Vietnam War Veterans Day

[RDawson]

In honor of today let me say thank you to those who served.

[bongobobny]

You are very welcome! Please enjoy your freedom and protect it!

[RDawson]

Born in 1970 I was a tad too young but I have several friends who put in time over there, my grandfather served in WWI. While a spinal injury derailed my high school plans to join I hold deep respect for those who have.

[djh3]

I served with quite a few of guys from then. I respect those guys because a lot of them got the shaft when they came back. Thank you fellow Vets.

[cowpuc]

In honor of today let me say thank you to those who served.

 

:sign yeah that:

Tip and I stand with linked arms 100% with Corporal Newkirk on this one!!! THANK YOU to our Honored and Respected Vietnam War Vets for all you did and do for supporting our way of life!! Because you gave, we still enjoy the freedoms we have and hold so dearly!! Thank you men and women who served in the U.S. in that God aweful mess!! :usa::usa::usa:

[WildBill1]

It's kinda amusing to me to see all these flag waving people come out now for freedom when in the 60's those same people were looking for draft deferments bone spurs and such or racing to Canada to keep from going to Vietnam.

[cowpuc]

It's kinda amusing to me to see all these flag waving people come out now for freedom when in the 60's those same people were looking for draft deferments bone spurs and such or racing to Canada to keep from going to Vietnam.

 

Indeed,, those were some genuine troubling times that is for sure. IMHO, those that put it all on the line deserve our utmost respect and honor and those that dodged the draft are still probably paying a high cost of having to live with their decisions too cause they gotta live with the fact that others went in their stead and they are, to this day, still enjoying some of the a lot of the freedoms that those that payed with blood, sweat and tears fought to protect.

God forbid it ever happens but it cant help but make one wonder what kind of chaos we would see if the draft ever had to be reopened

[WildBill1]

Well in my opinion it was a sinceless War fought in the descise of fighting Communism when it was legal to be a Communist here in the USA. Why did we have to go half around the World to fight Communism when we had a Communist country 90 miles off the shore of Florida? The only answer I can think of fighting in Cuba wouldn't have lasted long enough to boost our economy and was too close for comfort for elected politicians. I don't regret serving. What I regret is 50,000 plus didn't make it back alive.

[Venturous Randy]

I may look at it a little different than some, but I see Vietnam as more of an open and capitalistic country than a true communist country and I see this as a direct cause of our involvement at that time. I feel it kept all of South East Asia from being what North Korea is right now.

In 1972, at the height of the air war, I was stationed in Ubon, Thailand, 30 miles from Laos and 45 miles from Cambodia. The job that I did was in direct support of the aircraft maintenance and equipment used. I did not get drafted and had not received my draft notice, I joined because I wanted to support my country. My dad was a WW2 vet and was in Guadalcanal in the Navy when the war ended.

The point I want to make here is I was told years ago by members on this very forum that I was NOT a Vietnam Vet because I never set foot in country. It did not matter to them that my direct support was to the F4 Phantoms, the AC 130 Gunships and the Sandys that were used. It did not matter that Ubon was hit by saboteurs trying to blow up the gunships while I there or the base was hit by rockets two weeks after I left, to some I am still not Vietnam Vet.

If I am asked now if I am a Vietnam vet, I just say that I am just a Vietnam area Vet, not just a Vietnam era Vet.

Yeah, I guess I still have a little bit of a burr under my saddle.

For those that served during that time, whether in South East Asia or other parts of the world, I appreciate your service as you could just have easily ended up in Vietnam because you signed the blank check to the government.

Yeah, there was a time I felt a little embarrassed to be part of that war, but not any more. In fact, I just bought my first military hat recently(Air Force Veteran) and am surprised at how many strangers will thank me for my service.

Randy

Edited April 1, 2019 by Venturous Randy

[RDawson]

I hate that this is turning somewhat political. It doesn't matter to me if someone served in combat, in support roles, or during peacetime. I started the post when I saw it was VN Veterans Day, I have the same respect for every veteran that has served this great country. VN era vets got shorted by the attitude of many back then and even though I was too young to know anything about it I'm bothered by it. So hats off to all veterans.

[cowpuc]

I may look at it a little different than some, but I see Vietnam as more of an open and capitalistic country than a true communist country and I see this as a direct cause of our involvement at that time. I feel it kept all of South East Asia from being what North Korea is right now.

In 1972, at the height of the air war, I was stationed in Ubon, Thailand, 30 miles from Laos and 45 miles from Cambodia. The job that I did was in direct support of the aircraft maintenance and equipment used. I did not get drafted and had not received my draft notice, I joined because I wanted to support my country. My dad was a WW2 vet and was in Guadalcanal in the Navy when the war ended.

The point I want to make here is I was told years ago by members on this very forum that I was NOT a Vietnam Vet because I never set foot in country. It did not matter to them that my direct support was to the F4 Phantoms, the AC 130 Gunships and the Sandys that were used. It did not matter that Ubon was hit by saboteurs trying to blow up the gunships while I there or the base was hit by rockets two weeks after I left, to some I am still not Vietnam Vet.

If I am asked now if I am a Vietnam vet, I just say that I am just a Vietnam area Vet, not just a Vietnam era Vet.

Yeah, I guess I still have a little bit of a burr under my saddle.

For those that served during that time, whether in South East Asia or other parts of the world, I appreciate your service as you could just have easily ended up in Vietnam because you signed the blank check to the government.

Yeah, there was a time I felt a little embarrassed to be part of that war, but not any more. In fact, I just bought my first military hat recently(Air Force Veteran) and am surprised at how many strangers will thank me for my service.

Randy

 

:sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that: and very well put brother!!!

 

You ARE a Vietnam War Veteran in my book/heart Randy! Makes no difference if you served in a fox hole, fire base, nurse on a ship in the gulf of Tonkin or part of a General's staff sitting in an office in Saigon sorting thru paper work keeping things flowing - ALL were vulnerable and in harms way, ALL left their families and the safety of being home and ALL were there and ALL were part of standing for freedom!! I too was to young to have served in Vietnam but, always have and always will be thankful and proud of you for having stood for our way of life.

Count me as someone whose arms are linked with those that thank you, and ALL Vietnam War Veterans = THANKS MY BROTHER FOR YOUR SERVICE!

 

I hate that this is turning somewhat political. It doesn't matter to me if someone served in combat, in support roles, or during peacetime. I started the post when I saw it was VN Veterans Day, I have the same respect for every veteran that has served this great country. VN era vets got shorted by the attitude of many back then and even though I was too young to know anything about it I'm bothered by it. So hats off to all veterans.

 

:sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that:

[leo3wheel]

Vietnam Era Vet here, '68-'72. Volunteered and proudly served in the U.S. Air Force. Didn't even consider hiding out in Canada. Enlisted knowing Air Force could do anything they wanted with me. They said they would put me in an electronics AFS, based on my entrance exam scores, but there were no guarantees. The ace in my pocket was an Associate Degree in Industrial Electronics. My background helped me sail through tech school, and I was offered a technical instructor position. Proud of my service to our country, and do not regret missing out on combat. Thank you to all who served and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice!

[bongobobny]

There are still a lot of us that to this day still don't want to talk about it and still feel a form of shame for serving our Country. Myself it has only been within the last 5 years or so that I accept the fact that I should not feel ashamed of being in Vietnam, and it mostly stems from how we were shunned and looked upon when we returned. I'm not even going to get into survivor's guilt as that is something else any combat veteran from any war has to deal with every day of their lives. No, I am talking about how our Nation turned their backs on those who did their duty regardless.

 

Yes, there is a lot of politics involved with the entire situation to include how we got involved in the first place and how we conducted ourselves with our involvement. The South Vietnam government was full of corruption and the country was involved in a conflict for many years. Supposedly we were there to stop the spread of Communism and to unify the country. There is a lot of history to study the whole situation and what really happened on each side. One interesting fact is that Mao wanted to unify Vietnam and he himself did not believe in Communism but unfortunately, that was the party in control in the north. We could have ended the conflict if the US public opinion hadn't been such a strong influence on our involvement of the war effort.

 

But the bottom line is when we returned we were shocked and surprised at how the American public felt about us! We were baby-killers, barbarians, scum of the earth and spat on! We just wanted to come home and get on with our lives but we didn't fit in. We had to hide the fact that we even served in the military much less served in Vietnam. So, after all these years now we are being viewed in a different light which is hard to become accustomed to.

 

RDawson, THANK YOU for starting this thread and giving recognition to us, we greatly appreciate it!! We don't feel like heroes, we just did our jobs. The real heroes are those that risked and sometimes sacrificed their lives to protect and save the lives of others. We do appreciate the thanks and recognition for serving. For those "Vietnam Era" veterans, you are just as important! I don't care if you never even left the US if you served during that time period you were just as prone to being deployed as anyone that was. Thank you all for your service!

 

I think that when our troops started returning from the middle east whether it was Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever it may have been the Vietnam veterans that made sure each and every one of them received a heartfelt welcome home! We NEVER ever want to see our heroes go through what we did, that is something our Nation should never repeat...

[Ky. Rider]

I may look at it a little different than some, but I see Vietnam as more of an open and capitalistic country than a true communist country and I see this as a direct cause of our involvement at that time. I feel it kept all of South East Asia from being what North Korea is right now.

In 1972, at the height of the air war, I was stationed in Ubon, Thailand, 30 miles from Laos and 45 miles from Cambodia. The job that I did was in direct support of the aircraft maintenance and equipment used. I did not get drafted and had not received my draft notice, I joined because I wanted to support my country. My dad was a WW2 vet and was in Guadalcanal in the Navy when the war ended.

The point I want to make here is I was told years ago by members on this very forum that I was NOT a Vietnam Vet because I never set foot in country. It did not matter to them that my direct support was to the F4 Phantoms, the AC 130 Gunships and the Sandys that were used. It did not matter that Ubon was hit by saboteurs trying to blow up the gunships while I there or the base was hit by rockets two weeks after I left, to some I am still not Vietnam Vet.

If I am asked now if I am a Vietnam vet, I just say that I am just a Vietnam area Vet, not just a Vietnam era Vet.

Yeah, I guess I still have a little bit of a burr under my saddle.

For those that served during that time, whether in South East Asia or other parts of the world, I appreciate your service as you could just have easily ended up in Vietnam because you signed the blank check to the government.

Yeah, there was a time I felt a little embarrassed to be part of that war, but not any more. In fact, I just bought my first military hat recently(Air Force Veteran) and am surprised at how many strangers will thank me for my service.

Randy

The U.S. government recognizes all Vietnam era veterans as just that "Vietnam era veterans", including those who were "in country". Other organizations have distinguished between "in country" which means in the territorial area of Vietnam (air,land,water) and those not in country. I know one thing, those F4's and gunships bailed us out several times that I'm thankful for and I didn't give a rip where they came from. All veterans deserve gratitude and respect regardless of where and when they served.