a place you didn't want to be. ... (Military officials) knew something was going on there but they didn't think it was worth it for the North Vietnamese army to attack. We were sent out to bring back proof that there was nothing going on, but the opposite happened. ... We fought for about four days, throwing grenades down the trails to keep them away. Eventually they brought in the mortars. I picked up a (wounded) guy and put him on the chopper. ... A chopper would land and sometimes you would have to run to try to get on it before they zeroed in on you. I was wounded on the 26th of April (in 1967). There were only eight of us on the recon team. We were taking mortar fire and I was shot through the legs. There we were in the middle of it.

Q How badly were you injured?

A I was 1/30th of a second away from being on the other side. But I survived, and here I am. Of the eight-man team, only four came out walking. It was pretty harrowing.

Q Is it true your wife knew you were in trouble the day you were wounded?

A One thing about native people, we can perceive things just by the attitude. ... I was unconscious and I could travel anywhere. I came over here and she heard me.

Q How is your health?

A I was diagnosed with myeloma, bone cancer. It was caused by Agent Orange. Some of us are still paying for that war. Liberty is not free. ... I'm in remission right now.

Q Why is Veterans Day important? Some say we are recognizing the nation's heroes.

A I am not a hero. I was getting paid for that. I was a Marine doing my job. The ones who are the heroes are the ones who didn't come back.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Another example of heroes among us. We will never forget the service of so many.

Thank you Gilberto Telles! Welcome Home.

.... Thank you Jim for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (2)

November 08, 2009

8th of November ~ Raise a glass to the Sky Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne

The poster represents an original painting by Craig Bone, renowned wildlife artist, comemorating the 173rd Airborne's heroic battle . Hill 65, 8th Of November, 1965 ......Sacrifice and Valor

On the 8th of November in 1965, one of the toughest Airborne battles was fought in the jungles of Viet
Nam.

At about 0600 on the morning of 8 November C Company began a move northwest toward Hill 65, while B Company moved northeast toward Hill 78. Shortly before 0800, C Company was engaged by a sizable enemy force well dug in to the southern face of Hill 65. At 0845, B Company was directed to wheel in place and proceed toward Hill 65 with the intention of relieving C Company.

B Company reached the foot of Hill 65 at about 0930 and moved up the hill. It became obvious that there was a very large enemy force in place on the hill,C Company was getting hammered, and by chance, B Company was forcing the enemy's right flank.

Under pressure from B Company's flanking attack the enemy force—most of a Viet Cong regiment—moved to the northwest, whereupon the B Company commander called in air and artillery fires on the retreating troops. B Company halted in place in an effort to locate and consolidate with C Company's platoons, managing to establish a coherent defensive line running around the hilltop from southeast to northwest, but with little cover on the southern side.

Meanwhile, the VC commander realized that his best chance was to close with the US soldiers so that the 173rd's air and artillery fire could not be effectively employed. He attempted to out-flank the US position atop the hill from both the east and the southwest, moving his troops closer to the Americans. The result was shoulder-to-shoulder attacks up the hillside, hand-to-hand fighting, and isolation of parts of B and C Companies but the Americans held against two such attacks. Although the fighting continued after the second massed attack, it reduced in intensity as the VC commander again attempted to disengage and withdraw. By late afternoon it seemed that contact had been broken off, allowing the two companies to prepare a night defensive position while collecting their dead and wounded in the center of the position. Although a few of the most seriously wounded were extracted by USAF helicopters using Stokes litters, the triple-canopy jungle prevented the majority from being evacuated until the morning of 9 November.

The result of the battle was heavy losses on both sides—48 Paratroopers dead, many more wounded, and 403 dead VC troops.

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Said goodbye to his mamma
As he left South Dakota
To fight for the Red, White, and Blue.
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do.

He was dropped in the jungle
Where the choppers would rumble
With the smell of napalm in the air.
And the sergeant said, "Look up ahead"

Like a dark, evil cloud
1,200 came down
on him and 29 more.
They fought for their lives
But most of them died
In the 173rd Airborne.

(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November.

Now he's fifty-eight
And his ponytail's grey
But the battle still plays in his head.
He limps when he walks,
But he's strong when he talks
About the shrapnel they left in his leg.

He puts on a grey suit
Over his Airborne tattoo
And He ties it on one time a year
And remembers the fallen,
As he orders a tall one
And swallows it down with his tears.

Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965.

The 8th of November
The 8th of November

He said goodbye to his mamma
As he left South Dakota
To fight for the Red, White, and Blue.
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do.

Fort Bragg's Airborne and Special Operations Museum exhibit honors 173rd Airborne Brigade

Jun 10, 2009

US ARMY.mil

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An exhibit honoring the service of the Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade was unveiled May 19 at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum on Bragg Boulevard.

The exhibit, called 173rd Sky Soldiers: The Legend Continues, highlights the airborne brigade's history and Operation Hump, one of its most famous battles.

According to the exhibit, in 1965, the Sky Soldiers entered Vietnam to restore security against Viet Cong forces.
On Nov. 8, a day-long battled ensued that cost the lives of 48 Americans.

The story of retired Army Master Sgt. Niles Harris, a Soldier who participated in that battle, was captured in the song, "8th of November," according to an ASOM press release. Country musicians, Big & Rich, recorded the song and a custom-built chopper paid for by them and given to Harris was on display at the museum.

Also displayed was an original 10 feet by 18 feet painting by artist Craig Bone.

"Because of the impact of the painting, coupled with the touching story in the song, we decided to weave an exhibit around the painting," said Mary Dennings, curator of collections at ASOM.

After hearing Harris' story, Bone said he was inspired and told the audience at the exhibit's unveiling, "I'm trying to show the American people the best light of the American Soldier. I tried to capture Nov. 8 into one painting."
2nd Lt. Gus Vendetti who served with the 173rd and spent three tours in Vietnam also attendedthe unveiling of the exhibit.

"These are my brothers and they were a very special unit. Anybody who has ever been a part of it ... you can't forget it," Vendetti said.

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Arthur Huff also served with the 173rd in Vietnam and says the unit still is very special to him.

"Every day I wake up, I wear the 173rd patch. I have a T-shirt or a jacket on," said the 77-year-old Huff, of Fayetteville.

Barry Porter facilitated the showing of Bone's painting with the exhibit, said ASOM executive director, Paul Galloway.

Porter serves as regional executive director of the Triangle Area Chapter, American Red Cross, which held a benefit concert in November 2008 that showcased the painting.

The painting is on loan and will return to the National Veterans Freedom Park in Cary, N.C. Porter said.

"To be a part of this exhibit by adding this painting and bringing attention is a great celebration," he said.

Soldiers of the 173rd have answered the nation's call to sacrifice, said Col. Mark Stammer, commander of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division and a former 173rd combat veteran who was the guest speaker at the unveiling.
Stammer said it was an honor and a privilege to have served in such a storied organization.

"I've been all over the world," Huff said. "I'm thrilled to be a member of the 173rd Sky Soldier.

The exhibit, 173rd Sky Soldiers: The Legend Continues, will run through Veteran's Day, said Galloway.

Wild Thing's comment.......

To those who served in the 173rd Airborne and to all our Veterans, please accept my thanks for your service and sacrifice. All, charge glasses, raise a toast. God bless the Sky Soldiers.

The “Sky Soldiers” in Vietnam received 13 Medals of Honor, 32 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1,736 Silver Stars and over 6,000 Purple Hearts. They have over 1,790 names carved on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
They were deactivated in 1972 and reactivated in 2000 and in 2003 secured Bashur in northern Iraq, after receiving orders for same only 12 days previously.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (4)

October 03, 2009

"Before You Go" to be Performed at the Vietnam War Memorial

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Before You Go - Veterans Tribute and Thank You

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"Before You Go" to be Performed at the Vietnam War Memorial

Dr. Sam and John Melnick have been invited to Perform "Before You Go" for National Celebration of Veteran's Day, 2009 at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

With the massive response and support for spreading "Before You Go's" message of thanks to our aging veterans (now more than 20 million downloads), the song's authors Dr. Sam Bierstock and John Melnick have received the honor of being asked to perform their song on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009 in Washington DC at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall.

"John and I consider this to be an enormous honor", Dr. Sam says proudly. "We have actually lost the ability to track how many times our song has been played, but we know that even after 4 years, it is played between 1,500 and as many as 40,000 times every day. As we loss more and more of our WWII, and Korean War veterans to age and time, we are enormously proud to know that our message has reached so many of them and their families. We have taken special pride in our new release dedicated to the veterans of Vietnam and see it as a counter-balance to the painful reception so many of them returned to after putting their lives on the line for our country."

"Before You Go" Supports Today's Returning Veterans of the War on Terror

We are often asked if Dr. Sam and John Melnick plan a second song in tribute to the veterans of current conflicts. The "Before You Go" project now has a formal affiliation with "Veterans Helping Today's Returning Heroes", designed to directly benefit our returning heroes.

At the insistence of the authors, "Before You Go" continues to be made available for free listening and viewing in it's entirety on the internet. In early 2009, Dr. Sam was invited to join the Board of Directors of Veterans Helping Today's Returning Heroes, (VHH) a charitable 501(c)3 organization providing support dogs and guide dogs to wounded, blinded and disabled veterans returning from the global war on terror.

These dogs cost between $35,000.00 and $50,000.00 to raise and train, and are not funded by the government. To date, VHH has raised over $2,000,000.00 toward this worthy cause which allows our veterans disabled in war to enhance their quality of life with honor and the companionship of one of these wonderful dogs, each of which is trained to support the specific disability of each wounded veteran.

FACTS:

As of December 31, 2008, over 45,000 troops have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since the start of operations.

Approximately 10% of our American heroes have returned with life-altering injuries: blind; with amputated limbs; spinal cord injuries; traumatic brain injuries; or suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Veterans in need of guide and assistance dogs have vastly exceeded original projections

Everyday we learn of more ways these precious dogs can help veterans live again with dignity and self-reliance.

It costs in excess of $30,000 to raise a guide, assistance dog or service dog for a disabled veteran.

The dog and training are provided at no cost to the veteran.

The federal government does not have a program in place to provide guide, assistance or service dogs to veterans in need.

Providing Vet Dogs is answering the call to serve the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country.

Types of Dog Programs

Guide Dogs
A guide dog is an assistance dog trained to find and follow a clear path, maneuver around obstacles, and stop at curbs. A user with a guide dog gains enhanced mobility and independence.

Service Dogs
A service dog is specially trained to help people who have disabilities other than visual impairment. This dog may be trained to provide balance, fetch and retrieve dropped items, or carry a backpack.

Combat Stress Relief Dogs
These specially trained canines are deployed in theater for active duty personnel. They offer emotional support for servicemen and women dealing with combat stress, homefront issues, and sleep disorders.

Military Therapy Dogs
Dogs trained to provide physical therapy assistance at military or VA hospitals for wounded soldiers. They may also make visits to VA nursing homes or hospices.

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Wild Thing's comment.........

I have the CD " Before You Go". I am so glad they will be performing at the Vietnam War Memorial.
We owe so much to our Veterans and our troops returning today and ALL that have served our country. To all of them, thank you.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (5)

September 19, 2009

Always Nice To Know The Efforts Of Our Vietnam Veterans Is Appreciated

To Honor those who fought with courage to protect the Independence & Freedom of the Republic of Vietnam for 21 years (1954-1975)

To show our appreciation to the 58,479 American soldiers and hundred thousands soldiers in the Armed Forces of Republic of Vietnam who sacrificed themselves, and to those who survived and fought with courage to protect the independence and freedom of The Republic of Vietnam throughout the 21 years of war

Their website

(1954-1975). Three younger generation groups (1/ YVAPS - Young Vietnamese American Professionals Salute-Veterans of Freedom, 2/AMERASIAN -Houston, and 3/ LEND A HAND) are coordinating with Vietnam veterans (VFW Post 8905) to organize a parade on Sunday Oct 11, 2009.

Vietnam veterans informed us that they will join the parade with 300-500 people. Around 10 high school bands, South Republic of Vietnam soldiers, and local civilian organizations will also be in attendance.

The breakdown for this honoring day will be as followed:

1:00 p.m. Parade: conducted by Maj. Gen. John H. Bailey II Ret. (82nd, 101st airborne, Texas National Guard). Also joining the parade is: F-16 Flyover, ROTC, 10 high school bands, VFW Post 8905 Cypress, Texas, Gathering Eagles, American Indians org., and other Vietnam Veteran organizations. This parade will be held on Bellaire Blvd, starting from Alief Park at Kirkwood and Bellaire and marching by the Vietnamese-American soldier’s monument (11360 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072), and ending at Boone Rd. American and Vietnamese Veterans will then return to the Vietnamese-American soldier’s monument for Memorial Service and Honoring Ceremony under the witness of Houstonians and their family members. The rest will either go home or gather at Hong Kong City Mall 4 for the Reunion meeting at 6 pm.

2:30 pm Memorial Service: For Vietnamese and American soldiers who died during the war witnessed by F16 Flyover at the Vietnamese-American soldier’s monument.

3:00 pm: Honoring Event: flower leis for Vietnam Veterans and former soldiers of ARVN conducted by LEND A HAND org. Afterwards is the pinning of the flag pins conducted by VAAFA.

6:00 p.m. Reunion & Remembrance: Socializing about past experiences and memories between Vietnamese and American soldiers and civilians in the Vietnam wars. The talks may include those intense battles fought in popular cities such as: Gio Linh, Con Thien, Quang Tri, Dong Ha and Zone D of the old days. Each of these popular city names will be set up as a table with their city name on a banner. Food will be provided free of charge by the Vietnamese Houstonians inside Hong Kong 4 City Mall.

We are calling for Vietnam War Veterans in Texas to join us in this parade, “You lead, we follow.” Also, we are recruiting Houstonians, young groups, and individuals to volunteer in the parade and reception. We also need Vietnamese volunteers, who lived at or know about the above popular battle cities to help out at the reunion and greet the veterans.

Please accept this event as an appreciation and to pay tribute to those who have fought courageously throughout the 21 years (1954-1975) by honoring the Vietnamese & American Soldiers. The 30 Apr, 1975 was a sad day in the lives of Vietnamese Americans and even 34 years of suffering after the Vietnam War, the younger generation is grateful because we would not be here without their sacrifices.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I am so glad to see this happening! Fantastic!!

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 08:49 AM | Comments (4)

September 17, 2009

9/11 Hero, Vietnam Veteran to Be Honored Next to World Trade Center Steel

The Rick Rescorla statue depicts a scene during The Battle of la Drang in Vietnam.....His 'Follow Me' bronze statue likeness.

This photo was taken by Marine Corps Capt. Mark A. Kiehle, on Nov. 10, 2004, during the battle for Fallujah just prior to his battery sending the 155mm round down range in support of Marine infantry.

The ''Rescorla Memorial Round'' headed down range.

FORT BENNING, Ga

Retired Col. Rick Rescorla, a Vietnam veteran who died during the terrorist attacks on 9/11, will be honored with the unveiling of a bronze statue at 11 a.m. on Sept. 17, at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.

Rescorla, the vice president of corporate security for Morgan-Stanley, is credited for saving the lives of 2,700 people who worked in the World Trade Center's Tower 2.

Seeing the first tower burn from his office on the 66th floor, he ordered the company's employees to evacuate - putting to use the regular evacuation drills he implemented for the brokerage firm's 30-plus floors after the 1993 truck-bomb attack. Halfway down, the second plane hit Tower 2. After getting the firm's employees out of Tower 2, Rescorla returned to the building. He didn't make it out.

"His heroic actions on (9/11), along with his extraordinary foresight and preparation, saved the lives of 2,700 people," said his widow Susan Rescorla.

The bronze statue was based on a Peter Arnett photo taken at la Drang, Vietnam, in 1965, when he served as a second lieutenant with 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment. The photo was also the cover of the best-selling book 'We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young' by Retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway.

The statue unveiling will coincide with the arrival of a steel I-beam from the North Tower of the WTC. The beam, which begins a 1,000-mile road trip from New York to Fort Benning Saturday, is being dedicated to all the men and women of the U.S. Army who have lost their lives since the attacks and the Soldiers who continue to serve, said Greg Alspach, a volunteer coordinator with Iron and Steel-NYC.

Fire Engine No. 343, the New York Fire Department's ceremonial engine, will transport the 14-foot beam to Georgia with an escort of approximately 1,000 motorcycle riders, Alspach said.

A sister section of the beam was given to the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Alspach said. In 2010, an additional section will be escorted to Washington, D.C.

For more information, visit

www.ironandsteelnyctofortbenning.org

Lt. Rick Rescorla was born as Cyril Richard Rescorla, was born in Hayle, Cornwall. His childhood memories were of commando raids by British forces, OSS operations, and the French resistance. As a youth he read about these events, studied them, analyzed them, criticized them --like a Monday morning quarterback. He was virtually nurtured at the knee of war and special operations.

In his teens he joined the British army, became a paratrooper, then went into intelligence and led a unit fighting guerrillas and insurgents in Cyprus. Then he went to Africa -- Northern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he fought more guerrillas and insurgents. After that, he joined the London police force as a member of the Scotland Yard Flying Squad. In 1963, he came here to the United States and enlisted in the American Army as a private. In April 1965, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry out of the Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

He was a key figure in the groundbreaking Vietnam War book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young," which was turned into a movie starring Mel Gibson that debuts nationwide next weekend. A photo of Rescorla, haggard but fierce with his bayonet fixed, graces the cover of the true-life military thriller co-authored by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and former UPI reporter Joe Galloway.

In the midst of battle, the fierce anti-Communist sang old Cornish tunes to boost morale. The men of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry nicknamed him "Hard Core" for his daring exploits. But beneath this platoon leader's steel exterior lay soulful introspection. Rescorla, who later became a military instructor, construction firm owner, writer, lawyer and professor, shared with Moore and Galloway his recollections after the infamous battle at Landing Zone X-Ray in Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley: "We were flown away, but the stench of the dead would stay with me for years after the battle. Below us the pockmarked earth was dotted with enemy dead. Most of the platoon were smiling. Suddenly a grenadier next to me threw up on my lap. I understood how he felt. He was, like many, a man who had fought bravely even though he had no stomach for bloodletting." Rescorla earned a Silver Star, a Purple Heart and Bronze Stars for Valor and Meritorious Service. He became a U.S. citizen in 1967, got married, had children, divorced, remarried and found midlife success on Wall Street as vice president of security at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. His office was on the 44th floor of the south tower.

Rescorla brought military precision, preparation and intensity to the job. He drilled employees regularly and gave prescient warnings to Port Authority officials that the Twin Towers were extremely vulnerable to a terrorist attack. His advice was ignored. During the 1993 World Trade Center garage bombing, Rescorla ensured that every one of his firm's employees was safely evacuated. He was the last man out of the building. Again, he offered his expertise and advice to the Port Authority. Again, it was ignored. And again, on Sept. 11, Rescorla found himself leading a massive evacuation of Morgan Stanley's 2,700-person workforce -- which occupied floors 44 through 74 of the south tower. As soon as the first plane hit the north tower, Rescorla sprung into action. He ignored the admonition of Port Authority security officials to stay put. A co-worker shot a now-famous photograph of Rescorla commanding his troops with a bullhorn. Employees marched two-by-two down the stairwells. Rescorla sang patriotic songs, and " God Bless America" to keep them calm. "Today is a proud day to be an American," he is said to have told co-workers. Most of Morgan Stanley's employees were safely out of the building by the time the second plane hit the south tower. All but six of Morgan Stanley's workers survived. Rescorla was one of the lost six.

He was last seen walking back up the stairs, in search of stragglers.

Rick Rescorla was the World Trade Center security chief for the financial services firm Morgan Stanley. He anticipated an air attack on the World Trade Center. This is from a 45 minute documentary about him called, "The Man Who Predicted 9/11".

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http://www.lzxray.com/prolog.htm

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Wild Thing's comment.......

A Shakespeare quote :
"His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world 'This was a man!'"

I have the book and saw the film and have been reading about Lt. Rick Rescorla for many years. Thank God for men like Lt. Rick Rescorla, America has truly been blessed.

There is also an excellent book on Rick Rescorla's life: Heart of a Soldier.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (8)

September 09, 2009

Alabama State Fair To Have Welcome Home Celebration for our Vietnam Veterans

Alabama State Fair with a Welcome Home Celebration for our Vietnam Veterans

October 9th

Greetings my friends,

As you know a Welcome Home celebration is long overdue for all of our Vietnam Veterans. The heroes have always deserved this, and I am so proud to announce their day has finally come in the great state of Alabama. Last year I was selected to lead a committee for our State fair in Montgomery doing a kickoff for the fair honoring our World War II Veterans, and having a tribute to our men and women of our Armed Forces. The PGR proudly escorted these heroes to the Fair, and stood proudly as all of them were Honored. Shortly after this event I was asked how to follow up this wonderful event, and I simply stated it is time to do what should of been done over 30 years ago. So my friends the day has come to say Thank You for all they have done, to finally give them the Welcome Home they earned and deserved, and to ensure them "NEVER AGAIN. This was accepted and now we have began the motion to make their dreams come true.

On 09, Oct09 in Montgomery Alabama we will kick off the Alabama State Fair with a Welcome Home Celebration for our Vietnam Veterans. This will include a parade into the fair grounds, and a wonderful tribute inside the coliseum.

We have secured General Hal Moore as our key note speaker. I have also secured a most fitting tribute, a fly over by a group of Huey Helicopters. The PGR will ride into the Parade staging, and then will continue onto the fair grounds.

Let me say, only our Vietnam Vets will be riding in this parade, as it is their day, and it is the rest of our duties to stand and cheer for our Heroes. Our Vietnam Veterans that are members will be seated, and the rest of us will line the Coliseum with our most proud Flag Line ever. This will be open to all that served during this era, so please get the word out to your friends and community.

I will be updating this thread as we receive more details

http://patriotguard.org/ALLForums/tabid/61/forumid/53/postid/1168728/view/topic/Default.aspx

We are also in the planning stages of having an event after the Fair, so please mark this day on your calendar, and making this a weekend event. We will contact Motels and try and receive a discounted rate for those of you who may want to attend.

Remember this day is very special, and all of us should be proud to attend. If you are a Vietnam Veteran, Thank You and Welcome Home, if you are not please join me on the side of the road, and help me cheer our true American heroes.

Again Thank You and excuse me if I sound a little proud, because I am, I am very proud of each and everyone of you. We have stood beside many of them as they Welcomed Home many of our Heroes, this time we will stand for them "Welcoming them home".

Jim "Dinky Dau " Lorenzo has secured a great Hotel rate for this event, as many of his Vietnam Veterans will be staying here, this rate will also apply to everyone. Make sure when you reserve your room please advise them, you are either VFW of PGR to secure the quoted rate of 49.00.

We will be updating staging times later through the PGR thread and another Statewide. Please get this word out to everyone, the streets of Montgomery need to be lined with Americans showing their appreciation to our Heroes. This will be late afternoon of the 9th.

Mission Coordinator:

Paul"Penguin"Reynolds - Alabama State Captain

alabamapgr@gmail.com

Wild Thing's comment.....

This is wonderful and I wanted to make sure to help get the word out about it. God bless our Vietnam Vets and thank you!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (10)

August 22, 2009

Letter To Nancy Pelosi from a Vietnam Veteran

Vietnam Veteran Dennis Guthrie Of Guthrie, David, Henderson & Staton, P.L.L.C., Takes On Nancy Pelosi

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Nancy Pelosi, Obama Democrats Call 'Health Care' Protesters 'un-American'

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This is so great, just click the PDF address to read it.

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/Letter%20To%20Pelosi.pdf

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Wild Thing's comment.......

I love this man's letter, he does not mess around, he gets right to the point. Fantastic!

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (6)

August 17, 2009

Fort Campbell Welcomes Home Vietnam vets

Vietnam veterans enter a hangar at Fort Campbell, Ky., during a ceremony welcoming them home Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009. Hundreds of veterans finally got the homecoming they never had when they returned from the Vietnam War decades ago. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Fort Campbell welcomes home Vietnam vets

Tears filled the eyes of some Vietnam veterans who were warmly greeted with cheers from their family and friends Sunday in an re-enactment of their original return from the war, when they were often met with angry demonstrators and harsh headlines.

The ceremony was a first for the and the Army, said Maj. Patrick Seiber, an Army spokesman based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

"Our hope is that other units and other posts will follow our lead in having this type of ceremony," he said.

Mickey Leighton, a 72-year-old Army veteran from Naples, Fla., said listening to the applause and praise from the community was very emotional.

Leighton, who started his military career at Fort Campbell in 1956, served two tours in Vietnam including the Tet Offensive. He returned in 1972 in the midst of angry anti-war protests that often placed blame on the individual soldiers.

"We were treated very shabbily," he said. "In some cases they would throw eggs at us, they would throw empty beer bottles at us and they would call us baby-killers."

He said many soldiers would immediately change clothes because they didn't want to wear their uniforms in public in the late 1960s and early '70s while traveling home after returning from war.

"Never in the history of the military have I known of any division or any military installation providing a specific welcome home for Vietnam veterans," Leighton said. "This is very touching."

In contrast, Fort Campbell soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are welcomed back with a ceremony after every deployment, with many completing three or four tours since the wars began.

Army leaders and the community around Fort Campbell collaborated for the Vietnam ceremony, Seiber said. The 101st Airborne Division Association, a group for former soldiers from the division, helped to organize and get the word out.

"I can't think of a better community to do this in than the Fort Campbell community," Seiber said.

Although many veterans had ties to Fort Campbell, the ceremonies included those from almost all the services. Many wore pieces of their old uniforms such as pins, awards and ribbons. Relatives filled the bleachers holding up signs that read "Welcome Home" and "Thank you for your service."

Gene Jones, 67, of Louisville, went to war in 1964 and 1965 with the 101st Airborne. He spent two years in the hospital recovering after he lost his leg in the fighting.

"The American public didn't support the war," he said. "I was there because I thought I was doing the right thing," he said.

"Evidently I was doing the right thing because of the turnout like this. We were long due," he said of the ceremony. "It brings tears to your eyes."

Seiber said he expected more than 1,500 veterans to participate during multiple ceremonies.

Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, said the time had come to do the right thing.

"We realize that many of you did not receive the honorable homecoming you deserved as American heroes," Campbell said. "We wanted to make sure that another day doesn't go by when you did not have a proper welcome home."

TriState

A long awaited welcome home for veterans of the Vietnam war. Many veterans were not greeted with much fanfare.

In fact, many returned home to angry protesters and treated like they were the enemy.

Edward Fowler served in Vietnam and Desert Storm, he spent more than 20 years in the army.

"When I first come back from Vietnam a 12-year old girl threw feces at me- I couldn't ride a cab I had to put my uniform in the trunk, this was a long time coming."

The special event has been in the works for months- event organizers originally expected about 600 soldiers and their families.

It turned out to be much bigger. Nearly 2,000 soldiers signed up-- Fort Campbell officials added two more ceremonies as attendance soared, so that no soldier would be turned away.

The event had an Evansville connection- David Jones a life-long resident said his wife came up with the idea to honor Vietnam veterans.

Army spokesperson major Patrick Seber said he hopes the event will inspire other units and posts will follow this example and hold similar ceremonies across the country.

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Wild Thing's comment.......

I wish that this could make up for the truly shameful way these men were treated, but I think not. But I am VERY grateful what what Fort Campbell has done. God bless them and God bless all our Vietnam Veterans.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (9)

August 16, 2009

Veterans from WWII, Korean and VietNam in Parade in Key Peninsula, Wash. by Jack

Amongst WWII, Korean and VietNam Veterans, my first parade, we rode in the M35A2's owned by a couple members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, both VietNam veterans. I'm holding the driver, from falling while he's trying to lower the stubborn windshield as we prepped the two 2-1/2 tons for the 3 mile round trip. This is at the Key Peninsula fire Station. ( Key Peninsula, Washington State)

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I am in the back of the Deuce

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Key Peninsula Veterans Institute, they are the ones in the green jackets

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We tossed out about 5 gallons of hard candy to everyone along the road.

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Wild Thing's comment.......

Woncderful, I love it, thanks for the photos Jack ! I am also so glad there is a Military Vehicle Preservation Association. It is fun to be in a parade and they take a lot of work, but it is always worth it.

Thank you Jack for sharing these very special photos and your day.

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....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (4)

August 13, 2009

VFW: Woodstock Wasn't the Only Thing Happening 40 Years Ago

VFW: Woodstock Wasn't the Only Thing Happening 40 Years Ago

Newsbusters

By Colleen Raezler

While some in the media have been dusting off their love beads, bell-bottoms and broomstick skirts in an effort to wax nostalgic about Woodstock, the VFW has reminded its members that the world did not stop for those four days in August 1969.

In fact, for 109 American soldiers, the world ended that weekend.

VFW Magazine honored those soldiers in the August 2009 cover story, ""While Woodstock Rocked, GIs Died."

Much has been made over the "half a million strong" that flocked to a dairy farm in rural New York to celebrate music and peace. Richard K. Kolb instead compared the coverage Newsweek and Time gave to the festival while shortchanging American efforts in Vietnam.

"Newsweek described them as ‘a youthful, long-haired army, almost as large as the U.S. force in Vietnam," wrote Kolb. Time claimed Woodstock "may well rank as one of the significant political and sociological events of the age." The same article referred to the Vietnam as the "meaningless war in the jungles of Southeast Asia" and cited sociologist Amitai Etzoni, who stated that "the young need opportunities for authentic service."

As for those that gave the ultimate sacrifice in the name of "authentic service" Kolb reported, "The casualties they sustained over those four days were genuine, yet none of the elite media outlets were praising their selflessness.

But unlike Woodstock's audience, labeled by Newsweek as "the nation's affluent white young," Kolb wrote that the soldiers killed that weekend "mirrored the population of the time."

Kolb offered statistics to prove his case:

"A full 92 percent were white (seven of whom had Spanish surnames) and 8 percent black. Some 67 percent were Protestants; 28 percent Catholic. A disproportionate number - more than one-third - hailed from the South. More than two-thirds were single; nearly one-third married. Not surprisingly, the vast majority (91 percent) were under the age of 30, with 78 percent between the ages of 18 and 22. "

Kolb also poignantly noted, "Of the four days, Aug. 18 - the last day of "peace and love" in the Catskills when the 50,000 diehards departed after the final act - was the worst for the men in Vietnam. Thirty-five of them died on that one miserable day."

Thirty-five died. Hundreds more were wounded. On August 9, 2009, The Washington Post ran a story about a man who figured prominently if briefly in the legend of Woodstock. As Post staff writer Neely Tucker described it:

"It was like the second day of the festival and Rodgers, 6-foot-5 and about 120 pounds, all of 19 years old, staggered out of the Port-O-San portable toilet, marijuana pipe in hand, and wow, there were guys with cameras, making what became the iconic film "Woodstock." Rodgers's blue shirt was open, he was unwashed and unkempt, his brown hair was an unruly wad on top of his head, and he was about 17 tokes over the line."

"Want some? Want some?" he says to the filming crew, offering hits. He's got this goofy grin. He says "Far out!" and "Out of sight!" For lo these many years, the lovable pothead scene has been a fan favorite.

Tucker's article caught up with Rodgers, forty years on, using nearly 1,500 words to sketch the unremarkable life of an unreconstructed hippie. It is perhaps too much to ask that the Post spill even a fraction of that ink to chronicle the life of one of the hundreds of Americans who were wounded that weekend on the other side of the world. It doesn't fit the self-congratulatory nostalgia.

The sacrifice and service that ultimately changed and, in the case of 109, ended the lives of many young Americans is not the defining notion of that summer weekend in 1969. They are overshadowed by the 500,000 people that crowded onto a farm for three days of self indulgence and ... entertainment.

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Wild Thing's comment.......

Our troops never lost a battle and they never lost the war. The corrupt South Vietnamese Government and the corrupt United States government, the leaders in Washington, Hanoi Jane and her ilk, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and the Bill Clinton's of our country they are the ones that lost the war. They are the ones that should be hung in shame!!

Our troops, our Veterans from the Vietnam War should hold their heads high and know with all that is in them how very proud and honored most Americans are for every life that served, fought, was injured and those that were killed, how humbled we are to have such Heroes in our country.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (10)

July 20, 2009

A Vietnam Veteran Writes About the Traitor Cronkite

FEBRUARY 27, 1968 ......WALTER CRONKITE'S "WE ARE MIRED IN STALEMATE" BROADCAST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdOb_183d1o .....VIDEO

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Walter Cronkite: Only The Good Die Young

Right in a Left World Blog....Please also check out his blog.

by Lew Waters

Walter Cronkite, long-time news reporter and anchorman for CBS News has died at the age of 92.

Labeled by many as “iconic” and “the most trusted man in America,” I cannot share that view of this man. Like Debbie Schlussel, I have no tears to shed for a man who held the responsibility of responsibly and honestly reporting the news to America, deliberately gave a false view of our involvement in the nation of Viet Nam during the 1960’s.

Much of America listened every evening to the man they trusted and never suspected that he was beginning the very biased news against America that helped lead America down the path of the communist nation we are now becoming.

In the Viet Nam War, many seemed to be surprised by the sudden attacks across the nation in the Tet of 68 offensive. Even though our intelligence was at best sketchy, American and South Vietnamese were not caught totally off guard and the offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Communist ended up a huge failure for the Communist North Militarily. Their numbers were decimated and it took many years for them to recover and launch the final drive South, defeating the South Vietnamese who no longer received any aid from America due to Democrat congressional policies.

In many regards the Tet of 68 Offensive was very similar to Germany’s Battle of the Bulge in World War Two, a desperate attempt.

It is ironic that Cronkite reported on both battles of desperation, accurately reporting the Bravery and steadfastness of World War Troops who pushed back the Nazi’s, but labeling our decisive victory in Tet as a “stalemate” and “unwinnable” in a broadcast aired on February 27, 1968 upon his return to America from Viet Nam and ending that broadcast with,

“it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.”

Abandoning a struggling ally is hardly “the best they could do,” as millions of Asians in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos paid with their lives as Communism spread across Southeast Asia and untold thousands more lost their lives as they desperately tried escaping the throes of Communism in rickety boats across the South China Sea in what was labeled the Boat People.

In an October 2000 speech, retired General Fredrick Weyand, who commanded II Field Force during the Tet of 68 offensive said in part,

“After Tet, General Westmoreland sent Walter Cronkite out to interview me. I was in Command of the Forces in the South around Saigon and below and I was proud of what we'd done. We had done a good job there. So, Walter came down and he spent about an hour and a half interviewing me. And when we got done, he said, “well you've got a fine story. But I'm not going to use any of it because I've been up to Hue. I've seen the thousands of bodies up there in mass graves and I'm determined to do all in my power to bring this war to an end as soon as possible.”

“It didn't seem to matter that those thousands of bodies were of South Vietnamese citizens who had been killed by the Hanoi soldiers and Walter wasn't alone in this because I think many in the media mirrored his view…”

“When I was in Paris at the Peace Talks, it was the most frustrating assignment I think I ever had. Sitting in that conference, week after week listening to the Hanoi negotiators, Le Duc Tho and his friends lecture us. Reading from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Herald Tribune, the Atlanta Constitution, NBC, CBS, you name it. Their message was always the same. “Hey, read your newspapers, listen to your TV. The American people want you out of Vietnam. Now, why don't you just go ahead and get out?” So finally a Peace Agreement was signed that everyone knew would be violated and with no recourse or hope of enforcement on our part.”

General Weyand went on to say he doesn’t blame the media entirely for the outcome of the war, but Cronkite’s words expressing how he had no intention of reporting the Battle truthfully evidence how the media spearheaded the anti-war effort at turning public opinion against the effort to keep the South Vietnamese free and towards supporting the Communist Forces of the North.

In short, he sold out America and our Troops as well as millions of Southeast Asians.

In the days ahead many will label Cronkite as “iconic,” “legendary,” and heap accolades upon him I feel are undeserved. Cronkite himself called what he said on Vietnam as his “proudest achievement.”

It escapes me how having the blood of millions of people, over 40,000 of which are American Soldiers on your hands could be seen as his “proudest achievement.”

Uncle Walt, as he was affectionately known, is gone. Dead at the age of 92 and who lived much longer than many of my brothers whose blood is on his hands that he sold out. His death at this ripe old age reinforces the old adage, “only the good die young.”

I have no tears for the man but offer condolences to his family and loved ones.

Others who sold out the Vietnamese and American Troops will join him one day. Jane Fonda, John Kerry, Ramsey Clark, Bill Ayers and so many others who today lavish themselves with the very luxuries they called for others to scorn as they spoke out against a free Viet Nam will also face the grim reaper in time.

Just as I hope and pray for Walter Cronkite, they too should face every single one of those well more than 40,000 American Troops their anti-American conduct helped kill on their descent to hell!

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Wild Thing's comment.......

The media spent a lot of the weekend praising Cronkite. I hope they have gotten it out of their system now with the new week starting.

I know I already posted about him the day he died.

Communist and Traitor Walter Cronkite....DEAD!

But Lew Waters did such a great job at his blog, when I read what he wrote I wanted to share it with you. Lew is a Vietnam Veteran.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (12)

July 06, 2009

Robert McNamara Dead Good Riddance You POS! NO Mourning Here

Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916, in Oakland, California ) is an American business executive and the former 8th United States Secretary of Defense. McNamara served as Defense Secretary from 1961 to 1968, during the Vietnam War. After holding that position he served as President of the World Bank from 1968 until 1981.

This is a photograph taken on Nov. 29, 1965 during a visit by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to the Base at Cam Ranh Bay where LRC was commanding the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing.

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Wild Thing's comment........

“What we still don’t understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same at the battles of TET. You defeated us! We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media w as definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We were ready to surrender. You had won!”
General Vo Nguyen Giap in his memoirs

DEAD at 93 years old....Long overdue

He abused that power, he experimented with the lives of good men, then turned his back on them.

He forced our military to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. Then he gave our military a weapon that would not work and stuck with these weapons after he knew soldiers were dying because their weapons would jam and there wasn't enough ammunition.

From Wikipedia:

"McNamara ordered the weapon be adopted unmodified, in its current configuration, for immediate issue to all services, despite receiving reports noting several deficiencies with the M16 as a service rifle, including the lack of a chrome-lined bore and chamber, the 5.56 mm projectile's instability under Arctic conditions, and the fact that large quantities of 5.56 mm ammunition required for immediate service were not available."

He treated our soldiers as if they were inconsequential pawns. Remember when he told the soldiers they were using too many bullets.

He made money on a book and never did a bloody thing for Vietnam vets.

He harbored his own son and his draft-dodging friends in his house when they came to DC to demonstrate against it. This was a man who later praised the antiwar left and wouldn’t lift a hand (not even from the sale of his “book” about Vietnam) to help veterans of the war.

This was a man so desperate to be accepted back into the Georgetown party circuit of rich liberals that he would repudiate the war he crafted and the men who fought it (Robert Novak wrote that he’d been running around Georgetown for years trashing the war). This was a man I saw on a tv interview one time in the 80s shrieking “I was against it”, when he was its architect.

As for Agent Orange, McNamara knew about its potential deadly effects even as it was being used in Vietnam, and long before veterans came home to die or waste away from the herbicide's after effects.

McNamara remained silent for years as the government stonewalled Vietnam veterans who claimed Agent Orange caused their cancer or nausea or violent rages or numbness in limbs or birth defects in their children. Veterans' pleas for testing, treatment, and compensation continued to be ignored.

Finally, in 1983, Judge George Pratt, Jr. agreed to hear the lawsuit of Vietnam Veterans against Dow Chemical for conspiring to keep hidden the truth about Agent Orange. For the first time, documents released by Pratt provided a detailed look at what the company and the government knew about dioxin danger and when. In 1965, when the government was purchasing millions of pounds of Agent Orange, Dow's internal report stated that dioxin could be "exceptionally toxic" to humans and that "fatalities have been reported in the literature." Pratt noted that McNamara attended meetings where the human health hazards of dioxin were discussed. In addition, said Pratt, McNamara's Defense Department commissioned a study which noted the "health dangers of the herbicide" in 1967.

Barry M. Goldwater once said McNamara was the most dishonest man he ever met.

They can roll it up in a VC flag and roll him into a pile of water buff dung. My Dad hated McNamara with a passion. He is smiling in Heaven now to know McNamara is dead.

I will not say “God rest his soul”. And for you Democrats that lurk here, this will not interfere with his ability to vote Democrat he can be added to your DEAD people ACORN voting list.

Ok next,.......Walter Cronkite, Kerry, Hanoi Jane.... please and thank you ever so. Just sayin.....

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:37 PM | Comments (20)

June 26, 2009

U.S. Vietnam Veterans Send Home Fallen Comrades

A computer screen reveals the location of a Vietnam War aircraft shot down over the sea off the central province of Phu Yen. The US Navy oceanographic survey ship USNS Bruce C. Heezen, anchored at Tien Sa port in the central city of Da Nang, is on a month-long MIA search mission off the coast of Vietnam.

US and Vietnamese flags fly atop the US Navy oceanographic survey ship USNS Bruce C. Heezen, anchored at Tien Sa port in the central city of Da Nang. The ship is on a month-long MIA search mission off the coast of Vietnam.

A US Air force crew salutes a coffin containing the remains of a US soldier killed in the Vietnam War, during a MIA repatriation ceremony held at Da Nang airport. Two sets of MIA remains which were recovered recently in the central province of Quang Tri were airlifted to Hawaii.

US Vietnam veterans send home fallen comrades

Breitbart

Standing to attention in the hot sun, a Marines baseball cap over his heart, US veteran Alan Segal watched as an honour guard carried the flag-draped coffins of his fellow servicemen onto an Air Force plane, taking them home 34 years after the Vietnam War ended.

Beside him another US veteran of the Vietnam conflict, Rick Janovick, 58, saluted fellow servicemen whose names he did not even know.

Segal and Janovick, who have chosen to live where they once fought, were among dozens who witnessed Wednesday's repatriation ceremony which came as the US and Vietnam step up cooperation in the hunt for missing servicemen.

Among the guests were crew from the USNS Bruce C. Heezen, the first US Navy ship to join the search effort. The ship has just completed a 12-day survey for missing American aircraft in waters off central and south-central Vietnam.

The two sets of remains sent home on Wednesday came from the land but US officials hoped the Heezen's involvement would speed up the search for underwater sites, meaning the remains of airmen still missing at sea could, in the future, also be repatriated with dignity.

Since Vietnam and the US began cooperating more than 20 years ago in the search for the remains of missing US servicemen, more than 600 have been repatriated but about 1,300 are still unaccounted for in Vietnam, the US says.

The Heezen is a civilian-manned oceanographic survey ship ideal for detecting aircraft crash sites on the ocean floor, officials said.

At its heart is an air-conditioned room of humming computers and monitors showing data gathered by the ship's sonars and other instruments.

On a tour given to reporters on Wednesday before the ship left Vietnam, scientists and technicians showed some of the information they had gathered.

To the untrained eye, the shadows and bumps from the ocean floor do not look like much. But the sonar data came from an area where the team was looking for a downed helicopter, Ward said.

"We don't know if it's the helicopter but we hope it is," he said.

A diving mission at a later date will let them know for sure whether they have found the CH-46 transport chopper which went down in the South China Sea with six servicemen aboard during the war, Ward said.

Hundreds of US aircraft and their crews are still missing in Vietnam's coastal waters, JPAC said.

The searchers are assuming human remains still exist with the wreckage despite being submerged for decades, Ward said.

"We have recovered remains from underwater crash sites before, so we know that it's possible," he said.

The Heezen's commander, Robert Reish, said the chance to contribute to bringing home some of those missing personnel made this the most rewarding mission of his 11 years on oceanographic survey ships.

"That meant a lot to me," he said.

Robert Delgado, the mission's senior scientist, had similar feelings.

"We all have friends and classmates and some people who have been lost," said Delgado, who served on a navy refuelling ship during the war.

Reish said there is no definite date for the Heezen to return to Vietnam but he described this first visit as very successful.

"We have found contacts of interest for further investigation, which was the goal of this mission," he said on the ship after returning from the airport where he, Delgado and others from the Heezen had witnessed the repatriation ceremony.

While the Heezen searched the sea, a joint Vietnamese and US team worked on land, where they found remains from a 1971 helicopter crash in central Quang Tri province, Ward said.

Another set came from a November 1969 battle in the same province.

Both sets were flown to Hawaii on Wednesday for identification after the ceremony, which took place against a backdrop of hazy mountains in the city where the first American combat troops arrived in 1965.

"We don't know how many individuals for sure the remains represent. Could be two or more," Ward said.

Under a nearly cloudless sky, two black boxes containing the remains sat on a table covered in a white cloth, wafting in a gentle breeze that offered little relief from the sun.

Soldiers in dress uniform slowly carried the boxes, one by one, to waiting metal coffins and then saluted.

Each box filled only about one-third of its coffin, which the soldiers wrapped with an American flag.

Some in the crowd held hands on their hearts as the coffins were carried up a ramp and into the belly of the airplane, past two lines of green-suited aircrew who would deliver them.

Janovick, the former Marine, took photographs. The other old soldier, Segal, 64, watched silently, holding his hat.

"It took a long time to get them home," Janovick said.

"But they're going home now," said Segal.

Wild Thing's comment........

The warrior ethos are something that our military men and women live by each and every day. It defines who and what they are as a person and as a servicemember. Those ethos read as follows.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

It’s important that we never forget these men and women. It’s important that WE as a nation do everything in our power to ensure that they all eventually come home. As we remember the sacrifices of our servicemembers and veterans, let us also remember the sacrifices of our POW/MIA’s and their families

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......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (3)

June 14, 2009

After Nearly 40 Years, a Salute Honoring Minnesota's Vietnam Veterans

Nine-year-old Kaleb Bartlett searched for the name of a soldier killed in Vietnam on a replica of the National Vietnam Memorial Wall which was on display at the Minnesota Honors Vietnam Era Veterans event on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds.

Vietnam veteran Arthur Turner, Minneapolis, talked about his experiences, which included losing a close friend, Lamar Charles Young, in 1967, while attending the Minnesota Honors Vietnam Era Veterans event on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds. Turner and his wife, Mary Ann, tried to find Young�s name on the replica of the National Vietnam Memorial Wall but were unable to locate it.

"On behalf of a grateful state, welcome and thank you. We appreciate each and every Vietnam-era veteran here today," said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. "For many of you we know that it may have seemed that America's appreciation and recognition might not come. Yet today, I hope you know your sacrifice is valued, your courage is admired and your patriotism is celebrated," continued Pawlenty.

A celebration honoring Minnesota's Vietnam vets was marked both by who was there -- and who wasn't.

Star Tribune

If someone threw you a party about 40 years too late, would you still go?

On Saturday, at least 1,500 of Minnesota's Vietnam-era veterans did. The vets, along with friends and family that brought the total crowd to an estimated 5,000, came to an event in their honor held on the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul. There were cheese curds and hot dogs, plane flyovers and a color parade, live entertainment and VIP speakers, laughing children and nodding grannies. A lot like any summer weekend festival, until you got to the "Traveling Wall," a three-fifths scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., listing the names of the dead, including more than 1,000 Minnesotans.

One middle-aged man with a long ponytail sat nearly touching the wall, cross-legged, motionless, for several minutes before wordlessly rising and walking away. Another, in casual business attire, bent down to find a name, then stood up and swiped at his eyes. It was the most sobering feature of an event planned to give long-overdue honors to the nation's most underappreciated veterans.

The weather seemed to salute as well, giving the vets one of those flawless June days that make the rest of the Minnesota year bearable. Men wore their hearts on their sleeves, their chests, their backs, heads and lapels. T-shirts reading "Vets Helping Vets" and "All gave some ... some gave all" now stretched across bellies grown larger and softer since the six-pack abs of basic training.

'Hanoi Jane'

Thick shocks of dark hair had gone white and wispy. But the camaraderie was still there, as in this overheard exchange about actress Jane Fonda, daughter of Henry Fonda, who enraged some by doing radio broadcasts from Hanoi, North Vietnam, during the war. :

Guy One: "Hanoi Jane. Remember her?" Guy Two: "Oh, yeah." Guy One: "I never paid to see any of her movies. Liked her old man, though." Guy Two: "Oh, yeah, me too."

At the memorial wall, Arthur Schneider of Coon Rapids knelt down and carefully took a rubbing on the name George P. Collins, his wife's brother, who grew up in Wyoming, Minn., and was killed early in the war in 1962.

"All the family was told was that he died honorably," said Schneider, a Vietnam vet himself. "In 2000, my wife put a notice on an online site asking for anyone who had served with him. Four years later, she got an e-mail. The guy said that he served with George, and that he was tending to his wounded platoon commander when he was shot. We're really glad to know that."

Schneider's parents were both World War II veterans, and he thinks they deserve the label "The Greatest Generation." Still, he said, it's tough for any soldier who served in Vietnam not to wish he'd experienced a similar hero's welcome.

"I don't want to sound like a victim, because I didn't have it as bad as a lot of them," he said. "But that's the hole that remains in our hearts, the way people acted when we came back."

Even growing up on an Indian reservation, an insular community known for circling around its own, didn't guarantee immunity from that backlash, said Rod High Elk, who led a group from White Earth in the color parade.

'It took about 20 years'

"Most of us just tried to sneak back into the life we had before," he said. "We didn't get any fanfare, and we didn't go around publicizing we were in the war. It took about 20 years to come out of our shells."

High Elk's friend Merlin Rondo recalled how he spent his first day back: "I flew into Fargo and spent the day hitchhiking around by myself looking for a cheap car to buy. Nope, no greeting party."

The St. Paul event had a reunion tent where members of different armed-forces branches could post notes with contact information.

Big round patch

But all it took for Jim Kostek of Brainerd to reconnect with an old comrade was spotting the big round patch on Art Turner's back.

Kostek and Turner, who originally hails from southern Georgia and now lives in Minneapolis, were both just 19 when they served in the same motor-transportation and service unit in 1966. They reminisced about the "Danang 500," a race whose winner "got a glass of real milk and a kiss from the Red Cross lady," Kostek said.

Turner recalled "burning the -- well, we'll call it the pooper," he said. This involved 55-gallon oil drums cut in half to be used as toilets, then dropped in a pit with some diesel fuel and burned up.

"I threw a grenade in one time," said Turner. "They might still be looking for me on that."

The two men sounded like a couple of old school buddies relating favorite pranks. That was easier than talking about the "nasty stuff, seeing dying every day," said Turner, who walks with a limp and a cane, courtesy of a knee shot in three places.

Two women friends of Kostek's and Turner's wife stood to the side, letting the guys catch up.

"When [the vets] came back, a lot of them went through at least one wife," said Kostek's friend Elaine Schultz, also of Brainerd. "I went with a guy once, if there were Vietnamese kids on TV, he'd look away."

"I don't think it would have worked out with me and Art if we married before he went to war," said Mary Ann Turner. "They went through too much, changed too much."

After the color parade and flyovers by Vietnam-era planes, speakers emphasized taking pride in service. Gov. Tim Pawlenty called the hostile reception Vietnam vets received "shameful" and said that "never again" would such disrespect be shown returning American soldiers.

"Welcome home, brothers and sisters," said WCCO anchor and military veteran Don Shelby. Pawlenty echoed that sentiment, and the crowd's roar of approval seemed to indicate that for these soldiers, late is better than never.

Wild Thing's comment.........

I am so glad they finally did this for our Vietnam Veterans. I do have to say it sure as hell took them long enough. Sorry but I had to say that. I am not ungrateful but it needed to be said.

Thank you Minn. and it sounds like it was done first class for our American Heroes. I am glad many of them got to meet each other and share and talk and njust being with their brothers.

Thenk you to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty too. I read where he is not going to run again, to bad he is a good Republican.

WELCOME HOME to ALL OUR VIETNAM Veterans! And Thnk you!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (4)

May 30, 2009

Veterans Patriotic Stickers Under Fire

Vet's Patriotic Stickers Under Fire

FOX

DALLAS

Frank Larison is a disabled veteran with more than 14 years of service, including more than a year of combat duty in Vietnam.

The 58-year-old former Marine now finds himself under attack by his Dallas homeowners association for displaying seven decals on his vehicle supporting the Marine Corps.

"To me, it's being patriotic, and it shows that I served," the veteran told FOX 4.

The board says the decals are advertisements that violate HOA rules, and must be covered or removed.

Otherwise, the homeowners association for The Woodlands II on The Creek --- where Larimore has lived for eight years --- says in a letter it will tow the car at Larimore's expense. The board also threatens to fine him $50 for any future incident.

Larimore says the decals, ranging from the Marine emblem to Semper Fi slogans, aren't advertisements for anything. "You can't buy freedom," he reasoned.

Some neighbors are outraged.

"That is his identity," said neighbor Mary Castagna. "He goes to a lot of the veteran meetings, and it means a lot to him. Everyone else agrees with it; it doesn't bother anybody."

"He's in the Marines, and he's proud of it, and I don't blame him," said neighbor Paul Hardy. "If I'd gone through what he's gone through, I'd be kind of proud of it myself."

The letter from the board states you can't have any form of advertisement anywhere on your car on your property. FOX 4 cameras spotted bumper stickers for political parties, health causes, and other non-commercial interests on the property as well.

One board member said he was unaware the HOA presidents sent the letter and did not know of any issue with Larimore's vehicle.

"I will be looking into it," said board member Art Bradford. "I didn't know anything about this. I haven't seen this."

The board president was out of town and unavailable. The condo management company did not want to comment.

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Wild Thing's comment..........

The board of The Woodlands II on The Creek says the decals violate the rules of the homeowners association, which deems them advertisements — even though the TV station spotted other residents' vehicles with bumper stickers for political parties, health causes and other non-commercial interests.

This man's HOA is who offends. I hope he goes after them and people see what horrible people they are to do this to a Veteran. It isn't as though they are following their own rules about stickers, THEY ONLY WANTED TO GO AFTER A VETERAN! Can there be any doubt as to the sickness, that is Liberalism? Good Grief, America. . .come to your senses!

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....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (10)

May 29, 2009

Rolling Thunder 22nd Annual Memorial Day Weekend (photos and videos)

More than 500,000 motorcyclists converged on Washington, DC for the 22nd annual Rolling Thunder Memorial Day weekend.
This is Rolling Thunder 2009 in Washington D.C.

Check out the dedicated Marine that salutes the during the whole Parade with no breaks.

Also on the video is The Wall, The WWII Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial.

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Honor Guard March

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Sources for photos:

Stars and Stripes

Bill Jones Jr. Photo stream

Bricketts photos

rahyatt's photostream

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The air burshing on these motorcycles and other vehicles, cars, trucks etc. ALL dedicated to to those who servied, our POW-MIA's is so special it goes right to you heart!!!! ~ Wild Thing

WELCOME HOME and thank you! ~ Wild Thing

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.....Thank you Jim for the links for Stars and Strips, what awesome photos they had!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (7)

May 25, 2009

A Vietnam Nurse's Story at the Wall

A Vietnam Nurse's Story at the Wall

Mary "Edie" McCoy Meeks, ARMY Nurse, speaks at ceremony commemmorating the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

1stLieutenant Mary “Edie” McCoy Meeksserved in the Army Nurse Corps.from 1968-1970 and served for oneyear in Vietnam, splitting timebetween the 3rdField Hospital inSaigon and the 71stEvac Hospitalin Pleiku. She is a member of Rolling Thunder, Inc. and often spends her timevisiting with the sick at Veterans’Hospitals. She now works as a clinicalspine specialist in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Two of my aunts were nurses during the Korean war and one during WW11.

As this nurse shares her story we can know too the lives she got to know even for a short time will live within her always.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:10 PM | Comments (7)

May 24, 2009

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day

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From my website:

Vietnam Veterans

POW-MIA's

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (16)

May 23, 2009

Rolling Thunder Not Expecting Obama Greeting

Rolling Thunder not expecting Obama greeting

Washington Times

The last time Rolling Thunder roared into Washington, the president welcomed the riders in the White House driveway with a smile on his face and heartfelt personal greeting. This year, maybe not.

"We initially got a call this year saying the president wasn't going to greet us," said Artie Muller, founder of the group that is marking its 22nd annual patriotic motorcycle ride through Washington to draw attention to policy issues influencing veterans, active-duty military, prisoners of war and those still missing in action.

But a second call in recent days revealed that the White House would do something.

"We expect it will be a member of the staff, not a meeting with President Obama. We really won't know until sometime on Friday afternoon. But this is a step in the right direction," said #Nancy Regg, a spokeswoman for the group, which has 88 chapters across the country and expects to draw as many as a half-million bikers for a "Freedom Ride" on Sunday from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

An administration official confirmed Thursday that a group of Rolling Thunder members were expected at the White House on Friday, but was unsure with whom they would meet.

The official said the bikers would meet separately with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.

Rolling Thunder, meanwhile, is still on a mission. Whether Mr. Obama greets them or not, the organization has information to share.

"We've got a letter to pass on to the president about our issues and concerns. But we won't really know until Artie gets there," Ms. Regg said.

President George W. Bush, on the other hand, was very comfortable in the biker realm, as he was around pickup trucks and NASCAR. He was the first and only president to formally greet Rolling Thunder members, Ms. Regg said.

President Bush Meets With Rolling Thunder 5-25-2008

In 2008, Mr. Bush was made an honorary member of the group, accepted a cowhide biker's vest and posed for multiple photos. He also met with the group in the Oval Office.

"And I am just so honored to welcome you back. I want to thank you and all your comrades for being so patriotic and loving our country as much as you do. I don't know if this is the eighth time we've been together here, but it's pretty close.," Mr. Bush told the group, which included Mr. Muller.

"You've done a lot for the country, and the troops appreciate you, and the veterans appreciate you and your president appreciates you," Mr. Bush added.

Several Bush administration members rode with the group over the years, including Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, top economic adviser Edward Lazear and Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten.

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Wild Thing's comment........

This is not Swivel Heads’ type of crowd!!!!

"But a second call in recent days revealed that the White House would do something. "

Sure. A cardboard cutout of The First Thug which of course will have much more personality then the original..

The last time they came into town, we had a president. This year there is no president, but only an imposter in chief.
Obama is reminded of everything he is not. First on the list is they are Americans.

And we must not forget these are a bunch of Veterans that are on the DHS Terrorist list.

This is a two way kind of feeling.
1. I can't stand this creep Obama, so I would prefer he is not around any of our Veterans or our troops today. He is so far beneath them he would have to dig his way up from under the earth thousands of feet to even be able to see the bottom of our Veterans shoes.

2. I guess if it was a MUSLIM Saudi then Obama could show up in person to thank Rolling Thunder and appreciate all they have done and do. He could have another chance to bow again and he would like that.

BUT since this a group of macho, American Heroes that continue the fight for our POW-MIA's and oh dear just might have taken out a communist in the Vietnam war.... a communist like Obama he just can't show up to meet these men, these American Heroes in person. The roar of the bikes might hurt his ear drums, and so many Flags, so much patriotism would just be too much for HUSSEIN Obama to handle.

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Obama, Rolling Thunder meet privately

Washington Times

At 3:30 p.m. Friday, President Obama met privately with representatives of the group famous for its support of active-duty military, veterans and prisoners of war not to mention its distinctive blend of patriotism that includes Old Glory and motorcycles.

The moment was totally unexpected.

"The president stopped by while members of Rolling Thunder were meeting with administration officials about veterans' issues," said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.

"He was very happy to meet with them," he added.

The group included Rolling Thunder founder Artie Muller, national vice president Lynne Jenks and national president Gary Scheffmeyer.

The situation has been somewhat of a cliffhanger.

Things did not seem quite so friendly with the new administration, however. The culture of the White House appeared to have changed.

Last week, Mr. Muller told The Washington Times that he received word from the White House that Mr. Obama would not follow suit.

"They said he was too busy," Mr. Muller said at the time.

But the situation began to evolve. Mr. Muller a Vietnam-era Army veteran and Harley rider learned a few days later that "someone" from the White House would at least be there to accept a letter from Rolling Thunder that outlined the group's concerns about veterans, soldiers and POWs.

Who was this "someone?" An official? A Cabinet member? Bo, the White House pooch? No one knew.

In the end, it was the president. Mr. Obama came through at the close of a busy week .

The meeting was brief but cordial.

"We're here for the veterans, for our military, for America. And we want them to know we will never forget them," said Rolling Thunder spokeswoman Nancy Regg.

As for Mr. Obama, he'll get a rest with the wife and children at Camp David this weekend.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (10)

May 22, 2009

Rolling Thunder Memorial Day Weekend ~ " We Will Never Forget"

Washington D.C. Memorial Day Weekend

May 24,2009

POW-MIA

“WE WILL NEVER FORGET”

Keynote Speaker (Sunday, May 24)

Col. Michael D. Steele, U.S. Army

Mike Steele is a Colonel in the United States Army. He was a company commander in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment during the Somalia mission Operation Gothic Serpent, which resulted in the now famous book and movie Black Hawk Down, in which he was portrayed by actor Jason Isaacs.

Col. Steele was raised in north Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and served as offensive guard for the Bulldogs, a team that won three Southeastern Conference Championships and the 1980 National Championship.

After college, Col. Steele was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in 1983, and has served in a variety of leadership and staff positions in the 25th Infantry Division (Light), 10th Mountain Division (Light), the 82d Airborne Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 75th Ranger Regiment. His deployments are numerous.

In addition to his service in Somalia, he was a Major serving as the Operations Officer of an airborne battalion to secure the Panama Canal; as a Battalion Commander in Bosnia for Operation Joint Forge; as a Division Operations Officer in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom; and as a Brigade Commander in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Colonel Steele’s current assignment is as the Chief of Training Division, United States Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Atlanta. He has two Master’s degrees: one in Administration from Central Michigan University, and one in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. His awards include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge
Second Award, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge, Freefall Parachutist Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.

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Wild Thing's comment............

One time before I die, I would love to go to this. I am so glad Rolling Thunder does this every year. It is such a special time and in memory of our POW-MIA's Never to be forgotten ever.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Comments (6)

May 16, 2009

Maj. Steven Hutchison a Vietnam Vet and Served in Iraq ~ R.I.P.

Army Maj. Steven Hutchison fought battles in the jungles of Vietnam and then Hutchison served in Afghanistan for a year before deploying to Iraq in October, heading a 12-soldier team that trained the Iraqi military. Later, he was assigned to help secure Iraq’s southern border. He died in Basra, Iraq, of wounds from a roadside bomb in Al Farr.

He was part of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan.

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Scottsdale soldier, 60, oldest to die in Iraq

The Arizona Republic

Army Maj. Steven Hutchison, a senior soldier who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, wanted badly to defend his country after the Sept. 11 attacks, but his wife, Kandy, did not want him to re-up.

When breast cancer claimed Kandy Rohde's life in 2006, Hutchison, then 57, jumped at the chance to return to service, according to his brother, Richard.

Hutchison, 60, of Scottsdale, got his wish - but it ended tragically this week when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Al Farr, Iraq. He died Sunday in Basra, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Hutchison, who would have turned 61 on June 5, was the oldest soldier to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to Defense officials. He was there through a military Retiree Recall program that permits older, experienced warriors to return to action.

"He'd been a soldier all his life, and that's what he wanted to do," his brother said.

Richard Hutchison of Mesa finds little solace in the fact that his sibling was the oldest Iraq war soldier to give his life.

"Doesn't make me feel much better," he said. "He was probably my best friend. I loved him very much. I'm going to miss him."

The incident surrounding Hutchison's death is still under investigation. He was the only soldier killed in his vehicle, according to his brother.

Hutchison was one of roughly 700 officers and senior non-commissioned officers now on active duty as part of the military's Retiree Recall program. Hutchison had previously served in Afghanistan from August 2007 to August 2008.

"He hadn't been drafted, he didn't have to go, and he chose that he felt that he could serve and make a difference," said Lt. Col. Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman.

As a member of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Team, Hutchison was an adviser on an Army Military Training and Transition Team that trains Iraqi army and police units.

But the mission had recently changed, according to Hutchison's niece, Lori Hutchison, and her uncle found himself defending Iraq's borders near Basra.

According to Pentagon officials, the armed forces can reinstate retirees voluntarily up to age 64 for general officers, age 62 for warrant officers and age 60 for all others. The Army has an age limit of 42 for new soldiers who do not have prior service.

Lt. Col. George Wright, an Army spokesman and a retired soldier who rejoined the Army through the recall program, said Hutchison's decision was not hard.

"In volunteering, it's not a difficult choice," Wright said. "It's something we choose to do. It's because we love our country, and we love the Army, and we love the soldiers who are in it."

Retiree Recall soldiers, Wright said, maintain an online message board.

"I read about the dedication and the high level of professionalism and the desire to be of continuous service, and our major was doing just that," Wright said of Hutchison.

Such soldiers, Wright said, must maintain a physical, mental and moral state similar to when they previously served.

Members of the armed forces, including the National Guard and the Army Reserve, also must pass fitness tests every six months, meeting requirements in push-ups, sit-ups and the 2-mile run, among other areas.

"He was more than capable," Richard said his brother. Steven was always a runner, Richard said, running 2 to 4 miles per day, multiple times each week.

The two brothers would go hiking together, with Steven wearing a backpack.

Steven Hutchison previously served two tours of duty in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 as member of the 101st Airborne Division. A Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal recipient, he also was an Army instructor during his previous 20 years of service.

After earning an experimental-psychology degree in 1982, Hutchison served his final years in the Army as a research-and-development coordinator studying human engineering.

Upon retirement, Hutchison earned a doctorate in organizational psychology and went on to teach psychology at various California universities.

"If there's any definition of a lifelong learner, that would definitely have been him," Lori said of her uncle.

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Wild Thing's comment............

God bless you Major Steven Hutchison, we owe you so much a debt that can never be repaid. You have a special place set aside for you in heaven.

....Thank you Jim for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (7)

April 29, 2009

Update: McCain and Senate Select Committee on POW and MIA

******* Just moving this up to a more recent posting.Because of what John Kerry is doing this month . Will reference later.~ Thank you , Wild Thing ********

The documentary "Missing, Presumed Dead the Search for America's POWs" however focuses more on Senator John McCain successfully blocking the release of classified POW/MIA documents. Here is a DVD extra from that documentary.This video was done by The group Vietnam Veterans Against McCain.

Memorandum for: Vice Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Prisoners of War and Missing in Action

Subject: Possible Violations of Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2071, by the Select Committee and Possible Ethical Misconduct by Staff Attorneys.

From: John F. McCreary

Continuing analysis of relevant laws and further review of the events between 8 April and 16 April 1992 connected with the destruction of the Investigators' Intelligence Briefing Text strongly indicate that the order to destroy all copies of that briefing text on 9 April and the actual destruction of copies of the briefing texts plus the purging of computer files might constitute violations of Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2071, which imposes criminal penalties for unlawful document destruction. Even absent a finding of criminal misconduct, statements, actions, and failures to act by the senior Staff attorneys following the 9 April briefing might constitute serious breaches of ethical standards of conduct for attorneys, in addition to violations of Senate and Select Committee rules. The potential consequences of these possible misdeeds are such that they should be brought to the attention of all members of the Select Committee, plus all Designees and Staff members who were present at the 9 April briefing.

The relevant section of Title 18, U.S.C., states in pertinent part: Section 2071. Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally (a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 795)

a. On 8 April 1992, the Investigators' Intelligence Briefing Text was presented to Senior Staff members and Designees for whom copies were available prior to beginning the briefing. Objections to the text by the Designees prompted the Staff Director to order all persons present to leave their copies of the briefing text in Room SRB078. Subsequent events indicated that two copies had been removed without authorization.

b. On 9 April 1992, at the beginning of the meeting of the Select Committee and prior to the scheduled investigators' briefing, Senator McCain produced a copy of the intelligence briefing text, with whose contents he strongly disagreed. He charged that the briefing text had already been leaked to a POW/MIA activist, but was reassured by the Chairman that such was not the case. He replied that he was certain it would be leaked. Whereupon, the Chairman assured Senator McCain that there would be no leaks because all copies would be gathered and destroyed, and he gave orders to that effect. No senior staff member or attorney present cautioned against a possible violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2071, or of Senate or Select Committee Rules.

c. Following the briefing on 9 April, the Staff Director, Ms. Frances Zwenig, restated to the intelligence investigators the order to destroy the intelligence briefing text and took measures to ensure execution of the destruction order. (See paragraph 3 of the attachment.) During one telephone conversation with the undersigned, she stated that she was "acting under orders."

d. The undersigned also was instructed to delete all computer files, which Mr. Barry Valentine witnessed on 9 April.

e. In a meeting on 15 April 1992, the Staff's Chief Counsel, J. William Codinha, was advised by intelligence investigators of their concerns about the possibility that they had committed a crime by participating in the destruction of the briefing text. Mr. Codinha minimized the significance of the documents and of their destruction. He admonished the investigators for "making a mountain out of a molehill."

f. When investigators repeated their concern that the order to destroy the documents might lead to criminal charges, Mr. Codinha replied "Who's the injured party." He was told, "The 2,494 families of the unaccounted for US Servicemen, among others." Mr. Codinha then said, "Who's gonna tell them. It's classified." At that point the meeting erupted. The undersigned stated that the measure of merit was the law and what's right, not avoidance of getting caught. To which Mr. Codinha made no reply. At no time during the meeting did Mr. Codinha give any indication that any copies of the intelligence briefing text existed.

g. Investigators, thereupon, repeatedly requested actions by the Committee to clear them of any wrongdoing, such as provision of legal counsel. Mr. Codinha admitted that he was not familiar with the law and promised to look into it. He invited a memorandum from the investigators stating what they wanted. Given Mr. Codinha's statements and reactions to the possibility of criminal liability, the investigators concluded they must request appointment of an independent counsel. A memorandum making such a request and signed by all six intelligence investigators was delivered to Mr. Codinha on 16 April.

h. At 2130 on 16 April, the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee, convened a meeting with the intelligence investigators, who told him personally of their concern that they might have committed a crime by participating in the destruction of the briefing texts at the order of the Staff Director. Senator Kerry stated that he gave the order to destroy the documents, not the Staff Director, and that none of the Senators present at the meeting had objected. He also stated that the issue of document destruction was "moot" because the original briefing text had been deposited with the Office of Senate Security "all along." Both the Staff Director and the Chief Counsel supported this assertion by the Chairman.

i. Senator Kerry's remarks prompted follow-up investigations (See paragraphs 4 through 9 of the attachment) and inquiries that established that a copy of the text was not deposited in the Office of Senate Security until the afternoon of 16 April. The Staff Director has admitted that on the afternoon of 16 April, after receiving a copy of a memorandum from Senator Bob Smith to Senator Kerry in which Senator Smith outlined his concerns about the destruction of documents, she obtained a copy of the intelligence briefing text from the office of Senator McCain and took it to the Office of Senate Security. Office of Senate Security personnel confirmed that the Staff Director gave them an envelope, marked "Eyes Only," to be placed in her personal file. The Staff Director has admitted that the envelope contained the copy of the intelligence briefing text that she obtained from the office of Senator McCain.

The facts of the destruction of the intelligence briefing text would seem to fall inside the prescriptions of the Statute, Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2071, so as to justify their referral for investigation to a competent law enforcement authority. The applicability of that Statute was debated in United States v. Poindexter, D.D.C. 1989, 725 F. Supp. 13, in connection with the Iran Contra investigation. The District Court ruled, inter alia, that the National Security Council is a public office within the meaning of the Statute and, thus, that its records and documents fell within the protection of the Statute. In light of that ruling, the Statute would seem to apply to this Senate Select Committee and its Staff. The continued existence of a "bootleg" copy of the intelligence briefing text - i.e., a copy that is not one of those made by the investigators for the purpose of briefing the Select Committee - would seem to be irrelevant to the issues of intent to destroy and willfulness; as well as to the issue of responsibility for the order to destroy all copies of the briefing text, for the attempt to carry out that order, and for the destruction that actually was accomplished in execution of that order.

As for the issue of misconduct by Staff attorneys, all member of the Bar swear to uphold the law. That oath may be violated by acts of omission and commission. Even without a violation of the Federal criminal statute, the actions and failures to act by senior Staff attorneys in the sequence of events connected with the destruction of the briefing text might constitute violations of ethical standards for members of the Bar and of both Senate and Select Committee rules. The statements, actions and failures to act during and after the meeting on 15 April, when the investigators gave notice of their concern about possible criminal liability for document destruction, would seem to reflect disregard for the law and for the rules of the United States Senate.

John F. McCreary
May 3, 1992

Dolores Apodaca Alfond
chairwoman of the National Alliance of Families
an all-volunteer MIA organization

Confrontation with witness

One such witness was Dolores Apodaca Alfond, chairwoman of the National Alliance of Families, an all-volunteer MIA organization. Her pilot brother, Capt. Victor J. Apodaca, out of the Air Force Academy, was shot down over Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, in the early evening of June 8, 1967. At least one person in the two-man plane survived. Beeper signals from a pilot's distress radio were picked up by overhead helicopters, but the cloud cover was too heavy to go in. Hanoi has recently turned over some bone fragments that are supposed to be Apodaca's. The Pentagon first declared the fragments to be animal bones. But now it is telling the family -- verbally -- that they came from the pilot. But the Pentagon, for unexplained reasons, will not put this in writing, which means Apodaca is still unaccounted for. Also the Pentagon refuses to give Alfond a sample of the fragments so she can have testing done by an independent laboratory.

Alfond's testimony, at a hearing of the POW/MIA committee Nov. 11, 1992, was revealing. She pleaded with the committee not to shut down in two months, as scheduled, because so much of its work was unfinished. Also, she was critical of the committee, and in particular Kerry and McCain, for having "discredited the overhead satellite symbol pictures, arguing there is no way to be sure that the [distress] symbols were made by U.S. POWs." She also criticized them for similarly discounting data from special sensors, shaped like a large spike with an electronic pod and an antenna, that were airdropped to stick in the ground along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

These devices served as motion detectors, picking up passing convoys and other military movements, but they also had rescue capabilities. Specifically, someone on the ground -- a downed airman or a prisoner on a labor detail -- could manually enter data into the sensor pods. Alfond said the data from the sensor spikes, which was regularly gathered by Air Force jets flying overhead, had showed that a person or persons on the ground had manually entered into the sensors -- as U.S. pilots had been trained to do -- "no less than 20 authenticator numbers that corresponded exactly to the classified authenticator numbers of 20 U.S. POWs who were lost in Laos."

Other than the panel's second co-chairman, Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., not a single committee member attended this public hearing. But McCain, having been advised of Alfond's testimony, suddenly rushed into the room to confront her. His face angry and his voice very loud, he accused her of making "allegations ... that are patently and totally false and deceptive." Making a fist, he shook his index finger at her and said she had insulted an emissary to Vietnam sent by President Bush. He said she had insulted other MIA families with her remarks. And then he said, through clenched teeth: "And I am sick and tired of you insulting mine and other people's [patriotism] who happen to have different views than yours."

Brought to tears

By this time, tears were running down Alfond's cheeks. She reached into her handbag for a handkerchief. She tried to speak: "The family members have been waiting for years -- years! And now you're shutting down." He kept interrupting her. She tried to say, through tears, that she had issued no insults. He kept talking over her words. He said she was accusing him and others of "some conspiracy without proof, and some cover-up." She said she was merely seeking "some answers. That is what I am asking." He ripped into her for using the word "fiasco." She replied: "The fiasco was the people that stepped out and said we have written the end, the final chapter to Vietnam." "No one said that," he shouted. "No one said what you are saying they said, Ms. Alfond." And then, his face flaming pink, he stalked out of the room, to shouts of disfavor from members of the audience.

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Wild Thing's comment........

This is such a huge issue for me and why I have such tremendous animosity towards McCain and always will.

John Kerry and Senator John McCain chaired the country's most thorough investigation into the fate of POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately they did more to obstruct that investigation than to pursue evidence indicating that Vietnam deliberately withheld captured American servicemen.

This is a long post and I apologize for that.

U.S. POW/MIAs Who May Have Survived In Captivity
Prepared by the Office of Senator Bob Smith
Vice-Chairman, Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
December 1, 1992

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (14)

April 22, 2009

50,000 Names

Wild Thing's comment........

This video is dedicated to all of the ones who served in and lost their lives in the defense of American Freedom.

Thank you Jack for the information about who is singing this.

sung by 'The Possum', George Jones

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:44 AM | Comments (4)

April 20, 2009

Medal Received after 40 Years

Former South Vietnamese Maj. Gen. Mach Van Troung presents the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross to Norman Carrio, a former U.S. Army medic who earned the award while serving with the Army 15th Engineer Company at Dak To, Vietnam in 1967.

Norman Carrio was listening to a tape from his mother when he heard the sound at about 3 p.m. on Nov. 15, 1967.

An experienced combat medic serving with the U.S. Army 15th Engineer Company at Dak To Vietnam, Carrio knew it was incoming rockets. North Vietnamese Army regulars were trying to knock out an ammunition dump with more than 1,000 tons of munitions less than 100 meters from the company perimeter. When the ammo dump was hit, the
explosion shook the ground for miles, and for hours afterward munitions continued to explode.

A new company with only a few combat-experienced soldiers, the 15th stood its ground throughout the attack. The courage and tenacity of the soldiers resulted in the company being presented a Valorous Unit Award for actions at Dak To and Ben Het, South Vietnam.

On May 22, 2008, more than 40 years after an attack on the engineer company where Carrion served as a medic, he received a notice from the Army informing him he would receive the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Device. The omission of the award was discovered during a review of Carrio’s records. Less than a month later, on June 15, 2008, former South Vietnamese Maj. Gen. Mach Van Troung formally presented the award during a ceremony at the Hong Kong Mall in Houston, Texas.

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Wild Thing's comment..........

I am so glad to see our guys get the recognition that they deserve. I wish it did not have to be so long for it to happen.

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (4)

April 14, 2009

Vietnam Vet Unveils New Project to Honor the Fallen

Three Marines from 8th and I Marine Barracks stand beside a traveling exhibit of photographs and mementos left at the Vietnam Memorial. The exhibit, which was unveiled March 26, 2009, during a ceremony on the National Mall, is built into the sides of a tractor trailer that will tour the nation from April through November. DoD photo by Linda D. Kozaryn

Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, sits next to actor Tom Selleck at an unveiling ceremony for the group's next project, an education center on the National Mall. Selleck has signed on as the project spokesman. DoD photo by Linda D. Kozaryn

Vietnam veteran Artie Muller, chairman of Rolling Thunder, talks with supporters at an unveiling ceremony for a new Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund project

Actor Tom Selleck, spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's Education Center at the Vietnam Wall project, talks to Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Michael, 8th and I Marine Barracks, during a ceremony on the National Mall

Actor Tom Selleck, Ernie Quintana, acting deputy director for the National Park Service, and Lisa Quiroz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility for Time Warner, react to one of the speakers at a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund ceremony on the National Mall

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

DOD

WASHINGTON

Thirty years ago, an infantry corporal named Jan Scruggs boldly set out to build a national memorial. Since then, as a result of his determination, millions of people have found comfort and closure at the Vietnam Memorial known as The Wall.

Today, Scruggs unveiled a glimpse of his next project -- The Education Center at the Wall. He displayed a replica of the new exhibit to be housed in an underground visitor and education center on the National Mall here near the Lincoln and Vietnam memorials.

The replica will serve as a traveling preview of the future underground exhibit. A 45-foot tractor trailer that carries The Wall That Heals," a half-sized replica of the Vietnam Memorial has been refurbished by Featherlite Trailers. The trailer's museum exhibit has been redesigned to mimic the displays planned for the actual underground education center, Scruggs said.

Actor Tom Selleck, known for his work in the TV show "Magnum, P.I." during the 1980s, is the project's new spokesman. He served in the California National Guard during the Vietnam era. His friend Ron Montapert went to Vietnam but did not come home.

"Across the street from here is a wall with more than 58,000 names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country during the Vietnam War," Selleck told the 100 or so people attending the ceremony.

"That black granite wall taught us a lesson as well," he added, "that we must never forget those who fell." Selleck said the new center "will take us from thinking about the 58,000 as a group to thinking of them as individuals."

"I would like to say to all those who served and sacrificed in Vietnam and in all of America's wars, thank you for your service and welcome home," he concluded.

Scruggs noted that both The Wall and the replica honor the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of the people who answered the call during America's longest war. He said the memorial brought long overdue recognition and healing for the participants and family members and became a symbol of reconciliation and healing.

But, he noted, The Wall That Heals has become the memorial that educates people across the country. The traveling wall and new exhibit, which includes teddy bears, photographs, letters, baseballs, a motorcycle, combat boots, flags, and medals, soon will be on tour in towns and cities throughout America.

Exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum said some of the letters in the exhibit were written at the wall "out of sheer impulse," while "others have been carefully crafted and left in a very precise way."

Appelbaum read one letter as an example.

"'Dear Dad, I'm sorry it took so long but when you went away I was 8 years old and I couldn't understand why you never came back to us. I'm now 35 and I can understand now as I have fought in two wars myself. It's not much fun, it it? You might like to know that you have three grandchildren, two girls and a boy, and they all know about you. It meant a lot to me to see your name on The Wall with all the others. Your loving son, Paul.'"

The objects left at The Wall "illustrate loss and grieving, Appelbaum said, "but they also celebrate a bond of love and friendship and even happy memories."

"They represent a treasure trove of conversations about the deaths of sons and the births of granddaughters," he said. "That's what this center is dedicated to and that's what you'll see as you stroll around the portable wall as it begins its journey around the country."

As founder and president of the nonprofit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Scruggs raised nearly $9 million to build The Wall through private contributions from corporations, foundations, unions, veterans and citizens groups, and more than 275,000 individual Americans.

Scruggs now intends to raise up to $100 million to build the underground museum to exhibit the photographs of the men and women whose names are etched on the black granite wall. He also plans to display some of the 100,000 mementos visitors have left at The Wall.

"Remember that what we're doing here is remembering values," Scruggs said, "the values of our active-duty servicemembers today, the values of loyalty, respect, duty, integrity, courage and service.

"These were shown by the fellows and women who served in Vietnam, by the people who are serving today, and by the people at a place called Lexington Green in 1775 who stood up against the British to get the American people our freedom," he said.

So far, the memorial fund has raised $18 million for the project, including $10 million from Time Warner. Today, Rolling Thunder donated $25,000 and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America donated $5,000. Representatives of the three organizations attended the ceremony.

Lisa Quiroz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility for Time Warner, said the first time she visited the Vietnam Memorial she was moved by the fact that the memorial recognized "the feats of ordinary citizens -- our brothers, our fathers, our sisters, your children."

"At the end of the day, our democracy is what it is because we have young people that sacrifice for this country and our democratic ideals," she said.

Quiroz said that when Scruggs introduced Time Warner to the concept of the education center, the corporate officials realized that the letters, photos and teddy bears "represented years of experiences that had been missed by the people that were memorialized on the wall."

Of all the requests for support, she said, Time Warner executives thought the education center provided a unique opportunity "to give every visitor who came away from The Wall a profound sense of gratitude, and a deeper understanding of the meaning of patriotism."

Todd Bowers, director of government affairs for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, thanked the Vietnam veterans for their support of today's troops.

"We're the new, young generation of veterans," Bowers said, "and if it wasn't for all the support that we've received from veterans of previous conflicts, we would be having a lot harder time right now. I thank everyone from the previous conflicts for looking out for us and making sure that those guys over there are going to be taken care of before, during, and most important, after war."

Artie Muller, Vietnam veteran and chairman of Rolling Thunder, said, "Welcome home to all the veterans who are here. And to those who gave their lives, we'll never forget them.

"This is a different war, a lot of women are in this war, and it's altogether different than during the Vietnam days," Muller said, addressing the troops now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We know you guys and gals are doing a great job and we're real proud of you. Us Vietnam veterans never want to let what happened to us, happen to you."

Ann Sherman Wolcott, the mother of Rex Sherman, a fallen Vietnam Army veteran, feels the new exhibit will help keep the spirits of the fallen alive.

"My son was 18 years old when he died in 1969. He was an airborne ranger and I'm very proud of him," she said. "To see this let's me know that people have not forgotten his sacrifice."

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (10)

April 12, 2009

Vanished Soldiers: American Heroes Come Home

Commentary: Fallen brothers found - and lost
By Joseph L. Galloway
Micheal Yon Online

As with so much in life and in death, there was news this week that was joyous and sad and bittersweet all at once for the small community of the Vietnam War’s band of brothers of the Ia Drang Valley.

Early in the morning of December 28, 1965, a U.S. Army Huey helicopter, tail number 63-08808, lifted off from the huge grassy airfield at the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) base at An Khe in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

Two experienced pilots, CWO Jesse Phelps of Boise, Idaho, and CWO Kenneth Stancil of Chattanooga, Tenn., were at the controls. Behind them in the doors were crew chief Donald Grella of Laurel, Neb., and door gunner Thomas Rice Jr. of Spartanburg, S.C. All four were already veterans of the fiercest air assault battle of the war, fought the previous month in the Ia Drang.

Huey 808 was one of 10 birds in a platoon of A Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, led by Capt. Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman. It was bound on a short, routine flight down Route 19 to an infantry field position just over the high pass between An Khe and the port city of Qui Nhon.

It was what Army aviators called an “ash and trash mission,” hauling cases of C-rations, ammunition and other essential supplies to a company of grunts preparing for an air assault mission.

Normally, all missions were flown by at least two helicopters, but this one was so brief and so routine and along a route so well known and marked by the center white line of a familiar highway that Capt. Freeman and his boss, Maj. Bruce (Ol’ Snake) Crandall, already at the Landing Zone with the rest of A Company’s 20 helicopters, agreed to waive that requirement and let 808 fly alone.

With that, 808 flew off the face of the earth. It disappeared without a word on the radio of distress or trouble. The helicopter was gone, and a massive search effort began almost immediately and continued for months, both as an organized and methodical search and by individual Huey pilots who flew anywhere near that route.

For weeks, they combed the rugged jungle hills on both sides of the road and on both sides of the mountain pass. Choppers hovered over every break in the tree cover peering down if they could see or sending crewmen rappelling down ropes to look around clearings that were not easily checked from the air.

They found nothing. The Huey and its four crewmen had vanished.

The families of the crewmen joined the ranks of those who wait for news, for hope, for some closure of an open wound. More than 1,600 American servicemen are still listed as missing in action in Vietnam.

This week, the Department of Defense liaison officers who work with MIA families called Ol’ Snake Crandall and surviving family members of the four missing crewmen to confirm that after 43 years, search teams following one of thousands of leads had found and positively identified the wreckage of Huey 808.

In what amounts to almost an archaeological dig the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC-MIA) team assigned to this lead also recovered dog tags, other personal artifacts and some human remains. After so long a time in the acid soil of Vietnam, that usually means bone fragments and maybe a tooth or two. Often that adds up to no more than will fill a small handkerchief.

The remains will now be flown to the Central Identification Library in Hawaii and every effort will be made through DNA testing to identify them and attach a name to them.

“They told us it could take several months to complete that process,” said Shirley Haase of Omaha, Neb., the sister of crew chief Don Grella. “I only wish my mother was here for this news. She waited for so long.”

The men of Huey 808 will be coming home at last. Grieving mothers and fathers have died waiting for news that never came. Siblings have grown old. Their buddies have never forgotten and never rested in pressing for a resolution to this case.

Too Tall Ed Freeman and Ol’ Snake Crandall, his wingman and boss, never missed an opportunity to ask questions or get a little pushy with a government official, even a president of the United States or a North Vietnamese Army general, in seeking an answer to the mystery.

Too Tall Ed died last summer in a Boise, Idaho, hospital. In their final farewell visit, he and Crandall, both Medal of Honor recipients, talked about Huey 808, and Bruce promised Ed that he’d keep pushing the search as long as he lived.

A week ago, the Ia Drang fraternity buried Doc Randy Lose at the National Cemetery in Biloxi, Miss. Doc was the medic of the Lost Platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry at Landing Zone X-Ray in November 1965.

Doc’s old company commander, Col. (ret.) John Herren, was there. So was Sgt. Earnie Savage, who inherited command of the Lost Platoon after Lt. Henry Herrick and three more-senior sergeants were killed in the first 10 minutes of battle after the 30-man platoon was cut off and surrounded by hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers.

In all, nine men were killed and 13 were wounded in the opening minutes of a struggle for survival that lasted 27 hours for the cut-off Americans. Doc Lose used up all the bandages and kept plugging wounds with small rolls of C-Ration toilet paper. He crawled from man to man under intense enemy fire, was wounded twice himself and kept every one of the 13 wounded alive during the longest day and night of their lives.

Doc earned a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions, and his battalion commander, Lt. Gen. (ret) Hal Moore, and I did everything we could to get that upgraded to the Medal of Honor we think he deserved.

Doc Lose died last month, killed by the Vietnam War just as certainly as if he’d been shot in the head by a sniper during those 27 hours with the Lost Platoon. You see, my friend Doc Lose came home from Vietnam a different man. He carried wounds no one but other combat veterans could see. Doc carried the battlefield memories of suffering and death and killing, and they never let him rest.

All that’s over now. Doc has crossed the river to be with some other great soldiers. The rest of us will be along soon enough, Doc, so pop smoke when you hear us inbound. The goofy grape (purple smoke) will work just fine.

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Wild Thing's comment.........

These men will never be forgotten, we won't ever let that happen.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (8)

April 05, 2009

Vietnam Veteran Marine LCpl Calhoun To Receive Silver Star ~ 42 Years Later

April 1967 during the first battle at Khe Sanh,wounded, Ray Calhoun Jr refused to be evacuated and instead braved enemy fire to aid other wounded Marines.

Ray Calhoun (third from left) was photographed with fellow Marines Mike Kotdic (from left), Tommy Wheeler and Don Hossack in Vietnam. Wheeler and Hossack also were awarded Silver Stars recently. Three-fourths of their platoon was killed or wounded in an April 1967 battle.

Vietnam veteran Ray Calhoun will receive a Silver Star for combat bravery during a ceremony today. In his hand is one he had purchased. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / Union-Tribune)

Hero finally gets his due

Vietnam veteran to receive Silver Star for bravery in battle 42 years ago

San Diego .com

By Steve Liewer

Nighttime cloaked Hill 881 South in a blackness that filled the Marines of Mike Company with a well-founded dread.

Lance Cpl. Ray Calhoun's platoon had drawn the job of leading an assault in this northwest corner of South Vietnam on the morning of April 30, 1967. They knew the enemy was waiting for them.

Some of the North Vietnamese soldiers shouted taunts in accented English.

“All night long, they're telling us: 'Put on your helmets, Marines. You're gonna die in the morning,' ” recalled Calhoun, who now lives in Scripps Ranch.

The enemy didn't lie. Three-fourths of the men in Calhoun's platoon were killed or wounded.

Throughout the battle, the 19-year-old Calhoun alternately aimed grenades at enemy bunkers and bandaged his dying buddies. Twice he passed out from his own wounds, only to wake up and resume the fight.

Today, nearly 42 years later, Calhoun will receive a Silver Star – the nation's third-highest award for combat bravery – during a ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.

Two of Calhoun's platoon mates also were awarded Silver Stars recently. Don Hossack of Kalispell, Mont., received his medal last month, and Tommy Wheeler of Lutz, Fla., will get his April 13.

The presentations follow six years of Pentagon review, through a process approved by Congress to recognize overlooked valor from past wars. The law has been invoked to credit ethnic or religious minorities whose heroism was ignored or initially downgraded.

In this case, though, the delay happened because the 1967 battle wiped out so many in Calhoun's chain of command.

“There were very few that remained alive to write up the awards,” said retired Maj. Gen. John Admire, who commanded Calhoun's platoon until shortly before the battle and who ultimately crafted the three Silver Star nominations. “A lot of Marines did a lot of great things, but they never got the recognition they deserved.”

Calhoun's road to Hill 881 started one day in February 1966, when he and seven of his college-football buddies were playing a poker game. They grew angry when they heard an anti-war march outside, and they vowed to join the military. All but one eventually did.

Calhoun, a native of Encino, enlisted in the Marine Corps the next day. Four months later, he arrived for boot camp in San Diego. The first night, a recruit committed suicide in his barracks by slitting his wrists.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Calhoun said.

Assigned that fall to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton, he was sent to Vietnam almost immediately. Mike Company saw action from the start.

But nothing matched the battle that came the next spring. The North Vietnamese hoped to lay siege to the U.S. military outpost near Khe Sanh, which was on a vital supply route.

The Marines countered with a series of assaults on the uplands surrounding Khe Sanh that came to be called the “Hill Battles.” They succeeded, but at a frightful cost.

On April 30, 1967, the men of Mike Company set out through the tall grass about 8 a.m. They reached a saddle between two hilltops, and two platoons fanned out across a clearing.

The North Vietnamese opened fire from bunkers that honeycombed the hillside. Calhoun and his platoon mates took shelter behind some fallen trees, which they quickly realized was a trap when mortar shells started falling directly on top of them.

“They set us up. We were in a killing field,” said Joe Cordileone, a San Diego assistant city attorney who was with Calhoun that day. “It was a massacre.”

One mortar round killed the platoon's leader, 2nd Lt. Joseph Mitchell; wounded Hossack; and knocked out Calhoun.

But he woke up and got to work, dragging survivors into a bomb crater and patching up wounds with battle dressings salvaged from the bodies of the dead.

Calhoun's eagle eye had earned him the job of platoon grenadier. He watched for muzzle flashes, aimed his M79 grenade launcher at them and took out four sniper's nests.

One bullet pierced his helmet, knocking him out a second time and wounding his scalp. But he woke up again and returned to the fight.

“You get so scared, you just start living off of adrenaline,” Calhoun said. “You think, 'I'm gonna die, and I'm going to kill as many of these guys as I can first.' ”

U.S. bomb strikes pushed the North Vietnamese off the hill, and reinforcements reached the clearing after a few hours. The few wounded survivors left Hill 881 and the war behind.

Calhoun recuperated at China Beach and Camp Pendleton, then left the Marines a few months later. “I kind of wanted to forget about it,” he said.

He used his GI Bill benefits to earn a bachelor's in accounting and became a certified public accountant. He married in 1977, and he and his wife, Donna, raised three children in San Diego.

Calhoun also started BeamOne, a company that harnesses electron beams for medical uses.

His outward success disguised chronic nightmares and frequent insomnia. The sound of rain set him on edge; it reminded him of the monsoons in Vietnam. He hated the smell of fresh earth. He could be short-tempered and abrasive. Hill 881 never quite left him.

“The first thing you do is you stuff it. . . . (Then) you start looking at your life backward and realize that maybe you aren't truly normal,” said Calhoun, who still attends therapy sessions twice a week.

He lost touch with all of his Marine buddies. Then in 1996, he read a newspaper article about Admire's appointment as commander of the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. He sent a congratulatory note, and they reunited.

Over several years, they used the Internet to track down other Mike Company veterans and started to hold reunions. Calhoun and Cordileone, close friends in the Marines, were stunned to learn they had both moved to San Diego.

“We got together, had some beers,” Cordileone said. “It was like starting all over again.”

Admire came to learn that, despite the heroic conduct on Hill 881, none of the survivors from his old platoon had received awards for their bravery.

“I was fairly convinced there were some significant acts of valor that were not recognized,” Admire said.

He compiled statements and submitted Silver Star nomination packets for Hossack, Wheeler and Calhoun. They were reviewed at Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Va., and by a board advising the secretary of the Navy.

All three nominees won approval this year.

Calhoun had never asked for the honor, but he's proud to return to the recruit depot to receive his medal. “The nicest thing is that I've had the recognition of my peers,” Calhoun said.

Admire said there's another reward: The Silver Star will remind younger generations of what Vietnam War veterans endured.

“The sons and daughters of these Marines will now know that they are true heroes,” he said.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Welcolme Home LCpl Calhoun and thank you!

My Tribute to our Vietnam Veterans

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (3)

April 02, 2009

Barry Sadler ~ "12 Months in Vietnam"

Barry Sadler (November 1, 1940 September 8, 1989) was an American author and musician. Sadler served as a Green Beret medic and Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Most of his works have military themes, and he billed himself under his military rank of Staff Sergeant as SSgt Barry Sadler.

Wild Thing's comment........

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:42 AM | Comments (6)

February 12, 2009

Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger ~Medal of Honor Recipient

Rank and organization: Airman First Class, U.S. Air Force
Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Bien Hoa Air Base, Republic of Vietnam.
Place and Date: Near Cam My, 11 April 1966.

Pitsenbarger loved the Air Force and his job, which was to save lives. His commander, Maj. Maurice Kessler, called him “One of a special breed. Alert and always ready to go on any mission.” Another rescue pilot, Capt. Dale Potter, said Pits was a “young eager kid who was always ready to go, and always willing to get into the thick of the action where he could be the most useful.”

Although Pitsenbarger didn’t escape that hellhole alive, nine other men did, thanks to the courage and devotion to duty of a 21-year-old airman, a former supermarket stockboy from Piqua, Ohio. For his bravery, the Air Force awarded Bill Pitsenbarger its second highest award — the Air Force Cross, becoming the first enlisted airman to receive the medal.

“Bill was an ordinary guy with extraordinary courage and determination,” said William, his father. “I’m very proud of him. And I’d like to think if you took any PJ in the Air Force and put him in the same situation, they’d do the same thing. They’re special people.”

And they live by a special code, one that often demands they risk everything, pledging “These Things We Do That Others May Live.”

Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger

A1C - E4 - Air Force - Regular

21 year old - Single
Born on July 08, 1944
From PIQUA, OHIO

On April 11th, 1966, 21-year old A1C William H. Pitsenbarger of Piqua, Ohio was killed while defending some of his wounded comrades. For his bravery and sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the nation's second highest military decoration, the Air Force Cross.

"Pits", as he was known to his friends, was nearing his 300th combat mission on that fateful day when some men of the U.S. Army's 1st Division were ambushed and pinned down in an area about 45 miles east of Saigon. Two HH-43 "Huskie" helicopters of the USAF's 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron were rushed to the scene to lift out the wounded. Pits was a pararescueman (PJ) on one of them. Upon reaching the site of the ambush, Pits was lowered through the trees to the ground where he attended to the wounded before having them lifted to the helicopter by cable.

After six wounded men had been flown to an aid station, the two USAF helicopters returned for their second loads. As one of them lowered its litter basket to Pitsenbarger, who had remained on the ground with the 20 infantrymen still alive, it was hit by a burst of enemy small-arms fire. When its engine began to lose power, the pilot realized he had to get the Huskie away from the area as soon as possible. Instead of climbing into the litter basket so he could leave with the helicopter, Pits elected to remain with the Army troops under enemy attack and he gave a "wave-off" to the helicopter which flew away to safety.

Pits continued to treat the wounded and, when the others began running low on ammunition, he gathered ammo clips from the dead and distributed them to those still alive. Then, he joined the others with a rifle to hold off the Viet Cong. About 7:30 PM that evening, Bill Pitsenbarger was killed by Viet Cong snipers. When his body was recovered the next day, one hand still held a rifle and the other a medical kit.

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'That Others May Live'
By John L. Frisbee, Contributing Editor

October, 1983

By April 1966, 21-year-old A1C William H. Pitsenbarger, then in the final months of his enlistment, had seen more action than many a 30-year veteran. Young Pitsenbarger had gone through long and arduous training for duty as a pararescue medic with the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service and had completed more than 300 rescue missions in Vietnam, many of them under heavy enemy fire. He wore the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters; recommendations for four more were pending. A few days earlier, he had ridden a chopper winch line into a minefield to save a wounded ARVN soldier.

His service with ARRS convinced Pitsenbarger that he wanted a career as a medical technician. He had applied to Arizona State University for admission in the fall. But that was months away. He had a job to do in Vietnam and, as rescue pilot Capt. Dale Potter said, Pitsenbarger "was always willing to get into the thick of the action where he could be the most help."

On April 11 at 3 p.m., while Pitsenbarger was off duty, a call for help came into his unit, Detachment 6, 38th ARR Squadron at Bien Hoa. Elements of the Army's 1st Infantry Division were surrounded by enemy forces near Cam My, a few miles east of Saigon, in thick jungle with the tree canopies reaching up to 150 feet. The only way to get the wounded out was with hoist-equipped helicopters. Pitsenbarger asked to go with one of the two HH-43 Huskies scrambled on this hazardous mission.

Half an hour later, both choppers found an area where they could hover and lower a winch line to the surrounded troops. Pitsenbarger volunteered to go down the line, administer emergency treatment to the most seriously wounded, and explain how to use the Stokes litter that would hoist casualties up to the chopper.

It was standard procedure for a pararescue medic to stay down only long enough to organize the rescue effort. Pitsenbarger decided, on his own, to remain with the wounded. In the next hour and a half, the HH-43s came in five times, evacuating nine wounded soldiers. On the sixth attempt, Pitsenbarger's Huskie was hit hard, forced to cut the hoist line, and pull out for an emergency landing at the nearest strip. Intense enemy fire and friendly artillery called in by the Army made it impossible for the second chopper to return.

Heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire was coming in on the Army defenders from all sides while Pitsenbarger continued to care for the wounded. In case one of the Huskies made it in again, he climbed a tree to recover the Stokes litter that his pilot had jettisoned. When the C Company commander, the unit Pitsenbarger was with, decided to move to another area, Pitsenbarger cut saplings to make stretchers for the wounded. As they started to move out, the company was attacked and overrun by a large enemy formation.

By this time, the few Army troops able to return fire were running out of ammunition. Pitsenbarger gave his pistol to a soldier who was unable to hold a rifle. With complete disregard for his own safety, he scrambled around the defended area, collecting rifles and ammunition from the dead and distributing them to the men still able to fight.

It had been about two hours since the HH-43s were driven off. Pitsenbarger had done all he could to treat the wounded, prepare for a retreat to safer ground, and rearm his Army comrades. He then gathered several magazines of ammunition, lay down beside wounded Army Sgt. Fred Navarro, one of the C Company survivors who later described Pitsenbarger's heroic actions, and began firing at the enemy. Fifteen minutes later, as an eerie darkness fell beneath the triple-canopy jungle, Pitsenbarger was hit and mortally wounded. The next morning, when Army reinforcements reached the C Company survivors, a helicopter crew brought Pitsenbarger's body out of the jungle. Of the 180 men with whom he fought his last battle, only 14 were uninjured.

William H. Pitsenbarger was the first airman to be awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously. The Air Force Sergeants Association presents an annual award for valor in his honor.

The Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service is legendary for heroism in peace and war. No one better exemplifies its motto, "That Others May Live," than Bill Pitsenbarger. He descended voluntarily into the hell of a jungle firefight with valor as his only shield--and valor was his epitaph.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Citation:

Airman First Class Pitsenbarger distinguished himself by extreme valor on 11 April 1966 near Cam My, Republic of Vietnam, while assigned as a Pararescue Crew Member, Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. On that date, Airman Pitsenbarger was aboard a rescue helicopter responding to a call for evacuation of casualties incurred in an on-going firefight between elements of the United States Army's 1st Infantry Division and a sizable enemy force approximately 35 miles east of Saigon. With complete disregard for personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger volunteered to ride a hoist more than one hundred feet through the jungle, to the ground. On the ground, he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared for the wounded, prepared casualties for evacuation, and insured that the recovery operation continued in a smooth and orderly fashion. Through his personal efforts, the evacuation of the wounded was greatly expedited. As each of the nine casualties evacuated that day were recovered, Pitsenbarger refused evacuation in order to get one more wounded soldier to safety. After several pick-ups, one of the two rescue helicopters involved in the evacuation was struck by heavy enemy ground fire and was forced to leave the scene for an emergency landing. Airman Pitsenbarger stayed behind, on the ground, to perform medical duties. Shortly thereafter, the area came under sniper and mortar fire. During a subsequent attempt to evacuate the site, American forces came under heavy assault by a large Viet Cong force. When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute vital ammunition to American defenders. As the battle raged on, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to care for the wounded, pull them out of the line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which time, he was wounded three times. Despite his wounds, he valiantly fought on, simultaneously treating as many wounded as possible. In the vicious fighting which followed, the American forces suffered 80 percent casualties as their perimeter was breached, and airman Pitsenbarger was finally fatally wounded. Airman Pitsenbarger exposed himself to almost certain death by staying on the ground, and perished while saving the lives of wounded infantrymen. His bravery and determination exemplify the highest professional standards and traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Air Force.

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KAMAN HH-43B "HUSKIE"

The "Huskie" was used primarily for crash rescue and aircraft fire-fighting. It was in use with the U.S. Navy when delivery of the H-43As to the USAF Tactical Air Command began in November 1958. Delivery of the -B series began in June 1959. In mid-1962, the USAF changed the H-43 designation to HH-43 to reflect the aircraft's rescue role. The final USAF version was the HH-43F with engine modifications for improved performance. Some -Fs were used in Southeast Asia as "aerial fire trucks" and for rescuing downed airmen in North and South Vietnam. Huskies were also flown by other nations including Iran, Colombia, and Morocco.

A Huskie on rescue alert could be airborne in approximately one minute. It carried two rescuemen/fire-fighters and a fire suppression kit hanging beneath it. It often reached crashed airplanes before ground vehicles arrived. Foam from the kit plus the powerful downwash air from the rotors were used to open a path to trapped crash victims to permit their rescue.

The HH-43B on display, one of approximately 175 -Bs purchased by the USAF, established seven world records in 1961-62 for helicopters in its class for rate of climb, altitude and distance traveled. It was assigned to rescue duty with Detachment 3, 42nd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, prior to its retirement and flight to the Museum in April 1973.

Wild Thing's comment........

All those that have served our country touch all of our lives. It is because of each one of them that we are able to have lived in the land of the free, a freedom that we have had unlike other countries. Ours was the best, our Freedom and we owe each day of that to our Veterans and to men that have served like Airman First Class William Hart Pitsenbarger.

I wish there was a way to thank each one for their sacrifice, but I know one thing, they will NEVER be forgotten, NEVER!

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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

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Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (6)

February 03, 2009

The Zippo Lighter and Our Vietnam Veterans

Essential Equipment. Zippos were not always carried in GIs’ pockets, as this soldier shows – he’s keeping his tucked into his helmet camouflage band, right next to his smokes!

Founded in 1932, the Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania (zippo.com) has been producing these pocket-sized flame producers for three-quarters of a century. Yet, despite the lighter’s World War II and Korean War pedigrees, the “Vietnam Zippos” seem particularly unique and colorful, given their widely personalized.

Soldiers kept salt in the bottom cavities, called canned bottoms, of their Zippos, to replenish lost body salt. Other legendary Zippos were used to transmit signals or even provided a shield against enemy bullets. Staff Sergeant Naugle, who was saved because he was able to signal his position to the rescue helicopter, had a Zippo in his hand. Among men that had a close call with death, one of the luckiest was Sergeant Martinez, who Kept a Zippo in his chest pocket. A bullet struck his chest, only to be stopped by the Zippo. This was reported in Life magazine and also appeared in various advertisements.

Zippo lighters used by American soldiers during the Vietnam War have become collector's items. Every Zippo from the war bears mute witness, conveying a great sense of having been there on the battlefield. The soldiers who faced death and stood on the brink of hell, carrying their Zippos, transformed these simple lighters into an integral part of their own bodies and souls. Zippo lighters have since became priceless collector's items.

The 23rd Psalm… “Yea though I walk...” was engraved on more Zippos than any other.

The significance of this Zippo to a Vietnam Veteran transcends the purpose of lighting a cigarette.

There is a great website with tons of photos of Zippo Lighters

http://zippogallery.com/Vietnam1.htm

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Some Phrases engraved on the zippo...

After 7 days God say “Let there be hell” and then came the dusters
And the lord said let there be marine and the fish rose from the sea
Army lifers never die they go to hell and regroup
As I steam down the river of death I'll fear nothing for I'm the meanest mother fucker on the river
As I walk through the valley shadow of death I shall fear no evil for I'm the evilest son of a bitch in the valley
Candy is Dandy But Sex Won't Rot Your Teeth
Death is my business and business has been good
Dedication Achievement Professionalism
Do unto others As they would do unto you only do it first
Fighter By Day Lover by night Drunkard by choice ready to fight
Fighting for freedom as a state that those who live in peace will never know
For those who fight for it life has a meaning the protected will never know
Fuck you red baron
Give me head til I'm dead
He who steals this lighter eat shit
Ho Chi Minh is a communist mother fucker
I am an alcoholic In case of accident get me a beer
I didn't come to Vietnam to die for my country, I came to make the other SOB die for his
I love the fucking army and the army
I may not be poet I may not be a king but I'm a fighting soldier and when I'm mad I do my thing
I walk into the swamp a knife in one hand a pistol in the other I'm a mean fucker I'm a jungle man
I'm sure to go to heaven because I have spent my time in hell
I've loved every inch of the land I stand I'll die before I'll run
If I die in Vietnam bury me on my stomach so the army can kiss my ass
If I had been at Kent state there would have been one hell of a body count
If it won't light, that's combat baby
If there must be war let it be in my day so that my children can live in peace
If you don't know what hell is like fuck with me and you'll find out
If you find this lighter on my body I hope it brings you better luck than me
If you haven't been there shut the fuck up
If you think sex is exciting try incoming
If You Want To Get Laid Smile When You Return This Lighter
Kill them all,let God sort them out
Live by chance love by choice kill by profession
Nothing is dearer than the life but nothing is more precious than to live in freedom
One has never lived till he has almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know
One thousand marines will shit today and wipe their ass with green beret
Paratrooper's never die the go to hell and regroup
Please don't tell me about Vietnam because I have been there
The hawk is out the eagle flies high tonight
The object of war is not to give your life four your country but make the other bastard give his
The quality of mercy is not strained
The unwilling working for the unable to do the unnecessary for the ungrateful
Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil
To hell and back
Vietnam is the land that God forgot but I’ve been there and I remember
War is hell
War is hell but actual combat is a son of a bitch
Water ? Never touch the stuff fish fuck in it you know
We came because we believe we leave because we are disillusioned we come back because we are lost we die because we are committed
We have done so much for so long with so little that now we can do any thing with nothing forever
When God open the gates of hell the 101 st walked out
Yea though I fly through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for I'm the evilest mother fucker in the valley
You only live twice once when you're born and once when you're looked death in the face

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (12)

January 01, 2009

The Perimeter

Painting ....“Perimeter Patrol” by Michael R. Crook (Army Art Collection)

The Perimeter

By James R. Lawson

The Perimeter, in the infantry, is a circle of men. It is half a squad, platoon or company. One half is on guard, staying vigilant, watching for the enemy, while the other half rests, sleeps and carries on with life as it is. They are more than just men; they are a brotherhood in uniform.

They share their plans, dreams and hopes with each other. In hard times, they share their sadness, fears and pain. They face the enemy together, some like brothers, others like fathers and sons, and always as true friends. They find a spirit in each other that binds them to one another in a bond that lasts forever.

As time passes, they will leave the service and each other. They will travel many different paths of life, some to prosper well and others not so well. Somewhere in life's travels, these men find themselves lost in the world, confused, dazed, scared, unhappy and searching for something; something they are not even sure exists. They are not soldiers anymore, they are called veterans.

Somehow, in their search, they once again find others like themselves. They find brothers of the past, brothers of the Perimeter, that circle of safety, where someone else shares their pain, their confusion and their fear. That Perimeter where that fear is eased, where there is less confusion. They share each other's pain in stories, in tears and in silence. Inside the Perimeter, eye contact can say it all. This Perimeter is a circle of life and a circle of death; it is a circle of wounded warriors, with wounds of both flesh and spirit. This Perimeter is a circle of iron that has never broken. It is a circle of common duty that knows no color, no creed and no religious ground. The circle will last forever, through the best of times and the worst of times.

The Perimeter is a place warriors will always seek - even for eternity. Just gaze out at our national cemeteries. For out there, on the outer edge, ever so vigilant, are those on the Perimeter.

Wild Thing's comment..........

This is very special and I wanted to share it with all of you.

....Thank you Cuchieddie for sending this to me.

Cuchieddie
4/23rd 25th Infantry Division
2nd Tour Huey door gunner with the Robin Hoods
66-68

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (11)

December 11, 2008

A Great Song Of The Vietnam War Written and Sung by SFC Jim Tolbert

A great song of the Vietnam War written and sung by SFC Jim Tolbert, who served multiple tours in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). "Purple Heart" was never played nationwide, but it was played in Vietnam and also on some local radio stations in the Ft. Bragg (Fayetteville) NC area circa 1967-68.
Although 40 years have passed, "Purple Heart" is still fondly remembered by many Special Forces soldiers of the Vietnam era.

Wild Thing's comment........

A BIG thank you to all of you Veterans!!

.....Thank you Jack for sending this to me. Jack's wonderful blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (7)

December 05, 2008

Vietnam Deck Of Cards by Red Sovine

....Thank you Joyce and Larry. Larry is a Vietnam Veteran 39th Combat Engrs., 66- 67 (tuy hoa nah trang duc pho chu lai ) Joyce is his awesome wife.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (7)

November 28, 2008

A Special Video " To My Parents" from Operation Mom

This was made by the children of Vietnam Veterans and it is something very special. -- Wild Thing

Please CLICK HERE TO SEE the VIDEO

....Thank you Mark for sending this video to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (10)

November 26, 2008

HUGE Wrong ~ Vietnam Vet Branded a "Panhandler"

This photo was taken a few years ago of his encounter with a 9/11 Truther: ( H/T Michelle Malkin )

Vietnam vet branded “panhandler” for handing out memorial poppies

From Michelle Malkin blog

Big John is a Vietnam veteran and VFW leader who works tirelessly on charitable efforts for our troops. Last year, my family and I attended his Thanksgiving feast for wounded vets at the VFW in Arlington, VA. John’s got a heart of gold and an infectious, can-do attitude.

Now, he’s in trouble. Some petty bureaucrats have branded him a “panhandler” and repeatedly threatened him with arrest for handing out “Buddy Poppies” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Rutherford Institute has come to his aid:

"A local veteran is speaking out after police threatened to arrest him for distributing ‘Buddy Poppies’ or memorial flowers at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Now the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute has stepped in and filed a first amendment lawsuit against the National Park Police.

Now the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute has stepped in and filed a first amendment lawsuit against the National Park Police.

John Miska enjoys volunteering and spends most of time helping injured veterans and distributing ‘Buddy Poppies.’

“They’re handed out as a remembrance of veterans sacrifice. The poppies are red representing the blood the soldiers shed and it’s a reminder and it gives people pause to think,” said John Miska, Veteran.

Recently the National Park Police threatened to arrest Miska for handing out his Poppies on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

“People see me standing there and they approach me and ask may I have a Poppy and I give them a Poppy. If people are moved to offer a donation we accept the donations,” said Miska.

According to president of the Rutherford Institute Miska hasn’t done anything wrong, he has only expressed his first amendment rights.

“People occasionally give him money. There’s a statute it’s a D.C. law that says you can’t aggressively solicit money, but he doesn’t do any of that. We feel it’s a violation of the first amendment of the United States Constitution which guarantees you the right to assemble or guarantees you the right to free speech to hand out Buddy Poppies,” said John Whitehead, President, Rutherford Institute.

Miska says this experience isn’t going to stop him from his mission and that it will only encourage him to do more.

“I took an oath to the constitution to preserve protect and defend and I feel if you don’t stand up for you rights you will lose those rights,” said Miska.

CBS19 has tried contacting the U.S. Park Police, but they have not returned the phone call.

The Rutherford Institute is waiting on the government to answer the complaint. What happens next will depend on the U.S. Attorney General’s response."

He let me know he’s working on a Christmas party at Walter Reed for 300 wounded soldiers and their families and asked me to spread the word. Any cash donations or gifts would be most welcome.

"We will accept Christmas cards to hand out as well over the Holidays. They must be unsealed so they may be inspected. If someone wants to send a specific gift we will hand out tickets and draw by number to hand out gifts that we receive. They must be unwrapped and in original factory packaging. If someone wants to send wrapping paper and tape along with a note or card we will include that with gift. A suggestion would be a gift card to a major store, restaurant or gas station with a Christmas card.

Donations may be sent to
VFW Post 8208
PO Box 653
Ruckersville VA 22923

Place a memo note that donation is Christmas fund.

" We are a 501c19 Veterans Service Organization for tax purposes and will provide IRS donation letters upon request for tax returns."

.

Wild Thing's comment...........

God bless Big John for his service and for all he has done to help our troops and Veterans since.

This is so horirble!!! Veterans do this all over our country, I always see them outside a store and buy a poppy from them to wear. It is something I always look forward to.

....Thank you Mark for the heads up about this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (13)

November 08, 2008

November 8th, 1965 ~ 173rd Airborne Brigade

173rd Airborne Brigade. 48 American soldiers lost their lives that day

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (8)

November 07, 2008

Marines Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified

LCpl Kurt E La Plant Lenexa, KS
LCpl Luis F Palacios Los Angeles CA
Pfc Jose R Sanchez Brooklyn NY
LCpl Ralph L Harper Indianapolis IN

CH46A "Sea Knight"

A grateful nation loves you all, brave Marines.

Marines Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified

DOD

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Lance Cpl. Kurt E. La Plant, of Lenexa, Kan., and Lance Cpl. Luis F. Palacios, of Los Angeles, Calif. Remains that could not be individually identified are included in a group. Among the group remains are Lance Cpl. Ralph L. Harper, of Indianapolis, Ind., and Pfc. Jose R. Sanchez, of Brooklyn, N.Y. All men were U.S. Marine Corps. Palacios will be buried Friday in Bellflower, Calif., and the other Marines will be buried as a group in the spring in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

On June 6, 1968, these men were aboard a CH-46A Sea Knight helicopter that was attempting an emergency extraction of elements of the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, 3rd Marine Division then engaged against hostile forces in the mountains southwest of Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. The helicopter was struck by enemy ground fire and crashed, killing 12 of the 23 crewmen and passengers on board. All but four of the men who died were subsequently recovered and identified.

Between 1993 and 2005, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident in Quang Tri Province, interviewed witnesses and surveyed the crash site three times. The team found a U.S. military boot fragment and wreckage consistent with that of a CH-46 helicopter.

In 2006, a team began excavating the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material evidence including La Plant’s identification tag. While at the site, a Vietnamese citizen turned over to the team human remains the he claimed to have found amid the wreckage. In 2007, another team completed the excavation and recovered additional human remains, life support material and aircraft wreckage.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

Wild Thing's comment..........

After the week we've all had.............this just really got to me. Sitting here in tears.

God bless our warriors. You are home, now. May they finally rest in peace. These brave marines gave their lives trying to save others, the last full measure of devotion. May the Lord bless their ultimate gift and embrace them in His loving arms. These brave Marines and their families will be in my prayers tonight.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (5)

November 02, 2008

The War on America

The War on America

Vets for Victory

by Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Bud Day

My Dear Fellow Americans:

For the last few weeks, the “Liberal’s War on America” has gone badly.

* MoveOn, the New York Times, and Senators who accused Gen. Petraeus of being a traitor and a liar have been exposed and repudiated;

* The media’s attempted flim-flam to portray Iran’s Terrorist Dictator as a “Statesman,” tripped on Columbia University’s red carpet;

* The brave combat Marines whom Congressman Murtha and the press eagerly charged with “cold-blooded murders” in Iraq are being found innocent, acquitted one by one.

The “War” is not going well … the “War On America,” that is.

Those who claim they “Support the Troops” are finally being unmasked, shown for being the cowards they are. But, it won’t be long before they regroup, begin their own “Surge” in this decades-long “War On America.” We won’t stand by quietly when they do; nor, should you.

My fellow POWs and I have long known the contempt the extreme Left has for our military. We felt the crush of rifle butts in our faces, beatings and unspeakable torture in the Hanoi Hilton Prison when we refused to kowtow to American traitors who traveled to these countries for propaganda “photo-ops” with our Communist jailors.

The so-called “anti-war movement,” lead by the likes of Lt. John Kerry and his mentor, Sen. Ted Kennedy, also said they “supported the troops”. What they didn’t say is whose “troops.”

We knew the answer then, we were witnesses and victims. It’s the same today. They “support” America’s enemies, any Communist Regime, Dictator or Terrorists that vow to kill and maim American soldiers and innocent civilians.

American soldiers in Vietnam were falsely accused of being a “barbarian horde,” “rapists,” “murderers,” “drug addicts” and “baby killers.”

Today, their sons, daughters and grandchildren serving in uniform stand accused of being “terrorists,” “Nazis,” “cold-blooded murderers,” people who wantonly conduct “air raids on villages” bombing and killing civilians.

Every one of those spurious accusations were spewed from the Halls of Congress, most often by the same men and women who voted to send America’s youth to war, only to denounce, vilify and abandon them later, when the opportunity for personal, political advantage presented itself.

When I and my fellow veterans — POWs, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Navy Swift Boat combat veterans alike — attempted to warn America about one of the most notorious turncoats from the Vietnam era, we were initially ignored by the mainstream media.

When the press and TV networks could no longer cover-up for John Kerry’s very public treasonous conduct, we were accused of being “serial liars,” shouted down by Leftist political campaign operatives disguised as “journalists.” All the while the networks kept the film evidence of Lt. Kerry’s betrayal under lock and key, where it remains hidden from the American public even today.

The recent treatment accorded Gen. Petraeus by the same radicals in Congress and the media was strikingly similar to our experiences in 2004. Before he uttered a single word, this highly decorated combat veteran, a man of great honor who has risked his life many times in the defense of our country, stood accused, disparaged and berated by a pack of power-hungry shirkers and slackers unworthy to polish his combat medals.

Veterans who attempted to expose Sen. Kerry in 2004 were treated no better. But, Kerry and his band of Leftist comrades had something special in store for me and my fellow POWs and their wives. We were sued repeatedly for three long years, forced to spend $1 million just to defend ourselves in several frivolous lawsuits.

What did we do to cause such a prolonged, vindictive assault? We told the truth no Mainstream Media news operation wanted the American public to know, then or now.

Dozens of my fellow POWs and their wives participated in a documentary, “Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal.” In that film we said Kerry and his anti-war followers were liars and frauds working on behalf of our brutal Communists captors. Their collaboration with the enemy prolonged our captivity and the Vietnam War itself by years. Their vicious lies accusing us and all U.S. servicemen of being “war criminals” put our lives and the lives of Americans still fighting on the battlefield in grave danger.

Worse of all, Kerry’s self-aggrandizing, false accusations against American soldiers who had born the brunt of the bleeding and dying in Vietnam, spawned the myths our young men and women in Iraq today are forced to defend against, even as they fight for their lives on the battlefield each and every day.

You can draw a straight line from the deceitful Leftist tactics used to bring America’s defeat and dishonor in Vietnam to Iraq today.

America’s military didn’t lose the Vietnam War. Congress declared defeat, voted to abandon South Vietnam nearly two years after our last combat troops left. That sell-out, not only of our South Vietnam ally, but the nearly 60,000 Americans who gave their lives on the battlefield, ignited a genocidal holocaust throughout Southeast Asia that can still only be measured in the millions, an estimated three to five million innocent civilians brutally murdered.

We cannot let that happen again. We will not let that happen. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with us to prevent that from happening.

Three years ago, I and my fellow POWs and Vietnam combat veterans created a non-profit organization, ” The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation”. Our mission was simple, to set the record straight about the Vietnam War and those who served and fought there. Little did we know then we’d be slapped with multiple lawsuits for daring to uncover the layer upon layer of lies that constitute the false Vietnam History.

Nor, could we know then the Left’s plans to use the same Vietnam blueprint for defeat in Iraq. Little wonder Kerry and his followers wanted to sue us into silence! But, we prevailed. We successfully defended against each of those lawsuits, all have now been withdrawn. And, we will not remain silent any longer.

Our research into the Vietnam War, most especially, those individuals and organizations responsible for creating the completely false history of Vietnam, is voluminous, factual and compelling. We have amassed a virtual library of records, documents and eyewitness testimony that proves, conclusively, the popular history of Vietnam is pure bunk, propaganda.

Once we get the truth out to the American people, there will be winners. Those winners will be every man and woman who has served in our Armed Forces. To them and their families, this is a war we cannot lose.

The “War On America” is just heating up again. What we do now will dictate America’s future, whether it is one of victory over terrorism, or, decades more of defeat, humiliation in a lost, but noble cause.

God Bless You and America,

Col. Bud Day

Wild Thing's comment........

This is such a great letter. I agree the War on America is heating up and the enemy within has been repeating theiri same attempts to do what they have done in the past. And now we the added factor of what Obama will bring to this war on America.

The “War On America” is just heating up again. What we do now will dictate America’s future, whether it is one of victory over terrorism, or, decades more of defeat, humiliation in a lost, but noble cause."

He is right, what we do now will decide things for our country for many years.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (11)

September 01, 2008

Captain Ed "Too Tall" Freeman Tribute

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Ed Freeman of Boise died, he was 80 years of age.

Freeman, who was born in November of 1927 in Mississippi, received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions he took as an Army helicopter pilot on Nov. 14, 1965, in Vietnam.

As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the la Drang Valley. He flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers.

Freeman has lived in Idaho for the past 30 years.

Citation: Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam.

The infantry unit was almost out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water, and medical supplies to the besieged battalion.

His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival, without which they would almost surely have experienced a much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers -- some of whom would not have survived had he not acted.

All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements.

Captain Freeman’s selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance, and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers.

Captain Freeman’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

.

"We Were Soldiers"

In the movie We Were Soldiers Ed "Too Tall" Freeman was played by Mark McCracken.

Moore: You're a pilot?

Freeman: Yes, sir. "Too Tall".

Moore: I can see that.

Freeman: You call, we haul.

And this from the book, " We Were Soldier's"

From the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young" ... p 108

"Captain Ed Freeman, thirty-six, fought on Pork Chop Hill in Korea as an enlisted man and won a battlefield commission there. At six feet six inches, Freeman was four inches taller than the maximum height limit for Army pilots at the time he went to flight school, hence his nickname: 'Too Tall to Fly.' Crandall and Freeman had been a close team for years, sharing flying duties over some of the world's toughest terrain. Together they had flown the Arctic, the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, and the jungles of Central and South America on mapping missions for the Army. The only thing the two of them were ever known to argue about was which of them was the second-best helicopter pilot in the world. Pop Jekel describes the Too Tall Ed of that era as 'a good old shit-kicker whose poker winnings could pay off half the national debt.'"

...p 109

"We started receiving heavy fire on our approach [into the emergency LZ]. I [Crandall] notified Big Ed and he calmly came back with: 'Roger. What do you want me to do about it, Snake? I kind of thought this might happen.'"

.

Sgt. MacKenzie

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid

Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

Ains a year say a prayer faur me
Close yir een an remember me

Nair mair shall a see the sun
For a fell tae a Germans gun

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone

When they come I will stand my ground
Stand my ground I’ll not be afraid

Thoughts of home take away my fear
Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears

Once a year say a prayer for me
Close your eyes and remember me

Never more shall I see the sun
For I fell to a Germans gun

Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Where before many more have gone

In memory of
Sgt. Charles Stewart Mackenzie, Seaforth Highlanders.
Who, along with many others,
gave up his life so that we could live free.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Written by Joe Kilna MacKenzie, this song is dedicated to the memory of his late Grandfather, Sgt. MacKenzie. This song was featured in the Hollywood movie, “We Were Soldiers” Directed by Randall Wallace & starring Mel Gibson.

Wild Thing's comment............

Pity the wretches of humanity who think their freedom has no cost, they will forever remain in the shadow of better men who paid its price.

....Thank you Tincan.

You all know Tincan he is part of Team Theodore and comments here.

Tincan Sailor notes:

"To~Tallʼs internment Saturday, who ever put it together did a fine job. There were around 200 give or take a few. All the services were represented in the honor guard. The Air Guard did the missing man Fly over with four Apache Gunships. General Hal Moore was there also. The Press Tribune had a story about some of the visitors who came to See To-Tall in the Hospital, quite a few were men he rescued form the Battle in the Ia-Drang!! Agood send off for a good man!!! "

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Comments (11)

August 30, 2008

"The Man In The Door"

"The Man in the Door"

A story by Marine, Michael Rierson

Wild Thing's comment.........

Thank you to all of our Vietnam Veterans. This video is so well done, very moving I am sure the very first cut of the blade into the air brings back many memories. With tears in my eyes I thank you all . To the door gunners , the gunners on Huey gunships, the crew chief's, and all that served in that war and others that have memories watching this video.............brothers all.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (6)

May 26, 2008

Snipers In Vietnam and Now Ride Together in Rolling Thunder Second Time

They were thrust together 41 years ago in the highlands of Vietnam, self-described misfits who went on to tally a remarkable legacy as members of the first U.S. Marine sniperscout platoon trained exclusively in a combat zone.

On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, they met again, older, grayer, wiser for the experiences at the Winchester home of the man who personally selected and trained them to become among the deadliest marksmen of the Vietnam War.

Dave Sehmel, who now owns a construction company in Dallas; Gary Reiter, a retired school teacher from Spokane, Washington; Ed Kugler, a business consultant and author who published an acclaimed book based on his two tours of duty as a sniper in Vietnam; and Walt Sides, owner of Winchester Exchange, and who, as a 25-year-old Marine Staff Sergeant, was tasked into molding his three now 60-ish charges and 30 other young Marines into the elite and highly skilled killing fraternity of sniper scouts.

“Picture what it was like, as a Marine sergeant, looking at these guys and knowing you have to train them,” Sides said Wednesday May 23, 2007, shortly after returning from Washington-Dulles International Airport, where he, Reiter and Sehmel went to reunite with Kugler, the first time the four had physically been together since their days in Phu Bai, Vietnam.

This weekend, the four, and an estimated 500,000 others, will participate in Rolling Thunder XX, a mass rally in support of prisoners of war and those who are missing in action. The ride is held annually in Washington, D.C. Sides is one of the original founders of the group, which was formed in 1986 when he and four other vets determined that something must be done to “never forget” those who were imprisoned or never accounted for in Vietnam.

On that Wednesday, however, the mood was purely one of remembering shared times and fallen comrades, and celebrating their lives in the four decades they’d been apart. The goggled over pictures, beers in hand, of the four together, reed-thin, shirtless, all in their early 20s, gathering around a roasting hog one of the snipers had taken for treat. Other pictures included comrades who never returned home.

Remembering their days in the bush, which at times amounted to months on end searching for targets of opportunity, Kugler recalled “we didn’t look much like Marines, with long hair and stuff."

Most of Wednesday’s conversation consisted of reminiscences that clearly tugged long-repressed heartstrings.As he had when he brought them together in Vietnam,Sides is still, and always will be, the man in charge; the hardearned respect forged decades ago is unmistakable even today.

Sides estimated the four men gathered on his lawn wereresponsible “for better than 300 confirmed kills.”Their unit, dubbed “The Rogues,” tallied hundreds of morelong-distance kills during the war.

“And that’s not counting God only knows how many waterbuffalo,” Sides said, launching peals of laughter.

Grouped around Sides’ customized, V-8 equipped “trike,”which will join an estimated 200,000 motorcyclists this weekend,Sides outlined the unique role of his mission.

“The Marines were training snipers down around DaNang, but this was the first ever sniper platoon completely trained in a combat zone,” Sides said.

“Now, you might find a Marine Corps historian that willdispute that, but then . . . ”

Ironically, several of the men had been in contact over theyears; Kugler had stayed in touch with Sehmel. Four years ago,while surfing the Internet, Reiter found a Web site advertisingKugler’s book, “Dead Center,” and immediately recognized his old Vietnam buddy. That led to the three eventually talking over the telephone, but never a full-fledged reunion.

Later, Reiter and Sehmel got together at a gathering forformer sniper-scouts. That was when they realized they had another common bond: They both rode Harley-Davidsons.

That reunion lead to the pair travelling to Washington,D.C., for another sniper reunion, which coincided with Rolling Thunder XIX.

There, they spotted a kiosk, set up near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with a name on it that sent shivers up their collective spines: Walt Sides.

“It can’t be,” they said to each other. The Walt Sides who had recruited them for sniper training 40 years earlier, was, they believed, dead, the victim of a fire.

“We had heard he died, along with another Vietnam friend, in a tavern fire,” Reiter said.

“Personally, I found it hard to believe, because I didn’ think fire was tough enough to kill old Walt Sides.”

After an hour of searching, they found their old mentor, who was busy trying to handle the logistics of squaring away the hundreds of thousands of participants in the annual rally.

From that moment on, the trio laid preparations to meet again for Rolling Thunder XX. Now, toasting each other with beer, the foursome, and their assorted spouses and several other veterans who will be riding together this weekend, could only smile.

“This is just awesome, totally unbelievable,” Sehmel said. Kugler could only say it was an “incredibly special” occasion.

Reiter, perhaps, summed it up the best:

“We’re all luckier than hell. We’re truly blessed to have all gotten out of a situation like that.”

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)

May 18, 2008

Vietnam Memorial For Residents of North County Dedicated

CARLSBAD: Vietnam memorial for residents of North County dedicated

North County Times

You can WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

A memorial to North County service members who died in the Vietnam War was dedicated Saturday at Maffucci Field in Carlsbad, across from the Army and Navy Academy.

The brainchild of Jack Frazier, a world history teacher at Carlsbad High School since 1989, the dedication marked the end of a personal journey that lasted five years.

Frazier said his inspiration for the project came in 2003, when he attended a conference in Washington D.C., sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to help educators teach about Vietnam in the classroom. Frazier was encouraged to find creative ways to engage students and motivate them to honor the memory of veterans in their home town.

At first, his students started out researching the names of veterans from Carlsbad High School, Frazier said. They found the names of 133 men from all over North County.

So impressive was the project that it won the 2003-04 North County Educators Project of the Year Award.

More than 800 students from Carlsbad High including members of the community, business owners, family members of those honored and local civic organizations have helped by donating time and resources to bringing this project to fruition. Frazier said that people from as far north as Orange County have come down to help with the project.

Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stephen Bliss of the Army and Navy Academy, a highly decorated veteran of the war himself, said that after being presented the idea of having the memorial placed on the grounds of the academy, he immediately took the idea to the board of trustees and got their approval. A location was found that everyone agreed was an ideal spot.

Five Army and Navy Academy graduates are among the 133 names on the memorial.

Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington D.C., said the memorial will help to keep history alive and honor those who have served as well as those now serving in the armed services.

"Jack Frazier is a great patriot who wasn't afraid to take action," Scruggs said. "He epitomizes the spirit of the veteran to sacrifice for others."

Frazier said many obstacles were overcome to complete the project. He said that at times he encountered resistance from local leaders, politicians, anti-war groups and individuals still angry about the conflict in Vietnam.

For many of the Vietnam veterans at the dedication, the monument represents an opportunity to heal. Having received less than a hero's welcome upon returning home, veterans of the conflict felt ashamed and as a result, buried the memory of their military past.

Norm Ream of Encinitas said, "The day I got back, I was headed to have my first legal drink in the United States, and I was spat upon."

Other veterans recalled being called baby killers and having been asked how many villages they burned down.

Frazier said his healing didn't begin until the final day of his trip to Washington D.C. in 2003.

After being urged by a friend to visit the wall, he found the name of a cousin who was killed in the conflict. He said that when he touched the name of his cousin, he nearly had a nervous breakdown. So moved was he by the experience that he cried for nearly an hour and had to be helped to his feet.

Now that the memorial has been dedicated, he said, "everything is going to be alright."

Some at the ceremony said the monument gives those who lost loved ones in the conflict an opportunity to honor their memory without having to travel all the way to Washington D.C.

Organizers said they expect the memorial to become a destination for people who wish to pay their respects to the those who gave their lives in Vietnam.

Wild Thing's comment.......

"At first, his students started out researching the names of veterans from Carlsbad High School,"

I love how they had the students do this. To get them involved, they will remember those who served more by the fact they did research to learn about them.

This would be great if this could happen across our land instead of how so many teachers want to re-write history and lie about the Vietnam War.

Posted by Wild Thing at 10:45 AM | Comments (8)

April 02, 2008

Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has gone digital. The digital version is stitched together from more than 6,000 photographs. You can search for a name on the wall quickly and easily using the search box. It will take you to the name instantly.

Once you find the name, you can click on it. This will bring up details on the person, such as rank, hometown and cause of death. But you can help show the person behind the name. You can add photos and comments about your loved one.

Just CLICK on link below

http://go.footnote.com/thewall

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Comments (22)

April 01, 2008

Freedom Never Cries

Please watch this new video and $1 goes to Operation Homefront, a great charity for that assists our troops and their families, until they hit 30K. The song is from John Ondrasik's Five for Fighting. The man portraying the pawn shop owner behind the counter is a Distinguished Medal of Honor Recipient from the Vietnam War, Fred Ferguson.

http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/706270

Chief Warrant Officer Ferguson was commander of a re-supply helicopter monitoring an emergency call from wounded passengers and crewmen of a downed helicopter under heavy attack within the enemy controlled city of Hue during the Tet Offensive. He unhesitatingly volunteered to attempt evacuation. Despite warnings from all aircraft to stay clear of the area due to heavy antiaircraft fire, Ferguson began a low-level flight at maximum airspeed along the Perfume River toward the tiny, isolated South Vietnamese Army compound in which the crash survivors had taken refuge. Coolly and skillfully maintaining his course in the face of intense, short range fire from enemy occupied buildings and boats, he displayed superior flying skill and tenacity of purpose by landing his aircraft in an extremely confined area in a blinding dust cloud under heavy mortar and small-arms fire. Although the helicopter was severely damaged by mortar fragments during the loading of the wounded, he disregarded the damage and, taking off through the continuing hail of mortar fire, flew his crippled aircraft on the return route through the rain of fire that he had experienced earlier and safely returned his wounded passengers to friendly control.

Fred Ferguson joined the Arizona National Guard after earning the Medal of Honor on active duty.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)

March 29, 2008

Vietnam War - The Impact of Media

Vietnam War - The Impact of Media

Length: 56 min 28 sec

Vietnam War - "The Impact of Media" explores in detail the 'media distortions' due to television's misrepresentations during the Vietnam ... all » War. It rebuts the view promoted by PBS's 13-part documentary series, "Vietnam: A Television History". The rebuttal also applies to "The Ten Thousand Day War" series.

"The Impact of Media" is a must-see for historians and politicians alike. The late President Ronald Reagan lauded this rebuttal video when he watched it and said that it's "something all Americans should see".

For a much larger screen image of the video you can also go HERE

Wild Thing's comment........

Our major news media are a disgrace and nothing but propaganda mills. They have blood on their hands for their part in helping the enemy. We never lost a battle in Viet Nam! It was our own politicians, the media and the godless, communist hippies that messed things up.

The lies are tremendous many we already know, but it also tells of how planned those lies were, how sound effects would be added, so many things. All done by the media! UNFORGIVABLE!

I am so very grateful to our Vietnam Vets, to all of you. I am so very proud of you, what an honor it is to know you.

....Thank you Mike (Nam Recon vet )

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (11)

March 22, 2008

Vietnam Veteran Navy SEAL Philip “Moki” Martin Rewarded

Philip "Moki" Martin of Coronado received a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a combat "V" for valor at a ceremony yesterday at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base. A bicycle accident in 1983 left him a quadriplegic.

Martin (center) received congratulations from fellow Vietnam veterans Frank Sayle (left) and Eric Knudson (right). Recognition was delayed because the mission was so secret.

Secret peril rewarded

San Diego.com

CORONADO

As he plunged through the darkness and into the stormy waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, Navy SEAL Philip “Moki” Martin knew he and his buddies were in trouble.

Of the 700 or so jumps Martin had made from Navy helicopters as a SEAL in training and during the Vietnam War, he could hardly remember one with such nasty conditions.

This mission – deep in enemy territory on June 5, 1972 – was, quite literally, a leap of faith: The pilot wasn't sure how high they were or whether the Grayback, the submarine they were supposed to meet, actually was there.

“I counted one thousand, two thousand, three thousand. Then I said, 'Oh no, that's too long. We're too high!' ” recalled Martin, 65, now retired from the Navy and living in Coronado. “I hit (the water) like a ton of you know what.”

Martin suffered a twisted knee when he hit the water. His commander, Lt. Melvin “Spence” Dry, died upon impact. A third SEAL, Fireman Thomas Edwards, was badly hurt.

Yesterday, many of Martin's old platoon mates watched as he received a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a combat “V” for valor. The ceremony took place at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, near the headquarters of the Navy's Special Warfare Command.

Martin's wife, Cindy, and daughter, Callie, watched as Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, the unit's commander, handed Martin a framed plaque containing the medal.

“It's been a long, long time coming,” Kernan said. “Thanks for waiting for your celebration, so this generation could share in it.”

Two weeks earlier, Dry's family had received his Bronze Star with combat “V” posthumously in a similar ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

The recognition had been long delayed because the mission, Operation Thunderhead, was kept so secret that few of the sailors and SEALs aboard the Grayback knew how significant and perilous it was.

“We saw people leave, and nobody ever came back,” said Frank Sayle, 58, of Houston, a SEAL who served aboard the Grayback at the time.

Only Martin and a handful of others knew that the platoon's job was to rescue two prisoners of war who had hatched a plot to escape from the infamous Vietnamese prison camp known as the Hanoi Hilton.

After a 2005 magazine article about the mission revealed that neither Martin nor Dry had been decorated for their actions, the Grayback's then-skipper, John Chamberlain, nominated them for the awards.

That the Thunderhead mission failed at every turn doesn't diminish its importance, said several of the men involved in it. Its lessons are still taught in SEAL training, some of them by Martin himself.

“It's a bit of closure for us,” said Eric Knudson, 59, of Vacaville, who was a yeoman third class in the platoon.
The Grayback was to slip into North Vietnamese waters and let out several four-man SEAL teams in small, submersible vehicles just offshore on June 3. The teams were to rendezvous with the two prisoners – who had communicated their plans through a method that today remains secret – on an offshore island.

But the currents proved unexpectedly strong. Martin, Dry and their teammates couldn't reach shore or make it back to the sub. They stayed in the water, praying the North Vietnamese wouldn't discover them during the eight hours before a rescue helicopter was supposed to pick them up and take them to the Navy cruiser Long Beach.

Aboard the Long Beach, Martin said, the SEALs knew they had to get back to the Grayback to warn other SEAL teams about the currents. So they made plans to return the following night.

The sub couldn't communicate directly with Dry's team, but it would use an infrared beacon to guide the helicopter to its location.

The helicopter crew had great difficulty spotting that beacon, said John Wilson of Maui, Hawaii, 67, a crew chief aboard the helicopter that dropped off Dry's team.

The helicopter finally found a signal at sea and then sent the team on its fateful jump. It turned out to be a distress signal from a second four-man SEAL team. The Grayback had aborted the drop because of North Vietnamese patrol boats in the area, but the message didn't reach the Long Beach in time.

Wilson's crew returned the next morning to pick up the seven survivors, as well as Dry's body. Operation Thunderhead was called off days later after commanders learned that the POW escape also had been aborted.

“You just had no idea what was going on, because no one was allowed to know,” Sayle said. “We never talked about it again. We never saw each other again.”

Martin stayed in the Navy until 1983, shortly after a bicycle accident while riding to the Coronado base left him a quadriplegic. He later earned a degree in painting and photography at San Diego State University. He has won awards for his artwork.

Yesterday, he was moved by the turnout among his platoon mates.

“I wanted this to be about them, more than me,” Martin said. “The medal is just a piece of hardware they give you.”

Wild Thing's comment........

It is such an honor to read stories of our Veterans, America's heroes one and all. America is so blessed that men and women have been willing to serve our country, we owe them all so very much, more then we can ever repay.

I am sorry about the small size of the photos, I didn't want to enlarge them since it would make them very blurry to see. These small size photos were at the article.

You can also go to THIS WEBSITE .....To learn about Operation Thunderhead and Lt. Philip "Moki" Martin. It is a great site and has photos, write ups and biographies

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (4)

March 21, 2008

The Revolt Of The Vietnam Veterans

The revolt of the Vietnam veterans

San Diego Union Tribune

By Bruce Kesler
December 19, 2004

Post mortems in the liberal press on the role that Vietnam veterans played in presidential candidate John Kerry's defeat mask the key role of the liberal press, which tried to suppress the vets' story and is distorting it now. I was there at the creation of a veterans group and all along, and know better. The American people deserve to know better too.

In 1971 I organized Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace. John O'Neill enlisted to counter the smears of American servicemen in Vietnam. No one else spoke up for us, so we had to. The mainstream press was more diverse than today and we got a spotty but honest hearing.

Kerry's light dimmed then. Americans got the message that a motley crew of exaggerators and frauds didn't speak for Vietnam veterans. We said our piece and went home, back to our diverse, nonpolitical lives.

Meanwhile, anti-Vietnam war protesters of the 1960s marched through academia and the media to claim its power as their own. In 2004, they fought to defend their self-image by defaming that of anti-Kerry Vietnam veterans.

In February 2004, anti-Kerry Vietnam veterans were shocked that he won the Democratic nomination. The mainstream media blessed this coronation. No one except Kerry and his advisers really wanted to revisit Vietnam, but they saw it as a way to appeal to anti and pro-war voters.

Kerry's Vietnam veteran opponents hadn't been in contact for over 30 years, so we searched each other out. Scott Swett, creator of wintersoldier.com that collected research on Kerry's protest activities, was an invaluable connector among us, creating an Internet political network that bound us together.

While we knew all too well about Kerry's anti-Vietnam protest period, we compared notes and surprised ourselves at the extent of deceptions in Kerry's self-hagiography about being a sterling war hero. It was intolerable that John Kerry brazenly glorified this suspect record to centerpiece his few months as a junior officer 35 years ago as qualification to lead the United States in this most challenging time since the Cold War.

The liberal media portrayed anti-Kerry Vietnam veterans as a long-planned, far-right funded conspiracy of liars. That's far, far from the truth. The real story is like the Minutemen, rising from peaceful lives to spontaneously come together to again fight for the America we so deeply love.

There was little or no coordination, just mutual support, with each volunteer shooting from behind his own tree in the same direction. We came to know each other on the field of our revolt against the false image created by Kerry of himself in the media and the false image Kerry was instrumental in painting of us and America.

John O'Neill got off his sickbed. He asked me whether I had the contacts and resources to lead as I did in 1971, which I didn't, and he dug in his own pocket to get the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth started. Vietnam veterans from every service, and Americans from every walk of life, joined in and followed O'Neill into political combat.

Early in the year a friend with access to the Kerry campaign warned me it was digging for any kind of dirt to destroy us. Contrary to the liberal media's story that we surprised Kerry in August, he thought the mainstream media could succeed in ignoring and stifling the Swift Boat veterans, and he had long planned a new smear campaign against us.

The surprise to the Kerry camp and liberal press was that the new media did break through and that Vietnam veterans could not be intimidated. In August, as reported by Newsweek, Kerry operatives fed negative documents and talking points to the New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe. Subsequent articles in those newspapers reflected negatively on the Swiftees.

With only one halting exception, the mainstream media refused to investigate the sworn affidavits of 60 credible witnesses to Kerry's behavior, or to follow up on the abundance of additional information given them. The New York Times repeatedly used "unsubstantiated" as its adjective describing the Swift Boat veterans' allegations without ever exerting its considerable power to investigate.

Kerry wasn't pressured by the mainstream media to reveal his full military records to resolve issues, nor questioned as to what he was hiding. The mainstream media's zeal in chasing down every scrap of trivia about Bush's service stands in sharp contrast. That alone strongly suggested a liberal bias.

This behavior by some of the liberal media was purposeful. The survival of their favored candidate was endangered by our truth and facts. As important, the self-image of many reporters was endangered. Their myths of our pervasive evils in defending Vietnamese freedom, and of their valiant memories of mounting school libraries' ramparts, could not take the incongruence of exposure.

In the campaign to discredit anti-Kerry Vietnam veterans, some charged that we were reviving an old vendetta. Actually, we had ignored Kerry until last February. Some charged that we were refighting a cultural war from the '60s. Again, untrue. Many of us smoked marijuana, rocked to the same songs, grew the same long hair. We're Democrats, independents and Republicans.

The true post mortem of Kerry's defeat is simply the last hurrah of simple patriots, amateurishly but fervently rising up and banding together, with few resources, to defeat the mainstream media's boy and juggernaut. Polls and the election show we succeeded.

Wild Thing's comment........

This is a great article and what a time that was too. Vietnam Veterans gathering together at the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth website and all across the internet at various forums. Posting their hearts out as they did all they could do to counter John Kerry's lies and bring the truth to the media and to all of America and the entire world.

During that time I did not have a blog, but I did have my website and what an honor it was to meet (online) some of the Swift Boat Veterans. I still have my emails from John O'Neil and Tom Forrest (when he was President of the "Swift Boat Sailors Association" (SBSA). Tom passed away May 1, 2006 . My last email from him was in March of 2006 and I am so glad I was able to tell him how grateful America was for all that Swift Boat Veterans had done.

The reason we do not have John Kerry for President is due to the hard work of the Vietnam Veterans and yes their revolt which was a great success.

You can see Tom's photos and a small write up at my Tribute to Vietnam Vets page.

When a person serves their country it has always been my hope that they could know their fight was done and they could come home and enjoy the freedoms that they fought for and served our country to preserve. But when John Kerry entered the race they all went right back into the most amazing fight for our country.

Thank you.

....Thank you Mark for sending this article to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)

March 15, 2008

Vietnam Campaigners Hope for Senate Action

Vietnam Campaigners Hope for Senate Action

CNS News

Campaigners for democracy in Vietnam are hopeful that long-delayed legislation to promote human rights improvements in communist-ruled Vietnam may move forward on Capitol Hill, following a Senate hearing this week.

The House of Representatives passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act by an overwhelming vote last September, and the legislation is now before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Previous versions, passed by the House, made no headway in the Senate.

The legislation provides funding to promote human rights and democratic change in Vietnam and links future increases in non-humanitarian aid to verifiable improvements in its human rights record.

Critics of the one-party government in Hanoi say the political situation in the country has deteriorated, even as its bilateral relations with the U.S. have improved.

The State Department's annual report on human rights around the world, released this week, cited a "crackdown on dissent" in Vietnam, including the arrest of activists and disruption of nascent opposition organizations.

Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee hearing Wednesday that although "social freedoms" had increased in Vietnam, "serious deficiencies remain in political and civil liberties."

Hill, who visited Vietnam earlier this month, said he had urged officials to release dissidents, and would continue to do so.

The best known of these, Catholic priest and democracy campaigner Nguyen Van Ly, was sentenced a year ago to eight years' imprisonment for distributing anti-government material and communicating with pro-democracy activists abroad.

Another imprisoned campaigner, Nguyen Quoc Quan, is an American citizen who was arrested in Vietnam last November. Hanoi said the American, who is a member of an unauthorized group called Viet Tan -- which Vietnam considers a terrorist organization -- was trying to overthrow the government.

The 26-year-old Viet Tan (or Vietnam Reform Party) says it promotes change through "grassroots, peaceful means," including an underground newspaper, the Internet and radio broadcasts to spread its message. It says Nguyen Quoc Quan was merely preparing to distribute pro-democracy flyers in Ho Chi Minh City when arrested.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chaired the hearing, said the arrest of pro-democracy campaigners was "not the type of news that we want to hear out of a country that is one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid in East Asia."

The two arrests -- and others -- came during a year which began with Vietnam being granted permanent normal trade relations with the U.S. and entry into the World Trade Organization.

Later in the year, the State Department removed Vietnam from a blacklist of religious freedom violators, despite protestations from some experts that the step was premature in the light of ongoing restrictions affecting Christians and Buddhists who want to organize free from government control.

Viet Tan chairman Do Hoang Diem told the senators the country's democracy movement was growing rapidly since 2006, comparing it to similar groups in communist Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Cold War.

"After more than 50 years in power, for the first time, the Vietnamese Communist Party is facing numerous and unprecedented challenges to its rule," he said. "The desire for real changes in Vietnam is stronger now than ever before. In response, the regime is using terror tactics to silence opposition."

The choice for the U.S. is not whether to isolate or engage Vietnam, but how to pursue the relationship in the most constructive way, Do said. He urged the Senate to pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act, speak out on abuses and support democracy.

On Thursday, Do said he thought the hearing had gone "very well," and noted that Boxer had expressed support for the Vietnam Human Rights Act.

"That is very encouraging," he said. "We are confident that we will continue to enjoy more and more support as we move forward."

In a letter to Boxer on Thursday, Vo Van Ai, the Paris-based international spokesman for the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, whose leaders are under house arrest, urged the Senate to pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act, saying that economic development alone would not bring democracy to Vietnam.

"By supporting human rights as well as enhanced trade, you will positively impact the lives of 84 million people in Vietnam," he said.

The House passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act last September by a 414-3 vote. It was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), whose earlier attempts to get similar bills through the legislative process died in the Senate.

Opponents have included Arizona Sen. John McCain, now the Republican presidential nominee, and Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

The two senators, both Vietnam War veterans, were instrumental in the normalization of bilateral relations in 1995.

Do said Thursday his organization has not yet had any clear indication of the three presidential candidates' positions on the latest legislation.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Interesting that both McCain and Kerry once again in agreement about Vietnam.

.....Thank you Jack for sending this to me. Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (6)

February 08, 2008

The Lies Of The Tet Offensive

The Lies of Tet

Wallstreet Journal

By ARTHUR HERMAN
February 6, 2008; Page A19

On January 30, 1968, more than a quarter million North Vietnamese soldiers and 100,000 Viet Cong irregulars launched a massive attack on South Vietnam. But the public didn't hear about who had won this most decisive battle of the Vietnam War, the so-called Tet offensive, until much too late.

Media misreporting of Tet passed into our collective memory. That picture gave antiwar activism an unwarranted credibility that persists today in Congress, and in the media reaction to the war in Iraq. The Tet experience provides a narrative model for those who wish to see all U.S. military successes -- such as the Petraeus surge -- minimized and glossed over.

In truth, the war in Vietnam was lost on the propaganda front, in great measure due to the press's pervasive misreporting of the clear U.S. victory at Tet as a defeat. Forty years is long past time to set the historical record straight.

The Tet offensive came at the end of a long string of communist setbacks. By 1967 their insurgent army in the South, the Viet Cong, had proved increasingly ineffective, both as a military and political force. Once American combat troops began arriving in the summer of 1965, the communists were mauled in one battle after another, despite massive Hanoi support for the southern insurgency with soldiers and arms. By 1967 the VC had lost control over areas like the Mekong Delta -- ironically, the very place where reporters David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan had first diagnosed a Vietnam "quagmire" that never existed.

The Tet offensive was Hanoi's desperate throw of the dice to seize South Vietnam's northern provinces using conventional armies, while simultaneously triggering a popular uprising in support of the Viet Cong. Both failed. Americans and South Vietnamese soon put down the attacks, which began under cover of a cease-fire to celebrate the Tet lunar new year. By March 2, when U.S. Marines crushed the last North Vietnamese pockets of resistance in the northern city of Hue, the VC had lost 80,000-100,000 killed or wounded without capturing a single province.

Tet was a particularly crushing defeat for the VC. It had not only failed to trigger any uprising but also cost them "our best people," as former Viet Cong doctor Duong Quyunh Hoa later admitted to reporter Stanley Karnow. Yet the very fact of the U.S. military victory -- "The North Vietnamese," noted National Security official William Bundy at the time, "fought to the last Viet Cong" -- was spun otherwise by most of the U.S. press.

As the Washington Post's Saigon bureau chief Peter Braestrup documented in his 1977 book, "The Big Story," the desperate fury of the communist attacks including on Saigon, where most reporters lived and worked, caught the press by surprise. (Not the military: It had been expecting an attack and had been on full alert since Jan. 24.) It also put many reporters in physical danger for the first time. Braestrup, a former Marine, calculated that only 40 of 354 print and TV journalists covering the war at the time had seen any real fighting. Their own panic deeply colored their reportage, suggesting that the communist assault had flung Vietnam into chaos.

Their editors at home, like CBS's Walter Cronkite, seized on the distorted reporting to discredit the military's version of events. The Viet Cong insurgency was in its death throes, just as U.S. military officials assured the American people at the time. Yet the press version painted a different picture.

To quote Braestrup, "the media tended to leave the shock and confusion of early February, as then perceived, fixed as the final impression of Tet" and of Vietnam generally. "Drama was perpetuated at the expense of information," and "the negative trend" of media reporting "added to the distortion of the real situation on the ground in Vietnam."

The North Vietnamese were delighted. On the heels of their devastating defeat, Hanoi increasingly shifted its propaganda efforts toward the media and the antiwar movement. Causing American (not South Vietnamese) casualties, even at heavy cost, became a battlefield objective in order to reinforce the American media's narrative of a failing policy in Vietnam.

Yet thanks to the success of Tet, the numbers of Americans dying in Vietnam steadily declined -- from almost 15,000 in 1968 to 9,414 in 1969 and 4,221 in 1970 -- by which time the Viet Cong had ceased to exist as a viable fighting force. One Vietnamese province after another witnessed new peace and stability. By the end of 1969 over 70% of South Vietnam's population was under government control, compared to 42% at the beginning of 1968. In 1970 and 1971, American ambassador Ellsworth Bunker estimated that 90% of Vietnamese lived in zones under government control.

However, all this went unnoticed because misreporting about Tet had left the image of Vietnam as a botched counterinsurgency -- an image nearly half a decade out of date. The failure of the North's next massive invasion over Easter 1972, which cost the North Vietnamese army another 100,000 men and half their tanks and artillery, finally forced it to sign the peace accords in Paris and formally to recognize the Republic of South Vietnam. By August 1972 there were no U.S. combat forces left in Vietnam, precisely because, contrary to the overwhelming mass of press reports, American policy there had been a success.

To Congress and the public, however, the war had been nothing but a debacle. And by withdrawing American troops, President Nixon gave up any U.S. political or military leverage on Vietnam's future. With U.S. military might out of the equation, the North quickly cheated on the Paris accords. When its re-equipped army launched a massive attack in 1975, Congress refused to redeem Nixon's pledges of military support for the South. Instead, President Gerald Ford bowed to what the media had convinced the American public was inevitable: the fall of Vietnam.

The collapse of South Vietnam's neighbor, Cambodia, soon followed. Southeast Asia entered the era of the "killing fields," exterminating in a brief few years an estimated two million people -- 30% of the Cambodian population. American military policy has borne the scars of Vietnam ever since.

It had all been preventable -- but for the lies of Tet.

Mr. Herman is the author of "Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age," to be published by Bantam Dell in April.

Wild Thing's comment........
I will never forgive Chronkite and others for their LIES about Tet. He most certainly sold out our troops and our country with his lies. Chief Cheer Leader in the media for the anti-American crowd was Walter Cronkite.

..... Thank you Cuchieddie for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (11)

November 21, 2007

Tribute to US troops in Vietnam

This video was made by the person that has a blog named Le Blog Drzz

The person that made the video titled it...."Tribute to US troops in Vietnam ".....

Music: Paul Potts

Here is a translate page if you want to see the blog translated from the French to the English.

http://translate.google.com/translate_t?langpair=ar|en

It is well done, and I am always glad to see others thanking our Vietnam Vets and praying tribute to them.

Thank you to the person that made this video. And a HUGE thank you to our Vietnam Veterans. - from Wild Thing

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (9)

September 18, 2007

Park Police Say Vietnam Memorial Was Vandalized

Oily Substance on Wall Was Vandalism, Not Accident, Police Say
washington post

The unidentified substance that was found splashed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial earlier this month was the result of vandalism, the U.S. Park Police said today.

Sgt. Robert Lachance, a spokesman for the Park Police, said the investigation into the incident is continuing, but the detective on the case had ruled it an act of vandalism. Lachance said he could provide no more details because the probe is still underway.

The oily substance was first reported to police the evening of Sept. 7, National Park Service officials have said. Dark blotches were found along a stone curb at the base of the memorial for most of its length, and at least two of the wall's panels appeared to have had something splashed on them.

Park Service officials said they did not know what the substance was, and at first said it was unclear if it was the result of vandalism or some kind of accident.

Park Service spokesman Bill Line said today that maintenance and preservation crews were still working to remove the stains and marks, but were proceeding with caution to avoid further damage. He said the crews were trying to avoid pushing any residue into cracks or grout in the stone.

"We're purposefully going to take our time," he said.

Line said it could take another week or more to clean, but officials remain confident they can remove all the stains.

"It's deplorable that someone would vandalize what's really a national shrine," said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Memorial Fund. "It's an outrage. It's sad."

He said the memorial is open 24 hours a day year-round and has been visited by an estimated 80 million people.

"No organized group would ever be a part of anything like this," he said. "But there are deranged individuals in our society, and I think one has visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial."

Wild Thing's comment........

Confirming the obvious!

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is continuing to monitor the situation and has offered its help to both NPS and the Park Police. It has contacted the stoneworkers who work on The Wall to get their expert advice.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (13)

September 15, 2007

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

Sometime during the evening hours of September 8th, 2007, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. was defaced with a petroleum based acid liquid. There needs to be better security for the memory of these 58,249 killed during the Democrat war in Vietnam.

Washing this off with a pressure washer is a futile task. Oil seeps into tiny pores and crevasses in the stone and even though it appears clean after pressure washing the oil in these pores will in time wick back up to the surface and it will look the same as before.

Lisa Gough, Director of Communications for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, who stated in her press release of Sept. 11, 2007: “The United States Park Police has begun an investigation into the matter, and that investigation is ongoing. Until this investigation is completed, it is premature to speculate whether any intentional act was committed.”

NPS put out a statement also yesterday:
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070911/METRO/109110043/1004

....claiming they still didn’t know and were still investigating.

Also, NPS is misrepresenting the amount of damage. From that link, they state, “50 to 60 feet mostly on the paving stones”.

Also this......along the East Wall Panel 15E that it had multiple deep, long, vertical scratches/gouges.

Then there is this one in Andover.....................

Vietnam Veterans Memorial defaced

Andover Townsman

Many veterans in town were disappointed to learn last week that someone had vandalized the town's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, requiring the 15-month-old memorial to be sandblasted Wednesday.

"We know that in no way does this reflect how the community feels about our veterans," said Michael Burke, director of veteran services.

The lyrics of a 1970s protest song and a reference to Iraq were scrawled on the monument in the Park. "War, what is it good for, absolutely nothin'," was written in red marker along with a peace sign.

The lyrics are from "War," a song that Motown soul singer Edwin Starr popularized in 1970.

Near the base of the memorial where the phrase "our cause is just" is etched, a vandal wrote "just like in Iraq."

The markings were made with some kind of felt marker, which soaked into the stone, Burke said yesterday. Methuen Monument is helping the town repair the memorial, which was dedicated May 29, 2006.

While there was no structural damage, "the stone does need to be sandblasted," Burke said. He was not sure how much the work would cost, if anything, but said the town was grateful to the Methuen business for stepping in to help.

Police Lt. Harry Collins said the vandalism was under investigation.

Burke said this week he has talked to several veterans and longtime residents, and that no one could remember something like this happening in Andover.

"This is a disappointing event," he said. "This is an anomaly. If someone does have opposition, there are other ways to vocalize that."

In Haverhill earlier this summer, vandals ruined parts of a Korean War Memorial and spray-painted a World War II monument.

Wild Thing's comment........

All of this is very upsetting, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall needs to be protected much better then it is. Times have changed and no longer are Memorials of any kind safe. There should be more camera's and better lighting at night. This is just horrible what people are capable of doing to the Vietnam Memorials. I can't even write this without crying just from the anger I feel.

....Thank you Tom for the link to information about this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (27)

May 29, 2007

Rolling Thunder ~ I Love You! Thank you!

No Memorial Day weekend in the capital is complete without the ritualistic rumble of Rolling Thunder. For 20 years now, the nonprofit group has led a ''Ride for Freedom'' along the National Mall, a full-throttle demonstration in support of soldiers held captive or missing in action.

An unidentified U.S. Marine salutes as participants of the 20th annual Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom drive in front of the Lincoln Memorial, seen in background, Sunday, May 27, 2007 in Washington. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

President Bush, left, walks with Rolling Thunder members, from left, Gary Scheffmeyer, Artie Muller, Lynne Jenks Spencer and Elaine Muller, as he receives them on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, May 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

Hard hats and horsepower: Thousands of bikers leave the Pentagon car park as they make their way to Washington's mall during the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder parade.
Photo: AFP

Thunder rolls, tears rain on Vietnam vets' parade
from various sources online

The ponytails might have grayed, and they're not as lithe as they were 40 years ago, but for the Harley-riding Vietnam veterans who descend on Washington for Memorial Day, it's a chance to remember and reflect on the war that changed their generation.

An estimated 400,000 motorcyclists swarmed the capital at the weekend for the 20th Rolling Thunder event. Many were veterans sporting leather vests advertising their platoon, their tour of duty, fallen comrades — and their devotion to their Harley-Davidson.

Some had ridden across the US in a pilgrimage to "the Wall", the name given to the stark yet moving monument that records the names of the 58,000 US servicemen who died in Vietnam.

Others had come from closer states. Like Jim Burgess, from Florida. He flew reconnaissance planes out of Thailand along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

"I got 10 people up on the Wall — one from my squadron. You gotta come and visit them once in a while," he said.

Ben Ompad served at the Phan Rang Air Base alongside Australian servicemen in 1967-68. "They were flying Canberras (bombers) back in those days, and I was like an adopted son," he said.

Dan Watson didn't serve in Vietnam, but he'd ridden the eight hours from Pennsylvania to spread the word on behalf of the Christian Motorcyclists' Association.

"I'm president of our chapter and I come every year to hand out Bibles and just talk to people," he said.

There was also a smattering of newer vets, several of whom were still recovering from injuries sustained in the Iraq war.

Specialist Adoph Morciglio, who drove convoy escorts, is now on disability leave from the US Army after a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy in Iraq. One of his team died a couple of months later from his injuries. It was his first time at the Memorial Day event.

"I don't doubt in my mind that there were weapons of mass destruction. Saddam just had too much time to get rid of the stuff, " said Sam Clark, a Vietnam veteran who survived the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Keith Eastman, from Dayton, Ohio, who served in the US Air Force on gunships out of Nha Trang, wants to see America stay the distance. "I want us to leave but after we win, and I think you'll find most of the vets feel the same way. We were pulled out of Vietnam and we didn't like it," he said.

Retired Army Spc. George Rusiewicz rides to show support for his brother, who fought in Vietnam and was riding in Rolling Thunder today for the fourth straight year.

“You’ve gotta support the troops, and I think this is a great way to do it,” Rusiewicz said. “We need people to defend this nation, and like they say, ‘Freedom isn’t free.’”

By mid-afternoon the air around Constitution Avenue was thick with exhaust smoke and the smell of synthetic motorcycle oil. But the parade kept coming and the crowd kept cheering, even though by now every shape, size and modification of Harley had passed them by.

Below are some video's about this last weekend with the Rolling Thunder. Love the first one especially.

And this one too...............

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (7)

May 25, 2007

Fire Up and Thunder Out with Rolling Thunder Memorial Day Weekend

Members of Carry the Flame, a group largely made up of bikers who are Vietnam veterans, ride through New Mexico to the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day rally at the National Mall in Washington.

If you travel on one of our nation’s Interstates these last few days before Memorial Day, you might encounter an unusual sight: bikers by the dozens stretched half a mile down the highway, their motorcycles flying military banners and spewing exhaust.

They are members of Rolling Thunder, a nationwide network of veterans and their supporters. Their destination: Rolling Thunder Memorial Day rally on the National Mall in Washington.

Rolling Thunder, which has thousands of members, was founded in 1987 when some Vietnam veterans and advocates for P.O.W.’s and M.I.A.’s befriended one another on the mall.

Ray Manzo of Hoboken, N.J., now a former marine, suggested motorcycles. The idea grabbed them. Masses of bikes descending on Washington would literally sound like Rolling Thunder, the code name for the bombing campaign over North Vietnam.

In its first year, the Memorial Day rally drew 2,500 bikers. Now, nearly two decades later, hundreds of thousands of bikers join in.

“When you put 200,000 bikes together,” said Michael DePaulo, a Vietnam veteran from Berkley, Mass., who helps organize and run the rally, “it sounds like a B-52 strike.”

Custom-Painted FLHX Street Glide Harley-Davidson of Washington donated to Rolling Thunder, Inc.® in honor of the 20th anniversary. The bike is currently on display at Harley-Davidson of Washington.

Until They ALL Come Home

Until they all come home
We watch and wait
Young and old, black and white
So far away, they're sent to fight

Until they all come home
We wear our ribbons to show our pride
And let them know we are on their side

Until they all come home
We pray for peace
Throughout the land
Protect them all, on sea and sand
Until they all come home

By James Withrow
Rolling Thunder

Wild Thing's comment........

God bless Rolling Thunder!

....Please visit my POW MIA page at my website

...You are also invited to visit my Tribute to Vietnam Veterans page.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)

May 24, 2007

Soar with the eagles, Earthquake!!!

Capt. James B. McGovern Jr. of Elizabeth, N.J., poses on the wing of his World War II fighter plane at an unknown location in this undated file photo provided by his family. Fifty-three years after he was shot down on a desperate cargo-delivery flight over Vietnam, a legendary pilot and soldier-of-fortune known as 'Earthquake McGoon' is to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday. (AP Photo/McGovern family photo via the Home News Tribune, File)

Famed flier to be buried at Arlington
NEW YORK

Fifty-three years after he was shot down on a desperate cargo-delivery flight over Vietnam, a legendary pilot and soldier of fortune known as Earthquake McGoon will be buried Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery.

The burial plan was announced by the Pentagon on Wednesday.

Earthquake McGoon, whose real name was James B. McGovern Jr., was one of the first two Americans killed in the Vietnam conflict. His remains were recovered from an unmarked grave in a remote northern Laos village in 2002 and identified last year by forensic experts at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's laboratory at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

But a family fued among relatives in New Jersey, in part about burial plans, stalled his interment. Meanwhile, former colleagues of McGovern in World War II and Indochina tried to arrange an Arlington burial to coincide with a planned "final reunion" of pilots who flew in China and French Indochina with Civil Air Transport, a postwar airline secretly owned by the CIA.

McGovern, who weighed 260 pounds and was nicknamed after a hulking character in the hillbilly comic strip "Li'l Abner," was killed May 6, 1954, while air-dropping an artillery piece to the trapped French garrison at Dien Bien Phu. His C-119 "Flying Boxcar" cargo plane, crippled by anti-aircraft fire, continued 75 miles into Laos and crashed on a hillside.

The crash also killed his co-pilot, Wallace Buford, and a French flight engineer. Three other French Legionnaires survived the crash and were captured by communist troops, but one died later. The remains of Buford, of Kansas City, Mo., were never found.

Dien Bien Phu fell to Ho Chi Minh's communist-led revolutionary army the next day, dooming the French colonial regime in Indochina.

McGovern and Buford, both civilians at the time, were the first two Americans killed in fighting in Vietnam, where ensuing warfare would kill nearly 60,000 Americans and more than a million Vietnamese over the next two decades.

Earthquake McGoon was a flamboyant figure who became famous in the early 1950s for his escapades. As a member of an Air Force squadron descended from the famed Flying Tigers, he shot down four Japanese planes and destroyed others on the ground.

His adventures included being captured by communist Chinese troops who freed him because he called them "liars" for not letting him go; winning a clutch of dancing girls in a poker game; and setting free a group of Japanese POWs on a beach rather than follow orders to "dump cargo" after he developed engine trouble.

Possible graves were spotted in the Laotian village of Ban Sot in the late 1990s by an analyst for the Hawaii-based POW/MIA Accounting Command, which searches for missing Americans in Asia and elsewhere.

In 2002, a JPAC team led by anthropologist Peter Miller found one of the graves contained remains that were later identified by forensic experts as those of McGovern.

Wild Thing's comment..........

From 1946 to 1976, Civil Air Transport (CAT) and Air America served alongside U.S. and allied intelligence agents and military personnel in the Far East, often in dangerous combat and combat support roles. Behind a shroud of strict secrecy, many Air America personnel were unaware that they were "shadow people" in counterinsurgency operations. Some 87 of them were killed in action in China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and elsewhere.

Though many of those Asian countries eventually fell to the communists, the contributions of Air America personnel to the cause of freedom remain unparalleled in aviation history. CAT and Air America personnel were the first Americans in China and Korea and, after the U.S. military had withdrawn from Vietnam, Air America pilots risked their lives to evacuate the last Americans. Air America -- "First in, last out."

This official website of Air America and CAT tells the 30-year story of these great Americans--shadow people, largely unknown to Americans and the world. They helped bring the Cold War to an end.

Click HERE to go to their website to read about Earthquke McGovern and Buford disappeared while flying a C-119

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (2)

March 02, 2007

Vietnam Vet to Receive Medal of Honor 41 Years After Battle

Major Bruce P. Crandall "Snake" was assigned as Commanding Officer of "A" Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in the Republic of Vietnam in 1965-66. Bruce's heroic efforts in the Ia Drang Valley are well documented in the book and film "We Were Soldiers" by Joe Galloway

This from the comments President Bush made.

A few years ago, Bruce learned he was being considered for our nation's highest military distinction. When he found out that Captain Freeman had also been nominated, Bruce insisted that his own name be withdrawn. If only one of them were to receive the Medal of Honor, he wanted it to be his wingman. So when I presented the Medal to Captain Freeman in 2001, Bruce was here in the White House. Captain Freeman wished he were here today, but he got snowed in, in Iowa. His spirit is with us. Today the story comes to its rightful conclusion: Bruce Crandall receives the honor he always deserved.

LTC Bruce Crandall (Ret.) received his wings in the first aviator class at Camp Rucker, Ala., in 1955. He participated in mapping operations from Africa to the Arctic and in Central and South America, where he was director of the first project using military satellites for terrestrial mapping. He has been a fixed and rotary wing test pilot and helped to develop and test the airmobile concept and doctrine he so effectively helped implement in Vietnam.

Crandall served in the Dominican Republic and two tours in Vietnam. His 750 combat operations in Southeast Asia included the famed Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, during which he saved more than 70 wounded soldiers and provided ammo critical to the survival of the U.S. ground unit. In 1966, Crandall flew two more night rescue missions which evacuated 12 wounded from a unit in heavy contact with the enemy. He received the 1966 Aviation and Space Writers Helicopter Heroism Award for this daring rescue.

In addition to his many military awards for gallantry and service, Crandall was the seventh Army inductee in the "Gathering of Eagles," a U.S. Air Force organization honoring contributors to aviation, and he received the Silver DeFleury Medallion for his contributions in engineering and aviation.

To READ more of the battle, see the video and other things related to this CLICK HERE for Crandall's site

As a 32-year-old helicopter pilot, he flew through a gantlet of enemy fire, taking ammunition in and wounded Americans out of one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War.

Now, a week after his 74th birthday, Crandall received the nation's highest military honor Monday in a White House ceremony with President Bush.

"I'm still here," he said of his 41-year-wait for the Medal of Honor. "Most of these awards are posthumous, so I can't complain."

Crandall's actions in the November 1965 Battle at Ia Drang Valley were depicted in the Hollywood movie "We Were Soldiers," adapted from the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young."

At the time, Crandall was a major commanding a company of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

"We had the first airmobile division ... the first one to use aircraft as a means of transportation and sustaining combat," Crandall said. His unit was put together earlier that year to go to Vietnam and "wasn't as thought out as things are today."

He didn't have gunners for his aircraft. That's why he flew unarmed helicopters into the battlefield.

He didn't have night vision equipment and other later technology that lessens the danger of flying.

The unit had "minimum resources and almost no administrative people" — thus the lack of help to do the reams of paperwork that had to be sent to Washington for the highest medals, Crandall said.

Generals in-theater could approve nothing higher than the Distinguished Flying Cross, Crandall said in a phone interview from his home near Bremerton, Wash, so he received that award. Through the years, he was able to get that upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross and now to the Medal of Honor.

Crandall was leading a group of 16 helicopters in support of the 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment — the regiment led by George Armstrong Custer when he met his end at the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, or "Custer's Last Stand."

Without Crandall's actions, the embattled men at Ia Drang would have died in much the same way — "cut off, surrounded by numerically superior forces, overrun and butchered to the last man," the infantry commander, Lt. Col. Harold Moore, wrote in recommending Crandall for the medal.

Moore, now a retired three-star general, later wrote the book about the battle along with Joseph L. Galloway, a former war correspondent now with McClatchy Newspapers.

"This unit, taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, out of water and fast running out of ammunition, was engaged in one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam war against a relentlessly attacking, highly motivated, vastly superior force," said U.S. Army documents supporting Crandall's medal. The U.S. forces were up against two regiments of North Vietnamese Army infantry, "determined to overrun and annihilate them," the documents said.

The fighting became so intense that the helicopter landing zone for delivering and resupplying troops was closed, and a unit assigned to medical evacuation duties refused to fly. Crandall volunteered for the mission and with wingman and longtime friend Maj. Ed Freeman made flight after flight over three days to deliver water, ammunition and medical supplies. They are credited with saving more than 70 wounded soldiers by flying them out to safety, and Freeman received the Medal of Honor in July 2001.

Paperwork and other parts of the process delayed Crandall's medal until now, officials said.

Thinking back to the Vietnam battle, Crandall remembers the first day was "very long ... we were in the air for 14 and a half hours." He also thinks of how impressive and calm the unit on the ground remained, saying Moore and his commanders were "solid as rocks" throughout the fight.

And of course, Crandall says, he's also proud of his own performance.

"I'm so proud that I didn't screw it up," he said.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (13)

October 21, 2006

POW's Lawsuit Re: Kerry

POW's Lawsuit Could Force Kerry to Come Clean On Vietnam "War Crimes" Charges

When John Kerry slandered an entire generation of men who fought in Vietnam he branded them as "war criminals." Today, much of the same thing is being said about our young men and women in Iraq.

Now, a lawsuit filed in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas will test the very foundation of Kerry’s anti-war persona for the first time. It isn’t dubious medals or Kerry’s disputed service record in Vietnam that is being called into question. This time Kerry may finally be forced to answer for the events that launched his public career, one that made him an anti-war hero for many American liberals and a turncoat for millions of Vietnam veterans.

The lawsuit (Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, et al. v. Kenneth Campbell, et al.) challenges the basis, the factual accuracy of then Lt. (j.g.) Kerry’s acrimonious testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971. It was there Kerry’s public career was catapulted with his now ubiquitous portrayal of American soldiers as murderers, rapists and torturers "who ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam . . . [and] razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan."

For the anti-war, anti-American protesters, the American soldiers are the "terrorists," and the enemies are the victims of a barbaric U.S. military which tortures and murders defenseless civilians.

That false premise, one of the most vicious and enduring smears spawned by Kerry 35 years ago, will also be put to the test once Kerry’s true "Band of Brothers" are put under oath in a Philadelphia courtroom.

The background to this lawsuit is long and complex, but even a condensed version is rich in
irony and poetic justice.

It had it roots in 2004 with the documentary Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal. Many may recall the film, although it is probably best known for not being seen, suppressed after Sinclair Broadcasting Company courageously announced it was going to air the documentary in its entirety.

Thanks to Kerry and his liberal colleagues in the Senate and their enablers in the mainstream media, Sinclair was browbeaten into withdrawing the film, its broadcast license threatened by a Kerry campaign manager in 2004. The film’s producer, Carlton Sherwood, a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter, interviewed former POWs for the documentary.

I was among those whom Sherwood, a decorated Marine combat veteran himself, asked to participate in Stolen Honor. I was a POW for nearly six years, held in North Vietnam prison camps, including the notorious Hanoi Hilton, a place of unimaginable horrors — torture, beatings, starvation and mind-numbing isolation. When Kerry branded us "war criminals," he handed our captors all the justification they needed to carry out their threats to execute us. Thanks to Kerry, Jane Fonda and their comrades in the anti-war movement, our captivity was prolonged by years. The communists in Hanoi and Moscow couldn’t have had a better press agent to spread their anti-American propaganda.

To guarantee Stolen Honor would never be seen by anyone — not even theatre-goers — the producer was slapped with a libel and defamation lawsuit.

That lawsuit was filed by a long-time anti-war disciple of the Massachusetts Senator. He was one of Kerry's key war crimes "witnesses," one of several on whom Kerry claims he based his Senate testimony.

The lawsuit put a unique spin on the definition of defamation, claiming that Stolen Honor had damaged the public reputations of himself, Kerry and others by simply quoting their own words and criticisms of America during the Vietnam war!

The POWs and the wives of POWs who participated in Stolen Honor refused to abandon the facts conveyed in the film. For some of us, it was the first time since our release by the Communists in 1973 that we were able to have our voices publicly heard, to tell our stories about the consequences of Kerry’s treachery.

In 2005, we formed a nonprofit organization, the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF), to gather records, documents and other materials to form a fact-based, educational repository for students and scholars of Vietnam history and to tell the true story of the American soldiers in Vietnam. The VVLF’s mission is "to set the record straight, factually, about Vietnam and those who fought there."

For our efforts, we were promptly sued by two long-time anti-war Kerry followers and VVAW members. It was clear that Kerry not only wanted to punish us for Stolen Honor; he intended to use surrogates to sue us into permanent silence and financial ruin.

Forced to spend huge sums to defend ourselves from these frivolous lawsuits, we have filed a countersuit against these Kerry surrogates and intend to reveal the truth about the lawsuits and their sponsors. We believe that we can prove that the purpose of nearly two years of litigation was to protect John Kerry, to drain us financially and spiritually, and to prevent us from setting the record straight.

At stake is ultimately nothing less than the integrity of the American military in Vietnam, the honor of the men who served their country, the nobility of those who gave their lives, and the truth of America’s history in Vietnam. Until or unless we do correct the existing record, the American military may never be free of the myths and smears of Vietnam, its honor and integrity cleansed as it fights to defend freedom at home and around the world.

Our mission is hardly over. We hope you will join us in fighting this battle . . . for our soldiers, then and now. For more information about Vietnam, the foregoing litigation, or to make a donation, please access the VVLF website now — Go Here Now.

Col. George E. "Bud" Day
Director and President,
Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation

Col. George E. "Bud" Day, USAF (Ret.,) was a POW in North Vietnam for five years, seven months and 13 days. He served in three wars (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam) and earned the Medal of Honor. He is the Air Force’s most decorated living veteran. He is the Director and President of the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, Inc., an organization created to better educate and inform the public about the Vietnam War, its events, its history, and the men and women who sacrificed to serve their country

* Thank you Jack for telling me about this. Please visit Jack's wonderful blog.......Conservative Insurgent. He has a post there today about McCain that is excellent!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (6)

September 15, 2006

Swift Boat Leader Responds to Kerry

Swift Boat Leader Responds to Kerry
Human Events

John Kerry recently volunteered that he was prepared to “kick [the Swift Boat Veterans’] ass from one end of America to the other” and that he would “demolish” us. He ought to take a Christmas cruise to Cambodia to calm down. Maybe he could take a side trip to tour “Genghis Khan” ruins.

It is a little difficult to imagine Kerry (“I voted for it before I voted against it”) kicking the most decorated living serviceman, Bud Day, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or our salty commander, Adm. Roy Hoffman, anywhere. Perhaps Kerry had in mind using a “Rice Fanny Grenade” as he did by mistake on himself shortly before leaving Vietnam. If so, based on the record, he is in far more danger than anyone else.

Kerry and his friends certainly seem to show much greater anger and hatred toward us than toward the murderous al Qaeda terrorists. This is actually a positive thing. Based on his record of switching to adopt the North Vietnamese position in 1971 and (after voting to send our kids to Iraq) proposing to cut and run in Iraq, it is likely that Kerry will be endorsing our positions by 2008 and (in his words) “Swift Boating” himself. If not, it is OK. After living for 34 years with his claim that our comrades, living and dead, were like the army of Genghis Khan, we will always remember and be grateful for the support of the American people in 2004. Nothing he will ever say can demolish that or will speak nearly so loudly.

Mr. O'Neill is a Houston attorney who clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist during the Supreme Court's October 1974 term. He authored the New York Times No. 1 bestseller, "Unfit for Command" in 2004.

Wild Thing's comment......

John O'Neill has my undying admiration. Words cannot express the gratitude that should be given to the Swiftees.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (4)

July 07, 2006

(POS) Vietnam-era Draft Dodgers Reunite in B.C.

CASTLEGAR, B.C. -- For U.S. draft resister Craig Wiester, fleeing his country to avoid the Vietnam War meant losing a country, a way of life -- and a father.

He grew up in a small town in Ohio and his father was a Second World War veteran.

"I think he would rather have had me come home in a body bag from the jungle than see me go to Canada."

Whatever father and son bond there may have been was strained for many years afterwards.

His father, when it became clear that Wiester was going to resist the draft, called the FBI and the local draft board and told them everything.

"He worked with the local draft board to move as quickly as possible against me."

The son didn't wait around for the consequences and decided to go to Montreal, where he lived for eight years.

Wiester was among what organizers expect will be several hundreds draft resisters and veterans who will take part in numerous workshops and panels over four days at Selkirk College and the nearby Brilliant Cultural Centre.

"For the resisters you see some who lost their families, lost their friendships," Klein said during a break. "Many people disowned them."

I decided this was important for me. This was a way of validating that experience."

Wiester hopes that his experience here can answer at least one question for him.

"The question is why are we dishonoured still in American society?"

Almost 50,000 Americans of draft age avoided the call in the late 1960s and early '70s by going to Canada, where for the most part they were welcomed.

Many returned after President Jimmy Carter granted an amnesty in 1977. It's believed that about half the original number chose to remain in Canada.

One highlight of the reunion is a weekend speech by former U.S. senator George McGovern, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 who lost to Richard Nixon.

McGovern, 83, is part of a long list of well-known peace activists who will speak or take part in various panels. Tom Hayden, a student leader in the 1960s, a civil rights activist and former California senator is also attending.

The draft resisters are being honoured at the reunion in this small city, near the Slocan Valley, Nelson and other communities, where hundreds settled about 600 kilometres east of Vancouver.

The four-day event is also intended to pay homage to Canadians who assisted the draft dodgers.

A note from the past:

"I am in great sympathy with those who are not willing to fight, kill, and maybe die for their country (i.e. the particular policy of a particular government) right or wrong. Two of my friends at Oxford are conscientious objectors. One of my roommates is a draft resister who is possibly under indictment and may never be able to go home again. He is one of the bravest, best men I know. His country needs more men like him more than they know. That he is considered a criminal is an obscenity." --- From Bill Clinton's letter to Col Eugene Holmes Dec 3 1969

Wild Thing's comment.......

Carter pardoned the Vietnam draft dodgers on January 21, 1977 (the day after he took office). Damn he just could hardly wait.

Draft dodger Bill Clinton really should go don't you think? I hate him by the way. An he could make the keynote speech, then add in traitor Kerry too.

Wiester said he wonders why they were dishonoured still in American society???? How about this you are a worthless POS that's not deserving of the least bit of respect. I hope they ALL rot in hell, right along side Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Hanoi Jane. Because you ducked your duty while thousands of others stepped up to the line. Because you've spent your life TAKING from this society but ran like a scalded dog the first time it asked you to GIVE anything in return. Because at heart you're a coward who wants to hide his weakness behind some billowy rhetoric!

This made me think of Wallace's quote in Braveheart: "Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live, at least for awhile. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing, to take all the days from this day till then, to come back here and tell our enemies, they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!"

These cowards are now wallowing in their guilt, and I feel nothing for them but disgust. They have to go and do this event seem accepted again. IMO I wouldn't let them on my property, not one of them. Not alive anyway!

I know it would be probably be unrealistic to do this, but I wished that some investigative reporter could have found out what happened to the the guy who got drafted to take Clinton's slot. (that is, the next guy in line that actually answered the call maybe in the county that Clinton was in when he did his artful dodging.)

Here's his email address:
craigw@ulch.org

I sent him a little Wild Thing email. Hope it makes his day.

Hey draft dodgers go here ( my Tribute to Vietnam Veterans) and weep from your very souls that you will never be a man! Never have my respect, not ever!

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (24)

June 14, 2006

Welcome Home 2006 in Branson ~ Thank you Vietnam Vets

Welcome Home... America's Tribute To Vietnam Veterans

Celebrate our veterans with parades, concerts, and eight days of activity at the Welcome Home Tribute to Vietnam Veterans. This week long procession of thanks invites all who are Vietnam veterans and those who would like to appreciate them to join in the festivities.

Awards will be given, rides on the Huey helicopter, and a Sky Soldiers air assault demonstration will light up the eyes of all visitors. The week will end with a Native American Powwow, veterans luncheons, and a Heartland Benefit concert.

Vietnam era veterans wishing information or to register for the Homecoming may do so by going on-line at:
Welcome Home
or by calling 1-800-335-4587. Tickets for general public go on sale May 11, 2006 at 7:00 am. Tickets available by phone at 1-866-464-2626, or online HERE

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (2)

June 06, 2006

Kerry 180

Hanoi Kerry was still a USNR officer while he:

gave false hearsay testimony to Congress
negotiated with the enemy
helped the US lose a war
abetted in the deaths of millions
created a hostile environment for all servicemen

Why is Kerry still in the US Senate?
This is in violation of
U.S. Constitution Amendment 14 Sec 3 (1868)

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or elector of President and Vice President,
or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,
or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath,
as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States,
or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer
of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States,
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same,
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

The FBI has proof of his giving aid and comfort to the enemies

Hanoi Kerry Timeline of a traitor includes FBI files

May 1970
Kerry and Julia traveled to Paris, France and met with Madame Nguyen Thi Binh, the Foreign Minister of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Vietnam (PRG), the political wing of the Vietcong, and other Viet Cong and Communist Vietnamese representatives to the Paris peace talks, a trip he now calls a "fact-finding" mission.

(U.S. code 18 U.S.C. 953, declares it illegal for a U.S. citizen to go abroad and negotiate with a foreign power.)

a) A person charged with absence without leave or missing movement in time of war,
or with any offense punishable by death, may be tried at any time without limitation.

904. ART. 104. AIDING THE ENEMY

Any person who--

(1) aids, or attempts to aid, the enemy with arms, ammunition, supplies, money, or other things; or

(2) without proper authority, knowingly harbors or [protects or gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly;
shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.

We’ve formed a blogburst group and here are the bloggers who are contributing so far. If you want to join the blogroll for Free Kerry’s 180,click to email
Cao and include the url for your blog.

Thank you Cao for all the work you do on this and the blogroll.

* Cao's blog

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)

May 30, 2006

John Kerry Watched Apocolypse Now One Too Many Times

Kerry Pressing Swift Boat Case Long After Loss

John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia."

He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north; the special operations team the boat was ferrying across the border; the men reading maps and setting off flares.

"They gave me a hat," Mr. Kerry says. "I have the hat to this day," he declares, rising to pull it from his briefcase. "I have the hat."

Three decades after the Vietnam War and nearly two years after Mr. Kerry's failed presidential bid........

Wild Thing's comment...........

( the rest of the article has photos and more Kerry propaganda)

Have you ever met a nag? I hope not but if you have they never stop. My brother-in-law is married to one. Ugh! They are like chalk screeching on a chalkboard, a dripping faucet through the night and your waiting in between for the last bit of nagging to be the last but it never is. Drip, drip, drip, nag nag nag. There is an insanity to it without being labeled such and it can drive others away and it should! Well Kerry is that, he is his own special pathetic joke. A bad joke that just won't go away, a fodder for cartoons and a traitor to America.

When we think we have heard the last of him he pops up again with more of his BS. Does he do what has repeatedly been asked of him? NO that would be too easy, too honest, and too honorable. He also said on the Senate floor that Nixon sent him into Cambodia. The only problem is that Nixon wasn't President at the time. Just more lies!

John O'Neill was on Hannity's show last week and Bob Beckel started foaming at the mouth all over again. Bob ("I Call Escort Services") Beckel started literally chanting that the Pentagon has "discredited" the Swift Boat Vets. He must have used the word "discredited" about 40 times.

O'Neill finally got a word in and explained again in detail how Kerry's first purple heart was faked. Beckel went bananas. The MSM still can't accept that a little 527 spending a measly $200K per ad could have counteracted their months and months of spin for Kerry.

The Swift Boat Vets did a fabulous job of exposing him, along with tons of other Vietnam Veterans joining in. To even think that these MEN had to do this shows how strong evil is in America. The evils of the John Kerry's and Hanoi Jane’s getting press and notoriety and backed by those that hate America.....the enemy from within.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (4)

May 23, 2006

Free Kerry’s 180!

Kerry’s 180 has been incarcerated. After all, we all saw that he wants to share with the American people according to his statement on Russert’s program on television in front of the entire nation.

You would think that in view of his opening a law firm back in the 70’s (Kerry & Sragow) -that he would know how to properly execute a form. Apparently when he DID sign the 180, did so just so his biographer was the only one who would receive the information at the Boston Globe.

We understand there are 100 something pages missing from that file.

Retired Rear Admiral George R. Worthington, who served with the Navy SEALS, calls Kerry’s celebrated ribbon-tossing stunt in 1971 a breach of trust. “It didn’t help for him to be making foreign policy when other guys were in combat or the Hanoi Hilton,” says Worthington. “He voted against nearly every weapons increase when he was in the Senate.”

Kerry insists ‘’The truth in its entirety will come out . . . the truth will come out.”

We are still waiting.

We’ve formed a blogburst group and here are the bloggers who are contributing so far. If you want to join the blogroll for Free Kerry’s 180,click to email Cao and include the url for your blog.

Thank you Cao for all the work you do on this and the blogroll.

* Cao's Blog

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

May 10, 2006

C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" Landed on Friday May 5th, 2006

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.” -- Ronald Reagan

Click to see VIDEO

Families swarm to greet former prisoners of war moments after they landed in the C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" on Friday, May 5, 2006, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The "Hanoi Taxi" was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up POWs returning to the United States. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)

Airman 1st Class Humberto Alcocer leads the honor guard during a ceremony recognizing the last mission of the C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" on Friday, May 5, 2006, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Airman Alcocer is a member of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base honor guard, and is with the 88th Medical Operations Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons

While walking through it you see the equipment box that the POW's signed as they flew back home.

Note in the corner the signature of Col. George "Bud" Day - Medal of Honor winner and outspoken critic of John Kerry He was a POW in North Vietnam, 1967-1973.

For more than five years, Col.Bud Day resisted the North Vietnamese guards who tortured him. On one occasion in 1971, when guards burst in with rifles as some of the American prisoners gathered for a forbidden religious service, Major Day stood up, looked down the muzzles of the guns, and began to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner." The other men, including James Stockdale, the ranking U.S. officer in the prison, joined him.

Jim Lamar (left) talks to Tech. Sgt. Rick Sforza on Saturday, May 6, 2006, about an aerial photograph of the "Hanoi Hilton" prisoner of war camp where he was held captive in Vietnam. The two men were flying on the final mission of the C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Sergeant Sforza is a Reserve photographer with the 4th Combat Camera Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)

Col. Doug Moe looks out the window while flying on one of the the last missions of the C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" on Friday, May 5, 2006 over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The "Hanoi Taxi" was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up prisoners of war returning to the United States. The C-141 landed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force where it will be on display this summer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)

DAYTON, Ohio (AFPN) -- The first aircraft to return Vietnam prisoners of war to the United States arrived at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at 9:30 a.m. May 6.

The C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up POWs returning to the United States. The "Hanoi Taxi" was one of several aircraft involved in repatriating more than 500 American POWs held by the North Vietnamese.

The Hanoi Taxi -- the last C-141 Starlifter still serving in the Air Force -- made two of its final three flights May 5. Former POWs gathered for a reunion and to take part in a weekend of activities created by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing here that included retirement of the famed aircraft.

The aircraft made several passes before its final landing on the runway behind the museum May 6. Crewmembers from the 445th AW flew the aircraft from nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the museum.

A ceremony was held following the aircraft's arrival at the museum. Speakers included Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command; Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, commander of Air Force Reserve Command; and retired Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, museum director. Former Vietnam POWs and past crewmembers were in attendance to witness the event.

During the ceremony, Lockheed Martin presented the museum with a painting of the Hanoi Taxi flying over the museum. The painting is titled "The Airlift Legend: Celebrating the 43-Year Career of the C-141 Starlifter."

Herv Stockman - flew more than 50 combat missions during WWII piloting a P51. Flew the first U-2 mission over the Soviet Union. Watched Migs scramble in futility, two colliding, and follow helplessly, far below.

Speaking before the public about his Hanoi captivity:

The last of the morning's speakers was Hervey Stockman, a fighter pilot who saw action in all our hot and cold wars: World War II, Korea, the first U2 flight over the Soviet Union, and Vietnam, where his plane crashed and he spent six years in a sevenbysevenfoot prison cell in Hanoi. He had been reluctant to talk about that ordeal as a prisoner of war, but the class officers asked him to try, feeling that in his character and his generous heart he represented the best of what the class set out so long ago to be.

"Preparing these words was much like visiting an old, untended graveyard," Hervey Stockman said, looking out at us from the lectern, a trim man with a warm smile. He began by describing the brutal treatment he received in the early months of his imprisonment -- "I was a foul, decrepit wreck of a man" -- and then recalled the slow process by which at last "my mind was awakened and reunited to my body and I had the will to live and regain my strength." He spoke slowly, barely controlling his emotions, but without selfpity, and when he walked back to his seat, his slightly stiff gait betraying his long captivity, the class rose in an ovation that had no relation to the applause usually heard at the end of a speech: mere handclapping. It had tremendous solemnity -- it was emotional without being sentimental -- and it rumbled through the auditorium.

Robert Lewis Stirm

I was shot down over Hanoi 27 October 1967 while leading a flight of F-105Ds on Canal Des Rapides Bridge. They captured me immediately on landing and I was displayed in Hanoi that night. I was detained in various cells of five different POW camps and was in solitary confinement a total of 281 days. They turned me over to US control on 14 March 1973.
I never once lost faith in our government, our President, or my family.

The museum plans for the Hanoi Taxi to be on public display this summer.

Wild Thing's comment............

If our government would have done what John F'n Kerry recommended when he came back from Paris after consorting with the enemy, everyone of those names would have belonged to a dead man! Kerry said we should immediately abandon South East Asia, and pay whatever damages North Vietnam decided we owed them.

my POW MIA page

my Vietnam page

My other post announcing C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" is Retiring
In that post there are also comments of one that flew this plane and others that shared their experiences.

* Argghhh

* Mudville Gazette

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (9)

April 15, 2006

Vietnam Vets in Iraq

There are a number of people who have seen both wars -- men who served in Vietnam and now work in Iraq. In just a few weeks, I found more than 80 of these veterans working throughout Iraq. From 1964 to 1971 they served in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy from the Gulf of Tonkin to the DMZ. Their present ages range from 51 to 70.

Their tours of duty in Iraq range from six months to more than 18.

In 1967, Buddy Algood was a second lieutenant with E Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry of the 199th Infantry Brigade near Binh Chan. Following the loss of his lower right calf and foot and recuperation from his injuries, he was the first amputee to graduate from the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. A month later he returned to Vietnam.

Thirty-eight years later, as a civilian, Algood came to Iraq with the Project and Contracting Office (PCO). He explained that, in Iraq, part of his early work was "identifying reconstruction projects in 10 strategic cities that would put Iraqis to work and make an immediate improvement in their quality of life."

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Lt. Col. James Zucarelli is a member of the 42nd Infantry Division serving as liaison officer with the PCO. He was a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam 1968-69, and will leave Iraq at the age of 59.

"There are former Iraqi soldiers who will accept $25 dollars to take a potshot at a passing patrol, plant an IED by the road, or shoot a mortar from their backyard at night."

.

Henry Bunting, lead acquisition analyst in the Joint Contracting Command – Iraq/Afghanistan, was a staff sergeant in Vietnam with Company A, 75th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized).

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Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gregory McManus, a test pilot with the 135th Aviation Regiment in Iraq, has 39 years of flying with the Army under his belt. The Springfield, Mo., pilot flew helicopters in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, during which he was shot down six times, he said. (Jeff Schogol / S&S)
CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq — His navigation systems had failed. Visibility was limited. And he could be heading toward the Iranian border.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gregory McManus, a test pilot with the 135th Aviation Regiment, said he wondered if he was about to end his 39-year career flying with the Army as the first American pilot shot down in Iran.

“For a few seconds, you kind of wondered, ‘I could have been retired,’ ” said McManus, 57.

The Springfield, Mo., man was a full-time pilot again after several years in the Missouri National Guard and one tour in Vietnam on active duty.

McManus said he feels “blessed by God” to be able to keep flying at his age.

“There’s not many pilots my age not in a state of decrepitude that can continue doing what I do,” he said. “I’m afraid if I stop, maybe I will become decrepit. My brain won’t work.”

McManus is modest about how he was able to land his plane without navigation systems.

“I just climbed up until somebody saw me on radar and told me where I was. I told them where I wanted to go and they gave me a direction and I flew that way until I got to where I think we were and landed uneventfully,” he said.

But his battalion commander gives him more credit for being able to get the stricken plane on the ground safely.

McManus was able to navigate the plane to safety using only a map, clock and compass, a method known as “dead-reckoning,” said Lt. Col. Mark McLemore, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment.

McManus joined the Army in 1967 and flew helicopters in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, during which he was shot down six times, he said.

“First week I was there we got shot down ... just took a hole in the oil line and just landed on the other side of the trees as soon as we knew we couldn’t fly. So a few of them were like that. A couple of them were more spectacular,” he said.

McManus said he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after his gunship came upon an enemy regiment on the Cambodian border.

His helicopter took fire from all directions, but he and his crew used every weapon they had until they ran out of ammunition, he said.

“We ran out of rockets and machine-gun [bullets] first, and then the door gunners ran out of their ammo. I shot all my pistols and dumped everything else, threw all the grenades overboard at them. If there was anything on the aircraft, I would have thrown boxes of crud on them but I didn’t have anything else,” he said.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Guerrilla warfare then: In the deep undergrowth of a jungle path, it was a trip-wire attached to a grenade.

Guerilla warfare now: In an Iraqi city, it’s an improvised explosive device (IED) planted beside a busy highway and detonated by cell phone from a nearby roof.

Brutality now: Three construction workers enroute to work were stopped and pulled from their vehicle. Two were shot in the head, the third was beheaded.

Surprise attack then: In Saigon, a smoke-spewing motorbike wove through heavy traffic and the rider threw a grenade into an open jeep before darting away.

Surprise attack now: A new BMW with a trunk full of explosives rams a convoy of up-armored HMMWVs.

And some things never change: A midnight mortar or rocket attack sounded the same at a forward operating base in Phu Bai in 1967 as it does in North Babil in 2006. An AK-47 or rocket-propelled grenade does the same damage whether the gunner is Viet Cong or Iraqi.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (6)

March 18, 2006

I Love Happy Endings ~ Georgia Senate Defeats Fonda Resolution

The Georgia Senate voted 38 to 1 to defeat a resolution that would have honored Jane Fonda's charity work in the state.

ATLANTA (March 16) - Jane Fonda's 1972 trip to North Vietnam is haunting her again. The Georgia Senate on Thursday nearly unanimously defeated a resolution that would have honored the actress' charity work in the state.
The Democratic sponsor had tried to withdraw the resolution after a rocky reception from colleagues and a phone call from Fonda's office, but a Republican leader forced a vote, saying members of his caucus wanted to go on record against it.

Fonda, who is out of the country, had asked for the resolution to be withdrawn to avoid the controversy, said the sponsor, Sen. Steen Miles of suburban Atlanta.

The effort was defeated 38-1, with even Miles voting against it.

The resolution cited the Atlanta resident's work as founder of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, donations to universities and charities, and role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.

But Fonda's political activities protesting the Vietnam War, including a trip to North Vietnam in 1972, have long made her a target of veterans.

"I can think of no living American who is less worthy of this honor," Republican Sen. John Douglas declared. "She is as guilty of treason as Benedict Arnold and Tokyo Rose."

Miles argued that Fonda's good works should outweigh the negatives.

Thank you Don for sending this to me.

* River Vet (Don's website)

* and thank you to Jack H. for the article and link

Posted by Wild Thing at 08:08 AM | Comments (5)

March 16, 2006

Hanoi Jane Encounter

I received an email asking me how I felt about posting about Hanoi Jane. I told her I would do a post about it in case anyone else was curious. She wondered why I " bothered" as she put it.

America has way too much apathy, way too much tolerance for traitors. They are not punished, they are even admired by some of the low life in our country. Remember the week that Gore was in Saudi Arabia with Clinton and others and sounded off on America. Committing treason as far as I am concerned. The same week Cheney had the shooting accident. We never heard the media about Gore, I only knew about it because of being online. But Cheney was bombarded on every network, every channel, every news and political talk show on TV. You would have thought he had been gunning for someone, tracking the person and then killing him.

It is like America is upside down or something.

During the Vietnam War it sickened me and angered me beyond words how I felt about Hanoi Jane, Donald Sutherland,Gregory Peck and others how they were traitors to not only America but our troops. I swore I would never let up on what they did, never stop telling the world just how vile they were and are, and how they should be punished.

One of the times I came back from Vietnam, some friends of mine, Vietnam Veterans that had just gotten back from Nam told me how they had driven their motorcycles up the coast of California and put the Hanoi Jane stickers in the urinals in the bathrooms at gas stations along the way. We all had a good laugh and I complimented them on what a great idea it was.

One of the trips back home Bob Hope and I were standing outside a building where we had just had a meeting to talk about a trip coming up and a man walked right up to Bob Hope and spit in his face. It landed on his collar bone. Bob Hope stood there and told the guy, " that's not enough nerve to enlist, you have to be a man." The guy ran off.

Year later, in the early 80's I was leaving the gym I went to and Hanoi Jane was standing outside talking to someone. I wondered why the heck she was there. This gym I went to was Gold's Gym in Venice, you know the bodybuilding Mecca gym. She had a workout place in Beverly Hills, called Jane Fonda's Workout.

I stood by the door of the gym till the person she was talking to walked away. Then I walked right up to her with a purpose in my steps. I am 5'11 and Hanoi Jane is 5'7". So I had 4 inches on her, I got as close as I could, so she could feel my breath on her. I stood as tall as I could, you know when you stand there and really stretch out your back, perfect posture etc.? Yep that is what I did, wishing right then that I was taller then 5'11 just this one time in my life.

Hanoi Jane:She looked up and asked," You're a tall girl, do you want something?"

Wild Thing: Yes, Jane I need to tell you something. I have a message for you from over 2,000,000 Americans that served in uniform in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Hanoi Jane: You have a lot of nerve!

Wild Thing: Yes I do, these 2 million have my six and that is my ass, my back in case you do not know. They are very pissed off at you. And so am I, so I have to let you know from them and myself that we don't think you are a traitor, we KNOW you are.
And from me to you I will never forgive you for what you did, for the actions you took and for the words you spoke. You will take those things to hell when you die. But not only that, you will take the responsibility of the deaths you caused, the beatings and treatment you caused our troops by the enemy with you as well. Every drop of blood, every bead of sweat, every pain in their limbs and bodies that you caused them to be tortured and maimed. Every broken heart, every lost loved one left behind.

Hanoi Jane: ( interrupting) you do have guts I will give you that. I am not embarrassed by what I did, nor sorry. I believed in what I did then and still do today. You are wrong and Americans were murderers. You are condoning their murder as I see it.

Wild Thing: No, but I would condone your being punished for treason. Have you ever heard of the Rosenberg's? They were executed in 1938 for treason. Am I getting warm here in you knowing how I think you should be punished?

Hanoi Jane: she nodded and stayed silent

Wild Thing: Good then I will just end this conversation with this. You use this country, you use our military Jane. You use the freedoms that you have as if it cost nothing. You and your ilk are not why this is the land of the free. You and your ilk are not why our military and all the way back to our forefathers went through what they did to make sure we have the greatest Nation in the world. We were not defeated in the Vietnam War Jane, our troops won that war. It was our politicians, the lying media, and the communists in our country that lost the war, the cowards and the enemy of America that walk our streets like you.
You will never understand, I know this. This was a meeting in time that had to be,not for you, but for my Vietnam Veterans, and for me to tell you just what I think of you.
The courage, determination, camaraderie, selflessness they own and you never will. They are America's heroes something you will never understand. I despise you Jane you are not worth one gasp of air that you breath. I hope we never run into each other again. But these things needed to be said to your face, up close and personal.

After this I went home, I was shaking a little not because of meeting her but because I was so angry. Nick said to write it down as best I could so I would not forget what I said but also what she said. So I did and saved it.

Having a blog is also an excellent way of keeping track of things happening in the world. News and information of all kinds of things. Anything I post about Hanoi Jane will always be listed in my sidebar under Traitors To America.

There are also some pages at my personal website that mention Hanoi Jane, so Melinda maybe you would like to check them out as well. Read the posts here on this blog too, posts made by Veterans that walk the walk.Men, real men every one of them, and each one that you should feel honored to be in their presence. If you do then you will never again say or think why bother.

Extreme Prejudice...The Red Zone

My Tribute to Vietnam Veterans

PC Free Zone Gazette Page

And then Melinda go to my POW/MIA page and Never Forget, Never.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:37 PM | Comments (20)

Thank You Senator Douglas ~ May Hanoi Jane Rot In Hell!

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Jane Fonda's name still raises the blood pressure of many Georgia veterans more than 30 years after her famous pose on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.

So the idea of honoring "Hanoi Jane" for her recent charitable and public service work didn't go over too well with at least one member of the Georgia Senate on Wednesday.

Sen. Steen Miles (D-Decatur) (steen.miles@senate.ga.gov) introduced a resolution recognizing the two-time Academy Award-winning actress for her efforts to help women and children globally, particularly her work as the founder and chairwoman of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

Senate Resolution 1189 seemed to breeze through the Senate without a raising an eyebrow — as do hundreds of honorary and commemorative resolutions each year. There's no vote on these types of quick resolutions, and lawmakers very rarely object to them.

But Sen. John Douglas (R-Covington), (john.douglas@senate.ga.gov) a retired Army Major and the chairman of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, stood as the Senate was adjourning and briefly voiced his strong opposition to the resolution.

His words provoked a strong response from Miles, who argued that Fonda's work deserved recognition. "We have been very, very hypocritical when it comes to taking care of the least of these and the lost," Miles said.

Miles' speech, however, may have backfired. When she wrapped up, Douglas immediately made a motion for the Senate to reconsider its approval of SR 1189. The Senate will decide at 9 a.m. today.

Douglas had harsh words later in the day for Fonda, who has said she regretted the gesture on the anti-aircraft gun. "I think Jane Fonda is less worthy than any living American to be honored by our Senate and the people of Georgia," Douglas said. "It starts off with her actions during the Vietnam War and it continues today. No amount of good work now will make up for her past actions against the military and our country."

April, 1973 -- Hanoi Jane Fonda calls the freed American prisoners "hypocrites and pawns," insisting that....... "Tortured men do not march smartly off planes, salute the flag, and kiss their wives. They are liars. I also want to say that these men are not heroes."

"We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war, and that she would struggle along with us." – Bui Tin, Colonel, People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN)

Wild Thing's comment......
Thank God for men like Senator Douglas.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (15)

March 14, 2006

One Of The Left's Favorite Cowards ~ A Draft Dodger

Wild Thing's comment.....
I have NO sympathy, NO patience for draft dodgers or deserters.
I don't care how many years it has been. Punish the hell out of them!!!!

U.S. arrests soldier who fled in 1968
Traveled to U.S. dozens of times since dodging service in Vietnam

Allen Abney, grandfather is languishing in confinement 
at a U.S. military base -- 
under arrest for deserting the U.S. Marine Corps 
38 years ago because he didn't want to fight in Vietnam.

Allen Abney, 56, is in custody at Camp Pendleton near San Diego today.

His family in the East Kootenays is anxiously awaiting word on what's next 
for the father of three who deserted the marines and fled to Vancouver in 
1968 at the age of 19.

Charges of desertion can result in what's known as "other-than-honorable" 
discharges, a special court martial and sentences of up to one year in military 
jail or a general court martial where the maximum penalty is five years behind bars.

"I really cannot conceive that that's a possibility. I really want to stress that," 
said Lynn Gonzales, who works with the San Diego Military Counseling Project, 
a branch of the GI Rights Hotline. 

Gonzales was to meet with Abney yesterday.

Abney, a Canadian citizen since 1977, was taken into custody Thursday. 
He and his wife, Adrienne, were crossing into Idaho after leaving their home 
south of Cranbrook, bound for a holiday in Reno.

"They stopped us at customs. I handed over our passports and they called us in. 
After 20 minutes of sitting there, they took him," Adrienne told The Province.

Adrienne said her husband had traveled into the United States dozens, if not 
hundreds of times, with no problem whatsoever.

Allen, who was born in Kentucky but has lived in Canada since he was 10, 
joined the Marines voluntarily when his brother was drafted, figuring he too 
would be compelled to serve. His brother stayed in Canada as a conscientious 
objector. Allen completed basic training in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Before he could be shipped overseas, he took a weekend break in Mexico then a 
bus all the way to Vancouver.

Abney married in 1971 and became a Canadian citizen in 1977, the same 
year then-U.S. president Jimmy Carter offered to pardon deserters if they 
applied through a special discharge review program. Abney did not take 
advantage of the offer.

Though he rarely talked about that time in his life, daughter Jessica said, her father 
was hardly living in secret. He never changed his name and has traveled extensively 
throughout the U.S.

What the marines would want with the "slightly overweight" man who likes hunting, 
fishing and driving ATVs is beyond Adrienne.

"Maybe they're using him as an example to prevent Iraq-bound Marines from deserting. 
I don't think they'd have much use for him in Iraq," she said.

A Marines spokesman said Abney will be returned to his original unit, where the 
commander will decide what happens next.

The family has called the Canadian consulate in the U.S. and has had sporadic phone 
contact with Allen since his detention.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Rejean Beaulieu said federal officials are aware of the 
case, but he could not comment further.

The Abneys are also waiting to hear something from the government.

"The Canadian consulate in the U.S. is not being very helpful at all," said Adrienne.

Meanwhile, U.S. Army deserter Joshua Key said Abney made the same "moral choice" 
to not fight in a war he felt was wrong. Key faces an immigration hearing later this month 
that will determine whether the 27-year-old can remain in Canada or must return to the 
U.S. to face military justice.

"It seems a little weird, crossing the border as many times as he did. I say it's a damn 
shame. He's already established himself as a Canadian citizen," Key said from his home 
on Gabriola Island.

.

Wild Thing's comment..........
Look how they are already making excuses for him.
"I really cannot conceive that that's a possibility. I really want to stress that,"
said Lynn Gonzales, who works with the San Diego Military Counselling Project,
a branch of the GI Rights Hotline.

Shoot him! I could care less that he is a grandfather, a husband, a son or anything.

A Marines spokesman said Abney will be returned to his original unit, where the
commander will decide what happens next.

Good, Sir, please do not let this coward go unpunished. And I blame Canada too for
accepting draft dodgers and deserters.

Our country needs to begin to take a bad ass stand on things like this. And on other
traitors to like Carter, Gore, Bill Clinton, Kerry, Fonda, you name it!
NO MORE TREASON or else!

And if that isn't bad enough that they even have to think about what to do with this jerk.
Look at this! OMG!

.

Plans for U.S. draft dodger sculpture revived
Activists’ proposal draws fire from conservatives, veterans groups

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Peace activists have revived plans for a sculpture to commemorate Vietnam War draft resisters who fled to Canada, a proposal that had drawn the ire of U.S. veterans groups and conservatives.

The activists, who are also organizing a reunion for “draft dodgers” in July, said on Tuesday the proposed monument is still needed to warn Americans and Canadians about the dangers of militarism.

“It is very important educationally that we have specific peace monuments,” said Isaac Romano, an American who immigrated to Canada and now lives in British Columbia’s Kootenay region where many U.S. war resisters settled.

The plan for a monument in Nelson, B.C., was originally announced in 2004, but quickly dropped after it was denounced by the U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars and conservative media commentators.

“It could be that there is a group in the States that sees it as an opportunity to remind Americans that they are not locked into the militarism. That there is an escape valve,” Romano said.

The proposal calls for a sculpture of two Americans, a male and a female, crossing an imaginary border where a Canadian figure is waiting to welcome them.

It has been estimated that 125,000 draft-age Americans fled to Canada to avoid Vietnam and prosecution under U.S. law, although about half returned home after President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty in 1977.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:12 AM | Comments (9)

February 17, 2006

It NEVER Ends With This Bitch The Enemy Within!

.

.

'Sir! No Sir!' details how wartime experiences led some U.S. troops to join the peace movement.

Hanoi Jane Fonda Going to Mill Valley, CA Feb. 22

("Sir,No Sir" Vietnam anti-war era documentary)

An intimate film preview and fundraiser for the award-winning documentary Sir! No Sir! Hosted by Jane Fonda and filmmaker David Zeiger, featuring special guest Maria Muldaur Wednesday, February 22 6:30pm Reception 7:30pm Program $100 Guest $250 Sponsor (includes 2 tickets)

Co-Hosts Janice Anderson-Gram and Carole Simon Mills invite you to join Jane Fonda and filmmaker David Zeiger at an intimate fundraiser for the award-winning documentary Sir! No Sir!, a film about the thousands of GIs whose courageous rebellion helped end the war in Vietnam.

"Anyone waging war with American troops might want to listen carefully to the largely untold story of David Zeiger's new documentary..."--Los Angeles Times

Reception with Jane Fonda begins the evening at 6:30pm. A screening of Sir! No Sir!, moderated by Jane and David will begin at 7:30pm along with a live musical performance with Grammy nominee Maria Muldaur.

Host Committee for this evening: Celia Alario, Medea Benjamin...CODE PINK , Parker Blackman, Peter Broderick, Mike Brune, Larry Carlin, Ron H. Cowan, Cathy Dreyfuss, Jodie Evans, Jonathon Frieman, Lila Garrett, David Harris, Mayme & Jay Hubert, Pat Hunt, Davoud Ismaili, Pamela & Marty Krasney, Country Joe McDonald, Robert Meyer, Nick & Sloane Morgan, Maria Muldaur, Holly Near, Greg Price, Annie Roney, John Sellers, Gail Silva and Ina Tabibian

Sponsors: Be The Media, DFA-Marin, Global Exchange, Iraq Veterans Against the War, MMOB, with LeaveMyChildAlone.org, San Francisco Veterans for Peace

.

Jane Fonda "I would think that if you understood what communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees, that we would someday become communist." ........Jane Fonda of Hanoi Jane notoriety at a discussion with students, at Michigan State University, 1970

.

Wild Thing's comment.....
She just won't go away!! OH how I wish she would just leave this country and never come back.
If we can't be a country that punishes traitors like Fonda, Kerry, Gore, Carter and others then
can't we at least make it where they no longer can be allowed to live in America?

.

.

A Vietnam Veterans poem.....Thank you Mark

We suffered in silence for 30+ years Scorned and ridiculed, we shed a few tears Jane Fonda, John Kerry what do you hear ? The millions of Vets singing out-loud and clear

When all of the votes were finally tallied
Some will asked perplexed, why Kerry never rallied
Pundits and pollsters will be confused
While we Vietnam Vets will be simply amused

For we will know the reason you see ?
It is no mystery for you and me
All the other hurdles Kerry was able to surmount
It was the 58,000 Votes he thought would NOT count.

Mark

You are invited to visit my Vietnam Page at my website

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 PM | Comments (10)

February 15, 2006

Until They All Come Home ~ 4 MIA's from Vietnam War Are Coming Home

Department of Defense

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing in action since the Vietnam War, have been identified. They will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Maj. Jack L. Barker
MAJ - O4 - Army - Reserve
101st Airborne Division
31 year old Married, Caucasian, Male
Born on Mar 22, 1939
From WAYCROSS, GEORGIA
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - PILOT
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion
BAPTIST

Capt. John F. Dugan
CAPT - O3 - Army - Reserve
101st Airborne Division
23 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Nov 10, 1947
From ROSELLE, NEW JERSEY
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion
ROMAN CATHOLIC

Sgt. William E. Dillender
SGT - E5 - Army - Regular
19 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Oct 06, 1951
From NAPLES, FLORIDA
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Religion
BAPTIST

Pfc. John J. Chubb
PFC - E3 - Army - Regular
101st Airborne Division
20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Dec 09, 1950
From GARDENA, CALIFORNIA
His tour of duty began on Mar 20, 1971
Casualty was on Mar 20, 1971
LAOS
Hostile, died while missing
HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered

On March 20, 1971, Barker and Dugan were piloting a UH-1H Huey helicopter with Dillender and Chubb on board. The aircraft was participating in a troop extraction mission in the Savannakhet Province of Laos. As the helicopter approached the landing zone, it was hit by heavy enemy ground fire. It exploded in the air and there were no survivors. Continued enemy activity in the area prevented any recovery attempts.

A refugee in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, showed an identification tag of Pfc. Chubb and a medallion to a U.S. interviewer in 1986. The medallion was reportedly recovered near the same general location from an F-105 crash site. However, the location and the aircraft type did not correlate with the missing aircraft and soldiers.

Between 1988 and 2001, joint U.S.-Lao People’s Democratic Republic teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted four investigations and three excavations for these soldiers without positive results. An investigation team surveyed three crash sites in 2002 after interviewing local villagers from the province. The team recovered a fragment of human tooth and some crew-related artifacts from one of the crash sites.

In October and November 2004, another joint investigation team excavated the crash site and recovered additional human remains and crew-related evidence. The wreckage was of a UH-1H helicopter, and contained insignia worn by members of the 101st Airborne Division.

The remains included nine fragments of teeth that the forensic anthropologists at JPAC were able to match with detailed information from medical and dental records.

From the Vietnam War, 1,807 Americans are still unaccounted-for with 364 of those from Laos. Another 839 have been accounted-for in Southeast Asia with 208 of those from losses in Laos.

.

.

Until They ALL Come Home

Until they all come home
We watch and wait
Young and old, black and white
So far away, they're sent to fight

Until they all come home
We wear our ribbons to show our pride
And let them know we are on their side

Until they all come home
We pray for peace
Throughout the land
Protect them all, on sea and sand
Until they all come home

By James Withrow
Rolling Thunder

Please feel free to visit my POW MIA page's

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:07 AM | Comments (1)

February 14, 2006

U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson Takes On Murtha And The Media

GOP Congressman and Former POW Rips John Murtha
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
Washington

Amid cheers, whistles and two standing ovations, U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) took fellow Congressman John Murtha (D-Pa.) and the U.S. media behind the proverbial woodshed for a verbal walloping.

"Most of you know, at the end of last year, a liberal congressman from Pennsylvania insisted we immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq," Johnson told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. "When I heard this, it made my blood boil."

Johnson was referring to Murtha, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, who has been quoted as saying that the U.S. Army is "broken, worn out" and may not be able to meet future military threats to the nation.

"It hurt to think what the men and women in harm's way would believe when they heard the news that someone in Congress was not behind America's mission," Johnson said. "It hurt to think what the military families here at home would believe when they learned that people in Washington did not support the troops. And it hurt me to think that some people would just give up on our men and women in uniform.

"What would Iraq be like if the United States pulled out?" Johnson asked. "What would Iraq be like if we left and allowed dangerous people like the head of al Qaeda, (Abu Musab al-)Zarqawi, to run the country?"

Johnson, without naming Murtha, compared criticism of the war and demands for withdrawal with his own experience during the Vietnam War. A 29-year Air Force veteran and highly decorated pilot, Johnson fought in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. After being shot down over North Vietnam, Johnson spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, half of that in solitary confinement.

"I do know what it's like to be far from home, serving your country, risking your life and hearing that America doesn't care about you," Johnson said, choking back tears.

"Hearing your Congress doesn't care about you. Your Congress just cut off all funding for your war. They're packing up and going home and leaving you." Johnson added he was "scared to death" by such talk because years ago, he was afraid he would be left in Vietnam "forever."

"I know what it does to the mission," said Johnson, "and so help me God, I will never, ever let our nation make those mistakes again."

Johnson told the packed hall that Congress needs to give U.S. troops "the tools for ultimate success," including "the best armored trucks they can drive, the best weapons they can fire, and the best ammunition they can use."

The troops need something else though, Johnson said -- "Full faith that a few naysayers in Washington won't cut and run and leave them high and dry." Knowing they are fully supported by Congress, is "mandatory for mission success and troop morale," Johnson argued.

"Any talk, even so much as a murmur, of leaving now or political timelines just emboldens the enemy and weakens the resolve of our troops in the field."

Johnson accused the U.S. media of predicting "gloom and doom" and ignoring or giving inadequate coverage to successes in Iraq. "What makes me angry at the critics is that we are making great progress in Iraq," said Johnson. He listed last January's election in Iraq and the December vote on the Iraqi Constitution.

"Remember the December vote on the constitution," Johnson asked, "when people came out in droves to make their voice heard? You wouldn't have known about it because there was so little mention of it here in the American press."

War on terror

Johnson also connected the Iraq mission to both 9/11 and the wider war on terror. "We were attacked. We are at war against terrorists. We need to stay there for as long as it takes if we want democracy to take root in tyranny's back yard."

The Republican congressman picked up an earlier theme from President Bush's second presidential campaign: "We must fight the bad guys over there, not over here."

Johnson told the crowd that there are confirmed reports of al Qaeda cells "plotting here on U.S. soil."

"What part of al Qaeda do you want operating here in America?" he asked.

Insisting withdrawal was not an option, Johnson called criticism of the war "Democratic nonsense" and compared it to the "peaceniks and people in Congress and America" who "started saying bad things about what was going on in Vietnam.

"The people of Iraq are thirsting for something more. They are risking their lives in the name of a new government. We must stay the course if we want to foster a stable Iraq and create hope for millions in the Middle East," Johnson said.

Last November Murtha told reporters, "It is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering; the future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region.

"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised," Murtha added, according to the A.P. report on his comments. "It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion.

Last December the Associated Press also reported that Murtha, who is the top Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, predicted President Bush would "make it look like we're 'staying the course'" but that troops would be "withdrawn within a year anyway."

Murtha was also the subject of a recent Cybercast News Service investigation of his political and military record.

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Sam Johnson returned home to Texas after serving in the U.S. Air Force for 29-years as a highly decorated pilot. He flew combat missions in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars and was a prisoner of war in Hanoi for nearly seven years.

It was on Major Johnson's 25th mission in April 1966, that he was shot down and taken prisoner. Major Johnson remained a prisoner until February 12, 1973. It was early in his second tour in that war.

"...I did spend 29 years in the Air Force, and I served in Korea and Vietnam and spent 7 years as a POW in Vietnam and more than half of that in solitary confinement."

American POWs at Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport, awaiting flights for home, Feb. 12, 1973. Congressman Johnson is fifth in line.

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Congressman Johnson and his wife, Shirley, embrace after nearly seven years apart, Sheppard Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Wild Thing's comment......
Thank you U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:30 AM | Comments (2)

February 11, 2006

C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" is Retiring

Preparations Under Way for Final Flight of 'Hanoi Taxi'
By Jeff Rhodes
LM Aero Communications

On May 6, 2006, the last C-141 Starlifter will be flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and retired, closing the book on the 43-year career of the Starlifter. But until then, the Hanoi Taxi, the flagship of the 445th Airlift Wing, will be flown over the museum, on missions around the country.

The C-141 was first flown on Dec. 17, 1963, the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright Brothers. Since the aircraft's operational debut on April 23, 1965, active duty, Guard and Reserve crews have played a critical role in every conflict, natural disaster and operation that Military Airlift Command or Air Mobility Command has been involved in. That includes delivering people, equipment and relief supplies to just about every point on the map.

However, one mission still stands above the rest.

With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on Jan. 17, 1973, the U.S.involvement in Vietnam ended. On Feb. 12, crews flying three C-141 As landed at Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi, North Vietnam. Their mission:

To repatriate the first U.S. servicemen held as prisoners of war, some for close to seven years. The first aircraft to land that day was serial number 66-0177. The aircraft quickly picked up the nickname Hanoi Taxi. The aircraft was repainted in 2003 in the same paint scheme it wore 32 years ago to commemorate that event.

After undergoing two major modification programs during its career, 66-0177, now a C-141C, has become a flying museum. The 40 POWs on that first flight signed the aircraft under the wing box, and those signatures are preserved under Plexiglas. Framed photos mounted on the inside of the cargo compartment show POWs in Hanoi and aboard the aircraft. Aircrew headrest covers on the flight deck are embroidered with the black and white POW/MIA logo, and each of the crew positions has engraved plaques with the name of the crew member on that first Freedom Flight. The aircraft now has a total of 39,420 flight hours.

There are currently four C-141s still in service, but the other three aircraft will be retired early next year. Hanoi Taxi will be the last C-141, and the final flight will consist of a takeoff on the Patterson side of the field, where the 445th Airlift Wing is based, and a landing at the museum on the Wright Field side of the base. The 445th, an Air Force Reserve Commandunit, is now converting to C-5As and will eventually receive eight aircraft

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:01 PM | Comments (8)

February 03, 2006

Air Force Officer MIA from Vietnam War is Identified

I will never forget....never!
For 36 years and one month I have prayed every day
that our POW's and MIA's would come home.
I will never stop.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Col. Eugene D. Hamilton
of Opelika, Ala.
Final arrangements for his funeral have not been set.

On Jan. 31, 1966, Hamilton was flying an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam when his F-105D ‘Thunderchief’ was hit by enemy ground fire over Ha Tinh province. His mission was part of a larger operation, known as Operation Rolling Thunder, which attacked air defense systems and the flow of supplies along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Airborne searches for his crash site that day were unsuccessful. A radio broadcast from Hanoi reported an F-105 had been shot down but did not provide any details.

Between July 1993 and November 2000, joint U.S.-Vietnam teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted four investigations and one excavation searching for the pilot and his plane.

An investigation team in March 2000 learned from a Vietnamese villager that an area excavated in 1997 was not the location of the pilot’s burial. A second location was then excavated in August and September 2000, which did yield aircraft wreckage, personal effects and human remains.

In 2004, three Vietnamese citizens turned over to a JPAC team remains they had found at the same crash site a year earlier.

In late May 2005, the JPAC team recovered fragments of possible human remains and life support equipment from the 2000 crash site. Personal effects found there also included a leather nametag with the name “HAMILTON” partially visible on it.

JPAC scientists and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory specialists used mitochondrial DNA as one of the forensic tools to help identify the remains. Laboratory analysis of dental remains also confirmed his identity.

Of those Americans unaccounted-for from all conflicts, 1,807 are from the Vietnam War, with 1,382 of those within the country of Vietnam. Another 839 Americans have been accounted-for in Southeast Asia since the end of the war, with 599 from Vietnam.

What is JPAC?
Mission and History The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, was activated on Oct. 1, 2003. JPAC’s mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of our nation’s previous conflicts. Our highest priority is the return of any living Americans that remain prisoners of war.

JPAC was created from the merger of the 30 year old U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, and the 11 year old Joint Task Force - Full Accounting. This 425-person organization, commanded by a flag officer, is committed and dedicated to bringing home the nation’s service members and civilians who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Worldwide Mission

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's (JPAC) mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation's past conflicts. JPAC personnel search for, recover and identify remains of Americans unaccounted-for from the Persian Gulf War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Korean War and World War II. JPAC also performs other humanitarian missions as directed.

World War II recovery operations typically consist of teams deploying to such places as Europe, Papua New Guinea, China, the Pacific Islands, and many other locations where American service members are still missing. There are more than 78,000 American service members unaccounted for from World War II. Since 1973, the JPAC has identified and returned to their families more than 1,170 American servicemen formerly listed as unaccounted for from previous wars.

Until They ALL Come Home

Until they all come home
We watch and wait
Young and old, black and white
So far away, they're sent to fight

Until they all come home
We wear our ribbons to show our pride
And let them know we are on their side

Until they all come home
We pray for peace
Throughout the land
Protect them all, on sea and sand
Until they all come home

By James Withrow
Rolling Thunder

Until they ALL come home

.

Please feel free to visit my POW MIA page's

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 PM | Comments (4)

January 08, 2006

Vietnam Veteran Speaks Out at Town Hall Meeting Held By Traitors to America

Vietnam veteran, General Wagner, stepped up to the microphone and confronted Democrat Reps. Jim Moran and John Murtha at a town hall meeting in Arlington, Va., earlier this week.

 

General Wagner....click image to see the video and then applaud and cheer for this man!

I visit Walter Reed [Army Hospital] and talk to the young soldiers with their legs blown off. I know you do, too. I can't find one in a dozen that don't believe that they are fighting for a noble cause and are fighting to go back. And I think it's a disgrace when members of our Congress --just as they did in 1975 when they sold out the south Vietnamese--are selling out our soldiers today in Iraq!

Wild Thing's comment..........
General Wagner has served this country and it makes me furious that years later he still has to stand up to the left, to the traitors to America and defend our Troops and our Nation. He deserves better then that, he deserves to have an America that supports our troops, that supports the War against terrorists and the war to bring Freedom to others. He deserves to be applauded NOT applause going to Moronic Moran as you have seen in the video. He deserves for every person in that audience to stand up and cheer HIM, and thank him and welcome him home. I have zero tolerance for the left and have no intention of weakening in any way about how I feel about them. Thank you General Wagner, and Welcome Home!

* Michelle Malkin
* Mudville Gazette has the full transcript.

Posted by Wild Thing at 10:10 AM | Comments (13)

December 14, 2005

Hanoi Jane- " US Troops Are Killing Machines"- I Say GOOD!

More of her statement:

Jane Fonda: U.S. Troops Are 'Killing Machines'

"Hanoi Jane" Fonda is claiming that ever since Vietnam, U.S. troops have been trained to commit atrocities against innocent civilians as a matter of military policy.

"Starting with the Vietnam War we began training soldiers differently," the anti-American actress says in an email to the Washington Post.

Fonda claims she learned of the policy switch in "secret meetings" she had with military psychologists "who were really worried about what was happening to our combat personnel."

One doctor, she insists, told her U.S. troops had been deliberately trained to be "killing machines."

"This began," Fonda maintained, "because the military discovered that in World War II and Korea, [U.S.] soldiers weren't killing enough."

"So they changed training procedures" to teach troops how to commit atrocities.

Still, the anti-war gadfly cautions, it's important not to blame the soldiers themselves for carrying out war crimes.

Recalling the "Winter Soldier" hearings that she and John Kerry staged in 1971, Fonda lamented: "When you put young people into an atrocity-producing situation where enemy and civilian are commingled, where the 'other side' is dehumanized, we cannot be surprised."

Anti-war vets now returning from Iraq, Fonda cautioned, should be listened to instead of being dismissed as "unpatriotic."

"We have not learned the lessons of Vietnam," she declared

Wild Thing's comment.........
The 'WE' in truth being Jane. . .John. . .Ted. . .algore. . .Harry. . .Bill. . .and the rest of the 'ad nauseum' Democrats.

Fonda takes back her phoney "apology"
In Late October, Fonda appeared on French TV, Fonda was asked if she regretted anything about her activities at that time. She answered that she regretted nothing. "Rien du tout!" Then corrected herself , adding that the "seule chose" ("only thing") she regretted was that she smiled so stupidly for the photo with the anti-aircraft gun.

Fonda = FUBAR

Hanoi Jane's veggie oil bus trip never occured but she still can't stay out of the limelight and stop attacking our military. She should have been terminated long ago as a traitor to America. Too bad we no longer have the death penalty for traitors.

Killing machines? You betcha! Go Air Force! Go Navy! Go Marines! Go Army! You are doing a splendid job! Our Troops Rock! Eat your heart out Hanoi Jane! But I will also add this, besides knowing how to fight, and WIN battles, our troops have won respect from thousands upon thousands that never had freedom in their entire lives. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Hanoi Jane!

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:15 AM | Comments (6)

November 09, 2005

A Thousand Words- Vietnam Veterans

Photos and comments by servicemen who served in Vietnam (there are approx 60 or more pics

NC Humanities

Scroll down the page to "A Thousand Words:
Photographs by Vietnam Veterans"

Article about the travelling exhibit here:

This was up close to a place called Wonder Beach. The sand was white, just white. The sand reflected up the heat, and this was the middle of the day. You see how my dog had his tongue hung out. He was close to passing out. I said, 'I can't walk him anymore' so we got on a track vehicle, and it's got 106 mm Recoilless rifles on it.

My dog was one of the first dogs in Vietnam. His name was Mutsu. He would not walk into anything. If it was there, he'd let you know. He was good with personnel. He could find caches of ammo, food, and he was good with mines. The reason I am here today is because of him.
Joe Anthony
U.S. Marine Corps
1966

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:58 PM

October 15, 2005

Carlton Sherwood and VVLF have counter-sued John Kerry

Carlton Sherwood (a decorated USMC Sniper and the man behind “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal) AND the VVLF have counter-sued John Kerry!

I received this email and want to share it with you.

John O'Neill
Houston, Texas
October 4, 2005

Dear Friend,

Last year, when my fellow Swift Boat veterans and I spoke out about John Kerry, you rallied to our side. We will never forget your faith in our cause and your belief in our honesty. It made all the difference. Together we made history.

Like most of you, I believed our mission was over. We could all move on with our lives, return to our families and homes secure in the knowledge we had done the right thing for America, and for our children's future.

Regrettably, that has not been the case for a distinguished group of Vietnam combat veterans who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us during last year's campaign. Their situation has become so critical that I felt compelled to break our long silence to inform you of this urgent matter.

The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, an organization founded by some of the same POWs and their wives who joined with us to form Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, has become the target of vicious legal assaults - multiple lawsuits designed to silence the voices of the POWs.

The VVLF is being sued to punish the organization for the content of the POW documentary Stolen Honor, which contrasts their own accounts of their service in Vietnam and suffering in North Vietnamese prison camps with the claims of the antiwar movement.

They desperately need our help and I am asking, once more, for your support. I urge you to give what you can to assist these truly noble men and women.

It is no accident that this campaign to coerce and silence some of America's most heroic figures from the Vietnam War has intensified just as the shrill voices of the extreme Left's anti-military, blame-America-first propagandists are once again on the rise. Even Jane Fonda has resurfaced.

You might ask why the VVLF has been targeted in this legal assault - why attack men who endured years of unspeakable torture and suffering in defense of America? The answer lies in the question. These are among the most credible, living eyewitnesses to the trail of deceit and betrayal. All are highly decorated and each bears the scars and permanent physical disabilities of his long years in captivity. One is the recipient of our nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. They paid for the right to voice their opinions with years of indescribable pain, hardship and torment. Their individual histories of perseverance under the direst of circumstances, and their fidelity to the principles of honor instilled in each American serving in uniform belie the despicable slanders laid at the feet of our military.

The POWs' very existence and their willingness to go public threaten the foundation of the Left's propaganda, a lifetime of lies that accuse the U.S. military of being no better than the "armies of Genghis Khan." It remains the Left's most potent weapon as they continue to undermine the efforts of our Armed Forces and provide aid and comfort to America's enemies.

The war for America's conscience and soul rages on in the media, on the streets and quietly behind courtroom doors. In the vanguard of that battle, as they were some 40 years ago, are the POWs; some of America's greatest heroes; men and their wives, fathers and mothers, many of them grandparents, who have already paid a heavy price for their loyalty and devotion to America and, sadly, find they must do so again today.

They deserve our respect, admiration and gratitude, but most of all our support, even as they try to protect and preserve the honor and reputations of an entire generation of American troops vilified by the extreme Left.

Won't you stand up once more to defend our troops and veterans? Please give what you can to help the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation continue the still-unfinished task of setting the record straight about the Vietnam War and Vietnam vets.

This is every bit as important as our effort last year. If you'd like to stay informed about the VVLF's ongoing work, please sign up for updates here.

Thank you again and God bless you and America.

Sincerely,
John O'Neill

Now here are some updates about it:

Update: POWs and Carlton Sherwood File Suit Against John Kerry and Anthony Podesta for Defamation, Conspiracy

Carlton Sherwood, Red, White and Blue Productions, Inc. and Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation v. John F. Kerry and Anthony T. Podesta

On October 3, 2005, Carlton Sherwood, Red, White and Blue, and the VVLF filed suit in Federal court against Sen. John Kerry and Anthony Podesta for events relating to the suppression of the documentary film Stolen Honor.

Legal Documents:
10/03/2005: Defamation, Defamation/Business Disparagement, Intentional and/or Negligent Interference with Prospective and Existing Contractual Relations, and Civil Conspiracy Complaint, filed in Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania[PDF: 818K]

Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation

Former Vietnam POWs Sue John Kerry

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Sen. John Kerry and a top DNC campaign official have been sued for conspiracy and defamation in Federal District Court in Philadelphia by the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF), which is led by a group of former Vietnam combat veterans, including several POWs, and the wife of a POW. The legal action comes just weeks after the group of highly decorated veterans, which includes a Medal of Honor recipient, was itself sued twice by Kerry campaign supporters who were once his fellow antiwar activists.

All the lawsuits stem from last year's Presidential elections and Stolen Honor, a documentary released last September that examined the impact of Kerry's 1971 anti-war activities on hundreds of American POWs still being held in the notorious Hanoi Hilton prison camp.

The Kerry campaign mounted a major effort to prevent Stolen Honor from being aired last October after the Sinclair Broadcasting Company announced plans to show the film on its 62 stations nationally. Sinclair was sued, boycotted and harshly condemned by Kerry campaign officials who publicly threatened to have the TV cable company's FCC license revoked if Kerry was elected. That was followed by protests from 18 U.S. Democrat Senators who called for FCC and FEC investigations of Sinclair. Amid the furor, the documentary's producer, Carlton Sherwood, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and thrice wounded Vietnam veteran, was sued for libel by a Kerry advisor and member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, an organization Kerry represented as national spokesman in the 1970's. That case is scheduled for a jury trial next year in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas.

Sinclair eventually withdrew its planned broadcast of the film and, under pressure from Kerry campaign supporters, theater showings were canceled.

The federal lawsuit, filed this week by Sherwood and the POWs, charge Kerry and DNC campaign coordinator Anthony Podesta of conspiring to discredit the documentary and defaming the film's producer for the purpose of preventing Stolen Honor from being broadcast or seen in theaters.

Stolen Honor focused on Kerry's 1971 testimony before the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee when he accused U.S. combat troops of committing atrocities and war crimes on a "day to day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command." The film examined, through interviews with 17 POWs and three POWs wives, the consequences of those allegations on some 350 American POWs still held in North Vietnamese Communist prison camps.

Some of the POWs interviewed for the documentary charged Kerry with "treason" and "perjury," while others said his 1971 Senate testimony placed their lives in jeopardy, protracted the Vietnam War and extended their confinement for years. All the POWs accused Kerry and his followers of fabricating "war crimes" and providing aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war.

In recent weeks, the libel suit against Sherwood has been extended to name the VVLF and Newsmax as defendants. Another Kerry supporter and VVAW member has sued documentary producer Sherwood a second time for libel, also naming the VVLF and the Internet news company Newsmax as defendants.

Those libel suits were filed by Kenneth Campbell and Jon Bjornson, both long-time antiwar activists and members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), who allege that Sherwood, the VVLF and Newsmax defamed them in the documentary when it questioned the credibility of those, including Sen. Kerry, who claimed to have participated in, or, been witnesses to "war crimes" they allege were committed routinely throughout the Vietnam War. Although neither man is identified in Stolen Honor, both claim they appear in 35 year-old pictures and film clips used in the film and allege their reputations were harmed as a result. Campbell was a volunteer and an advisor to the Kerry campaign last year. Bjornson also supported Kerry.

Documentation for these suits is available at VVLF.org.

All the POWs and the wife of a POW who hold leadership positions in the VVLF also appeared in Stolen Honor. The VVLF's chairman is Col. Bud Day, a POW Medal of Honor recipient and the Air Force's most highly decorated veteran.

"It's time the American people learned the truth about Vietnam and Vietnam veterans," Col. Day said, "not just the sorry portrait they've seen in the movies or read about from politically motivated propagandists. We served with honor."

The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF.org) is a 501(c)(3) public service corporation whose mission is to educate and inform the public about the Vietnam War, its events, its history, and the courageous men and women who sacrificed to serve their country in Vietnam.

SOURCE Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation
Web Site: http://www.VVLF.org

Vietnam Vets/Former POWs Respond to Slurs From Sen. Kerry's Staff

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation:

"I am irritated to be called a liar by the spokesman for someone who spent less time in Vietnam than I spent being tortured. I would like to know what was false when I said that I was interrogated in 1971, told about the 'Winter Soldier Hearings,' told that someone had recruited my mother to be associated with these people, and told that John Kerry organized it. Was Boris (my interrogator) lying about Winter Soldier? Did these hearings not take place? Was John Kerry not involved? And while the Kerry people are tossing around frivolous lawsuits claiming defamation, isn't it defamatory to say that someone is lying if you can't prove it?"

-- The Hon. James Warner, VVLF Board member and former US Marine Corps Captain held captive in Vietnam for over 5 years

"Who is this pipsqueak press boy Wade to question the honor, statements or credibility of veterans who took real fire and POWs who took real torture? How dare he! How dare Kerry allow his taxpayer-funded office to malign decorated veterans and call them liars. Of course, this is nothing new for Kerry -- his public life stems from vilifying vets."

-- Mary Jane McManus, VVLF Board member and wife of former POW Lt. Col Kevin McManus

"John Kerry, through his spokesman, David Wade, has brazenly labeled a group of POWs who dared to speak out with the truth about his testimony to the US Senate and his crusade to brand American combatants as war criminals. I read the statement that referred to us as 'serial liars' and claimed that the truth doesn't matter to us. On the contrary, this is all about the truth, and it seems the only chance we have of letting the American people know the truth about the Vietnam War and the honorable men who fought it is in a Federal court of law.

-- Col. Ken Cordier, USAF (ret), VVLF Board member and POW for over 6 years

HERE is the Washington Post story and quote from Kerry staffer David Wade

And HERE you can access a copy of the suit filed by Mr. Sherwood and the VVLF

Vietnam Vets Versus Kerry by Michael P. Tremoglie 07 October 2005

This may be the first time in American history that a presidential candidate was sued for actions taken by him and his campaign during an election. It may also be the first time that an antiwar activist was sued, if only tangentially, for allegations made about American military personnel.

Democrats did indeed respond vehemently to Stolen Honor. Sinclair, according to a contemporaneous Newsweek report, canceled their broadcast after being intimidated by Democrats. For example, a Democrat New York State Comptroller sent a letter to Sinclair criticizing the broadcast. The Comptroller was the sole trustee for the NY State Common Retirement Fund, which owned 250,000 shares of Sinclair stock..

The Baederwood Theater received phone calls threatening boycotts if it showed the movie. Ominous phone calls were responsible for a suburban Philadelphia conference center canceling another presentation scheduled after Baederwood.

Although the Kerry campaign denied any involvement with these efforts, an October 15, 2004 email from Podesta to Kerry activists called Carlton Sherwood a, "disgraced former journalist, right-wing propagandist and apologist for cult-leader Sun Myung Moon." Podesta urged Kerry workers to "…. take action …against this garbage…. let the theater know that, as a member of the community, you object to …this film …they should not allow Stolen Honor to be shown on their screen."

If this lawsuit accomplishes nothing else, it will be that the heroes of Vietnam are finally condemning the lies told about them during the war. If nothing else results from this, it will be that those who served their country meritoriously, despite great controversy, despite the adversity, those who truly deserve to be called the Greatest Generation, are once again serving their country by telling the truth about Vietnam.

A former police officer, Michael Tremoglie's work has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Human Events, FrontPage Magazine, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

More on Kerry and Fonda at one of my web site pages called….
Extreme Prejudice The Red Zone

Posted by Wild Thing at 10:39 AM

October 08, 2005

A Vietnam Vets Poem

I received this poem today from a Vietnam Vet and wanted to share it here. Thank you Don!

Hanoi Jane 

Jane I see, in memory,
With antiaircraft gun,
A stricture in a picture.
Her movies I still shun.
To dissent is why she went.
I don't buy that at all.
For treason that's no reason.
Stand her against a wall.

Written by Don Hoffmann
516th PSC Danang 70-71

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:52 PM