Jim,

Thank you for your service and sacrifice!

Jim,

Thank you for your service and sacrifice and for fighting against Communism.

Seems we did our part, Our Government does not always seem to do theirs. There wasn't allot of thank yous when you came home back then. Just happy to see attitudes have changed toward our men in uniform today.

ALL WAYS support our troops... "This We'll Defend"

“The NVA soldiers fought until they died and one even booby trapped himself and when we approached him, he blew himself up and took two of our men with him.”

Guns and bullets are no match for such steel determination; today's Muslim fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan must have learned from the Vietnamese.

Tom you have no idea what you are talking about. American troops are forced to fight by imposed rules of engagement we can't just fill a car with c-4 and blast the crap out of a few thousand civilians, nor join the Afghan army and shoot your trainer in the back...

Oh and P.S. there are Muslim service men and women in the United States Army also...

Thanks to all that served there, many of my class mates and dear friends gave it all. It is nice to see that times have changed some for the better, I remember when friends came back and got spit on and ridiculed by Hanoi Jane Fonda. Still some die hard liberals today that stay focused on our troops that sacrifice for our freedom and people all over the world.

My thanks to all the service men & women who have gone before; they suffer/ed more than we civilians will ever know. As a mom whose son is 'boots on the ground' in Afghanistan, this article is heart wrenching. This is what our men and women are experiencing now and I beg God that they will be kept safe and be effective & victorious. Pls join us in praying for our troops every night at 9pm (your local time). Semper Fidelis

It's great that America has good relations with Vietnam now. It was so important to fix them and get rid of Communism. If we hadn't stepped in, who knows? China, who supplied the Vietnamese, would have remained communistic. All our jobs could have been sent overseas. We could be owing them our shirts.

Yeah, the cruel, dirty war was definitely worth it. Can't wait until the next one, after the one we're in now. It'll be worth it too. I wonder who will get to play the bad guys?

what a sad and heart breaking story. rip young man.

Pls join us in praying for our troops every night at 9pm (your local time). Semper Fidelis

People-

You say our government doesn't seem to come thru on the other side of war ......

That is because the wars are predominately started for false reasons.

I guess you have to think for yourself, instead of ALWAYS being led/tricked into war in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, IRAN, Libya, Syria.

So, don't be so quick to condemn those who do not follow you into war. Maybe they know more than you.

Lee,

If you pay your taxes, it is not "the" money, but OUR money!!! Don't forget that!!!

LEE, go crawl in your hole that we fought for you to have. The only reason you can express your stupid self centered ideas, is because someone fought and died for you to have the freedom to do so.

LEE, go crawl in your hole that we fought for you to have. The only reason you can express your stupid self centered ideas, is because someone fought and died for you to have the freedom to do so.

  That clears things up! We were there fighting to stop communism and maintain our freedom! Our freedom to go abroad and secure resources and dominate as a world power so that as free Americans we can destroy the environment and maintain a level of destructive life style that we are acoustom too. Then we just hand the whole mess over to the so called communist??? What a bunch of BS....more like it we were there to controll our lower and middle class to believe in war as a solution to the worlds problems. Jesus said let the dead bury the dead you follow me. So why is it that we place so much empheisis on being and fighting to stay alive. I think we have ample capability to secure our lives here and the war on terrorists is 90 % created to keep US citizens captive and ready for overpopulation FEMA camps when the time to eliminate is upon us.

MOVINOUT: Absolutely correct. Some folks don't realize Vietnam is still a Communist country. We buy textiles and seafood from our one-time enemy. I find it amazing. Did my tour in 68 - 69...a long time ago. Not much has changed in the world, just the name of the "enemy"...I suppose the name-change thing will go on so long as there are arms to sell to warring parties and young people willing to die for "honor", "glory", what's "right", or "God". Next time we read about a drone taking out a group of people on a city street, we need to ask ourselves "How would I feel if someone vaporized a group of Americans from an unseen platform in the sky?" Especially if those who were wiped out were "collateral damage" and not the "bad guys". It's amazing how perceptions change when we start looking at things from the other side. U am SO tired of this war. I am SO tired of seeing young people coming back in caskets. I am SO tired of hearing the same patriotic garbage - from BOTH sides. "Thank you for your service." Don't THANK ME...if you really appreciate what I and othere did, do one of two things - show your appreciation by joining one of the services and actually participating so you too can be "thanked" or make sure your child, sister, or brother serves and can experience the joy of war. It's been a long time since 1969 and nothing has really changed...sad, sad, sad.

I find it suspicious and disturbing that this article headlines this news when tomorrow, our country may be taken away from us by the corporatist party.

Tomorrow means everything !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"This is a dirty and cruel war but I’m sure people will understand the purpose of this war even though many of us might not agree."

This line seems like made up, written these days, of course there are not proof, since the hand written pages are not published. See to believe.

Big Brother at its best trying to brainwash the weaker mind to be able to feed its never-ending political agendas.

My respect and admiration goes to our troops, to those who are or were on the battlefield

dani,

"... and the war on terrorists is 90 % created to keep US citizens captive...". Really? Prove it or shut your mouth. You haven't get a clue of what's been happening so I suggest you crawal back into your hole and let the world past you by.

Hank, I"m so sorry for your bitterness. I was in South Vietnam recently, just outside Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh city) for a month, and the majority of the South Vietnamese hate the North Vietnamese and the Communist regime who patrol their cities.

As a US Navy veteran during Viet Nam, I went to the war zone only once between 66-70 and then we were probably submerged. I truly support these guys service and sacrifice. But the Viet Nam only benefitted our military industrial complex and was completely unnecessary, just like the Iraq war. The battle of the Tonkin Gulf never really happened, it was all a lie. Uncle Ho wanted to be on good terms with the West, but no, the MIC said no they wanted that war so they could make more money with more armaments, research and development, and the use of all the left over stuff from WWII and Korea. Our military men and women were once more a victim of the US prime decretive, "you play ball with us and we will shove the bat right up your ass".

I'm so pleased to hear some of these comments. For one thing, the "thank you for your service" rings very hollow after being back here for over 40 years. The very idea that my sharpest remembrances are being spit upon in San Francisco and called everything but a good milk cow. Why the hell were we even there to begin with? Just like the reasons today, a bunch of trumped up crap to make the draft dodgers of yesterday feel important. People like George W. and his boss Dick Cheney making up crap left and right to start a good war.

Sorry, I've been holding this back for a long time and it feels good to get it out.

This liberal would like to say THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE. And BlueOval, I wasn't there 40 years ago (I was two), but there is no way I would EVER spit on a service person today. I can't believe I would have then either. I don't like war. I know sometimes it's a necessary evil. I know some people have served despite not wanting to. And I thank ALL, whether they volunteered, were drafted, were career military, whatever. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart. Truly.

Lee2, what inane commentary you provide .First you have no idea what is was like in the US when these men came home. I wonder if you would of had the courage to face the masses that preferred to spit on and curse these men upon their return? These men were not all volunteers Many were just drafted. Nothing like getting that letter in the mail telling (not asking) you to report on such and such date for your physical and walk down those lines being poked and prodded.

Life is not all about corporate greed or your own selfishness. Funny on how you think that any money cut from the military budget should just be spent on those who think like you.

The cuts are intended to reduce our debt liability not just spend it elsewhere.

I'm sorry everyone,,like Jim,,I left a lot over there,,it got to the point,that I didn't want to make anymore friends,,because they were dying faster than I could find them,,BUT,,unlike Jim,,,,my heart is still full of hate,,I would never go back,,NEVER,,,I wish I didn't feel this way,,I have never been able to get over it and there is no doubt,,that I will take that hate to my grave,,,which is not to far off with this cancer I have.That was a hard thing to do,,,and a few of my friends have managed to get past it,,,my nightmares still wake me up,,,but I'm not alone,,I'm sure that there are many vets of this current war,,that have the same issues.God help us all

I was there same time, central highlands. My mother died with my letters in her grave, they were exactly the same story. My dads letters from WWII were the same. You can take messages home from any war and they are the same. Face it, this war was for the wrong reasons and now I see how many people think it was about fighting communism, it wasn't, it was about the money, the same as every war since. The "thank yous" are hollow when you same people turn around and vote for war monger candidates. Get real, ask some pointed questions and quit with the stupid ideologic rhetoric.

I see some people here have got a clue, especially the guys who actually served. But people thinking this war was saving our country somehow just don't get it. Dems want to build infrastructure in this country and Repubs want to fight wars, both are ways to spend money without competition with commercial business. I vote for infrastructure in the US that benefits us. I'm really tired of "nation building".) Dwight Eisenhower (a Repub) said it best, "The Military Industrial Complex will ruin this country". Well unpaid wars are falling right in step aren't they.

History will show that America's worst enemy is the one that never apologized for any Americans killed by their people.......MEXICO!

"Americans are always only one generation away from extiction."

Ronald Reagan

Great post, Swallow. I served prior to Vietnam and supported that war. What a mistake. It was the protesters, who were right, all along.

To compound the mistake, we have done it again, this time in Afghanistan and Iraq. The war mongers want to add Iran to the list.

Our freedoms have never been threatened by those countries. Our freedoms are being taken from within.

Great post Swallow and RalphH - and for those of you who think that ONLY the Vietnam era soldiers were mistreated...think again, the veterans returning from Iraq 1 & 2, and Afghanistan, are mistreated by the very citizens who are pro-war and against it, employers and the military that refuses to give those that survive the very best care. I have read many posts by Iraq and Afghanistan troops who finished their service and cannot find a job (although they are qualified) because the employers are afraid of them. The media has given us The Kill Team (killing civilians for sport) & the latest killing of innocent children, etc... those men were sociopaths before they joined the military, the military made them legal sociopaths and the media crammed it down our throat - do we ever hear of the lone soldier who put his life in peril to help an Iraqi citizen or Afghani, of course not... that would be a "weak" story, but there are more good servicemen and women than bad.

I was at an airport a while back, I had to wait for the bus to take me to the terminal. The room was huge, 45' x 45', there were 12 soldiers huddled closely on the right and about 80 people cramming themselves to the left - leaving a chasm of 15 feet between themselves and the soldiers...what a welcoming! It just so happened that I needed the same bus as the soldiers, I asked if they were on their way home, they all turned to me and smiled, I was the first to talk to them, I said that I was glad they made it home safely, they were very sweet to me and I was glad that we had a small conversation - as we all left smiling and waving. Again, FYI they were in the front of the bus and civilians were again huddled in the back with the middle being a no-man's-land. I didn't thank them for their "service" - just told them I was happy they were home for good. Being 4'11" and female, against the war - I was daunted for a minute, but it wasn't right that they were isolated by the very people who probably have a yellow ribbon magnets on their mini-van - magnets don't fix anything (FYI).

"Nations have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies ... only permanent interests."

That is your answer. Before you say nothing has changed, consider that the Vietnamese fought with us as allies against the Japanese, against us in the War in Vietnam, and are now our allies again because we share the common interest of containing the Chinese.

Denver Bill 2

Thanks for the platitudes, but the north are still commie bastards and the south were limp wristed wimps who allowed 14 years of American sacrifice to evaporate within 90 days. That's how I remember Vietnam.

denver bill

I will add " The goverment is not your friend, they have interests if you believe them they will get you killed "

SteveC,

I fought with the 1st ARVN Division in northern I Corps, and I find your characterization of North and South Vietnamese to be generally correct .... forty years ago.

I'malwayswrite,

I agree .... the government is not your friend or mine.

The 'North' was 'Communist' only of convenience in their struggle to break away from French Colonialism.

We had our chance back in 1919 when Nguyễn Ái Quốc petitioned President Wilson at the Versailles Peace Talks for America's assistance in gaining Vietnam's independence. Wilson ignored his communication.

Quốc then found willing assistance from French Communists. He later changed his name to Ho Chi Minh. The rest is History.

We also had a second chance after WWII but Ike could not tell DeGaulle "No"

When WWII ended and the French decided to reassert their dominance in Indo-China, that's when they should have been told to get back to France and forget about colonialism. If that would have been done 58ooo plus Americans wouldn't have died there. As for the South Vietnamese, Gerry Ford reneged on resupplying them ie, ammo, fuel and spare parts, then they might, just might have stood a chance in "75", but for some strange reason they were put out to die. I was there in "68" with 27th Marines. For all the Nam vets, Welcome Home.

Old_Squid

What are you? An apologist for the North Vietnamese? You realize of course that the North and their compatriots in the South (the Viet Cong) ran terror campaigns where they killed as many of their own people as they did us Americans, whatever they were, commies, nationalists, etc, they were still ruthless pigs bent on destroying anyone or anything if it aided their cause.

Jack

Ity may be true that Ford cut off resupply, but the fact remains that as the North advanced, the ARVNS threw down their weapons and ran. 90 days, that's all it took.

How many posts are casting blame on communism, China, Wilson, Ike and France. BS,BS,BS, when is the US going to mind its own boarders and let other countries fend for themselves? I am sick and tired of sending our men and women off to die for no end game in sight. Korea, Vietnam, Africa, Egypt, Libiya, Iraq, Afganistan. Maybe Iran, Bahrain, Syria, when does it stop. Our gov't is a total disaster, and when it's all said and done they will go off to their nice cozy retirement with a lot of blood on their hands.

Jackson I wish I could give you two checkmarks.

War is worthless unless you are defending your borders. Lets bring them all home and take care of our country first. In about 50 years when we are feeding our own children then maybe we can lend a hand. Even then our first concern should be the continent that we live on.

"Nations have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies ... only permanent interests." very true and to "The goverment is not your friend, they have interests - if you believe them they will get you killed " I will add, and if you pose a real threat to those interests, it will get you killed. Doesn't matter whether said govt is a democracy or a communist state or a theocracy (though I'll take a democracy over the others any day and every day).

The problem with the USA is that once the politicians get us in the $hit, they have no guts to do the job correctly. Correctly being to wack the ba$tards very fast and very hard and then come home. The first gulf war came closest to the correct way, but the politicians lost their nerve in the end. How many lives and dollars would have been saved had we gone in and wacked Sadaam back then??

BTW, if some dumba$$ Vietnamese politician was holding Flaherty's letters until now, what makes you think they weren't holding some our people when they were denying the same. Note that no one in Viet Nam volunteered to give up these letters. It was only after they were discovered by Destatte that the US had to start "work" to get them back. Regarding George Little, he ought to keep his ass-ki$$in pie hole shut! Too bad Robert McNamara, that micro-managing POS, did not.

Also BTW, PHUC Viet Nam!!!

Steve C-526943

Apologist??

On the contrary, Steve - I am somebody who has studied history - and realizes that actions have consequences.

You should gain such wisdom; for those that fail to learn history, are doomed to repeat it.

To Jack-467967

"Gerry Ford reneged on resupplying them ie, ammo, fuel and spare parts,"

Per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_war: "Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1 billion a year to $700 million" ..."Congress ... voted in restrictions on funding and military activities to be phased in through 1975 and to culminate in a total cutoff of funding in 1976."

The war was so unpopular that the public demanded an end to it. So that would make U.S. citizens to blame for democratically electing representatives who would bring it to an end. Congress went from a Republican majority to a Democratic majority. Same thing essentially happened over Iraq.

To Steve C-526943

"as the North advanced, the ARVNS threw down their weapons and ran."

It's not as simple as you make it out to be and you dishonor those ARVNs who fought for their country and their independence. Twenty-five thousand died from enemy combat during the "peace treaty" period. Many AVRN's fought to the death. Some quit because their officers (and president) abandoned them. Others quit because they weren't being supplied. South Vietnam was falling apart because they could not sustain the war without massive U.S. support.

I recommend you and others making simplistic claims look at the Wikipedia link. If you disagree then work to correct the information.

Wagonmaster - I don't recall us losing the way near the end of the gulf war. Rather it was our arab allies that pulled the reigns in on going the distance to take saddam completely out. Like nam, politics got in the way.

Vietnam: The war lost by pot smoking, draft card burning, college boys and fought by blue collar Americans.

Draft card burning-- everyone should have did this. If congress wants war, let them fight-- I would have done the same. The elite of this country did not have to go because they were special. I am correct about this right Mr. Romney, or should I say Monsieur Romney.

Bullfighter,

"The war lost by pot smoking, draft card burning, college boys and fought by blue collar Americans."

Except that many of those pot smoking, draft card burning boys were blue collar Americans. The elite were not the only ones who smoked pot, and they didn't have to burn their draft cards. Their rich and powerful daddies could look out for them.

Old_Squid

I learned my lessons well, thats why I wasn't sucked in by WMDs and the mission creep that follwoed

@SprDg

you're right , the ArVNS were paragons of bravery. I am so sorry for my disparaging remarks, it just came from some simple observations I made of them while I was there,for some reason they don't look so brave up close.

@Old_Squid - I read you posts here today and those left on other NV posts - I, personally, find you very reasonable, intelligent and I always learn something. Thank you for your insights.

For the youngsters, Old Squid has very relevant things to say - whether you agree or disagree is not the point. As he pointed out, if you can't learn some history, you are doomed to repeat it - unfortunately, the histories we are talking about leave a lot of blood on the soil and a lot of broken lives - and what do we really get in return?

Add Afghanistan to the list...........

Are you sure? Vietnam is a trading partner and an emerging friend to the United States. South Korea is a staunch ally and a bulk head for projecting American power and influence in Asia. Iraq is to be determined. Sometimes the outcome of war may take years to see the benefit of the sacrifices our service men and women make. If you are suggesting that war is bad - I agree completely. But the lesson of WWII is that for good or ill, the U.S. is part of this planet and we cannot stand by idle while the world is taken over by those who seek our destruction and then try and defend ourselves.

C.E Daly;

Viet-nam was our friend we are the one's that created the enemy when we didn't like that they elected someone we didn't want, so what if he was a communist, socialist whatever they elected him.

It was the anti-communist scare that so many used here for profit for years, So if making a war losing thousands of Americans then making up is your idea of good policy I see nothing going to change.

That would be funny AND true if there weren't sooooo very many conservative CHICKEN hawk Republicans who NEVER fought, yet have no problem sending others to fight...Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, are just two who come to mind that have no trouble sending others to fight so they can make more money...where's the glory OR good that came from Vietnam or any war since...just more money in the pockets of the MIC and their friends like Cheney's Halliburton

Once you paid your fee, it would have done you a bit of good to use that GI Bill and get an education. If one is a Nazi, one does not have a "red book" because that has the teachings of Chairman Mao. No matter what you righties think, Nazis (or as Mussolini stated, better named corporatists) and communists fight each other because they are opposing political views.

So, let me reiterate the good parts of your diatribe: tax the rich, tax them even more and add a fillip on to that so that they only have a million bucks to live on. People are not too lazy to work (there it is, "too" as an adverb and not a preposition - you would have learned that on the GI bill), they just need the corporatists to hire people with that 2-3 TRILLION they are sitting on hoping for the black man to fail. Unregulated capitalism is bad because it has no morals, no soul; no matter what Willard says, they are not people.

You, sir, are a person, and I thank you for your service; but you really need to move on in to the 21st century and learn some stuff; then, if you want to rant, have at it.

Are we ever going to learn? Are we, the people, ever going to have true power may be a more apt question.

Rich white men will always lust for more riches. Warlords of every shade will always seek more power.

paidmyfee

To bad you didn't pay a fee for a library card, reading comprehension, and thoughtful reflection.

Once you paid your fee, it would have done you a bit of good to use that GI Bill and get an education.

Woofy...you might want to think about a remedial course yourself. My history book taught me that the father of communist theory was Karl Marx....a German. What did yours say...?

ceo-722851

And the birthplace of Democracy was Greece

So what does the birthplace of Marx have to do with where it was implemented?

Dude, I think you conflated my sentence. Marx and Hegel are the creators of communist theory. Paid mentioned the "red book", which is Maoist communist theory. He used Nazi in the same breath, which is corporatist and the antithesis of communism. That Marx was German does not have anything to do with Naziism, the political theory.

Eat your remedial raw, dude.

Let's see.....maybe because all of Marx's writings were in German??? Reread the post from paidmyfee and see if you come back with a different perspective.

Woofy....Dude.....perhaps you also need a new pair of spectacles....or a remedial reading class, show me where in the post from paidmyfee, #3.3 the word Nazi is used.....? I'll be happy to eat my remedial raw as opposed to you gagging down a bit of crow....pinhead. Oh...by the way...it's Marx and Engels genius...not Hegel.

No I don't think so

I question why we want war ships in CamRanh Bay . A war ship isn't a sign of peace so

what's the motive ?

John O'Connor,

"We won nothing in Korea, Viet Nam or Iraq, but we lost a lot of young Americans. Are we ever going to learn?"

I agree. The whole war in Vietnam was based on a false premise to begin with, the so-called "Domino Theory". Many policy makers such as Henry Kissinger assumed that if South Vietnam fell to communist North Vietnam, all of Southeast Asia would become communist. Well, yes, South Vietnam did in fact fall to North Vietnam in 1975, and, no, all of Southeast Asia did not become communist. And I would like to express my gratitude to Flaherty for sacrificing his life anyway, even if the assumption the war was based on was a false one.

Danny - A warship is used because the Vietnamese have been historic enemies of the Chinese for centuries and the distrust between the two exists today. Regardless of the fact that the Chinese supported the Vietnamese with supplies during the war. The old adage of the enemy of my enemy is my friend applies in this case. The motive is to show that the U.S. can stand with the Vietnamese as a counter balance to the regional hegemony now being exercised by China, who is a potential adversary to both countries, both economic and militarily. It's simply symbolic...at least for now.

@jkatze...it's not only "Rich white men" who lust for more riches. Lust for more is common to mankind. It includes the Occupy Wall Street protesters. In OWS their lust for more riches is what drives them on in their protests. And I am NOT a rich white man.

"Paidmyfee"...gutless Democrats...really?? Better check who was the dominant political party and president was during WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. It's an irony of recent (last 100 years) of American history that the "gutless" Dems led the fight in each...right or wrong. Only with the Gulf Wars and Afganistan were Repubs calling the shots...right or wrong.

As an aside, 'thank you' for your service to this great country.

Dave: You are correct...Roosevelt was a great war president and subsequent Democrats (Kennedy, Johnson) were much more aggressive with foreign policy, as compared to today's Democrat. And I think PaidMyFee was referring to the modern day Democrat, which came into existence with the Great Society and the Viet Nam war protests. I'm not passing judgement, just pointing out facts.

I lost 3 high school friends in the Vietnam War. It was an ugly war and unfortunately when the war ended and the troops came home they came home to protests and people yelling at them.

ceo,

"A warship is used because the Vietnamese have been historic enemies of the Chinese for centuries and the distrust between the two exists today."

That's right, and, in fact, heavy fighting between the Vietnamese Army and the Chinese Army broke out on the Sino-Vietnamese border as recently as 1978-1979. There's no love lost between the two sides, and Ho Chi Minh, when asked about an alliance with the French, replied, "Better to smell French dung for a few years than Chinese dung for a thousand years". Vietnam was a colony of China for about a thousand years.

paidmyfee,

Eisenhower actually got us involved with South Vietnam; Kennedy indicated he wanted to get out (some think that Kennedy's wishes brought about his demise); and Johnson escalated the conflict with the Tonkin BS. What a waste!

BTW - you're not too bright!!

John O'Connor

We won nothing in Korea

You should visit South Korea and look into the eyes of their children and tell them that.

You will never know how sorry I am for your loss, BUT we had NO right to go to Vietnam then and we have even less now...the people you should be angry with are our politicians who sent your brother to a place we had no business being in...the thought of our current government sending in troops to a foreign country to die so we could get the remains of our troops from over 50 years ago is nonsense...they are NOT now, nor ever were our enemy...we tried to destroy a country we had no reason to destroy regardless of whether we approve of their government's policies or not...who the heck are we to tell other governments how to run their countries?

Can't agreee with you more Portia...

While these letters have value and significance, we do not need them to describe the bloodbath of VietNam.

That was broadcast into out homes every night at suppertime with the evening news.

DaGoose: I hope that today and every day hereafter finds you doing well and at peace. My husband was in 'Nam from 1967-68 in the Navy. He doesn't talk much about it. Yes, I heard that on the news as well. I asked my husband if he thought any of the MIA's were alive. He did not think so. There were so many protests about our gov't getting off their butts and finding our lost soldiers. No one ever seemed to care, until now.

Portia, you really echoed my thoughts on that "conflict". That's what the gov't calls it--a conflict. If its termed a war, then big bro would have to fork over more bennies to our vets of Vietnam. I personally know two men who were exposed to Agent Orange. Both of them came back and fathered children who had severe mental and physical disabilities. The VA and Govt said that the effects of the defoliant was not their problem. We don't have the right to tell any govt. how to run their countries, but if there are extreme violations of human rights, i.e., female mutilation, female honor killings, etc. then I don't think we should supply any type of aid to those countries that participate in same. I'd go so far as to offer amnesty to anyone who wants to escape such vile treatment. Its very difficult to say we shouldn't interfere in cases like that.

For good information regarding the POW-MIA's left in country, read "An Enormous Crime" by former US Representative Bill Hendon (R-NC) and Elizabeth A Stewart. You will get a good understanding about the shenanigans that went on inside the Nixon white house and especially Henry Kissinger. Our country lied about what it would do in order to get our POW's returned. We left them for dead.

I actually served in JTF-FA (Joint Task Force Full Accounting) back in the early '90's. The task force was setup to find all the MIA. I'm not sure if it's still in existence today but we actually had success during my 6 month tour. We recovered the remains of at least 6 service members during my tour. Very rewarding experience. They also changed some of the rules around what/when we could tell relatives of what we found. It used to be, we needed DNA evidence before we could tell the family anything. That changed so we could tell them we found, for example: the downed C130, we interviewed X-number of witnesses who all confirmed nobody ejected, we found a web-belt and piece of uniform at the crash site. Of course, you would think that was common sense but it's the military.

Livingandlearning: I remember that task force being set up. It's an honor to meet someone who tried to bring our soldiers home where they belong. Thank you.

Johnm, so right you are. IF McCain and the GOP had power, we would be in Syria, and Iran today. Romney smells blood, his answer to more jobs, will be War with Iran. Even GW said "War is good, it creates jobs" I visited Hanoi and most of Vietnam last year. The Germans, Chinese, Japan and United States are building resorts, golf courses, even the idiots of The Sands in Vegas is planning on gambling casino's throughout Vietnam. It's business folks and Rich get richer and your leaders don't give a hoot about American lives. What a useless war and Iraq, Mr Bush/Rove/Cheney war is worst, WE gain nothing but loss American lives

The three amigos ought to be in jail right now. I can't believe that little twit Rove is still out and about doing his $hit!!!

F%$&ing war. These wars, Viet Nam and Iraq for sure, are run by the leading corporations of America and paid for by the blood of our young military men and women, there won't be a place black enough in hell for these people that cause the death and destruction of so much, for money.

yup-well said "zap" comic (no foot fetish) johnm

It's all (and nothing else) about money

And I hear them say "your such an extremist"

and I respond with

Its all about

money

Here you go, if your political choice votes for a war, you must sign up, any age, religion, sex, don't matter you vote for it you fight for it. I hated the draft, but you know what, it makes people think about themselves or thier kid being killed in one of these rediculous "conflicts". Maybe we should get the draft back!!

The problem with "pointless" wars is you don't know they're pointless until well after the fact. Half of America didn't want to get involved in WWII. Half of America supported British rule and didn't want the Revolution. In general, for any given war, half of America doesn't support it at the time. The converse of that, of course, is that half of us do. You don't know until much later who was right.

Bad example - we were attacked in WW2 on our own soil and thus we were dragged into the war. Vietnam was sheer interventionist lunacy, so was Iraq and Afghanistan after the initial collapse of Taliban government.

People looking backwards are so damn smart...or so they think. Never ceases to amaze they genius of those that try to act so smart in retrospect

Max: We were attacked on our own soil on 9/11/01.

Max: We were attacked on our own soil on 9/11/01.

of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, so why did we attack Afghanistan and Iraq?

yew, marlene, by a faceless, nationless enemy... and iraq had nothing to do with it...

Good question starbuck--one for which I do not have an answer. If our leaders had any 'nads, Saudi Arabia would be more of an empty wasteland than what it already is.

Ltl.rascal: I don't see where I mentioned Iraq. I have to disagree--we were not attacked by a faceless, nationless enemy. The hijackoffs had faces, names and were from the Middle East.

Marlene - yes, we were attacked, and I even supported the initial attack on Afghanistan aimed at overthrowing the Taliban government which shielded Bin Laden. After that govt. was down, we should have negotiated peace - at that time we were in the best spot possible to do that - instead, we kept on warring for the next decade, while creating an utterly corrupt and useless government of Mr.Karzai and his gang of thieves. Oh... and we have also wasted thousands of US soldier's lives, and trillions of dollars in this process. And none of the m-fkers responsible for it ever faced consequences - just like in the totally useless Vietnam war.

Hey Max,

Totally agree with the none of the m-fkers responsible ever faced consequences. Nevertheless, did you ever see a photo or do you remember what Johnson looked like before and after. For whatever he was as a politician, he apparently had a conscience and paid an internal price for the spilling of so much American youth blood.

when your willing to go to jail and get a bloody nose

AG99, Hey dude, I knew the Viet Nam war bogus in 1965. I was out of college in 66 and not wishing to part of that stupidity with the army, I join the Navy because I believed we all should have served during that time, but no way was I going to Viet Nam because it was a lie. I mean North Viet Nam would be communist and next week we would all be speaking Chinese, gimmi' a break!!

As to the ability to 'see the future'... here is one: Brits invaded Afghanistan - huge losses in a protracted guerrilla war... Russkies invaded Afghanistan - huge losses in a protracted guerrilla war... Americans invaded Afghanistan - huge losses in a protracted guerrilla war... LEARN FROM THE HISTORY, you stupid moron...

I served in Europe at the height of Cold War - I have been fortunate enough to serve during a period of relative peace. War is very ugly and we engage in it far too often and far too easily.

Max, you couldn't have said it better especially about Karzai.

Barlow: My husband did the same thing rather than be drafted into the Army. However, he did not get his wish list. His butt landed in 'Nam. We aren't speaking Chinese or Vietnamese and the whole thing was one big lie. The only good thing out of this was the way the Vietnamese immigrated over here and took over the nail salon business. I'm happy to hear that at least one soldier didn't suffer the horrors that others did.

.

--starbuck49

Max: We were attacked on our own soil on 9/11/01.

of the 19 hijackers were Saudis,

What is the only country that profitted by having the US Army leave the states and go to war a thousand+ miles away from where they should have been?

MEXICO!

Thanks for your service and sacrifice G White.

I lost a cousin in Nam and have several friends who fought there. My father was a Sargent in the Marines in WWII. Fought at Guadal Canal. He is 90 and still has nightmares about the war. Not everyone has the the same mental strengths, so perhaps the soldier needed to put those words in his letters for his own sanity. I'm glad you were strong enough not to need to do so.

That was my thought when I read this story. The last thing a Solider/Sailor/Airman/Marines would do is put all the Blood and Guts in a letter home. Maybe this letter was wrote after the guy was captured...NVA Propaganda.

hs321

You write: "Not everyone has the the same mental strengths"

Has absolutely nothing to do with 'Mental Strengths' - You really know very little about this subject.

G white, don't know what war you were in, but somehow I'm not confident you were there. I can show you letters from a hundred vets, they all say the same. When you face the decision of kill or be killed you never want to be alone, and believe it or not BOYS need their mother at these times, it is an impossible situation for any moral person to have to face. Alan, you don't understand a thing about combat and what it leaves for a KID to digest the rest of his life, it is more than any one can handle and stay sane. The letters are a cry for help from the only person a man can share with. Frankly, I don't see how any female or mother can vote for GOP candidates.

@Swallow: (I totally agree with your statement)

Frankly, I don't see how any female or mother can vote for GOP candidates.

I'll add any war-mongering candidate. I'm female & against all the wars and "police actions" or "conflicts" that we have been involved in over my life...BUT I can tell you what type of female &/or mother would proudly vote for war or GOP candidates (usually, not all) - the very evangelical, or very "Christian" females, the females that also want to control what other females do with their bodies, etc...(and there seems to be a lot of them), the ones who have never worked a day in their life and find it exhausting to talk to their Hispanic nanny, housekeeper, landscaper, etc. - I might just throw in the southern state's females as well (again, not all but many), the ones that think homosexual marriage will bring down the wrath of God, etc...

Well at least now I understand why you venerate Old Squid so much, the part of being female I mean. Old Squid is very big on the put downs, but he just doesn't understand, Americans never learn anything from history, and that is history. When I decry the wasted lives in Vietnam, he came up with his little "doomed to repeat" phase, what he missed and what I was pointing out, is the Vietnamese weren't worth saving and I don't mean they were worthless, I mean they are/were so backward that it didn't matter what form of government they were living under, when your sanitation program is simply walking to the edge of the village to take your dump, then you might get my point.

Yank, I don't think payback at all, you did what you thought had to do and was dictated by the Govt. at the time. It's all luck or lack threof that all of us will face at some point as the hand of fate points, but God Bless you for your service in that hell hole there!

I lost a dear friend this past November from cancer. He was a Vietnam Vet and I will always wonder if he was a later victim of this war via chemicals used during the war. He was a fine man. Thank you, Yank, for your service. Thank you all Vets.

Yank, you supported my comment from above regarding the "horrible" letters home to mothers. We all wrote these things to our mother because we were having a hard time handling it and there is no way you would tell anyone else. One thing that sticks in my mind was nightime recons were a time you never ever wanted to meet the enemy. The darkness in the jungle was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Your mind creates horrible images that you have to overcome knowing the enemy can't see any better than you. Yep there were lots of times that were not good to send home but a guy has to survive and that means sharing the fear. And there were also times of unbelievable brotherhood that only a soldier in combat will ever understand.

We all wrote letters like this to our mothers? You're kidding right? I would never have sent a letter like this to my mom, or any member of my family. By the time I got home my mom was a complete mess from worry, I can imagine what would have happened if I wrote to her telling what was really happening around me, thank God it wasn't to me, although for a few years afterward I had some troubles with sleep patterns.

dont forget no show bush

What about our fearless VP Joe Biden 5 student deferments?

ksw62118 -

Biden's son has served in Iraq - I've noticed that none of Mitt Romney's sons have signed up at all....

Old Squid Neither did Obama. We can play this game all day long.

ksw62118

Obama's not sabre-rattling like Romney.

War is a 'Republican' thing. Until the politicians have to invest their children in it.

Uh hello you must have a short memory. My brother served in Viet Nam and it certainly wa s not Republicans who got the US into that war.

ksw62118

And you have no memory.

When I referred to Romney - we're talking about NOW

In Speech, Romney Vows Vast Military Growth

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2011/10/07/romney-obama-fleckless-policies-have-weakened-nation/IXvr5SmwPmwvB6uY8yOuaO/story.html

He also promised in his Memorial Day Speech to maintain Military Superiority over the rest of the world.

- Hey - if you can't keep up - take notes!!!

ksw62118,

I agree with Old_Squid, you not only have no memory, you have no knowledge. Eisenhower committed to supporting the Diem government and had over 900 "advisors" in South Vietnam by the time Kennedy came into office.

Sorry I wasn't even born then but 900 advisors was not "saber rattling" by any stretch of the imagination.

Oh yeah he did! In the JAG,risking his life suing the Taliban.

elmo-1940954

The reason for the different homecoming experience is because of the former soldiers that returned from other wars are there to recognize those of us that are coming home now, and maybe others realized how former vets felt when they returned and were treated poorly. Most returning vets didn't even know why they were treated so badly they just wanted to be home with their families

As an add on there think about this. Soldiers traveled in civilian clothes during the conflict. Pretty sad to think you had to hide from the people you "protect". The airlines put us on no problem but we left the uniforms at the barracks. Now I see people traveling in their work dress rather than Dress uniforms, what is that about?

It's unpatriotic of me to not applaud the soldiers coming back from the Middle East when the airline attendants announce that these service people are on board. And, I can't help feeling some resentment as they are offered free 1st class upgrades. I surely don't want history to repeat itself and have them subjected to the same abhorrent and shameful treatment that my husband endured when he came home. Let's not over do it. Unlike my husband, these soldiers have a choice. They choose to go over to that hell-hole. My husband didn't have a choice, was assigned a very low lottery number and joined the Navy rather than be drafted into the Army. Then, he was subjected to shameful treatment by our own people not only returning home but in 'Nam with "friendly fire". Yep, he did shoot up a lot of villagers. He could trust no one. The Navy taught him how to hate. He's alive. They aren't. I'm happy he's alive. To all the current soldiers, I do appreciate your volunteering to join the armed forces, but I'm not going to do handstands or dance around any may poles because of your choice. I hope you all return in one piece and healthy, but I'll take that upgrade.

It was all 'Hype' - the 'Spread of Communism' was like watching the old Venereal Disease films designed to scare the living crap outa ya. VN was nothing more than a Civil War.

We had ours - they got to have theirs...... Tough Nuggies

The fear of the 'domino Effect' was well founded...

Look at the results of the Communist Chinese influences in Asia...

1. Tibet invaded and still occupied with on-going violent suppression of the people...

2. North Korea is still at War with South Korea, and US Troops are still on the ground...

3. The USA is the only thing keeping Taiwan from becoming another Tibet...

4. Cambodia is still recovering from the Chinese backed Pol Pot genocide, which required Vietnam's assistance to terminate...

5. Laos is ruled by the Communist Pathet Lao who were backed by the USSR & others, sense 1975...

6. The Myanmar Government is socialist with close ties to China. Though this is presently being down-played to gain world acceptance...

7. Vietnam has been invaded by China 17+times, and their association with the USA has kept China at bay... see http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/06/the-vietnam-solution/8969/

8. The Nepal government elected the Communist Party (Maoist) in 2006 and is currently experiencing civil unrest, due to the expanding Chinese influences...

9. Currently there are numerous military stand-offs due to China's natural resource grabs in; India, the West Philippine Sea, the North China Sea, etc, etc. For the current news - http://interceder.net/latest_news/china-philippines-spratly..

10. BOTH Thailand and the Philippines governments have had Political leaders with Chinese heritage and extensive business ties. In fact, the 2006 Coup in Thailand was due to PM Tuksins growing connection with the Chinese...

11. One of the main reasons to form ASEAN was to have a COMBINED community to fight the stronger outside influnces of China...

But what the hell, China, according to them, has never invaded another country... Ha! Ha!

What is NOT told by the Media Elite is Viet Nam is the Genocidal Warfare of the International Socialists Occupation Forces which killed far and many more multiple that Agent Orange ever did. Our Brave Soliders had to clear trails that the agents of Genocide were using. If the Media Elite was actually fair in Reporting the events in Viet Nam, there would actually be reports of the "Re-Education Camps" started in the north in 1954 and 1975 in South by the International Socialist Occupation Forces causing many times for death than Agent Orange ever did. One day when Vietnam no longer is a colony of the International Socialist Occupation Forces despotically enforcing their foreign concept of Communism, this news may finally come out for the Media Elite was too concern in lambasting the Free Viet Nam then cowardly ran away when the International Occupation Forces occupied the south also.

Nhan Quyen Cho Viet Nam! Human Rights for Vietnam!

And DOW Chemical made a "killing"...

Vietnam War: napalm and Agent Orange

The United States military used napalm in their efforts during the Vietnam War. Dow was one of several manufacturers who began producing the compound under government contract in 1965. After experiencing protests and negative publicity, the other suppliers decided to discontinue the product, leaving Dow as the sole provider. The company carefully considered their position, and decided that this was a matter of principle, and "its first obligation was the government".^[21] Despite a boycott of all its products by anti-war groups and harassment of recruiters on some college campuses, Dow continued to manufacture napalm B until 1969.^[21]

I'malwayswrite,

"And DOW Chemical made a "killing"..."

Isn't DOW's motto "Better living through chemistry"? Maybe it should be "Better killing through chemistry". But then, if DOW hadn't made the napalm, their competitor Dupont probably would have.

And yet the US does not do this in Mexico????? WHY???

The sad part of the VA system back then was that case workers were actually paid "bonuses" for claim denials. Our grateful nation....right? I've heard back from guys I served with that have shared their stories of children born with severe defects, or of their developing soft tissue cancers. Now the VA is posed to screw an new generation of vets. Fact: Every 18 minutes a vet, or a current active duty service person attempts suicide. Bush's campaign of self glorification has broken our armed forces, two or more tours of duty is the norm, not the exception like it was in the 60's-70's, its taking its toll.

Jthetyger: My husband still believes he did the right thing by joining the armed forces. Our parents, the greatest generation as they are termed, fought in WWII, so he followed suit instead of getting a college deferment. He is also a retired firefighter and the most honorable man I ever met in my whole life. There are no freedoms to be taken for granted any longer. Anyone who is an early baby boomer knows this. Since the Vietnam "conflict", we have lost more freedoms than you can imagine. It's only getting worse. I forget who said it, but there is a quote that the communists will not have to fire a single shot on our home soil. They will take over via our economy. Partly true, but whoever thought we'd have to worry about Islamic rule.

$

James West, I really, really like the way you think. Peace.

Yep, if only the Media Elite actually reported on Viet Nam from 1975 to 1991 instead of cowardly running away in 1975 after spending lambasting the Free South while ignoring the despotic rule of the Foreign Communist Occupation illegally ruling from Ha Noi.

Not to mentioin the 1.5 million Cambodians murdered by the Pol Pot regime. Remember the absoulte panic in the photos of the Vietnamese trying to scramble on the last helicopters on top of that building? I was in Saigon in 1970-71, and to see the films of NVA tanks crashing the gates still makes me sick.