TheMantecaBulletin: Vietnam veteran tells war soldiers to start sharing
Vietnam veteran Chris Lambert of the U.S. Marine Corps summed up his Memorial Day message in one word: “awareness.”
The Wounded Warrior member, who started a program that helps veterans readjust to everyday life after they leave military service, said it’s time for combat veterans to start talking about their war experiences and to stop keeping these to themselves. He was not just talking about other veterans; he was also talking about himself.
“We need to do this. We need to share,” he said.
The recipient of three Purple Heart medals awarded after he was wounded in Vietnam, Lambert came home to a hostile reception after the unpopular war.
“After I buried my best friend (who served with him in Vietnam), I never put on my uniform again, and I ignored the veterans,” said Lambert during his speech that was interrupted several times when he was overwhelmed with emotion.
“I won’t let that happen again,” said Lambert who openly thanked Pastor Mike Dillman, the force behind the annual Memorial Day events at Woodward Park.
“He lit a fire under me last year,” Lambert said of Dillman who also served in the Vietnam War.
In his speech, Lambert noted the actress Jane Fonda who famously opposed the Vietnam War angering many in the process, and the “people who spat on the Vietnam veterans returning home” from the unpopular and highly political war.
“We fought for your freedom to do that,” Lambert pointed out.
One way to honor those coming home from military service and those who gave their life for their country is by taking part in events such as the Memorial Day observance at the cemetery, Lambert said. To those who attended the event on Monday, he said, “You’re here. You’re showing that you care.”
Other highlights of the roughly hour-long program were the acknowledgement of the Gold Star mothers and fathers and Blue Star mothers and fathers by VFW Post 6311 Auxiliary president Veronica Reyes, and the traditional laying of the wreaths by the auxiliary groups of the VFW and the American Legion, and the Manteca Happy Wheelers. VFW Post 6311 Chaplain Marcus Weigel led both the invocation and the benediction. VFW Post 6311 Commander Rodney Sevedge served as the master of ceremonies. Posting the colors were the combined JROTC members of Manteca High and East Union. Former Manteca Idol winner Cheyenne Milligan sang the National Anthem and Lee Greenwood’s patriotic song, “God Bless the USA.”
The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun-salute by members of the VFW Post 6311 and American Legion Post 249 of Manteca, followed by the playing of the “Taps” by Rodney McCleary of the American Legion Post 249
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Positivity: Marine Corps foundation honors heroic Vietnam War priest
CatholicNewsAgency: Marine Corps foundation honors heroic Vietnam War priest
Triangle, Va., May 20, 2011 / 02:35 am (CNA).- Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a chaplain who was killed in action while protecting U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War, was honored with a permanent tribute at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
“The Marines who served with Chaplain Capodanno remember him as the Chaplain who went wherever his Marines needed his comfort and guidance, no matter the personal danger,” said Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas, president of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.
“From the foxholes to the front lines, Chaplain Capodanno was there.”
The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation dedicated the “Sacrifice Window” in the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on May 11 to honor the late priest. Each window in the chapel is titled with a word that describes the ethos of the Marine Corps.
The private ceremony in Triangle, Virginia remembered Chaplain Capodanno for his support of Marines in combat and his recognition as the only chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor for service in the corps.
Foundation members said they established the permanent tribute in Chaplain Capodanno's name in “recognition of his dedicated service to Marines and the ultimate sacrifice he made in Vietnam, in an effort to save a Marine's life.”
Fr. Capodanno was born on Staten Island in New York City to Italian immigrant parents. In 1957 he was ordained a Catholic priest by Cardinal Francis Spellman, then vicar of the U.S. Military Ordinariate.
He entered the Maryknoll religious order and served as a missionary in Taiwan and Hong Kong from 1958 to 1965. Having successfully petitioned his Maryknoll superiors to release him to serve as a U.S. Navy chaplain, he arrived in Vietnam during Holy Week of 1966.
Holding the rank of Lieutenant, Fr. Capodanno participated in seven combat operations. He became known for putting the well-being of Marines above his personal safety, moving among those wounded and dying on the battlefield in order to provide medical aid, comfort, and Last Rites.
During Operation Swift on September 4, 1967, Fr. Capodanno was injured by an exploding mortar round which caused multiple injuries on his arms and legs and severed part of his right hand.
Fred Smith, head of FedEx Corporation, who served with Fr. Capodanno, recalled during the May 11 ceremony how the chaplain nearly lost his hand to shrapnel as he tended to the wounded, but refused care so that medical supplies could go to his injured Marines.
The priest directed Marines to help the wounded and continued to move about the battlefield, encouraging them with his words and example.
As he sought to administer aid to one particular marine, he placed his own body between the wounded man and an enemy machine gunner and was killed.
In 2006, the Catholic Church declared Fr. Capodanno a Servant of God, which is the first step towards being officially recognized as a saint.
Triangle, Va., May 20, 2011 / 02:35 am (CNA).- Servant of God Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a chaplain who was killed in action while protecting U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War, was honored with a permanent tribute at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
“The Marines who served with Chaplain Capodanno remember him as the Chaplain who went wherever his Marines needed his comfort and guidance, no matter the personal danger,” said Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas, president of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.
“From the foxholes to the front lines, Chaplain Capodanno was there.”
The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation dedicated the “Sacrifice Window” in the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on May 11 to honor the late priest. Each window in the chapel is titled with a word that describes the ethos of the Marine Corps.
The private ceremony in Triangle, Virginia remembered Chaplain Capodanno for his support of Marines in combat and his recognition as the only chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor for service in the corps.
Foundation members said they established the permanent tribute in Chaplain Capodanno's name in “recognition of his dedicated service to Marines and the ultimate sacrifice he made in Vietnam, in an effort to save a Marine's life.”
Fr. Capodanno was born on Staten Island in New York City to Italian immigrant parents. In 1957 he was ordained a Catholic priest by Cardinal Francis Spellman, then vicar of the U.S. Military Ordinariate.
He entered the Maryknoll religious order and served as a missionary in Taiwan and Hong Kong from 1958 to 1965. Having successfully petitioned his Maryknoll superiors to release him to serve as a U.S. Navy chaplain, he arrived in Vietnam during Holy Week of 1966.
Holding the rank of Lieutenant, Fr. Capodanno participated in seven combat operations. He became known for putting the well-being of Marines above his personal safety, moving among those wounded and dying on the battlefield in order to provide medical aid, comfort, and Last Rites.
During Operation Swift on September 4, 1967, Fr. Capodanno was injured by an exploding mortar round which caused multiple injuries on his arms and legs and severed part of his right hand.
Fred Smith, head of FedEx Corporation, who served with Fr. Capodanno, recalled during the May 11 ceremony how the chaplain nearly lost his hand to shrapnel as he tended to the wounded, but refused care so that medical supplies could go to his injured Marines.
The priest directed Marines to help the wounded and continued to move about the battlefield, encouraging them with his words and example.
As he sought to administer aid to one particular marine, he placed his own body between the wounded man and an enemy machine gunner and was killed.
In 2006, the Catholic Church declared Fr. Capodanno a Servant of God, which is the first step towards being officially recognized as a saint.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Military funeral held for forgotten vet
UPI.com: Military funeral held for forgotten vet
MARION, Ind., May 24 (UPI) -- A funeral was held Tuesday for an Indiana Vietnam War veteran who had committed suicide and whose corpse remained unclaimed for months, officials said.
Nearly 100 people, including fellow veterans and a motorcycle group, attended the funeral service at Marion National Cemetery for Kenneth Earl Taylor Jr., of Marion, The Indianapolis Star reported.
The Star said it had featured Taylor's story in an article, "A Life Lived," which caused many to attend the funeral in an outpouring of sympathy and respect for the former soldier.
Taylor served in Vietnam as an intelligence analyst and earned the National Defense Service, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign and Good Conduct medals, the Star reported. His body was found Nov. 9 in his rented duplex.
Unclaimed bodies usually are cremated but the Marion County coroner, while trying to find family members, discovered Taylor had been in the military. Taylor qualified for burial at the expense of the government, the newspaper said.
Taylor was estranged from his family, which included three siblings and nieces and nephews, the Star said.
Family members said they would not attend his funeral and would not take responsibility for his remains.
The funeral was a half hour long and Taylor was presented with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and a bugler playing "Taps."
Many of the attendees wept during the service, the newspaper said.
MARION, Ind., May 24 (UPI) -- A funeral was held Tuesday for an Indiana Vietnam War veteran who had committed suicide and whose corpse remained unclaimed for months, officials said.
Nearly 100 people, including fellow veterans and a motorcycle group, attended the funeral service at Marion National Cemetery for Kenneth Earl Taylor Jr., of Marion, The Indianapolis Star reported.
The Star said it had featured Taylor's story in an article, "A Life Lived," which caused many to attend the funeral in an outpouring of sympathy and respect for the former soldier.
Taylor served in Vietnam as an intelligence analyst and earned the National Defense Service, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign and Good Conduct medals, the Star reported. His body was found Nov. 9 in his rented duplex.
Unclaimed bodies usually are cremated but the Marion County coroner, while trying to find family members, discovered Taylor had been in the military. Taylor qualified for burial at the expense of the government, the newspaper said.
Taylor was estranged from his family, which included three siblings and nieces and nephews, the Star said.
Family members said they would not attend his funeral and would not take responsibility for his remains.
The funeral was a half hour long and Taylor was presented with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and a bugler playing "Taps."
Many of the attendees wept during the service, the newspaper said.
Dearborn Remembers Fallen Vietnam Soldiers with Upcoming Parade
DearbornPatch: Dearborn Remembers Fallen Vietnam Soldiers with Upcoming Parade
The Dearborn Memorial Day Parade is set to honor Vietnam veterans, and 69 Dearborn men who lost their lives during the conflict, on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
Sixty-nine Dearborn men gave their lives in the Vietnam War, which began 50 years ago and ended in April 1975. Their deaths, and the service of many other veterans in Dearborn, will be paid special tribute during the city's Memorial Day parade honoring Vietnam veterans Monday, May 30.
"This whole thing is more like a welcoming home," said Craig Tillman of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council Commander and head of the parade committee. "Even if we have to welcome ourselves home. That's what we've done over the years.
"Whenever a Vietnam veteran greets another Vietnam veteran, he always says welcome home."
Due to the unpopularity of the war, many soldiers were denied a proper welcome back home. Many faced angry crowds of protesters and were yelled at or spit upon.
"They hated us," Tillman said of the protestors, who ranged from college students and hippies, to Hollywood celebrities, like Jane Fonda. "They were just going on hearsay from other people.
"Before we left Vietnam we heard the stories of what was going on when the guys came home. They were telling us to get out of your uniform as fast as possible and put civilian clothes on," he said.
In planning the parade, Tillman was searching for a grand marshal that had ties to Vietnam, and was delighted to have a figure as iconic as Adrian Cronauer accept the duties. Cronauer, an Air Force sergeant, served as a DJ for Armed Forces Radio and was the inspiration for the movie “Good Morning, Vietnam.”
Tillman enlisted in the Army after receiving his draft notice, in the hopes that he could find assignment somewhere other than Vietnam. For a while it worked, and he found himself stationed in Germany for a year and half repairing field radios, before his luck ran out in 1970.
He was 22 when he arrived in Vietnam, an old man in comparison to the younger soldiers that were dying in combat, he said.
"For some reason, I thought I wasn't going to make it home, so I thought I'm not going to sit back in the rear echelon area and I volunteered. I got stupid and volunteered for a major unit," he said.
His service in Vietnam is something he cannot speak about in great detail, as the work of his unit remains classified.
Despite his intuition, he made it home when he was 23. He credits his survival with "paying attention to the guys that had been there for a while and taking my cue off of them, and my faith in God, and just wanting to go back home and see my family again. But mainly just listening to the men I was serving with, that had been in combat and knew what to look for.
"Most of them had been there for a year, and a couple that had extended just to stay there for another six months. Everybody there pretty much knew what they were doing. Of course we lost a few men, but even the best training will never keep you totally safe. You have to have that little element of luck on your side."
When Saigon fell in 1975, Tillman said, "It was kind of a sigh of relief that the most unpopular war in United States history was over and it's a crying shame that over 58,000 young men and women had to lose their lives, and for what? The country became one country under Communist rule, and we tried to prevent that and our politicians wouldn't let us.
"We did our best, but the politicians, in their infinite wisdom, lost the whole war for us. We never lost a battle over there."
A sea change of sorts followed in the wake of 9/11, which saw a reawakening of patriotic fervor and renewed appreciation for the men and women of America's armed forces, past and present.
"Over the past few years, I've had people come up to me and say thank you, now that they're kind of getting on the bandwagon and getting behind the troops that are over in Iraq and Afghanistan," Tillman said.
"A number of times, I just don't know what to say, and kind of mumble out thank you. Why couldn't they have done this back then? I guess it's just the way society was back then."
Now, 50 years later, Dearborn’s Vietnam veterans are being welcomed home once more by fellow veterans, and the city in which they live. The DAWVC will be hosting a “Veteran’s Family Day” at Ford Field on Sunday, which is open to all veterans but will also serve as a welcome home party for those who served in Vietnam.
The Memorial Day Parade will begin Monday morning at 9:30 on Michigan Avenue and Greenfield, with a caisson to escort the cremated remains of three servicemen to their final resting place at the Great Lakes National Cemetery.
A float adorned with 69 pairs of boots in honor of those Dearborn men who died during the war will be accompanied by 90 military and community groups, while overhead a Vietnam-era Huey will fly along the parade route before being displayed to the public at Ford World Headquarters.
Dearborn’s Memorial Day Parade is the oldest continuous Memorial Day Parade in Michigan, having run for 87 years, and is one of the largest in the nation.
The Dearborn Memorial Day Parade is set to honor Vietnam veterans, and 69 Dearborn men who lost their lives during the conflict, on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
Sixty-nine Dearborn men gave their lives in the Vietnam War, which began 50 years ago and ended in April 1975. Their deaths, and the service of many other veterans in Dearborn, will be paid special tribute during the city's Memorial Day parade honoring Vietnam veterans Monday, May 30.
"This whole thing is more like a welcoming home," said Craig Tillman of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council Commander and head of the parade committee. "Even if we have to welcome ourselves home. That's what we've done over the years.
"Whenever a Vietnam veteran greets another Vietnam veteran, he always says welcome home."
Due to the unpopularity of the war, many soldiers were denied a proper welcome back home. Many faced angry crowds of protesters and were yelled at or spit upon.
"They hated us," Tillman said of the protestors, who ranged from college students and hippies, to Hollywood celebrities, like Jane Fonda. "They were just going on hearsay from other people.
"Before we left Vietnam we heard the stories of what was going on when the guys came home. They were telling us to get out of your uniform as fast as possible and put civilian clothes on," he said.
In planning the parade, Tillman was searching for a grand marshal that had ties to Vietnam, and was delighted to have a figure as iconic as Adrian Cronauer accept the duties. Cronauer, an Air Force sergeant, served as a DJ for Armed Forces Radio and was the inspiration for the movie “Good Morning, Vietnam.”
Tillman enlisted in the Army after receiving his draft notice, in the hopes that he could find assignment somewhere other than Vietnam. For a while it worked, and he found himself stationed in Germany for a year and half repairing field radios, before his luck ran out in 1970.
He was 22 when he arrived in Vietnam, an old man in comparison to the younger soldiers that were dying in combat, he said.
"For some reason, I thought I wasn't going to make it home, so I thought I'm not going to sit back in the rear echelon area and I volunteered. I got stupid and volunteered for a major unit," he said.
His service in Vietnam is something he cannot speak about in great detail, as the work of his unit remains classified.
Despite his intuition, he made it home when he was 23. He credits his survival with "paying attention to the guys that had been there for a while and taking my cue off of them, and my faith in God, and just wanting to go back home and see my family again. But mainly just listening to the men I was serving with, that had been in combat and knew what to look for.
"Most of them had been there for a year, and a couple that had extended just to stay there for another six months. Everybody there pretty much knew what they were doing. Of course we lost a few men, but even the best training will never keep you totally safe. You have to have that little element of luck on your side."
When Saigon fell in 1975, Tillman said, "It was kind of a sigh of relief that the most unpopular war in United States history was over and it's a crying shame that over 58,000 young men and women had to lose their lives, and for what? The country became one country under Communist rule, and we tried to prevent that and our politicians wouldn't let us.
"We did our best, but the politicians, in their infinite wisdom, lost the whole war for us. We never lost a battle over there."
A sea change of sorts followed in the wake of 9/11, which saw a reawakening of patriotic fervor and renewed appreciation for the men and women of America's armed forces, past and present.
"Over the past few years, I've had people come up to me and say thank you, now that they're kind of getting on the bandwagon and getting behind the troops that are over in Iraq and Afghanistan," Tillman said.
"A number of times, I just don't know what to say, and kind of mumble out thank you. Why couldn't they have done this back then? I guess it's just the way society was back then."
Now, 50 years later, Dearborn’s Vietnam veterans are being welcomed home once more by fellow veterans, and the city in which they live. The DAWVC will be hosting a “Veteran’s Family Day” at Ford Field on Sunday, which is open to all veterans but will also serve as a welcome home party for those who served in Vietnam.
The Memorial Day Parade will begin Monday morning at 9:30 on Michigan Avenue and Greenfield, with a caisson to escort the cremated remains of three servicemen to their final resting place at the Great Lakes National Cemetery.
A float adorned with 69 pairs of boots in honor of those Dearborn men who died during the war will be accompanied by 90 military and community groups, while overhead a Vietnam-era Huey will fly along the parade route before being displayed to the public at Ford World Headquarters.
Dearborn’s Memorial Day Parade is the oldest continuous Memorial Day Parade in Michigan, having run for 87 years, and is one of the largest in the nation.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Ys
Yankee - the letter Y in Army phonetic alphabet
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Xs
Xray - the letter X in the phonetic alphabet
XO - Executive officer.. The assistant to the commander of units below division level. Corresponds to the chief of staff at higher levels.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
XO - Executive officer.. The assistant to the commander of units below division level. Corresponds to the chief of staff at higher levels.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Booklist: JFK and Vietnam, by John M. Newman
JFK and Vietnam: Deception, Intrigue, and the Struggle for Power, by John M. Newman
Warner Books, 1992
460 pages, notes included after each chapter, acronyms, list of persons, glossary, chronology, bibliography, index
Library: 959.704 NEW
Description
Did John F. Kennedy oppose-or promote-American intervention in Vietnam? What course did he pursue and why did he hide it from the public? What really happened on the battlefield and why did senior officials hide the facts from him? Why did those facts end up in the vice president's office instead of Kennedy's? What policy did Lyndon Johnson inherit from the fallen president and why has this crucial issue remained shrouded in mystery and controversy for nearly 30 years?
In what may well be the most shocking and historically important work on the Vietnam War ever written, JFK and Vietnam answers those questions and lifts the veil surrounding the struggle over intervention in the pivotal Kennedy years.
It documents the persistence with which the Joint Chiefs of Staff and senior civilian officials advocated that the President send American combat troops into Vietnam in the wake of the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the collapse of his policy in Laos.
It unravels the intrigues and webs of deception that followed Kennedy's refusal to order troops to the region and his decision to ship advisors instead. It lays bare the stark failure of Kennedy's Vietnam program and unearths the vital intelligence that was kept from him. It leads the reader from the trails in Laos and the battlefields in Vietnam to the maze of official Washington and the offices where both the truth and the lies finally emerged.
It reveals an isolated president locked in a struggle with the advisors he appointed and the bureaucracy he had fashioned. And it brings to light the tragic climax of this struggle: while his advisors were planning to escalate, Kennedy was planning to withdraw when the shots rang out in Dallas.
Based on 15,000 pages of documents, many newly declassified, and recent exclusive interviews with key participants, John M. Newman details, as no other historian has, this dramatic and incredible sequence of events.
Groundbreaking in its revelations and certain to provoke debate for years to come, JFK and Vietnam shows us, at last, the personailties, power struggles, and intrigues that led America into its most self-destructive war.
A gripping account of a missing link in America's past, it is also an ominous warning for America's future.
Table of Contents
Foreword by John BArdi
Part I: Loss of Innocence
Prologue: Hook, line and sinker
1. Straight to the brink over Laos
2. Landsdale: Lone wolf and operator
3. The Struggle over US troops erupts
Part II: Taking Charge
4. LBJ in Saigon
5. JFK in Washington
6. Consensus builds for intervention
7. Taylor too
8. McNamara takes charge
Part III: The Deceivers and the deceived
9. The Creation of MACV
10. "The Intelligence problem must be solved"
11. "We all remain silent"
12. Webs of deception
13. Secrets in Saigon
Part IV: Darkness at the end of the Tunnel
14. The Price of Laos
15. Failure in Vietnam
16. All HEll breaks loose
17. Brothers and Buddhists
Part V: The TRagic crossroads
18. "Cops and Robbers"
19. A City of Two Tales
20. Fork in the Road
21. "We have a policy"
22. The Honolulu Agenda
23. The Drums After Dallas
Conclusion: the war and the struggle for power
Acronyms
List of persons
Glossary
Chronology
Bibliography
Index
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
50-year love affair complete
TheSoutheastSun: 50-year love affair complete
Tuesday was a sad day for Chief Warrant Officer Lawrence Castagneto.
The Vietnam veteran, who is still serving on active duty at Fort Rucker, spoke of the loss of a true love while standing in front of a UH-1 Huey at Cairns Airfield Tuesday morning. Tuesday’s ceremony marked the end of the Army’s use of the UH-1 Huey Helicopters at Fort Rucker.
The Huey’s history with the Army is a long one, spanning more than 50 years. The helicopter was used heavily during the Vietnam War and holds special memories for soldiers who served then and now.
“We’re here for a family reunion. This is a family reunion to say goodbye to a family member, the UH-1 Huey,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, commanding general of Fort Rucker. “This is an incredible machine as you all know and it served us proudly for over 52 years. It was first introduced in 1959 and in its first 20 years of service, more than 7,000 of these aircraft served in combat in Vietnam and more than 16,000 of them were built and served all around the world. Today, with all of you present, we say goodbye and farewell to this fine war machine.”
Castagneto explained part of what he called the Huey’s “amazing journey.”
“It was 48 years ago to this month in 1963 that the first Hueys arrived in Vietnam to units that were later to become the 145th and 13th combat aviation battalions, both units still assigned here at Fort Rucker today,” Castagneto said. “While in Vietnam the Huey flew approximately 7,457,000 assault sorties.
“I am so honored and humbled to have been a small part of that journey. To those in the crowd who have had the honor to fly crew or ride this magnificent machine in combat, we are the chosen few. We are the lucky ones.”
Crutchfield said the Huey has special meaning to many current pilots as well as those who flew the aircraft during the Vietnam War.
“Many of us cut our teeth on this aircraft learning to fly and it has special meaning for us as well,” Crutchfield said. “To show our appreciation for the 1950s engineering and the innovation that went into this aircraft we want to say thank you for your outstanding 52 years of service. I hope that I can be fortunate enough to lead this branch in developing equipment for our future that will serve us as well as this aircraft has served us the last 52 years.”
Hueys will still be seen around Fort Rucker as the Air Force is still using the helicopter. The Army is phasing out the UH-1 Huey. The Army’s Yakima Training Center in Washington held a retirement ceremony for the Huey in January and U.S. Army Europe retired the Hueys earlier this month.
The aircraft has special meaning to those who fought in Vietnam. Castagneto described the Huey as “the icon of the Vietnam War” and said the sound of the blades “causes our heartbeats to rise, our breaths to quicken in anticipation of seeing that beautiful machine fly overhead and feel the comfort that she brings.”
“How do I capsulize in a few minutes a 42-year love affair? She is as much a part of me and my fellow brothers as the blood that flows through our veins,” said Castagneto. “Try to imagine all of those who have been touched by the shadow of her blades. Other aircraft can fly over and some people will look up and some may or may not even recognize what they see. But when a Huey flies over, everyone looks up and everyone knows who she is. Young or old, all over the world, she connects with all. No other aircraft in the history of aviation invokes the emotional response the Huey does. Whether combat veterans or not, she is recognized all around the world, by young and old, she is the icon of the Vietnam war, Army Aviation and the United States Army, over five decades of service.”
The Army is now using Light Utility Helicopters in place of the Hueys, according to Lisa Eichhorn, public affairs officer at Fort Rucker.
While Castagneto had to say goodbye to his beloved Hueys on Tuesday, he was quick to say the helicopter that meant so much to so many would not soon be forgotten.
“So with that I say to her, that beautiful lady sitting out there, from me and all my lucky brothers that were given the honor to serve our country and the privilege of flying this great lady in the skies of Vietnam, I say thank you for the memories,” he said. “Thank you for always being there. Thank you for always bringing us home regardless of how beat up and shot up you were. Thank you. You will never be forgotten. We loved you then. We love you now. We will love you until our last breath.
“As the sun sets today if you listen quietly and closely you will hear the faint wop, wop, wop of our mother speaking to all her children past and present who rode her into history in a blaze of glory. She will be saying to us, I am here. I will always be here with you. I am at peace and so should you be.”
Tuesday was a sad day for Chief Warrant Officer Lawrence Castagneto.
The Vietnam veteran, who is still serving on active duty at Fort Rucker, spoke of the loss of a true love while standing in front of a UH-1 Huey at Cairns Airfield Tuesday morning. Tuesday’s ceremony marked the end of the Army’s use of the UH-1 Huey Helicopters at Fort Rucker.
The Huey’s history with the Army is a long one, spanning more than 50 years. The helicopter was used heavily during the Vietnam War and holds special memories for soldiers who served then and now.
“We’re here for a family reunion. This is a family reunion to say goodbye to a family member, the UH-1 Huey,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, commanding general of Fort Rucker. “This is an incredible machine as you all know and it served us proudly for over 52 years. It was first introduced in 1959 and in its first 20 years of service, more than 7,000 of these aircraft served in combat in Vietnam and more than 16,000 of them were built and served all around the world. Today, with all of you present, we say goodbye and farewell to this fine war machine.”
Castagneto explained part of what he called the Huey’s “amazing journey.”
“It was 48 years ago to this month in 1963 that the first Hueys arrived in Vietnam to units that were later to become the 145th and 13th combat aviation battalions, both units still assigned here at Fort Rucker today,” Castagneto said. “While in Vietnam the Huey flew approximately 7,457,000 assault sorties.
“I am so honored and humbled to have been a small part of that journey. To those in the crowd who have had the honor to fly crew or ride this magnificent machine in combat, we are the chosen few. We are the lucky ones.”
Crutchfield said the Huey has special meaning to many current pilots as well as those who flew the aircraft during the Vietnam War.
“Many of us cut our teeth on this aircraft learning to fly and it has special meaning for us as well,” Crutchfield said. “To show our appreciation for the 1950s engineering and the innovation that went into this aircraft we want to say thank you for your outstanding 52 years of service. I hope that I can be fortunate enough to lead this branch in developing equipment for our future that will serve us as well as this aircraft has served us the last 52 years.”
Hueys will still be seen around Fort Rucker as the Air Force is still using the helicopter. The Army is phasing out the UH-1 Huey. The Army’s Yakima Training Center in Washington held a retirement ceremony for the Huey in January and U.S. Army Europe retired the Hueys earlier this month.
The aircraft has special meaning to those who fought in Vietnam. Castagneto described the Huey as “the icon of the Vietnam War” and said the sound of the blades “causes our heartbeats to rise, our breaths to quicken in anticipation of seeing that beautiful machine fly overhead and feel the comfort that she brings.”
“How do I capsulize in a few minutes a 42-year love affair? She is as much a part of me and my fellow brothers as the blood that flows through our veins,” said Castagneto. “Try to imagine all of those who have been touched by the shadow of her blades. Other aircraft can fly over and some people will look up and some may or may not even recognize what they see. But when a Huey flies over, everyone looks up and everyone knows who she is. Young or old, all over the world, she connects with all. No other aircraft in the history of aviation invokes the emotional response the Huey does. Whether combat veterans or not, she is recognized all around the world, by young and old, she is the icon of the Vietnam war, Army Aviation and the United States Army, over five decades of service.”
The Army is now using Light Utility Helicopters in place of the Hueys, according to Lisa Eichhorn, public affairs officer at Fort Rucker.
While Castagneto had to say goodbye to his beloved Hueys on Tuesday, he was quick to say the helicopter that meant so much to so many would not soon be forgotten.
“So with that I say to her, that beautiful lady sitting out there, from me and all my lucky brothers that were given the honor to serve our country and the privilege of flying this great lady in the skies of Vietnam, I say thank you for the memories,” he said. “Thank you for always being there. Thank you for always bringing us home regardless of how beat up and shot up you were. Thank you. You will never be forgotten. We loved you then. We love you now. We will love you until our last breath.
“As the sun sets today if you listen quietly and closely you will hear the faint wop, wop, wop of our mother speaking to all her children past and present who rode her into history in a blaze of glory. She will be saying to us, I am here. I will always be here with you. I am at peace and so should you be.”
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Vietnam War journalists reunite in O.C. to share stories
Orange County Register: Vietnam War journalists reunite in O.C. to share stories
WESTMINSTER – They call themselves the Old Hacks. They're starting to retire now, but in their younger years, they slogged through the jungle or balanced cameras out of helicopters, trying to tell the story of the Vietnam War.
They gathered Sunday in Little Saigon to share their combat photos and their war stories, and to pay tribute to the local Vietnamese journalists who worked alongside them. They were also there to address a question they knew would come in a community built by war refugees: Did they have any regrets about their coverage?
"We made a lot of mistakes, all of us. We made a lot of misjudgments," said Richard Pyle, the Saigon bureau chief for the Associated Press during part of the war. In particular, he and others said during a public forum that they wish they had been better able to nail down the corruption and political weakness of the South Vietnamese leadership before it collapsed.
But, Pyle added, "We always did the best we could to cover the story, and I can't think of a story that would be more difficult to cover. ... We did the best we could, and I'm proud of that."
Sunday's reunion was the first of its kind in Southern California, and drew a few dozen former war reporters and photographers whose coverage was unlike anything since. They could go almost anywhere and report almost anything – "every bloody aspect," said Carl Robinson, an Associated Press photojournalist during the war.
Three of the photographers in the crowd had won Pulitzer Prizes for showing war up close. David Kennerly captured an American soldier alone on a desolated hill, surrounded by splintered trees. Neil Ulevich showed the beating and hanging of a man during a massacre in Thailand. And Nick Ut snapped one of the war's most searing images, a young girl running naked, burned by napalm.
But it was Dang Van Phuoc whom reunion hosts singled out for special recognition. He was a local photographer hired by the Associated Press, one of about half a dozen Vietnamese journalists at the reunion.
Phuoc, who now lives in Irvine, lost an eye covering the war; reunion organizer Ray Herndon called him the "bravest photographer in the war." His photos captured North Vietnamese soldiers being led away and refugees trying to escape the fall of Saigon.
But asked to discuss his work, he walks to another of his images hanging on the wall in a display of war photographs. It shows a muscular American soldier helping to evacuate an elderly Vietnamese woman as smoke curtains a nearby hillside.
"We just tried to show what we saw," said Phuoc, now 75. "The pictures would tell the story."
WESTMINSTER – They call themselves the Old Hacks. They're starting to retire now, but in their younger years, they slogged through the jungle or balanced cameras out of helicopters, trying to tell the story of the Vietnam War.
They gathered Sunday in Little Saigon to share their combat photos and their war stories, and to pay tribute to the local Vietnamese journalists who worked alongside them. They were also there to address a question they knew would come in a community built by war refugees: Did they have any regrets about their coverage?
"We made a lot of mistakes, all of us. We made a lot of misjudgments," said Richard Pyle, the Saigon bureau chief for the Associated Press during part of the war. In particular, he and others said during a public forum that they wish they had been better able to nail down the corruption and political weakness of the South Vietnamese leadership before it collapsed.
But, Pyle added, "We always did the best we could to cover the story, and I can't think of a story that would be more difficult to cover. ... We did the best we could, and I'm proud of that."
Sunday's reunion was the first of its kind in Southern California, and drew a few dozen former war reporters and photographers whose coverage was unlike anything since. They could go almost anywhere and report almost anything – "every bloody aspect," said Carl Robinson, an Associated Press photojournalist during the war.
Three of the photographers in the crowd had won Pulitzer Prizes for showing war up close. David Kennerly captured an American soldier alone on a desolated hill, surrounded by splintered trees. Neil Ulevich showed the beating and hanging of a man during a massacre in Thailand. And Nick Ut snapped one of the war's most searing images, a young girl running naked, burned by napalm.
But it was Dang Van Phuoc whom reunion hosts singled out for special recognition. He was a local photographer hired by the Associated Press, one of about half a dozen Vietnamese journalists at the reunion.
Phuoc, who now lives in Irvine, lost an eye covering the war; reunion organizer Ray Herndon called him the "bravest photographer in the war." His photos captured North Vietnamese soldiers being led away and refugees trying to escape the fall of Saigon.
But asked to discuss his work, he walks to another of his images hanging on the wall in a display of war photographs. It shows a muscular American soldier helping to evacuate an elderly Vietnamese woman as smoke curtains a nearby hillside.
"We just tried to show what we saw," said Phuoc, now 75. "The pictures would tell the story."
Troops seek help for military sexual trauma
USA Today: Troops seek help for military sexual trauma
Gilbert resident JoAnn White says she was wounded while serving with the Air Force during the Vietnam War and has not been able to work since.
Her injuries were not inflicted by a foreign enemy. She said she was raped and sexually assaulted during her military career by men who were supposed to be on her side.
White says her pain is as emotional as it was physical, and was exacerbated by a system that shrugged off her reports without investigating them.
So White has looked on with satisfaction recently as a group of 16 men and women who were raped and assaulted during active service filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon and as legislation was introduced in Congress to expand legal rights and protections for such victims.
"What I had to deal with in the Air Force just about destroyed me," White told The Arizona Republic. "I hope telling what happened to me will help other women. I am fed up and tired. I want the word out there."
Last year, 3,158 sexual assaults were reported by men and women serving in all branches of the Armed Forces, according to the Department of Defense's Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. But the department estimates that last year's number reflects only about 13.5 percent of the total number of assaults on men and women in active duty last year.
Advocates like Panayiota Bertzikis, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Military Rape Crisis Center, said those victims often fail to report attacks for various reasons, including pressure from supervisors and peers.
Bertzikis is a plaintiff in the February lawsuit, which accuses the military of allowing a culture that fails to prosecute sex offenders and instead punishes victims who come forward.
Bertzikis said she was accused of lying by a commanding officer when she reported being raped by a Coast Guard shipmate in 2006. She said a Coast Guard-appointed advocate also cautioned her not to pursue having her attacker disciplined because she might be viewed as a troublemaker.
Some victims feel trapped in a system designed not to protect victims but the military's reputation, she said, noting, "When you enlist … your entire support system is the military."
Others victims fear forced transfers from jobs they like and have worked hard to get, Bertzikis said.
That's what White says happened to her after an officer groped her breast and another co-worker raped her while she was serving as a fuel systems mechanic at McChord Air Force Base in Washington during the 1970s.
Her complaints were recorded, but the men who attacked her were not punished, she said. The Department of Veterans Affairs declined to discuss the specifics of her case.
Soon after she first filed her complaint, White said, she was transferred to a low-level job.
Ultimately, White say, she came to see the problem as one that is less about sex and more about power.
"Your superiors have so much power over you when you are in the military," she said. "It blew me away that these complaints could be in my records, but there was no policy in place to address it."
White said that after leaving the service, she tried working in civilian jobs, but mental health problems and a debilitating eating disorder prevented her from succeeding. She receives disability benefits from the VA, but it was not until four years ago that she realized the military has an official name for the anger, anxiety and depression she had suffered from being attacked while in the service: military sexual trauma.
The problem is so large that the Phoenix VA Medical Center has hired a full-time social worker who does nothing but provide individual counseling and support groups for sexual trauma victims.
Social worker Judith Orosz said anger, anxiety, depression and an inability to hold a job are typical among those who seek help.
"What is really troubling is that the sexual assaults are done by people who are supposed to have their back. People they are supposed to be able to trust," she said. "It's usually done by someone who knows them, someone in their unit and maybe even in a position of authority. They leave the military with a lot of trauma, a lot of anger and they feel like they can't trust anyone. It makes it very hard for them to hold a job."
One 47-year-old Avondale woman, who asked that she not be identified, told The Republic she is still in counseling at the Phoenix VA Health Care System more than a decade after her sexual assault by an Army supervisor.
The former Army staff sergeant said she abandoned her dream of further officer training because her assailant, a major, convinced her no one would believe her version of the story over his.
"What happens in the military is that you are separated from your family and loved ones -- you are all alone," the former sergeant said.
"The military is very political. It's a good old boy system," she said. "They stick up for each other and protect each other."
Bertzikis said women fighting in current wars are finding a way around that system through social networking. Her Military Rape Crisis Center has a Facebook page and website with emergency phone numbers.
She said both sites help victims feel less alone, share stories and work together to support legislation, such as the Defense Sexual Trauma Response, Oversight and Good Governance -- or Defense STRONG -- Act, which was introduced in Congress last month.
If passed, it would give military sexual assault victims the right to legal counsel and to transfer to another base after making a complaint. The bill also would mandate increased training on bases to prevent sex assaults.
Many believe that the best way to get at the root problem of sexual violence is through training early in a military career.
"Correcting the culture within the military is being done in a very pointed way," said Joice Jones, a civilian social worker who coordinates Luke Air Force Base's sexual assault prevention and response program and helps run prevention workshops.
Jones compares many of the airmen and airwomen stationed at Luke to first-year college students: They are away from home for the first time and need information about date rape prevention as well as how to intervene if they see someone on base being sexually harassed or assaulted.
"It's the same age group and the same dynamic as first-year college students," Jones said. "If they are a bystander and they see a fellow wingman who might be taking advantage of someone, they need to know how to respond."
Michelle Wilmot, a Tucson Army veteran featured in a 2008 documentary film about women in combat called "Lioness," agrees that peer support is a key to eliminating sex assault in the military.
She said a man serving in the Marines intervened when a solider attempted to sexually assault her in 2002, when they were serving in Ramadi, Iraq.
"Luckily the Marine stepped forward -- he was a lot bigger and was someone who was respected," Wilmot said. "I was able to run in another room and lock the door."
Like White, Wilmot believes military sexual assault "is all about power."
"Some men think women shouldn't be in the military," she said. "They can't stand the idea that I'm 5-foot-3, a girl and a combat veteran. That issue doesn't get addressed much at all."
Gilbert resident JoAnn White says she was wounded while serving with the Air Force during the Vietnam War and has not been able to work since.
Her injuries were not inflicted by a foreign enemy. She said she was raped and sexually assaulted during her military career by men who were supposed to be on her side.
White says her pain is as emotional as it was physical, and was exacerbated by a system that shrugged off her reports without investigating them.
So White has looked on with satisfaction recently as a group of 16 men and women who were raped and assaulted during active service filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon and as legislation was introduced in Congress to expand legal rights and protections for such victims.
"What I had to deal with in the Air Force just about destroyed me," White told The Arizona Republic. "I hope telling what happened to me will help other women. I am fed up and tired. I want the word out there."
Last year, 3,158 sexual assaults were reported by men and women serving in all branches of the Armed Forces, according to the Department of Defense's Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. But the department estimates that last year's number reflects only about 13.5 percent of the total number of assaults on men and women in active duty last year.
Advocates like Panayiota Bertzikis, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Military Rape Crisis Center, said those victims often fail to report attacks for various reasons, including pressure from supervisors and peers.
Bertzikis is a plaintiff in the February lawsuit, which accuses the military of allowing a culture that fails to prosecute sex offenders and instead punishes victims who come forward.
Bertzikis said she was accused of lying by a commanding officer when she reported being raped by a Coast Guard shipmate in 2006. She said a Coast Guard-appointed advocate also cautioned her not to pursue having her attacker disciplined because she might be viewed as a troublemaker.
Some victims feel trapped in a system designed not to protect victims but the military's reputation, she said, noting, "When you enlist … your entire support system is the military."
Others victims fear forced transfers from jobs they like and have worked hard to get, Bertzikis said.
That's what White says happened to her after an officer groped her breast and another co-worker raped her while she was serving as a fuel systems mechanic at McChord Air Force Base in Washington during the 1970s.
Her complaints were recorded, but the men who attacked her were not punished, she said. The Department of Veterans Affairs declined to discuss the specifics of her case.
Soon after she first filed her complaint, White said, she was transferred to a low-level job.
Ultimately, White say, she came to see the problem as one that is less about sex and more about power.
"Your superiors have so much power over you when you are in the military," she said. "It blew me away that these complaints could be in my records, but there was no policy in place to address it."
White said that after leaving the service, she tried working in civilian jobs, but mental health problems and a debilitating eating disorder prevented her from succeeding. She receives disability benefits from the VA, but it was not until four years ago that she realized the military has an official name for the anger, anxiety and depression she had suffered from being attacked while in the service: military sexual trauma.
The problem is so large that the Phoenix VA Medical Center has hired a full-time social worker who does nothing but provide individual counseling and support groups for sexual trauma victims.
Social worker Judith Orosz said anger, anxiety, depression and an inability to hold a job are typical among those who seek help.
"What is really troubling is that the sexual assaults are done by people who are supposed to have their back. People they are supposed to be able to trust," she said. "It's usually done by someone who knows them, someone in their unit and maybe even in a position of authority. They leave the military with a lot of trauma, a lot of anger and they feel like they can't trust anyone. It makes it very hard for them to hold a job."
One 47-year-old Avondale woman, who asked that she not be identified, told The Republic she is still in counseling at the Phoenix VA Health Care System more than a decade after her sexual assault by an Army supervisor.
The former Army staff sergeant said she abandoned her dream of further officer training because her assailant, a major, convinced her no one would believe her version of the story over his.
"What happens in the military is that you are separated from your family and loved ones -- you are all alone," the former sergeant said.
"The military is very political. It's a good old boy system," she said. "They stick up for each other and protect each other."
Bertzikis said women fighting in current wars are finding a way around that system through social networking. Her Military Rape Crisis Center has a Facebook page and website with emergency phone numbers.
She said both sites help victims feel less alone, share stories and work together to support legislation, such as the Defense Sexual Trauma Response, Oversight and Good Governance -- or Defense STRONG -- Act, which was introduced in Congress last month.
If passed, it would give military sexual assault victims the right to legal counsel and to transfer to another base after making a complaint. The bill also would mandate increased training on bases to prevent sex assaults.
Many believe that the best way to get at the root problem of sexual violence is through training early in a military career.
"Correcting the culture within the military is being done in a very pointed way," said Joice Jones, a civilian social worker who coordinates Luke Air Force Base's sexual assault prevention and response program and helps run prevention workshops.
Jones compares many of the airmen and airwomen stationed at Luke to first-year college students: They are away from home for the first time and need information about date rape prevention as well as how to intervene if they see someone on base being sexually harassed or assaulted.
"It's the same age group and the same dynamic as first-year college students," Jones said. "If they are a bystander and they see a fellow wingman who might be taking advantage of someone, they need to know how to respond."
Michelle Wilmot, a Tucson Army veteran featured in a 2008 documentary film about women in combat called "Lioness," agrees that peer support is a key to eliminating sex assault in the military.
She said a man serving in the Marines intervened when a solider attempted to sexually assault her in 2002, when they were serving in Ramadi, Iraq.
"Luckily the Marine stepped forward -- he was a lot bigger and was someone who was respected," Wilmot said. "I was able to run in another room and lock the door."
Like White, Wilmot believes military sexual assault "is all about power."
"Some men think women shouldn't be in the military," she said. "They can't stand the idea that I'm 5-foot-3, a girl and a combat veteran. That issue doesn't get addressed much at all."
Chickenhawk, Back in the World, by Robert Mason
Chickenhawk, Back in the World: Life After Vietnam, by Robert Mason
Viking Penguin, 1993
388 pages. No index. 8 pages of b&w photos
Library: 959.704 MAS
Description
Here is the triumphant sequel to Robert Mason's bestselling account of his service as a chopper pilot in Vietnam. Chickenhawk: Back in the World is a moving, no-holds-barred post-Vietnam memoir that reveals the war's shattering legacy in the heart and mind of a returning vet.
When Robert Mason's first book was published in 1983, it was hailed as one of the finest personal evocations of Vietnam ever to appear in print. In fact, Chickenhawk is still in print, a book that continues to serve as a testament for an entire generation. But not even Mason's splendid debut will prepare you for the authority of Chickenhawk: Back in the World, his harrowing quest to find "the most significant thing I lost in the war-peace."
Although Mason's return was at first promising-after leaving active combat suty he began instructing future helicopter pilots-it quickly spiraled downward: into bouts of panic and increasingly heavy drinking, adulterous love affairs, jobs he could never keep. At the spiral's bottom lay an epic ocean voyage in a small boat. Destination: Colombia. cargo: marijuana. payoff: CApture and a twenty-month prison term.
Mason recounts these events and his gradual healing from the wounds of Vietnam with caustic honesty, in powerful prose that conveys both the texture of despair and the hope that kept him going as he tried to maneuver through his own personal minefield. Above all, he writes with a bitter wisdom that makes this book an anthem for all those vets who lost a piece of themselves in Southeast Asia-and have spent a long, hard time trying to get it back.
Table of Contents
The chapters have no titles.
Vietnam War Glossary - Ws
Whiskey - The letter W in the phonetic alphabet
WIA - wounded in action
WP - White phosphorous, also known as Willie Peter, a hold over term from WWII and Korea.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
WIA - wounded in action
WP - White phosphorous, also known as Willie Peter, a hold over term from WWII and Korea.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Friday, May 13, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Vs
Victor - the letter V in the phonetic alphabet
VC - Vietcong, also known as Victor Charlie
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
VC - Vietcong, also known as Victor Charlie
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Us
USAF - United States Air Force
USARV - US Army Vietnam - the Army component headquarters that controlled logistics.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
USARV - US Army Vietnam - the Army component headquarters that controlled logistics.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall replica in Somerset
Here's some background on The Moving Wall.
2011 Schedule (from their website)
05/19 - 05/23 Camden, TN
05/26 - 05/30 New Lenox, IL
06/02 - 06/06 Ogdensburg, NY
06/09 - 06/13 Natick, MA
06/16 - 06/20 Chicago, IL
06/23 - 06/27 Maquoketa, IA
06/30 - 07/04 Armour, SD
07/07 - 07/11 Albion, NE
07/21 - 07/25 Westland, MI
07/28 - 08/01 Spooner, WI
08/04 - 08/08 Rugby, ND
08/11 - 08/15 Lewiston, ID
08/18 - 08/22 (NONE AT THS TIME)
08/25 - 08/29 Rosebud, SD
09/01 - 09/05 Granite City, IL
09/10 - 09/18 Tulsa, OK
09/29 - 10/03 Santa Barbara, CA
10/06 - 10/10 Garden Grove, CA
10/13 - 10/17 Desert Hot Springs, CA
10/20 - 10/24 Kingman, AZ
11/06 - 11/14 Fayetteville, NC
"The Moving Wall" is the half-size replica of the Washington, DC Vietnam Veterans Memorial and has been touring the country for more than twenty years. When John Devitt attended the 1982 dedication in Washington, he felt the positive power of "The Wall." He vowed to share that experience with those who did not have the opportunity to go to Washington.
John, Norris Shears, Gerry Haver, and other Vietnam veteran volunteers built The Moving Wall. It went on display for the first time in Tyler, Texas in October of 1984. Two structures of The Moving Wall now travel the USA from April through November, spending about a week at each site.
A "Sponsor" is any organization or group of individuals that wants The Moving Wall to visit their area and is willing to do the work to make the local arrangements as described in "Scheduling a Visit of The Moving Wall." Sponsors are frequently civic groups, schools, or veterans' organizations. Sponsoring normally requires months of planning by dozens of local volunteers.
2011 Schedule (from their website)
05/19 - 05/23 Camden, TN
05/26 - 05/30 New Lenox, IL
06/02 - 06/06 Ogdensburg, NY
06/09 - 06/13 Natick, MA
06/16 - 06/20 Chicago, IL
06/23 - 06/27 Maquoketa, IA
06/30 - 07/04 Armour, SD
07/07 - 07/11 Albion, NE
07/21 - 07/25 Westland, MI
07/28 - 08/01 Spooner, WI
08/04 - 08/08 Rugby, ND
08/11 - 08/15 Lewiston, ID
08/18 - 08/22 (NONE AT THS TIME)
08/25 - 08/29 Rosebud, SD
09/01 - 09/05 Granite City, IL
09/10 - 09/18 Tulsa, OK
09/29 - 10/03 Santa Barbara, CA
10/06 - 10/10 Garden Grove, CA
10/13 - 10/17 Desert Hot Springs, CA
10/20 - 10/24 Kingman, AZ
11/06 - 11/14 Fayetteville, NC
Vietnam memorial: More than names
The Bismarck Tribune: Vietnam memorial: More than names
War complicates life, long after the guns are silenced.
The fifth and, perhaps, final Rough Rider Honor Flight returned to Bismarck on Sunday with 125 North Dakota veterans from World War II. They had been to Washington to the visit the World War II Memorial. Those veterans are well on in age, yet the power of the the Honor Flight experience could be readily seen on their faces.
It's not just moving for the veterans, but for family members and patriotic citizens as well.
For veterans of the Vietnam War and their families, the memorial in Washington stands as an awesome touchstone to memories and emotions related to that fight. The memorial lists the names of the American MIAs and war dead. There are 58,265 names etched into the black stone. North Dakotans make up 198 of those names. Visitors to the memorial typically find gifts and mementoes placed adjacent to the wall.
There now is a project under way to gather photographs of the men and women whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial. For each name there should be a face. It will be a powerful statement about war and the sacrifices that are made.
Nationally, about one-third of the photographs have been collected. It's not known how many of the North Dakota photographs have been gathered; hopefully, in the end, all of them will be brought together.
The faces captured by the camera remain young forever. The lives of these men and women were halted and frozen in time. Families and friends of these soldiers have continued the journey. And surviving veterans of that war are now gray and worn. Seeing them together will honor that sacrifice.
It would be wonderful if those 198 photographs of North Dakotans lost in that war could be found. Photos can be submitted through the Internet at www.build the center.org.
In a couple of weeks, it will be Memorial Day. The cemeteries will be aflutter in American flags and red, white and blue bunting. There will be speeches and rifle salutes. Families will be decorating and honoring the memories and graves of veterans, not just from World War II and the Vietnam War, but from all our nation's wars, including those from Afghanistan and Iraq.
War complicates life, long after the guns are silenced.
The fifth and, perhaps, final Rough Rider Honor Flight returned to Bismarck on Sunday with 125 North Dakota veterans from World War II. They had been to Washington to the visit the World War II Memorial. Those veterans are well on in age, yet the power of the the Honor Flight experience could be readily seen on their faces.
It's not just moving for the veterans, but for family members and patriotic citizens as well.
For veterans of the Vietnam War and their families, the memorial in Washington stands as an awesome touchstone to memories and emotions related to that fight. The memorial lists the names of the American MIAs and war dead. There are 58,265 names etched into the black stone. North Dakotans make up 198 of those names. Visitors to the memorial typically find gifts and mementoes placed adjacent to the wall.
There now is a project under way to gather photographs of the men and women whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial. For each name there should be a face. It will be a powerful statement about war and the sacrifices that are made.
Nationally, about one-third of the photographs have been collected. It's not known how many of the North Dakota photographs have been gathered; hopefully, in the end, all of them will be brought together.
The faces captured by the camera remain young forever. The lives of these men and women were halted and frozen in time. Families and friends of these soldiers have continued the journey. And surviving veterans of that war are now gray and worn. Seeing them together will honor that sacrifice.
It would be wonderful if those 198 photographs of North Dakotans lost in that war could be found. Photos can be submitted through the Internet at www.build the center.org.
In a couple of weeks, it will be Memorial Day. The cemeteries will be aflutter in American flags and red, white and blue bunting. There will be speeches and rifle salutes. Families will be decorating and honoring the memories and graves of veterans, not just from World War II and the Vietnam War, but from all our nation's wars, including those from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Ts
Tango - the letter T in the Army phonetic alphabet
TOC - tactical operations center
20 Mike-Mike - The 20mm Gatling gun carried in fighter aircraft that fires up to 4,000 rounds a minute
Tube artillery - Artillery that fires projectiles from a gun barrel or tube, as opposed to rocket artillery.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
TOC - tactical operations center
20 Mike-Mike - The 20mm Gatling gun carried in fighter aircraft that fires up to 4,000 rounds a minute
Tube artillery - Artillery that fires projectiles from a gun barrel or tube, as opposed to rocket artillery.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Honoring a real war hero
Laurel Leader-Call: Honoring a real war hero
EASTABUCHIE — Members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association came from near and far Saturday to honor a local Medal of Honor recipient who gave his life for his country during the Vietnam War.
The association, which was formed in July, joined forces with the Marine Corps for a special memorial service to honor Marine Lance Cpl. Roy Wheat of Moselle. Wheat was killed in action in 1967 and is the only Mississippian to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War era.
A brief ceremony, including the laying of a wreath and a bugle rendition of “Taps,” was held at Wheat’s graveside in the Eastabuchie Cemetery.
“It is wonderful that they would want to do this for my father,” said John Wheat of Moselle. “I’m honored to have each and everyone of them here.
“I can’t forget these veterans,” he added. “May God bless all the Vets.”
Joe Pellerito, the associations public relations officer, said that since the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association is new to the state, among the first things the group wanted to do was pay respects to fallen comrades.
“I am so proud to be here today,” said Pellerito. “Most of the members of the association are Vietnam War Veterans.”
Pellerito said he has been working on Wheat’s memorial service for about four months. He said he is thankful for the cooperation of the family, the Marine Corps League, Jones County Sheriff’s Department, and community as a whole.
“The sheriff’s department escorted us her today,” explained Pellerito. “The Marine Corps League is serving as the honor guard.”
Bruce Butler a member of the Commiskey-Wheat Detachment of the Marine Corps League played “Taps” during the ceremony.
“We just need to pay tribute to our fallen heroes,” he said. “I’m glad for this opportunity because I’m patriotic and I don’t want us to ever forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“A lot of people lost their lives for you and me to be able to stand here today,” he said.
Commander Royce Nation noted that Wheat is part of the namesake of the Commiskey-Wheat Detachment. “We are happy to be a part of this wonderful event,” he said. “We are also glad to see so many people, especially members of Wheat’s family show up.
“It makes me feel good that the family and others responded and are here today to see this wonderful honor bestowed on Lance Cpl. Roy Wheat.”
EASTABUCHIE — Members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association came from near and far Saturday to honor a local Medal of Honor recipient who gave his life for his country during the Vietnam War.
The association, which was formed in July, joined forces with the Marine Corps for a special memorial service to honor Marine Lance Cpl. Roy Wheat of Moselle. Wheat was killed in action in 1967 and is the only Mississippian to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War era.
A brief ceremony, including the laying of a wreath and a bugle rendition of “Taps,” was held at Wheat’s graveside in the Eastabuchie Cemetery.
“It is wonderful that they would want to do this for my father,” said John Wheat of Moselle. “I’m honored to have each and everyone of them here.
“I can’t forget these veterans,” he added. “May God bless all the Vets.”
Joe Pellerito, the associations public relations officer, said that since the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association is new to the state, among the first things the group wanted to do was pay respects to fallen comrades.
“I am so proud to be here today,” said Pellerito. “Most of the members of the association are Vietnam War Veterans.”
Pellerito said he has been working on Wheat’s memorial service for about four months. He said he is thankful for the cooperation of the family, the Marine Corps League, Jones County Sheriff’s Department, and community as a whole.
“The sheriff’s department escorted us her today,” explained Pellerito. “The Marine Corps League is serving as the honor guard.”
Bruce Butler a member of the Commiskey-Wheat Detachment of the Marine Corps League played “Taps” during the ceremony.
“We just need to pay tribute to our fallen heroes,” he said. “I’m glad for this opportunity because I’m patriotic and I don’t want us to ever forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“A lot of people lost their lives for you and me to be able to stand here today,” he said.
Commander Royce Nation noted that Wheat is part of the namesake of the Commiskey-Wheat Detachment. “We are happy to be a part of this wonderful event,” he said. “We are also glad to see so many people, especially members of Wheat’s family show up.
“It makes me feel good that the family and others responded and are here today to see this wonderful honor bestowed on Lance Cpl. Roy Wheat.”
Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice
NortJersey.com: Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice
HOLMDEL — Joe Piacenti felt like Americans had gone on with life, forgetting him and all the other soldiers at war in Vietnam, when he returned to the United States in 1969.
"Only your family and friends cared about you," he said Saturday, following a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial where he was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal.
"We weren’t really appreciated," the River Vale resident recalled.
On Saturday, those feelings were behind him. Piacenti beamed as bright as the blue skies and warm sun that seemed to shine in approval of the dozens of war veterans and about 300 of their supporters participating in the Vietnam Veterans’ Remembrance Day ceremony.
Most of the soldiers honored had served in Vietnam, though medals were also given to men and women who served in Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and the Korean War.
U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell Township, praised the memorial site, where reflective panels hold the names of New Jersey soldiers who died in Vietnam, and thanked the service men and women "for having us at your sacred place — a place of reflection" and called the site a national treasure because it is also the location for a memorial museum that holds artifacts, documents and testimony on the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1959 through 1973.
The state Legislature 20 years ago set aside May 7 to make clear "New Jersey would never forget its Vietnam Veterans," Holt said.
Many of the military’s special forces work unheralded, Holt said, until they "do something stupendous ... like getting bin Laden and decapitating al-Qaida," which prompted a cheer of "Whooo!" and applause from the crowd.
During the ceremony, various groups — including the American Gold Star Mothers, who represent family members of soldiers killed in war, and the Ukrainian American Post 30 from Freehold — presented colorful wreaths to honor those who served.
Families cheered as the veterans were called to receive their pins. Dozens of vets wore vests covered with POW-MIA, U.S. Marine Corps and other patches.
Piacenti, 63, the only Bergen County veteran at the ceremony, served in 1968 and 1969. He said he was happy to receive the honor, but he pointed at the memorial wall that encircled the ceremony and said "these are the real heroes," the soldiers that died.
He said this week’s news about Osama bin Laden’s capture and assassination bolstered the pride he feels in the military. "This goes to show you what kind of military we really have and I praise the president."
Piacenti declined to discuss his experiences in Vietnam saying "most veterans want to be anonymous."
HOLMDEL — Joe Piacenti felt like Americans had gone on with life, forgetting him and all the other soldiers at war in Vietnam, when he returned to the United States in 1969.
"Only your family and friends cared about you," he said Saturday, following a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial where he was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal.
"We weren’t really appreciated," the River Vale resident recalled.
On Saturday, those feelings were behind him. Piacenti beamed as bright as the blue skies and warm sun that seemed to shine in approval of the dozens of war veterans and about 300 of their supporters participating in the Vietnam Veterans’ Remembrance Day ceremony.
Most of the soldiers honored had served in Vietnam, though medals were also given to men and women who served in Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and the Korean War.
U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell Township, praised the memorial site, where reflective panels hold the names of New Jersey soldiers who died in Vietnam, and thanked the service men and women "for having us at your sacred place — a place of reflection" and called the site a national treasure because it is also the location for a memorial museum that holds artifacts, documents and testimony on the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1959 through 1973.
The state Legislature 20 years ago set aside May 7 to make clear "New Jersey would never forget its Vietnam Veterans," Holt said.
Many of the military’s special forces work unheralded, Holt said, until they "do something stupendous ... like getting bin Laden and decapitating al-Qaida," which prompted a cheer of "Whooo!" and applause from the crowd.
During the ceremony, various groups — including the American Gold Star Mothers, who represent family members of soldiers killed in war, and the Ukrainian American Post 30 from Freehold — presented colorful wreaths to honor those who served.
Families cheered as the veterans were called to receive their pins. Dozens of vets wore vests covered with POW-MIA, U.S. Marine Corps and other patches.
Piacenti, 63, the only Bergen County veteran at the ceremony, served in 1968 and 1969. He said he was happy to receive the honor, but he pointed at the memorial wall that encircled the ceremony and said "these are the real heroes," the soldiers that died.
He said this week’s news about Osama bin Laden’s capture and assassination bolstered the pride he feels in the military. "This goes to show you what kind of military we really have and I praise the president."
Piacenti declined to discuss his experiences in Vietnam saying "most veterans want to be anonymous."
Friday, May 6, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Ss
S-1 - Personnel officer at brigade or battalion
S-2 - Intelligence officer at brigade or battalion
S-3 - Operations and training offer at brigade or battalion.
S-4 - Supply officer at brigade or battalion
Sapper - Soldier trained to attack fortifications
Satchel Charge - Explosive package fitted with a handle for ease of handling or throwing.
Sitrep - Situation report
Slick - Term for the Huey troop transport, so named because it lacked the outboard weapons mounts that the gunships had.
Smokey the Bear - Air Force flare ship, usually a C-123, but occasionally a C-47.
Strikers - Slang for members of the Strike Force, a military force recruited by the American Special Forces. (Also the CIDG-Civilian Irregular Defense Group)
Strip Alert - State of readiness for a reaction force that generally meant they were either next to the aircraft or actually sitting in the aircraft that parked along an airstrip.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
S-2 - Intelligence officer at brigade or battalion
S-3 - Operations and training offer at brigade or battalion.
S-4 - Supply officer at brigade or battalion
Sapper - Soldier trained to attack fortifications
Satchel Charge - Explosive package fitted with a handle for ease of handling or throwing.
Sitrep - Situation report
Slick - Term for the Huey troop transport, so named because it lacked the outboard weapons mounts that the gunships had.
Smokey the Bear - Air Force flare ship, usually a C-123, but occasionally a C-47.
Strikers - Slang for members of the Strike Force, a military force recruited by the American Special Forces. (Also the CIDG-Civilian Irregular Defense Group)
Strip Alert - State of readiness for a reaction force that generally meant they were either next to the aircraft or actually sitting in the aircraft that parked along an airstrip.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Rs
Recon - Recooaissance
REDCON - Readiness Condition
RF - Regional Forces. Native military forces recruited and employed by province chief within a province. Along with PF, were popularly known as "RuffPuffs."
RPD - Soviet (North Vietnamese) caliber 7.62mm light machine gun.
RPG - Soviet rocket propelled grenade that fired an 82mm warhead. Basically an antitank weapon, the NVA also used it as an anti-personnel weapon.
RTO - Radio telephone operator
RVN - Republic of Vietnam
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
REDCON - Readiness Condition
RF - Regional Forces. Native military forces recruited and employed by province chief within a province. Along with PF, were popularly known as "RuffPuffs."
RPD - Soviet (North Vietnamese) caliber 7.62mm light machine gun.
RPG - Soviet rocket propelled grenade that fired an 82mm warhead. Basically an antitank weapon, the NVA also used it as an anti-personnel weapon.
RTO - Radio telephone operator
RVN - Republic of Vietnam
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
None So Blind, by George W. Allen
None So Blind: A Personal Account of the Intelligence Failure in Vietnam, by George W. Allen
Ivan R. Dee, 2001
286 pages, plus index. No photos.
Library: 959.704 ALL
Description
From the first large-scale Viet Ming offensive against the French in 1950, to the fall of Saigon in 1975, the United States tried desperately to understand the nature of the fierce Communist-led struggle to create a unified, independent Vietnam. Even before its military involvement, and through the years of combat, American intelligence played a key role in gathering information on the political political and military situation in Vietnam and on the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.
But as George Allen shows in this eye-popping memoir, intelligence appraisals were consistently discounted, ignored, and rejected by policy-makers in every administration from Eisenhower through Nixon-because these assessments undermined the mistaken assumptions of the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon.
Few Americans knew more about the inner workings of Washington's Vietnam War policy over as long a period of time as George Allen did. A World War II navy veteran, he went to work as a Defense Department intelligence analyst after the war and later switched to the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served until his retirement in 1979.
He spent virtually all of that time in Vietnam and Washington, compiling firsthand intelligence on the French and American wars. From his unique vantage point, Mr. Allen reveals specifically how American leaders, unwilling to face up to "bad news" from intelligence sources, largely excluded intelligence appraisals from important policy deliberations until it was too late.
He names the names of those officials who refused to confront reality, who instead preferred to make their own strategic and tactical decisions, nearly all of which were doomed.
In its inside view, its recitation of facts, and its powerful argument, None So Blind is a remarkable contribution to the history of the Vietnam War.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. A Taste of War
2. The French in Indochina
3. A Growing US Involvement
4. After the Geneva Accords
5. The View From Pearl Harbor
6. At the Center of Policy making
7. Politics in the Countryside
8. At the CIA
9. Assignment in Saigon
10. Escalation
11. The Public Opinion Campaign
12. Counting the Enemy
13. The Tet Surprise
14. The End of My Tunnel
15. The US Vietnam in Vietnam
Index
Monday, May 2, 2011
Vietnam War Glossary - Qs
Quickfox - A brevity code developed in the 11th Air Assault Division to assist in the air-ground coordination.
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Bibliography
Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam, by J. D. Coleman
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Reluctant Warrior, by Michael C. Hodgins
Reluctant Warrior: A Marine's True Story of Duty and Heroism in Vietnam, by Michael C. Hodgins
Fawcett Columbine, 1966
300 pages, plus Appendices, Bibliography, Index and 8 pages of b&w photos
Library: 959.704 HOD
Description
By the spring of 1970, politicians had determined the outcome of the war in Vietnam. But, for the troops in the field, it was a dangerous time. Morale was low, casualties were mounting, and no one - soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine-wanted to be the last mother's son killed in Vietnam.
In I Corps - northern South Vietnam-the Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel "Wild Bill" Drumright, were assigned to cover the withdrawal of 1st Marine Division. Under Drumright, the Marines of 1st RECON Bn (Rein) operated in small teams of six or seven men. Heavily armed, often led by a lieutenant, the teams fought a multitude of bitter engagements with a numerically superior and increasingly aggressive enemy to ensure that their fellow Marines could be withdrawn safely.
Michael C. Hodgins served in Company C, 1st RECON Bn (Rein), as a platoon leader during Drumright's rein. In powerful, graphic prose, Hodgins chronicles his experience as a patrol leader in myriad combat situations, both traumatic and poignant, while capturing the essence of tactical decisions and the self-doubt that accompanies them.
From hasty ambush to emergency extraction to prisoner snatch to combined-arms ambush, Mike Hodgins takes the reader step-by-step through the "troop-leading process" and the numerous anxious, at times fearsome, events that process inevitably involves in war. The accomplishments of the teams he led, documented by official Marine records, exemplifies small-unit combat leadership as well as the daily heroism that was routine for Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Introduction
1. Welcome Aboard
2. The Lieutenant's Protective Association
3. Warrior at Large
4. Turf Club
5. Charlie Ridge
6. Valhalla
7. The Fort
8. The Gauntlet
9. The Snatch
Epilogue
Appendix 1 - I Corps
Appendix 2 - Patrol report for Turf Club
Appendix 3 - Patrol Report for Sunrise
Bibliography
Index
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