Tag: Vietnam War

Finally Coming Home!

A Navy pilot who died in Vietnam 52 years ago is finally coming home….

Deborah Crosby touched her father’s flag-draped casket as her three brothers hugged her in a tearful embrace on the tarmac at the San Diego airport Friday — ending a more than half century search to find and bring home the remains of Lt. Cmdr. Frederick P. Crosby, shot down as a Navy pilot in the Vietnam War.
Deborah Crosby, now 58, was only six when she was sent home from the first grade to learn her father was presumed dead, though his body had not been found.
Her mother could never talk about that day, but she gave Crosby and her brothers a binder with articles about her father’s plane zooming low through the clouds on a bomb damage assessment mission before it was gunned down by North Vietnamese ground forces in 1965. The 31-year-old pilot was armed only with cameras, his daughter said.
A year ago, military investigators found his remains in a fish pond in north Vietnam. On Friday, Deborah Crosby fulfilled her promise to her late grandmother.
Deborah Crosby walked forward, touched the casket and embraced her three brothers. The aviator’s elderly sister, Sharon, and brother, David, also hugged, and he wiped an eye.
“I’m just overwhelmed with seeing the plane drive up and all of the uniforms and all of the respect and the honors that he’s receiving,” Deborah Crosby said.
The sailors saluted before the casket left in a hearse.
On Sunday, Frederick Crosby will be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery with full military honors and a Navy flyover.
(Navy Times)
Welcome home brother may you now find the rest that you deserve.
  R.I.P.

Remembering Sharon Lane

The Vietnam War gave us over 50,000 dead US troops …in all that number only one woman was killed during those dark days……

Minutes before 6am, Army nurse Martha Green woke with a jolt to a thunderous explosion half a mile away. It was the steamy morning of June 8, 1969, and she was in her bed at Chu Lai base at the height of the Vietnam War. Green’s husband returned with tragic news: A Soviet-built rocket had struck the hospital, and Sharon Lane, 25, a fellow nurse from Ohio, had been killed instantly. “The news struck me like lightning,” said Green, who’d chat with Lane while stationed on the same shift. “She was a very sweet, quiet young woman. The sadness was really palpable.” Today, Lane is immortalized in books and statues: Among the roughly 11,000 American women stationed in Vietnam, Lane was the only one killed by hostile fire during the decades-long war, per the AP. Seven other women died in accidents and illnesses.

Among the hundred or so nurses at Chu Lai, Lane stood out. She was shy, several years older than most, and had volunteered to go to Vietnam instead of being ordered there. Her biographer, Philip Bigler, calls her “a symbol” of nurses at war. This Memorial Day, her friends and colleagues’ thoughts drift back to that fateful day in June of 1969. But some would rather forget. Cannon Sample was a hospital corpsman who was in Lane’s ward when she was killed. Forty-eight years later, he still has nightmares about that morning. “He doesn’t go into details,” said his wife, Joy Sample, by phone. “It’s just bits and pieces.” Still, every year, a group of veterans gather at her grave to pay respects to Lane, vowing to keep her memory alive. “Oh yes,” says Pat Powell, leader of the veteran’s association. “Until we die.” Click for more on Lane.

WE lost so many in the war……at least we can do is remember their sacrifice….and the sorrow of the families.

Vietnam Veterans Day

Closing Thought–29Mar17

The Last Chopper Out!

Since the rest of the world has forgotten our contribution let me be the first to say thank you to all my comrades in Vietnam.  We are quickly losing our battle with time….but as long as I breath you will NOT be forgotten.

Most Americans are familiar with Veterans Day. Every November, we show our appreciation to everyone who ever enlisted in our armed forces: Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardsmen.

Scattered throughout the year, however, we honor certain groups of veterans who serviced our nation during particular conflicts. For example, we celebrate V-E Day and V-J Day on the anniversaries of the end of World War II combat operations in Europe and Japan. Veterans Day itself was once Armistice Day, marking the anniversary of the end of World War I.

On March 29, we recall the day in 1973 when the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam.

This date is generally considered the official end of the war.

Yet, when we consider the entirety of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, it was not until May of 1975 that U.S. military presence completely ended. Likewise, although the war is generally considered to have “begun” with the deployment of full combat units in 1965, U.S. troops were in country, in harm’s way, as early as 1955.

The U.S. Department of Defense, in its official observance of the 50th anniversary of the war, has declared the Vietnam War Commemoration will recognize the period from Nov. 1, 1955, through May 15, 1975.

And for those that have never given my war much thought…….as per usual I offer a historical perspective…..

Although the Vietnamese had been rebelling against the French since their arrival in S.E. Asia, World War I was the initial catalyst for Vietnam’s independence. Vietnamese and other Indochinese troops, notably Cambodians, in the French colonial forces went to Europe and the Middle East in World War I to serve in both combat and support roles.

Source: The Unwinnable Vietnam War – Consortiumnews

To all Vietnam Veterans…..Thank you for your service and your sacrifice……all gave some and some gave all….you will always be in my memory…..Peace!

What Is The Point? – In Saner Thought

WARNING:  Strong words to follow….I seldom offer much of my personal life here in IST but from time to time I feel I need to do so…..so here would be a good place to stop reading if you have a sensitive nature.

It is a Sunday and I have nothing for a post today so I went back into my archives and found something from 2009…….(Archives are a great thing)…..

What made me think of this ancient post was a news item in the local paper that they were asking for people to work at a local Civil War re-enactment….that triggered a memory of something that I had written awhile back…..

A Daily Agitation

I read this article in the AP and just had to get some opinions on this.

We have Revolutionary War re-enactments….we have French and Indian War re-enactment….we have Civil War re-enactments……all which are nothing but  macho BS to help people feel more important than they really are……but is this a wise choice?

Source: What Is The Point? – In Saner Thought

I know I may sound bitter…well there is a good reason……. I AM!

VIETNAM VETERAN Sticker

2012 grimreaper remake F Square Car Magnet 3" x 3"

(these are all items that can be found on Cafe Press)

Back in 1985 the locals wanted to have a parade to welcome home the Viet vets…the parade they had not got before and when a friend asked if I was going I told him what I tell people to this day……”Hell NO!  It is too f*cking late!”  I was not and will not soothe a guilty conscience for these people.

Viet vets are kinda like that “Next Generation” episode about the soldiers that were used during a war and then came home to be segregated from the society that sent them to fight and die…..and treated them like 2nd class citizens…….most combat vets never fully return from their deployment…..years does not matter…..something of their souls stayed in country…..basically they knew when they returned home that NO one would care…….

We always got the same two questions…..what was it like?  And did you ever have to kill anyone?  My standard response was…FUCK OFF!

People have NO idea….and to think that d/bags want to play this war is just offensive and even disgusting.

This is why I seldom talk about my experience…I have a tendency to get angry…..

Finish out your weekend and prepare for the coming week….surely it will be a bigger joke than the past one…..peace out my friends….chuq

Death Of An Icon

My weekend begins with the news of someone that I knew….not personally but rather through the radio while I was serving in Vietnam….anyone that was there will recognize the name of “Hanoi Hanna”…..

She passed away this week……at the age of 85…….

Thinh Thi Ngo, the Vietnamese radio host better known as “Hanoi Hannah,” passed away on Friday at age 85, reports the New York Times. Ngo was a propaganda broadcaster for North Vietnam during the war; her English-language program was designed to convince American soldiers that their presence in Vietnam was wrong. Despite the serious nature of her mission, many who heard her remember her fondly, including Sen. John McCain, who was forced to listen to Ngo’s broadcasts daily during his captivity in the “Hanoi Hilton” POW camp. “She’s a marvelous entertainer,” McCain recalled in 2000. “I’m surprised she didn’t get to Hollywood.”

Ngo’s 30-minute broadcasts ran for a decade, from 1965 to the end of the war in 1975. AFP says Ngo’s programs were an eclectic mix: in soft-spoken English, Ngo would read out names of American soldiers killed that day, interspersed with lessons on Vietnamese history, and music by modern American singers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. In a 1994 interview with the New York Times, Ngo said “My work was to make the G.I.s understand that it was not right for them to take part in this war.” Of her moniker, she said: “The Americans like nicknames.”

She was not well loved by US troops would be an understatement….but she was a fixture on our radios…..and yes…an ICON.

Ironically 3 years ago the General of the North Vietnamese Army, Gen. Giap dies at the age of 103…..he also is an icon of the day…..his book, People’s Army, People’s War, was required reading …….

I recently read an interview that he gave about the war in Vietnam…..

The death of Vo Nguyen Giap on October 4, 2013, in his 103rd year, was noted with respect everywhere in the world. General Giap commanded the military forces that freed Vietnam from French colonialism in the 1946–1954 war that ended with the victory at Dien Bien Phu (1954), and that then defeated U.S. imperialist aggression in the 1962–1975 war that ended with liberation of Saigon. The heroic and victorious struggle of Communist Vietnam was a major factor in the growth of anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements that shook the previously colonized world, Western Europe, and even the United States.

Source: The United States Has Lost the War: An Interview by General Vo Nguyen Giap |

Yes he was the enemy…but I cannot argue against his tactics……they were effective……

Slowly, all of us vets that served in Vietnam are dying out and soon we will be the forgotten generation along with those of the Korean War…..we already the ignored generation….soon we will be the forgotten.

One More Vietnam Problem

The veterans from the Vietnam War have suffered on so many levels and most of society could care less……many suffered from PTSD….some from Agent Orange…..many fro night sweats….and from memories that will not die……but they are having to deal with one more situation……SUICIDES!

On July 7, the Veterans Health Administration released new data about veterans’ suicides, based upon examination of over 55 million veteran records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation and U.S. territories. While much of the buzz around veteran suicide has focused on veterans emerging out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this new report showed that 65% of all veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older. In fact, 45% of veteran suicides in 2014 were aged 60 and older.

These are deeply disturbing statistics, especially for those of us in the Vietnam cohort. As the executive director of the Veterans Health Council at Vietnam Veterans of America, veteran suicide is one of my professional and personal interests ever since losing a team member to suicide while on a mission together in northern I Corps Vietnam.

Source: Majority Of Veteran Suicides Are 50 And Older And We Don’t Know Why

Believe me…..Vietnam vets have suffered enough…..it is time for this country to actually care about these people and give them the help they richly deserve.

In closing….the VA has its problems also….

More than 70,000 veterans disability claims are currently backlogged in Veterans Affairs processing centers, seven months after department officials missed their public goal of getting the number down to zero.

VA Acting Under Secretary for Benefits Thomas Murphy said that figure includes a substantial number of claims left open longer than four months intentionally to ensure veterans are receiving all of the payouts they deserve. But he acknowledged his agency needs to drive that number down further.

Source: VA disability backlog tops 70,000 — 7 months after it was supposed to be zero

The news seldom improves…and that is truly sad.

“Leave No One Behind”

Every movie and TV show about the US military they push the concept that the US leaves NO MAN BEHIND….but it is pure bullshit….let’s call it cinematic license…….

Does any one remember a group known as Montagnards or how about the Nungs…these were indigenous people of South Vietnam that were loyal to the US and did whatever we asked of them…then when the US pulled out of Vietnam ahead of the advancing North Vietnamese army we left these loyal participants behind to suffer at the hands of the Communist North….not one of our more honorable moments.

Did we learn from this betrayal?

Not a bit!

We are fighting endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and we have used indigenous people to act on our behalf as interpreters and soldiers…these people suffer all sorts of torture when they are outed as “collaborators”…..but the US will take care of our fiends as we always have, right?

Again….total bullshit!

As our nation fought wars against terrorists and despots in Afghanistan and Iraq, we were assisted by patriotic citizens of those two countries who recognized that America’s efforts were in the long-term interests of their nations also. These courageous individuals – who served principally as translators for the U.S. military – often undertook this service at great personal risk to themselves and their families. In acknowledgement of this service, our nation created a special immigrant visa program allowing these patriots to move, along with their families, to the United States and taste a piece of the American dream.

And yet, earlier this month, the House Armed Services Committee advanced the defense authorization bill without providing adequate authority to ensure the Afghanistan component of this program is available to those who served alongside our soldiers. By failing to do so, we are breaking the solemn promise we made to these patriots – and condemning them (and their families) to persecution and, potentially, death.

Source: Diluting SIV Visa Program Could Condemn Loyal Military Translators to Death | US News Opinion

I have written about this in the past….and as usual no one was listening…..but the situation arises again….why would any indigenous people help the US achieve their goals?  I would not help knowing their track record of betrayal.  Would you?

This may not be something that most people worry over….but for me it hits home….in Vietnam I had to leave behind some good friends among the Nungs….

We are doing what we always do…..use people up and then like a broken tool we discard them….and soon forgotten.

Vietnam War at 50

My last daily post will be on an event from my past……

As a Viet vet I am always interested in anything pertaining to that war…..oh sorry….police action…….I read that our SecDef has just celebrated the 50th anniversary of that conflict…..

Really?  In 1950 the US started supplying the South Vietnam government with military advisers and in 1962 JFK started increasing the amount of US troops assigned to South Vietnam…..this should have been either the 66th anniversary or the 54th anniversary…..2016 is a bit off.

A horrible war but from all the anguish and death what did we learn from the experience?

Last week Defense Secretary Ashton Carter laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington in commemoration of the “50th anniversary” of that war. The date is confusing, as the war started earlier and ended far later than 1966. But the Vietnam War at 50 commemoration presents a good opportunity to reflect on the […]

Source: Vietnam War at 50: Have We Learned Nothing? – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

One last time….What Did We Learn?

One more thing….Dear Bureaucrats— either get it right or shut the f*ck up!

The Vietnam War: After Forty Years by Lawrence Wittner — Antiwar.com

This month is the 40th year since the fall of Saigon and the end of American involvement in Vietnam……

To marl the anniversary I have been posting different views of that war with the hope that Americans will pay attention…..if they do not….it will happen all over again……and again.

 

The Vietnam War: After Forty Years by Lawrence Wittner — Antiwar.com.

Did Reagan Win the Vietnam War? | The American Conservative

Sit down and brace yourself!

Yes, Irene I read the American Conservative…..believe it or not there are some thoughtful articles being written by true conservatives as opposed to the whack jobs in the Tea Party……

This is the 40th year since the fall of Saigon…….and so far the US has not been able to reckon with that war……we have tried to put it all behind us but it still creeps out…..basically because there are many vets still living when their time comes and the last vet passes on the country will do all possible to remove this war from a collective memory….all it will be is a historical footnote on some dissertation……

I will try to keep interest in the Vietnam War up and relative……it should never be forgotten….no matter what you think of it……

 

Did Reagan Win the Vietnam War? | The American Conservative.