From the New York Times: For Perry, Life Was Broadened and Narrowed by the Military
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. — Rick Perry arrived on the campus of Texas A&M University in the tumultuous fall of 1968, cut his hair short, regulation military style, and donned a uniform. College students across America were rising up against the Vietnam War, but Mr. Perry, a member of the Corps of Cadets here, would not be among them.
“There will be no Columbia, no Berkeley here,” the university president, Earl Rudder, declared that fall. When a small band of antiwar protesters took to the steps of the Memorial Student Center, a building dedicated to “Aggies who gave their lives for our country,” young Mr. Perry was incensed.
¶ “I don’t want to use the word ‘long-haired hippie types,’ ” said John Sharp, a Perry classmate and chancellor of the Texas A&M University system, “but a person who did not look like they fit into A&M said some kind of Jane Fonda-type stuff, and I remember Perry got up in his face pretty quick over that. He took exception to it, shouted the guy down.”
¶ Today Mr. Perry, the Texas governor, is running for president in a crowded Republican field as one of just two candidates with military experience. (The other is Ron Paul.) As an Air Force pilot, he flew C-130 cargo planes out of Dyess Air Force Base outside Abilene, about an hour south of the tiny town of Paint Creek, where he grew up.
¶ On the campaign trail, Mr. Perry has focused on domestic affairs, pitching himself as the man who can “overhaul Washington.” His Air Force days give a hint of how he might handle another aspect of the presidency, national security. In recent debates, he has emerged as a muscular interventionist, a stance that can be traced, in part, to his military service.
¶ It was an experience that both expanded and narrowed him, taking him to exotic locales while cementing his Texas roots and the traditional, conservative values that have been so central to his political identity. On Air Force missions overseas, he told students at Liberty University this fall, he had his first encounters with “oppressed people” — an experience that sharpened his idea of the United States as a beacon of democracy and helped convince him that Americans “cannot isolate ourselves within our borders.”
¶ Today, the college student who backed the Vietnam War is, at 61, the hawkish presidential candidate. Mr. Perry has called President Obama “irresponsible” for ending the Iraq war, urged the overthrow of the Iranian government — he would not rule out a military strike — and suggested he would deploy troops to Mexico to “kill these drug cartels” there.
¶ He has also pledged to reinstate “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the military policy that barred openly gay soldiers.
¶ Vietnam hung as a shadow over Mr. Perry’s service. As a young cadet, he mourned A&M graduates killed in battle. But with the war winding down, Mr. Perry did not see combat. Instead, he carried people and supplies (“trash hauling,” he and his buddies called it) around the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.
¶ “I saw the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, the old cities of Europe that existed long before Columbus ever set sail for the Americas, and the sands of the Persian Gulf, occupied by Bedouins who seemed stuck in a previous century,” Mr. Perry wrote in “On My Honor,” his book about the values of the Boy Scouts.
¶ Yet Mr. Perry’s world travels did not stir any longing for a life on the road. Rather, he felt “a growing sensation of homesickness,” he wrote. When stationed in Abilene, he lived in a little house he had fixed up out in the country. His fellow pilots remember him more for the cookouts and hunting trips he organized than for any zest to see the world.
¶ “He barely left home, and while he moved around the world it was in the military bubble,” said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas who has followed Mr. Perry’s career. “My sense of it is that it insulated him, as opposed to broadening his perspective.”
Mr. Perry declined to be interviewed for this article, and his campaign has declined to release his military records, though it provided The New York Times part of one performance evaluation, dated September 1976, citing him as an “outstanding young officer.”
As a presidential candidate, Mr. Perry has invoked his status as a veteran only briefly, mostly to contrast himself with Mr. Obama, who did not serve. But as governor, Mr. Perry did release an Air Force publicity photo, a glamour shot taken during his pilot training. In it, he wears a jumpsuit, aviator glasses and a faraway look as he leans against a sleek T-38 supersonic jet trainer — a plane that bears no resemblance to the bulky cargo planes that he eventually flew.
As a boy in Paint Creek — a town with no stoplight, no grocery store and a 13-member high school graduating class — Rick Perry dreamed of doing two things. One was becoming an Aggie — a student at A&M. The other was learning to fly.
“We grew up watching those crop-dusters fly in and out,” said Jim Bob Mickler, a friend who now works for a state agency that provides low-interest loans to veterans. “The more affluent men in our county had their own private planes, and if you had your own plane, you were really something.”
The two men Mr. Perry most admired — his father and Gene Overton, his scoutmaster — had both served in World War II. Mr. Overton, a 1931 A&M graduate, often took his scout troop to College Station for football weekends.
“It was all male, very military,” said Mr. Overton’s son, Wallar. “Rick fell in love with the corps.”
Mr. Perry arrived, at 18, hoping to become a veterinarian. He collected poor grades (a transcript widely circulated on the Internet is rife with C’s and D’s, with an A in “world military systems” ) and acquired a reputation as a prankster. (He once put live chickens in a classmate’s closet and left them there over Christmas break.)
But he also endured a demanding corps regimen. Cadets woke before dawn to a whistle; they marched in formation to the chow hall for breakfast. Freshmen were called “fish,” as in “Fish Perry,” and were expected to obey upperclassmen.
Uniforms were to be kept “neat and clean,” according to the student handbook, with “shoes and brass shined.” An infraction by one cadet meant punishment for the class.
The first year was so difficult, said Tony Best, a Perry classmate, “I saw guys come in and throw themselves on the floor, crying.”
Selective Service records show that Mr. Perry’s draft lottery number was relatively high, 275, which meant his chance of being drafted was low. Joining the Corps of Cadets did not require a commitment to serving in the military, but as a junior, Mr. Perry made one.
“It was the time, we got caught up in that — it was service, service to the nation, the country’s at war,” said one classmate who also joined, Joe Weber, a retired Marine general who is now vice president for student affairs at A&M.
In his speech at Liberty University, Mr. Perry offered another explanation: “Four semesters of organic chemistry,” he said, “made a pilot out of me.”
He graduated in 1972, finished pilot training in February 1974 and was assigned to the 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron at Dyess, whose duties included two-month overseas rotations at a Royal Air Force station in Mildenhall, England, and Rhein-Main Air Base near Frankfurt, Germany. His missions included a 1974 State Department drought relief effort in Mali, Mauritania and Chad, and two years later, earthquake relief in Guatemala.
“For the first time in my life I met oppressed people who didn’t take freedom for granted because it didn’t exist where they lived,” Mr. Perry told the Liberty students. “I saw rulers treat people like subjects.”
The squadron tended to divide between bachelors and married men; Mr. Perry, single but dating his future wife, was a driving force behind bachelor social activities.
“The preponderance of the guys had a good time,” said Dale Scoggins, a former fellow pilot, “and Rick had a good time.”
Mr. Scoggins and others who flew alongside Mr. Perry remember him neither as a standout nor a problem. His squadron commanders, Richard L. W. Henry and Bruce Mosley, now both retired colonels, said they knew of no disciplinary action against Mr. Perry. A former pilot and friend, Ronny Munson, recalls him as even-keeled and steady.
“He never lost his temper or got scared,” Mr. Munson said.
In August 1976, Mr. Perry was promoted from co-pilot to aircraft commander, in charge of a five-member crew. In the excerpted performance evaluation, his squadron instructor pilot suggested he attend squadron officer school. But his commander at the time, Colonel Mosley, said Mr. Perry had little interest in a military career.
The Air Force, faced with a glut of pilots in the aftermath of the war, offered some early exits. Mr. Perry accepted. He was, he wrote in his book, “yearning for new opportunities at home.” In February 1977, he retired as a captain and returned to Paint Creek to farm.
He was days shy of his 27th birthday, and not much changed by his years away. He seemed more mature, his hometown friends say, and more appreciative of the United States. But at heart, his old friend Mr. Mickler said, he was still “just a good old West Texas boy.”
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
New pool mural honors Mass. man killed in Vietnam
From Boston.com: New pool mural honors Mass. man killed in Vietnam
A new mural at a state swimming pool in Worcester honors the life of a local man killed in the Vietnam War when he was 21 years old.
The mural was dedicated Friday at the pool named for Cpl. Dennis F. Shine Jr., who died in 1969.
The work was a cooperative venture among Shine’s family, Millbury Savings Bank and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said the partnership brings “history, art and a local hero’s story home.’’
A new mural at a state swimming pool in Worcester honors the life of a local man killed in the Vietnam War when he was 21 years old.
The mural was dedicated Friday at the pool named for Cpl. Dennis F. Shine Jr., who died in 1969.
The work was a cooperative venture among Shine’s family, Millbury Savings Bank and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said the partnership brings “history, art and a local hero’s story home.’’
Agent Orange: With more diseases tied to use during Vietnam War, bill for veterans' care skyrockets
From Grand Forks Herald: Agent Orange: With more diseases tied to use during Vietnam War, bill for veterans' care skyrockets
More than 40 years after the U.S. military used Agent Orange to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam, the health-care bill is escalating.
Over the past two years, federal officials say, an estimated 10,000 more veterans have sought medical compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange, an herbicide that contains a toxic chemical called dioxin.
The Institute of Medicine said in a recent report that there is sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to Agent Orange and illnesses including soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and chloracne.
The report recommended further research to determine whether there could be a link between Agent Orange exposure and other illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, tonsil cancer, melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease.
Over the next decade, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to pay $50 billion for health-care compensation for ischemic heart disease alone — one of the 14 diseases the VA says is associated with Agent Orange exposure.
Last year, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia were added to the list of diseases the VA associates with Agent Orange exposure. That added $236 million in 2010 and $165 million this year in compensation costs, according to a VA report.
In addition, today’s soldiers could be subject to longer delays for disability-compensation claims from the VA because of veterans from previous generations, said Ryan Edwards, a Queens College economist who has studied the life cycles of veterans’ costs.
“We’re probably not going to see the peak in demand for service needs for another 30 years,” Edwards said. “We have not begun to see the end yet.”
Providing compensation for veterans’ health care is not an economic issue, said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who has been on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for 15 years.
“It’s not a question of being able to afford it; it’s an obligation to our veterans, those who put their lives on the line, those who were told it was safe,” said Reyes, who was a helicopter crew chief in Vietnam. “We flew our helicopters through clouds of Agent Orange when it was being applied.”
Still, some prominent political leaders argue that many veterans could have developed these diseases regardless of whether they were exposed to Agent Orange. Those leaders are asking how the VA will afford the compensation claims without breaking the nation’s budget.
“You’re going to find out,” said Alan Simpson, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “These unbelievable compensation systems will fail. There’s no way they can be sustained.”
Retired Army Capt. Allen Clark of Dallas said he served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967 and was exposed to Agent Orange. A year ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, though he said he has no way of knowing whether his condition is related to his exposure. And he did not file a claim, because he already has 100 percent disability compensation after losing both legs in a mortar attack.
Proven link or not, he said, “We’re the ones that went off to an unpopular war. … We have earned those benefits by our service to our country under very trying circumstances.”
Other proponents of providing health-care compensation in these Agent Orange cases argue that scientific research can rarely provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We always tend to think of science as cut and dried, yes and no, black and white — and there’s a heck of a lot of gray in there,” said Dr. Terry Walters, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ deputy chief consultant for post-deployment health. “That’s why you need experts to evaluate it.”
Usually, to file a claim for compensation, a veteran must show that he has the disease, that he was exposed to Agent Orange and that there is a connection to the disease. But a presumptive link takes the burden of proof off of the veterans, Walters said.
Luther Newberry, 64, a retired Marine Corps E4 corporal who served in Vietnam, said that his ischemic heart disease, diabetes and neuropathy are a direct result of his exposure to Agent Orange.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind,” said Newberry, of Fritch, Texas, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Texas State Council. “Vietnam veterans my age, we’re probably dying at a faster rate than the Korean (or) World War II veterans are right now.”
If these veterans had been aware of the risks of Agent Orange exposure, many of them could have gotten the care they needed earlier — before it was too late, advocates said.
“If our guys had known that we’re more than twice as likely, almost three times as likely, to get prostate cancer, more than twice as likely to get diabetes, more than twice as likely to get sarcoma or renal cancer, people would have been on the lookout for these (health) risks that accrued to veterans who served in the Vietnam theater,” said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs at the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Disability compensation for Agent Orange-related illnesses is going to be expensive, but it’s an expense that the VA is willing to accept, Walters said.
“It’s a lot of money, a huge amount of money,” Walters said. “But the (secretary of veterans affairs) doesn’t make the decisions based on money; we try to make the decisions based on science. But the science is very fuzzy. It’s very emotional and it’s political. It’s difficult.”
More than 40 years after the U.S. military used Agent Orange to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam, the health-care bill is escalating.
Over the past two years, federal officials say, an estimated 10,000 more veterans have sought medical compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange, an herbicide that contains a toxic chemical called dioxin.
The Institute of Medicine said in a recent report that there is sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to Agent Orange and illnesses including soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and chloracne.
The report recommended further research to determine whether there could be a link between Agent Orange exposure and other illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, tonsil cancer, melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease.
Over the next decade, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to pay $50 billion for health-care compensation for ischemic heart disease alone — one of the 14 diseases the VA says is associated with Agent Orange exposure.
Last year, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia were added to the list of diseases the VA associates with Agent Orange exposure. That added $236 million in 2010 and $165 million this year in compensation costs, according to a VA report.
In addition, today’s soldiers could be subject to longer delays for disability-compensation claims from the VA because of veterans from previous generations, said Ryan Edwards, a Queens College economist who has studied the life cycles of veterans’ costs.
“We’re probably not going to see the peak in demand for service needs for another 30 years,” Edwards said. “We have not begun to see the end yet.”
Providing compensation for veterans’ health care is not an economic issue, said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who has been on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for 15 years.
“It’s not a question of being able to afford it; it’s an obligation to our veterans, those who put their lives on the line, those who were told it was safe,” said Reyes, who was a helicopter crew chief in Vietnam. “We flew our helicopters through clouds of Agent Orange when it was being applied.”
Still, some prominent political leaders argue that many veterans could have developed these diseases regardless of whether they were exposed to Agent Orange. Those leaders are asking how the VA will afford the compensation claims without breaking the nation’s budget.
“You’re going to find out,” said Alan Simpson, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “These unbelievable compensation systems will fail. There’s no way they can be sustained.”
Retired Army Capt. Allen Clark of Dallas said he served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967 and was exposed to Agent Orange. A year ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, though he said he has no way of knowing whether his condition is related to his exposure. And he did not file a claim, because he already has 100 percent disability compensation after losing both legs in a mortar attack.
Proven link or not, he said, “We’re the ones that went off to an unpopular war. … We have earned those benefits by our service to our country under very trying circumstances.”
Other proponents of providing health-care compensation in these Agent Orange cases argue that scientific research can rarely provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We always tend to think of science as cut and dried, yes and no, black and white — and there’s a heck of a lot of gray in there,” said Dr. Terry Walters, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ deputy chief consultant for post-deployment health. “That’s why you need experts to evaluate it.”
Usually, to file a claim for compensation, a veteran must show that he has the disease, that he was exposed to Agent Orange and that there is a connection to the disease. But a presumptive link takes the burden of proof off of the veterans, Walters said.
Luther Newberry, 64, a retired Marine Corps E4 corporal who served in Vietnam, said that his ischemic heart disease, diabetes and neuropathy are a direct result of his exposure to Agent Orange.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind,” said Newberry, of Fritch, Texas, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Texas State Council. “Vietnam veterans my age, we’re probably dying at a faster rate than the Korean (or) World War II veterans are right now.”
If these veterans had been aware of the risks of Agent Orange exposure, many of them could have gotten the care they needed earlier — before it was too late, advocates said.
“If our guys had known that we’re more than twice as likely, almost three times as likely, to get prostate cancer, more than twice as likely to get diabetes, more than twice as likely to get sarcoma or renal cancer, people would have been on the lookout for these (health) risks that accrued to veterans who served in the Vietnam theater,” said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs at the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Disability compensation for Agent Orange-related illnesses is going to be expensive, but it’s an expense that the VA is willing to accept, Walters said.
“It’s a lot of money, a huge amount of money,” Walters said. “But the (secretary of veterans affairs) doesn’t make the decisions based on money; we try to make the decisions based on science. But the science is very fuzzy. It’s very emotional and it’s political. It’s difficult.”
Monday, November 21, 2011
New posting schedule
Sorry for the long delay in posting - had some family issues.
The posting schedule for this blog - starting this Wednesday, Nov 23, will be Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Thanks for your patience!
The posting schedule for this blog - starting this Wednesday, Nov 23, will be Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Thanks for your patience!
Friday, November 11, 2011
'Ride for 3095' motorcycle rally honored Vietnam War dead
From Inde Online: 'Ride for 3095' motorcycle rally honors Vietnam War dead
CLINTON —
A dozen Massillon-area motorcyclists added more rumble to today’s inaugural “Ride for the 3095” honoring the 3,095 Ohioans who died in the Vietnam War.
Sam Postlethwait, a Vietnam War veteran and director of the American Legion Riders Post 221, organized the local contingent that made the trek from Days Inn & Suites at 4742 Brecksville Road in Richfield, to the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park at 8005 Cleveland-Massillon Road in Clinton.
“I think it’s a great idea, being a Vietnam War veteran myself,” Postlethwait said. “When I came home, we got nothing. Now people are paying respect (to veterans) ... I have a close friend who lost his life over there. Even if I didn’t, I’d still do (ride).”
Organizers expected more than 2,000 motorcycles for the event, including some from as far away as Canada and Italy.
“It’s been nonstop. We have people coming from Pennsylvania and West Virginia,” said Ken Noon, event coordinator. “It’s never been done before. It’s pretty exciting. We have a guy coming from Italy, who is originally from Ohio, whose friend died in the war.”
Each motorcyclist carried a flag printed with the name, rank and branch of service of each of the 3,095 Ohio casualties in Vietnam. The flags also feature the Purple Heart Medal. Riders have the option of sponsoring a flag for $25, Noon said. Cash or checks will be accepted. Many of the flags are being purchased by residents who are unable to ride.
“If they just want to participate, it doesn’t cost anything,” Noon said.
Riders registered at The Days Inn until 10 a.m., with staging from 9 to 11 a.m. The ride departed at noon with a service at 2 p.m. at the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park. The park, which was dedicated in May 2009, includes a memorial wall featuring the names of each of the 3,095 Ohioans who were killed in Vietnam. The wall is the largest free standing monument in Ohio, according to Noon. During the memorial service, an AH-1 Cobra helicopter that will be permanently displayed at the park will be unveiled. The cobra served in Vietnam and the New Jersey National Guard, according to Noon.
“It had been on display in Zanesville but now we have it permanently,” Noon said.
Keynote speakers for the service included retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Peter Russo, U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township, and State Rep. Christina Hagan, R-Marlboro Township, according to Frank Sasz, president of the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park. Rolling Thunder Chapter 5 will be joining the ceremony with the traveling POW/MIA wall, Ghost Warrior Ceremony and Missing Man Ceremony.
CLINTON —
A dozen Massillon-area motorcyclists added more rumble to today’s inaugural “Ride for the 3095” honoring the 3,095 Ohioans who died in the Vietnam War.
Sam Postlethwait, a Vietnam War veteran and director of the American Legion Riders Post 221, organized the local contingent that made the trek from Days Inn & Suites at 4742 Brecksville Road in Richfield, to the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park at 8005 Cleveland-Massillon Road in Clinton.
“I think it’s a great idea, being a Vietnam War veteran myself,” Postlethwait said. “When I came home, we got nothing. Now people are paying respect (to veterans) ... I have a close friend who lost his life over there. Even if I didn’t, I’d still do (ride).”
Organizers expected more than 2,000 motorcycles for the event, including some from as far away as Canada and Italy.
“It’s been nonstop. We have people coming from Pennsylvania and West Virginia,” said Ken Noon, event coordinator. “It’s never been done before. It’s pretty exciting. We have a guy coming from Italy, who is originally from Ohio, whose friend died in the war.”
Each motorcyclist carried a flag printed with the name, rank and branch of service of each of the 3,095 Ohio casualties in Vietnam. The flags also feature the Purple Heart Medal. Riders have the option of sponsoring a flag for $25, Noon said. Cash or checks will be accepted. Many of the flags are being purchased by residents who are unable to ride.
“If they just want to participate, it doesn’t cost anything,” Noon said.
Riders registered at The Days Inn until 10 a.m., with staging from 9 to 11 a.m. The ride departed at noon with a service at 2 p.m. at the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park. The park, which was dedicated in May 2009, includes a memorial wall featuring the names of each of the 3,095 Ohioans who were killed in Vietnam. The wall is the largest free standing monument in Ohio, according to Noon. During the memorial service, an AH-1 Cobra helicopter that will be permanently displayed at the park will be unveiled. The cobra served in Vietnam and the New Jersey National Guard, according to Noon.
“It had been on display in Zanesville but now we have it permanently,” Noon said.
Keynote speakers for the service included retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Peter Russo, U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township, and State Rep. Christina Hagan, R-Marlboro Township, according to Frank Sasz, president of the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park. Rolling Thunder Chapter 5 will be joining the ceremony with the traveling POW/MIA wall, Ghost Warrior Ceremony and Missing Man Ceremony.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Vietnam war vets seize back hijacked ship
From Google.com: Vietnam war vets seize back hijacked ship
TAIPEI — Taiwan hailed on Monday the bravery of five Vietnamese war vets who launched a surprise assault on six armed pirates and successfully took back their vessel after it had been hijacked off East Africa.
The former Vietnam war fighters had been recruited by Taiwan to be part of a 28-man crew on the "Chin Yi Wen", a 290-tonne vessel, along with nine Chinese, eight Filipinos and six Indonesians.
The crew, who had been out of contact with the ship since Friday according to the foreign ministry, forced the six armed Somali pirates to jump overboard, and successfully took back control of the ship.
Liu Wan-tien, the owner of the vessel based in the southern Taiwanese city Kaohsiung, said the five Vietnamese sailors launched the surprise assault on the pirates as they were having a meal, the state Central News Agency reported.
The pirates were forced to jump into the high sea and were likely picked up by a small boat operated by the same Somali pirates group, it said.
Liu promised to reward the five "brave" sailors and the rest of crew who were also involved, CNA said.
It added that three sailors were slightly injured in the action, according to Liu, and the ship would remain in the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles before returning to Taiwan.
Taiwan's Fisheries Agency also voiced its gratitude to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an anti-piracy taskforce, for swiftly coming to the aid of the vessel and providing it with protection.
The UKMTO had received the Agency's request for help on Sunday.
Two decades of lawlessness have carved up Somalia into mini-fiefdoms ruled by gunmen and militia, encouraging rampant piracy.
At least 47 foreign vessels and more than 500 sailors are being held by pirates, according to Ecoterra International, which monitors maritime activity in the region.
TAIPEI — Taiwan hailed on Monday the bravery of five Vietnamese war vets who launched a surprise assault on six armed pirates and successfully took back their vessel after it had been hijacked off East Africa.
The former Vietnam war fighters had been recruited by Taiwan to be part of a 28-man crew on the "Chin Yi Wen", a 290-tonne vessel, along with nine Chinese, eight Filipinos and six Indonesians.
The crew, who had been out of contact with the ship since Friday according to the foreign ministry, forced the six armed Somali pirates to jump overboard, and successfully took back control of the ship.
Liu Wan-tien, the owner of the vessel based in the southern Taiwanese city Kaohsiung, said the five Vietnamese sailors launched the surprise assault on the pirates as they were having a meal, the state Central News Agency reported.
The pirates were forced to jump into the high sea and were likely picked up by a small boat operated by the same Somali pirates group, it said.
Liu promised to reward the five "brave" sailors and the rest of crew who were also involved, CNA said.
It added that three sailors were slightly injured in the action, according to Liu, and the ship would remain in the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles before returning to Taiwan.
Taiwan's Fisheries Agency also voiced its gratitude to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an anti-piracy taskforce, for swiftly coming to the aid of the vessel and providing it with protection.
The UKMTO had received the Agency's request for help on Sunday.
Two decades of lawlessness have carved up Somalia into mini-fiefdoms ruled by gunmen and militia, encouraging rampant piracy.
At least 47 foreign vessels and more than 500 sailors are being held by pirates, according to Ecoterra International, which monitors maritime activity in the region.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Soldiers Missing from Vietnam War Identified
From DOD: Soldiers Missing from Vietnam War Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Army Capt. Arnold E. Holm Jr. of Waterford, Conn.; Spc. Robin R. Yeakley of South Bend, Ind.; and Pfc. Wayne Bibbs of Chicago, will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the entire crew, on Nov. 9, in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 11, 1972, Holm was the pilot of an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter flying a reconnaissance mission in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. Also on board were his observer, Yeakley, and his door gunner, Bibbs. The aircraft made a second pass over a ridge, where enemy bunkers had been sighted, exploded and crashed, exploding again upon impact. Crews of other U.S. aircraft, involved in the mission, reported receiving enemy ground fire as they overflew the crash site looking for survivors.
Between 1993 and 2008, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed witnesses, investigated, surveyed and excavated possible crash sites several times. They recovered human remains, OH-6A helicopter wreckage and crew-related equipment—including two identification tags bearing Yeakley’s name.
Scientists from the JPAC used forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence to identify the crew.
Today more than 1,600 American remain un-accounted for from the Vietnam War. More than 900 servicemen have been accounted for from that conflict, and returned to their families for burial with military honors since 1973. The U.S. government continues to work closely with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover all Americans lost in the Vietnam War.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Army Capt. Arnold E. Holm Jr. of Waterford, Conn.; Spc. Robin R. Yeakley of South Bend, Ind.; and Pfc. Wayne Bibbs of Chicago, will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the entire crew, on Nov. 9, in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 11, 1972, Holm was the pilot of an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter flying a reconnaissance mission in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. Also on board were his observer, Yeakley, and his door gunner, Bibbs. The aircraft made a second pass over a ridge, where enemy bunkers had been sighted, exploded and crashed, exploding again upon impact. Crews of other U.S. aircraft, involved in the mission, reported receiving enemy ground fire as they overflew the crash site looking for survivors.
Between 1993 and 2008, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed witnesses, investigated, surveyed and excavated possible crash sites several times. They recovered human remains, OH-6A helicopter wreckage and crew-related equipment—including two identification tags bearing Yeakley’s name.
Scientists from the JPAC used forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence to identify the crew.
Today more than 1,600 American remain un-accounted for from the Vietnam War. More than 900 servicemen have been accounted for from that conflict, and returned to their families for burial with military honors since 1973. The U.S. government continues to work closely with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover all Americans lost in the Vietnam War.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Medal of Honor winner thrills students with story of heroism
The New Star: Medal of Honor winner thrills students with story of heroism
Vietnam War veteran Sgt. Sammy Davis put his lips to a silver harmonica and played “Shenandoah” for a gymnasium full of middle school students. His hope — it would bring them peace.
But they had already fallen silent.
It’s a tune he’s played more than a dozen times before for his friends, their families and his fallen brothers whose names are etched into the Vietnam War Memorial, he told the students.
After he hit the last note, the students rose from the bleachers for a standing ovation.
Davis, one of 85 living Medal of Honor recipients, and at age 65, one of the youngest, visited West Ridge Middle School in West Monroe on Tuesday as part of a pre-Veterans Day presentation to inspire patriotism among youth. The selection of the school in particular was no coincidence: Davis’ granddaughter, Hannah, is enrolled there.
When Davis was in high school, he knew he wanted to join the Army, so he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. He hailed from a family of service members and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who had been served as an artilleryman.
It was his job to provide continuous support to the infantry, he said, and that could require maintaining up to 10 hours of nonstop cover followed by a sudden lulls of absolute quiet.
It was that kind of “eerie quiet” that blanketed his unit early one November morning in 1967. Suddenly, Davis’ unit was pelted with heavy mortar. It was 1,500 Vietnamese soldiers vs. 42 Americans, he said.
Davis’ crew, armed with a 105 mm howitzer, received a direct blow from the enemy, throwing Davis into a foxhole. He lost consciousness for a while, but when he finally awoke he grabbed the damaged howitzer once again and gave it all he had. He couldn’t risk letting the other side overrun it, he said.
“I didn’t do anything heroic that night. I did my job,” Davis said.
“It was just like a bad dream,” he said. “I didn’t think that I was probably going to see daylight.”
Davis fired all remaining rounds of the howitzer, a phosphorous shell, and a final “propaganda shell” filled with leaflets, according to a Military.com report.
Vietnam War veteran Sgt. Sammy Davis put his lips to a silver harmonica and played “Shenandoah” for a gymnasium full of middle school students. His hope — it would bring them peace.
But they had already fallen silent.
It’s a tune he’s played more than a dozen times before for his friends, their families and his fallen brothers whose names are etched into the Vietnam War Memorial, he told the students.
After he hit the last note, the students rose from the bleachers for a standing ovation.
Davis, one of 85 living Medal of Honor recipients, and at age 65, one of the youngest, visited West Ridge Middle School in West Monroe on Tuesday as part of a pre-Veterans Day presentation to inspire patriotism among youth. The selection of the school in particular was no coincidence: Davis’ granddaughter, Hannah, is enrolled there.
When Davis was in high school, he knew he wanted to join the Army, so he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. He hailed from a family of service members and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who had been served as an artilleryman.
It was his job to provide continuous support to the infantry, he said, and that could require maintaining up to 10 hours of nonstop cover followed by a sudden lulls of absolute quiet.
It was that kind of “eerie quiet” that blanketed his unit early one November morning in 1967. Suddenly, Davis’ unit was pelted with heavy mortar. It was 1,500 Vietnamese soldiers vs. 42 Americans, he said.
Davis’ crew, armed with a 105 mm howitzer, received a direct blow from the enemy, throwing Davis into a foxhole. He lost consciousness for a while, but when he finally awoke he grabbed the damaged howitzer once again and gave it all he had. He couldn’t risk letting the other side overrun it, he said.
“I didn’t do anything heroic that night. I did my job,” Davis said.
“It was just like a bad dream,” he said. “I didn’t think that I was probably going to see daylight.”
Davis fired all remaining rounds of the howitzer, a phosphorous shell, and a final “propaganda shell” filled with leaflets, according to a Military.com report.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
History Channel to feature professor
From the Student Printz: History Channel to feature professor
Andrew Weist, a history professor at Southern Miss, has published a total of 14 books, six of which are about Vietnam. Weist recently worked as the head historian for the History Channel documentary "Vietnam in HD." The documentary will premiere Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.
"Lou Reda Productions needed a Vietnam War expert to set the parameters for the documentary, to work the script writing and to help them find the veterans they needed to interview," Weist said. "As a historian, it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Weist wanted to take the topic he had been working on for years and translate his knowledge into a format that would affect and reach millions of people.
Weist was in charge of narrowing down a very complex war that lasted eight years and compacted it into a six-hour film series.
""I jumped at the chance," Weist said. "It was also quite challenging and fun."
Weist said he felt compelled to learn more about the war and how Vietnam was unlike wars that came before it.
"It was a war in which our soldiers fought so hard and well, but a war we still lost," Weist said.
Weist also said there are many facets to the Vietnam War, so research is always interesting.
"What I am interested in right now is the U.S. soldiers' experience here," Weist said. "I was too young for the war, but I saw it on television and heard my older sister's friends talking about it all the time."
Although he may not have understood it then, Weist knew that it was the most important event of his generation.
Weist played a part in the history of Southern Miss since 1987. His favorite role on campus was being a professor of history.
"I just loved learning what had come before," Weist said. "My mother, grandmother and my great grandfather all taught," Weist said. "I respected them all quite a bit. I was also affected very much by my high school and college teachers. I wanted to be like them."
Weist said he learned about the war "through reading pretty much everything that comes out on the Vietnam War." He also holds interviews, researches thousands of records in the national archives, takes trips to the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech and has veterans speak to his classes. "There is no better way to learn than from those who were there," Weist said.
Between his research and interviews, Weist experiences emotion every time he opens a book or hears the personal tale of a surviving veteran. He has interviewed over 70 surviving members of a military company unit and 26 of their relatives.
"It is even more emotional still to talk to the loved ones of soldiers who did not return home," Weist said. "It is a real honor for me to be able to interview these veterans, to have them entrust their stories to me."
The documentary also includes the story of a Hattiesburg veteran's role in the notorious Southeast Asian conflict.
The documentary will premiere Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.
Andrew Weist, a history professor at Southern Miss, has published a total of 14 books, six of which are about Vietnam. Weist recently worked as the head historian for the History Channel documentary "Vietnam in HD." The documentary will premiere Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.
"Lou Reda Productions needed a Vietnam War expert to set the parameters for the documentary, to work the script writing and to help them find the veterans they needed to interview," Weist said. "As a historian, it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Weist wanted to take the topic he had been working on for years and translate his knowledge into a format that would affect and reach millions of people.
Weist was in charge of narrowing down a very complex war that lasted eight years and compacted it into a six-hour film series.
""I jumped at the chance," Weist said. "It was also quite challenging and fun."
Weist said he felt compelled to learn more about the war and how Vietnam was unlike wars that came before it.
"It was a war in which our soldiers fought so hard and well, but a war we still lost," Weist said.
Weist also said there are many facets to the Vietnam War, so research is always interesting.
"What I am interested in right now is the U.S. soldiers' experience here," Weist said. "I was too young for the war, but I saw it on television and heard my older sister's friends talking about it all the time."
Although he may not have understood it then, Weist knew that it was the most important event of his generation.
Weist played a part in the history of Southern Miss since 1987. His favorite role on campus was being a professor of history.
"I just loved learning what had come before," Weist said. "My mother, grandmother and my great grandfather all taught," Weist said. "I respected them all quite a bit. I was also affected very much by my high school and college teachers. I wanted to be like them."
Weist said he learned about the war "through reading pretty much everything that comes out on the Vietnam War." He also holds interviews, researches thousands of records in the national archives, takes trips to the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech and has veterans speak to his classes. "There is no better way to learn than from those who were there," Weist said.
Between his research and interviews, Weist experiences emotion every time he opens a book or hears the personal tale of a surviving veteran. He has interviewed over 70 surviving members of a military company unit and 26 of their relatives.
"It is even more emotional still to talk to the loved ones of soldiers who did not return home," Weist said. "It is a real honor for me to be able to interview these veterans, to have them entrust their stories to me."
The documentary also includes the story of a Hattiesburg veteran's role in the notorious Southeast Asian conflict.
The documentary will premiere Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.
Oakley, CA: Oakley Vietnam veteran shares war stories
From Mercury News.com: Oakley Vietnam veteran shares war stories
While some veterans consider their war experiences too painful to share with the public, Vietnam War veteran Phil Ehrhorn is open about his past as an Air Force staff sergeant who flew in fighter jets and survived a crash.
The Oakley resident especially likes to share his stories with inquisitive elementary school children who ask lots of questions. Ehrhorn has spoken at several public and private schools, and is a regular guest speaker at East Contra Costa County libraries during Veterans Day activities.
"I tell the kids what I did over there. The kids just love it," he said.
At two upcoming events hosted by the Contra Costa County library system, Ehrhorn will share details about April 22, 1970, when the EC-47 surveillance plane that he was aboard as a radio operator was hit and crash-landed into a tree while flying a mission over South Vietnam. He will speak in Pittsburg on Friday and in Brentwood on Tuesday.
"I was working on equipment in the back of the plane when it happened," Ehrhorn said.
Two of the eight crew members were killed, according to Ehrhorn. The aircraft was seriously damaged, and Ehrhorn broke his back.
"A lot of the children want to know more about it because their uncles or grandpas were in the war, too," said Ehrhorn, who served eight years and was assigned to Detachment 2 of the 6994th Security Squadron from October 1967 to June 1970.
Ehrhorn, 68, said he doesn't go into too much detail about the crash, but he does field a lot of detailed questions from students in the third, fourth and fifth grades.
"The kids and I get along great," Ehrhorn said. "I have them on the floor laughing."
During the presentation, Ehrhorn will share photos of war-era aircraft and the medals he earned. For the past few years, he has been speaking to East Contra Costa residents in observance of Veterans Day at both the Oakley and Brentwood libraries.
Youth services librarian Lindsay Dupont said the hourlong Veterans Day event featuring Ehrhorn is designed for children in elementary and middle school, but their parents will enjoy it just as much.
"He loves children, and he has a great story," she said.
IF YOU GO
What: Vietnam War veteran and Oakley resident Phil Ehrhorn presents "Combat Missions in the Sky" in honor of Veterans Day.
When: 4 p.m. Friday at the Pittsburg Library, 80 Power Ave., and 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Brentwood Library, 104 Oak St.
Details: For more information, call the Pittsburg Library at 925-427-8390 or the Brentwood Library at 925-516-5290.
While some veterans consider their war experiences too painful to share with the public, Vietnam War veteran Phil Ehrhorn is open about his past as an Air Force staff sergeant who flew in fighter jets and survived a crash.
The Oakley resident especially likes to share his stories with inquisitive elementary school children who ask lots of questions. Ehrhorn has spoken at several public and private schools, and is a regular guest speaker at East Contra Costa County libraries during Veterans Day activities.
"I tell the kids what I did over there. The kids just love it," he said.
At two upcoming events hosted by the Contra Costa County library system, Ehrhorn will share details about April 22, 1970, when the EC-47 surveillance plane that he was aboard as a radio operator was hit and crash-landed into a tree while flying a mission over South Vietnam. He will speak in Pittsburg on Friday and in Brentwood on Tuesday.
"I was working on equipment in the back of the plane when it happened," Ehrhorn said.
Two of the eight crew members were killed, according to Ehrhorn. The aircraft was seriously damaged, and Ehrhorn broke his back.
"A lot of the children want to know more about it because their uncles or grandpas were in the war, too," said Ehrhorn, who served eight years and was assigned to Detachment 2 of the 6994th Security Squadron from October 1967 to June 1970.
Ehrhorn, 68, said he doesn't go into too much detail about the crash, but he does field a lot of detailed questions from students in the third, fourth and fifth grades.
"The kids and I get along great," Ehrhorn said. "I have them on the floor laughing."
During the presentation, Ehrhorn will share photos of war-era aircraft and the medals he earned. For the past few years, he has been speaking to East Contra Costa residents in observance of Veterans Day at both the Oakley and Brentwood libraries.
Youth services librarian Lindsay Dupont said the hourlong Veterans Day event featuring Ehrhorn is designed for children in elementary and middle school, but their parents will enjoy it just as much.
"He loves children, and he has a great story," she said.
IF YOU GO
What: Vietnam War veteran and Oakley resident Phil Ehrhorn presents "Combat Missions in the Sky" in honor of Veterans Day.
When: 4 p.m. Friday at the Pittsburg Library, 80 Power Ave., and 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Brentwood Library, 104 Oak St.
Details: For more information, call the Pittsburg Library at 925-427-8390 or the Brentwood Library at 925-516-5290.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)