does anyone remember Vietnam?

[mosineer]

Yeah, I remember. I also remember what happened after we left..... '69-'75


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All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing

[Seabeescotty]

Well, you guys have tears running down this man's face again. Yes I remember, not that I like to. And T2K, you do know one who was spit on, 'cause it was me. The MP's had to defend the crap, and watch us being tormented, because of orders. I'll always remember those I served with, and those I watched emerging from the NVA hellholes of captivity. If you weren't there, those of us who were can never explain to you what it was like. We're simply grateful to those who have tried to right the wrongs done against us for serving our country. Never will another veteran be treated with such disrespect, so long as I draw a breath!!

[lonewoolf47]

I spent many months in the gulf aboard the USS Independence in 65-66, and the thing I remember most was the terrible way we were treated when we finally got home. I was proud to wear my uniform, but was hesitant to do so Stateside because of the treatment and abuse given by most civilians when they saw the uniform. God bless our men & women in uniform today....it is good to see the respect and "thanks" they are getting...and deserve, so different from my experiences from 1965-1969.

[Seabeescotty]

Cheers to you, my fellow veteran! And welcome home. Sometimes we are the only ones we can go to for comfort and understanding. When I got home, even my dad couldn't understand what was so wrong, being a WW2 vet. I tried to explain how we'd been treated at the airport, and he said to bury it, and forget about it. Didn't work, and kept bubbling up until I got involved with other vets, and worked it out. Today, the pain is bearable, but I still can't find forgiveness in my heart for those who committed such atrocities against their own troops. Maybe God will forgive their stupidity.

[Blackrock]

I got my draft notice in December of 68' and enlisted to get into the Army Engineers as a heavy equipment operator which is what I was doing at the time. I was sworn in on Jan 2nd 1969 and got an early release just before Christmas 1971. Served in Nam from July 69 to Sept 70 then came back stateside with an attitude so the shipped me over to Germany to finish out my tour.

RA18809819

[oldjarhead]

Welcome home, my brothers.
We did what we needed to do and we did it well. The failure in Nam was not our doing but the doing of the country and the government. I've spent many years fighting back the resentment but, unfortunately, the morons are at it again,
God Bless the United States and to its defenders. I love you all.

[nick112207]

obviously at 19 im am way to young to have even been able to participate in it. my dad was still in highschool when it was going on. But i will never forget that war simply because of 1 Vietnam Vet who came to my social studies class in highschool to talk about it. I'll never forget him crying as he told us how he had to shoot very young children who were sent to go into the army base with explosives all over their bodies and how when he came home he was spit on and treated horribly and how so many times he thought about suicide and how he can hardly get a nights sleep without having nightmares. I was never in it, no one in my family was ever in it, but i will never forget the Veterans who served and were treated horribly for it. God Bless the men and wemon who pretect our country.

EDIT: My social studies teacher when i was in the 7th grade actually had cancer from the Agent Orange. He was a guy who targeted for pilots to drop in bombs. He never told us about anything but that little bit and either everyone was too dumb to care, or like me, were smart enough to know it wasnt something you ask about.

[.22hustler]

While waiting at Newark International Airport back in Feb 1972 at approx 3 in the morning, after ETS'ing from Fort Dix, I was called a baby killer by some drunk SOB. His buddy had to restrain him from getting his a++ handed to him, as I was in no mood for his crap.All I wanted to do was to go home, back to the world, and now I have this assh=le to deal with..

[heavy recoil]

Yup, I remember it well, went there 3 times. First time coming back I flew commercial and came through San Francisco international, had a difference of opinion with some long haired dude there, I wonder if he healed up yet, I'll bet he never expected the reaction he got from me. Ah well, life goes on.

[Seabeescotty]

San Francisco should not have been used as a place to bring us home! That's where I had trouble, we had to travel in uniform, and talk about a nut magnet! I was never so shocked in my life, and was treated better in Nam!!

[rice paddy dadd]

Reading some of these responses has really humbled me. Thank all of you non vets for your kind words. I'll never forget back in the late 80's I was at a gas station and a young man must have seen the Vietnam Service Ribbon decal I had on my car and asked if I was a Nam vet. I said yes, kinda hesitant cause I didn't know what would be next. He just said Thank You and drove away. No one had ever said that to me before, and it was nice.
If you civilians want to make a vet's day, just tell him (or her) "Thank you for serving our country". Whenever I see a young person in uniform I make sure to tell them that. I believe in the founding principle of The Vietnam Veterans Of America - never again will one generation of vets forget another.

[DWFan]

I avoided the draft by enlisting in the Air Force too and wound up at NKP Thailand during the final withdrawl out of Saigon in '75. Watching the news today makes me wonder if we didn't learn a single thing from Vietnam concerning the honesty of our government and the use of our troops to support foreign governments. It just doesn't seem to work.

[TheWanderingMind]

Originally Posted by bigbuddy21

REBEL, SIR I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. I TURNED 18 TWO MONTHS AFTER THE DRAFT WAS SUSP., I THOUGHT SURE I WAS GOING. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I WOULD HAVE WENT! I WOULD NOT HAVE DODGED [LIKE b.clinton] BUT YOU ARE RIGHT WE DO OWE THOSE SOLDIERS A DEBT OF GRATITUDE THAT CAN NEVER BE REPAID. ONE OF MY BROS. DID TWO TOURS OVER THERE AND TO THIS DAY HE STILL CAN NOT TALK ABOUT IT. HE ALSO WONT WATCH ANY MOVIES ABOUT VIETNAM.

I won't lie! The closest I got to Vietnam was Turkey. I volunteered several times for Vietnam, but wound up in Turkey replacing a guy who came home to the U.S. on a humanitarian reassignment. That was followed by a consecutive overseas in Spain to finish out my tour because the base in Turkey closed, and we pulled out while I was still overseas.

I have one brother-in-law who died from Agent Orange exposure and two brothers-in-law living who did pull tours there, and neither of them is right to this day - especially the one who was a machine gunner his entire Army career, and still sleeps on the floor.

Do I think they're heroes? Of course! To quote the Bard:

"And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day..."

Do I suffer guilt feelings? Some, of course... But I at least tried to go....

And don't feel guilt-ridden because they suspended the draft a couple of months before your 18th birthday. I have a younger brother who totally opposed the draft. He was either going to Canada or jail if they called his number...

When they suspended the draft, guess who had the next number they were going to call?

I'm not mad at him, and neither are the vets who did go who know him. They just call him lucky, and press on...

[samuel]

Originally Posted by oldjarhead

Welcome home, my brothers.
We did what we needed to do and we did it well. The failure in Nam was not our doing but the doing of the country and the government. I've spent many years fighting back the resentment but, unfortunately, the morons are at it again,
God Bless the United States and to its defenders. I love you all.

The failure in Viet Nam is that we didn't learn that nation building just doesn't work. sam.

[rice paddy dadd]

Originally Posted by TheWanderingMind

To quote the Bard:

"And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day..."

The rest is:
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall forever be my brother."
Henry V, Act IV, Scene iii

[Jersey Jailer]

I served in the Navy ('72 to '76) $762.48/Mo ,as a Tech-Rep, mostly in Germany, my last 8 Mos. and 17 days I carried my black bag to Tailand, but nope I was never in the Nam, or Laos or Cambodia either. gotta ditty mao I'm remembering now maybe I was there.

When I returned to the world, I had to fly MAT, it was the best 15 hour flight in cargo netting I ever had, right from the AFB I was on to Maguire my girl picked me up and was home 45 minutes later, just in time for 4 July '76. Started college in Sept. had to leave after the semester, before I hurt someone.

[turner]

Originally Posted by Seabeescotty

San Francisco should not have been used as a place to bring us home! That's where I had trouble, we had to travel in uniform, and talk about a nut magnet! I was never so shocked in my life, and was treated better in Nam!!

I am truly sorry for your mistreatment. I must add that back in '93(?) on my way back from Somalia in uniform (class C, unheard of then). Someone struck up a conversation on my last leg home, to Nashville and when we landed, he stood and insisted to all on the plane that I be the 1st one allowed off so that I might see my family sooner. I only wish all you V.N. vets would have felt so special. Please accept my apologies.

[Seabeescotty]

Hey Turner, I just ran across your post, and I'm happy to hear that most civvies realize what a dangerous job militay folks do, and treat them so well. I'm afraid I'd lose it, if I saw mistreatment in an airport, or anywhere else, for that matter. We Nam vets survived our ordeal, and most of us keep an eye out, to try to ensure the proper treatment of returning military personnel. By the way, WELCOME HOME, young man.

[Cyrille]

Originally Posted by billy

my relatives and friends that went wont talk about it.
and i dont ask.

The WWII vets didn't talk about it either, I had 4 uncles serve in that war in Europe and we kids couldn't get any "war stories" out of 'em!

[Marine1]

Originally Posted by samuel

I wont forget the way our country treated us for serving them. sam.

That is why, (I believe) it is our (Vietnam era) vets, and all other era vets, peacetime or not, to see that this never happens again, especially to the vets of today.

Welcome home, Sam!