NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation to Host A POWs Story

From AsburyParkPress: NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation to Host A POWs Story
The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation will host former prisoner of war David I. Drummonds A POWs Story on Saturday, July 23 at 1 p.m. at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center. Drummond, a New Jersey resident, will share his personal account of capture and survival as a POW during the Vietnam War. Several items from his time imprisoned are on display in the museums lobby.

Drummond was born in Preston, England, and moved to the United States with his parents at the age of four. He lived in Jersey City, North Bergen, and Westwood, and became a naturalized US citizen in 1961. In 1969 he graduated from Newark College of Engineering, where he participated in U.S Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force. On December 22, 1972, during the Linebacker II raids, the final bombing operation of the Vietnam War, the B-52 bomber that Capt. Drummond co-piloted was shot down over North Vietnam. Drummond and his fellow crewmen were taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese and held until the end of the war and Operation Homecoming in March 1973. Drummonds crew was the only captured B-52 crew to have all its crewmembers return alive to the USA.

After his repatriation, Drummond left the Air Force and began a flying career with American Airlines. He worked for Bell Helicopter Company as a flight test engineer testing experimental helicopters, and later returned to American Airlines. He currently flies as captain of an American Airlines Boeing 777. David and his wife Jill live in Manalapan and have one son, Ian.

Attendees are asked to RSVP to (732) 335-0033. Teachers who attend this program will receive professional development credit hours. Admission is free for veterans and active-duty military personnel. Adult admission is $5.00; student and senior citizen admission is $3.00. Children under 10 are admitted free. The Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial off the Garden State Parkway at exit 116. The Museum & Educational Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Please visit our website at www.njvvmf.org for more information.

'Muster' to focus on Vietnam

Times-Herald.com: 'Muster' to focus on Vietnam

This Oct. 20-23 Coweta County will play host to a very special visitor: The Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall.

The half-sized replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., contains the names of all those lost during the Vietnam War, including 20 from Coweta County.

The wall will be the main attraction of the 2011 Veterans Muster, which will be at the Coweta County Fairgrounds on Pine Road south of Newnan off U.S. 29.

Congress recently declared 2011 as the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War. To recognize that occasion, the Coweta Commission on Veterans Affairs, which organizes and operates the annual Veterans Muster, decided to focus this year's event on the Vietnam War.

The members of the Commission on Veterans Affairs have worked tirelessly to bring the Moving Wall to Coweta and their efforts are to be applauded.

The Moving Wall is accompanied by other structures, including a space with exhibits about the Vietnam War and those who fought there. During its stay in Coweta the wall and accompanying exhibits will be open for viewing 24 hours a day and manned by volunteers ready to provide both security and assistance for visitors.

The Coweta Commission on Veterans Affairs has also started a website ( cowetacova.org ) containing information about the wall, the war and the Cowetans who died in Vietnam.

Much of the website information about Cowetans killed in Vietnam was provided by Steve Quesinberry, chairman of the Social Studies Department at Newnan High School. Quesinberry teaches a class on the Vietnam War and has spent countless hours outside the classroom researching the war, local events related to the war and local veterans who died in Vietnam.

The 2011 Muster will be a great event. To help commemorate the visit of the Moving Wall, The Times-Herald will, over the next 14 weeks, run a series of articles about the Vietnam War.

These stories will examine the causes, the victories, the defeats and the national unrest that followed the war from beginning to end. Each article will feature comments and stories about the Vietnam experience from current Coweta veterans who served there.

This series is intended to help readers understand more about America's most unpopular war. We also hope it will enable readers to realize how this war was different from any other, mostly for the way those who fought it were treated by some of their fellow citizens.

Soldiers from America's other wars came home to ticker tape parades, victory rallies and cheers from a grateful nation. Many who returned from Vietnam were spat upon, called "baby killers" and held up as a symbol of all that was wrong with America. And all because they served their country with dignity and honor.

In the 36 years since the last two servicemen died in Vietnam in 1975, America's Vietnam veterans have begun to win acceptance and are now honored at local and national events honoring all veterans. But the scars from that long ago war remain.

The Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall is called "The Wall That Heals" for a reason.

We hope events like the 2011 Veterans Muster will help heal those who served their nation in Vietnam and help all of us better understand why the wounds from that war are still so painful and so deep. Today, we start by explaining how America was drawn into the Vietnam War. And why.

Gen. Bruce Clarke on the history of the Vietnam War: Still hasn't been written

Foreing Policy: Gen. Bruce Clarke on the history of the Vietnam War: Still hasn't been written

Gen. Bruce Clarke, one of the heroes of the Battle of the Bulge, also was historically minded. I was struck by this comment in his oral history. I think he was right when he said this in 1970, and still is: A good operational history of the Vietnam War, taking into account views of both sides, still has not been written.

I don't think the history of the Vietnamese war will be written before the year 2000. . . . I think by the year 2000 we will see what the import of the Vietnamese war was in southeast Asia, but it will take that long to, I think, sift it out. I don't think you could get the history of the Vietnamese war by studying any of our papers. I certainly wouldn't want to take it out of the big papers. It's my opinion that it has been the poorest reported war of the four that I've had something to do with."

(Pp. 31-32)

The more I learn about the Vietnam war, the more I agree with him.

Btw, Gen. Frederick Franks mentions in the awkward, dull memoir he penned with Tom Clancy that in the waning days of the Vietnam War, Clarke was the only senior officer who visited the amputee ward in the old military hospital in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, when Franks was recuperating there from war wounds.

Former Vietnam enemies share reconciliation story

Hartford Courant: Former Vietnam enemies share reconciliation story
EAST HARTFORD, Conn.— On the morning of April 16, 1972, in the midst of the Vietnam War, U.S. Air Force Major Daniel Cherry awoke at the Royal Thai Air Force Base in Udorn, Thailand, ate breakfast, and was briefed on his daily mission.

Cherry, an F4-D Phantom pilot, was to be part of a group that was to escort B-52 bombers in a raid over North Vietnam.

About the same time, North Vietnamese Air Force Pilot First Class Nguyen Hong My, an MiG-21 pilot, was preparing to take off to intercept them after intelligence learned of the bombing raid.

When the B-52s were late arriving, Cherry's Phantoms were already in the sky approaching the target area. Because of the high fuel consumption rate of the F-4s, a decision was made to scrap the mission and go hunting for MiGs instead.

It was a decision that would have a significant impact on the lives of both Cherry and My.

Recently, at the Pratt & Whitney Hangar Museum, Cherry and My stood on the stage together and told their incredible tale of combat, survival, and reconciliation that brought two former enemies together, 36 years after it happened.

On that April day, it wasn't long before Cherry and My were locked in deadly aerial combat about 30 miles southwest of Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam.

For four minutes, both of their planes looped, turned, dived, and did barrel rolls so each of them could maneuver into a position for a clear shot at the other.

My had evaded five air-to-air missiles that had been fired at him -- but his luck was about to run out.

"One of my radar-controlled missiles ripped into his MiG," Cherry said. "It tore his right wing off."

As My ejected from the cockpit, a malfunction in the suppression straps broke both of his arms and compressed three of his discs in his spine, he told the packed audience through a translator.

As My's parachute aimlessly drifted to earth, Cherry came to within a few hundred feet of him as he flew his Phantom back to Thailand.

"While Cherry was drinking champagne over his victory, I was lying in a jungle," My said. "The thing I feared the worst was a tiger jumping out and attacking me. I couldn't move my arms."

After six months in a hospital, My returned to flying but broke his arm again and had to be permanently grounded due to his injuries.

My retired as an insurance salesman in Vietnam after the war, married, and raised a family.

Cherry retired a brigadier general from the Air Force with a host of awards, including two Silver Star medals, two Legion of Merits, and 10 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Fate, however, was about to intervene in both their lives.

While visiting the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, Cherry learned that his Phantom he flew that day was on display at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post outside of the city.

"It was a very emotional experience seeing my plane again," he said. "It was also very sad. There was grass growing all around her and she had suffered significant bird abuse."

Cherry knew it was his Phantom because of the number, 550, and the red star painted on the aircraft that represented the MiG he had shot down.

After working with the local VFW and the Air Force, Cherry was able to have the plane dismantled and brought back to Aviation Heritage Park, in his hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, for restoration.

The park pays tribute to the history of aircraft and her crews dating back to World War II, Cherry said.

While the Phantom was being restored, Cherry said he began to think about the fate of the pilot he had shot down on that April day.

Cherry began to investigate and finally wrote a letter to a female Vietnamese news anchor, who hosts a popular television show in Vietnam, explaining the situation.

To his surprise, two weeks later he received a response saying they had found My and invited Cherry to Vietnam to be on the program to talk about his experiences.

Cherry made the long trip to Vietnam and as he sat and explained to her what had transpired, My appeared from behind the curtain.

"I was very apprehensive, I didn't know what to expect," Cherry said. "As he approached me, he looked like a warrior. He shook my hand and said `I hope we can be friends."'

Since that initial meeting, My and Cherry's friendship has "blossomed." My has also visited the U.S. and even sat in the cockpit of the Phantom that shot him down that day.

Cherry wrote a book on his experiences titled "My Enemy, My Friend" with all proceeds going to Aviation Heritage Park.

"I want Vietnam veterans to move on and forget the past," Cherry said. "Ours is a message of reconciliation."

Vietnam pilot buried in Arlington decades after going missing

Reuters: Vietnam pilot buried in Arlington decades after going missing

Remains of an Air Force pilot who went missing during the Vietnam war were interred on Friday at Arlington National Cemetery, four decades after he failed to return from a flight over Laos.

Air Force Maj. Richard G. Elzinga of Shedd, Oregon was returned to his family and buried with full military honors, a Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office statement said.

Elzinga and his co-pilot went missing in action on March 26, 1970 when their O-1G Birddog aircraft failed to return to base from a familiarization flight over Laos.

The Defense Department's POW/MIA Spokeswoman Air Force Maj. Carie Parker said some 83,000 service members remained missing. "There is an ongoing effort by the US government to recover remains from conflicts as far back as World War II," she said.

From the Vietnam War specifically, 1,687 servicemen are still missing. The statement did not say when Elzinga's remains were recovered or in what condition.

Joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic teams conducted investigations between 1994 and 2009 to recover remains of missing personnel.

Saluting a Veteran, "It's Never Over for Us"

Hazelwood Patch: Saluting a Veteran, "It's Never Over for Us"
In the final installation of this series, a mission during the Vietnam War reverberates in the lives of family members and friends 42 years later

Aug. 5, 1969

In two weeks, Sgt. Jim Donnelly was due for some R & R in Hawaii. He had asked Sue Markus, his fiancee, to meet him there. One year and three days shy of his wedding date, Donnelly was leading his platoon into the Boi Loi woods.

When Matt Switanowski had first spotted a bunker, the platoon pulled back and called in air strikes and artillery.

“We could see the pilots they were so close to us,” Switanowski said. “You could almost shout to them. One piece of shrapnel almost tore my knee off we were so close.

“They were dropping 250-pound bombs and artillery, but it took a direct hit on a bunker to do any damage,” he said.

The barrage continued for 45 minutes.

“After all this, we went back in. This time, the dog stayed back. I was the first guy in, the sergeant behind me, and Art with the radio behind him,” he said.

After walking about 75 feet, Switanowski spotted a bunker and told Donnelly that he would check it out. He asked Donnelly to cover him.

“I only took those three steps when a machine gun opened up from somewhere else,” Switanowski said. “We never saw it.”

He said the North Vietnamese had been waiting for him to move out of the way.

“They knew the guy with the radio operator was in charge,” Switanowski said.

“That first burst hit the sergeant. Art yelled to me that the sergeant was gone. He died instantly. Next came the grenade. They threw it in the (bomb crater) where the sergeant and the radio operator had fallen. The sergeant probably saved Art’s life because his body absorbed most of the blast.”

Switanowski and the radio operator made it out. There was fighting back and forth, with the Americans’ goals being to recover Donnelly’s body and inflict payback. With help from South Vietnamese soldiers, they were able to do just that and killed a number of North Vietnamese Army regulars.

Donnelly was the only American casualty that day.

“It wasn’t worth it,” Cabral said. “Not for him.”

Cabral remembered putting the body in the chopper and closing Donnelly’s eyes.

Back home, Sue’s parents arrived at her workplace at the Department of Agriculture and asked that she be excused.

“On the way back home, they told me Jim had been killed,” she said. “From there it was just silence.”

Sue said when Jim had left St. Louis that last time, she cried because she had a premonition he would not be coming back alive.

“Once I got home, I sat down at the kitchen table, took off my engagement ring and said, ‘Well, it’s over.’ And I just cried.”

“It’s not over for us”

Donnelly’s life and death reverberates in the lives of those he served with, his family members and those he loved.

“I think about him constantly,” his company commander, Capt. Ron Cabral, said. “I go to the doctor, and I still blame myself for what happened. I couldn’t stop the bullets.”

Switanowski said he’s been able to talk about that day just a couple times with some of his buddies from the Manchus. He emailed Sue about the details of that day about five or six years ago.

The Manchus have been true to their motto, “Keep up the Fire.” They have a website for their own Vietnam vets, www.manchu.org. They use it to correspond and share memories.

They also have regular reunions, where members of Donnelly’s 1st Platoon never fail to drink a toast to Staff Sgt. James Donnelly. One table remains empty at every reunion in remembrance of those who died in their country’s service.

Switanowski said they never have to renew their friendships. Some bonds don’t need renewing.

“We pick up just like it was yesterday,” he said.

Unfortunately, the pain can return like it was yesterday, too, he said.

Sue Markus married another Vietnam veteran, Jim Johnson. They live in North St. Louis County near Florissant.

As hard as it on Sue, she said it was even more difficult for the Donnelly family.

Donnelly’s father, Jim Sr., died of an aneurysm a couple of years after his son’s death. His mother also has passed away. Donnelly’s sisters both live in North County and stay in touch. When they talk about their brother, there are always tears, she said.

Sue said losing a loved one never stops hurting.

“The pain subsides, but it never goes away,” she said. “We have the memories we’ll always have inside, so it’s never over for us.”

June 11, 1969

Well Dad, write more when you can, and I know what you think when you read this all, but life is not that bad. It’s just those certain days that are hard to take.

And the rains are hard to take, too. Wet 24 hours a day and sleep in one foot of water on ambushes. Ringworm and leeches are getting everyone.

Believe me, home will look so good to me!

Write soon.

Love, your son,

Jim

Set to retire, the last Army draftee ‘loves being a soldier’

Boston.com: Set to retire, the last Army draftee ‘loves being a soldier’

FORT BELVOIR, Va. - He didn’t join the Army willingly, but as Command Sergeant Major Jeff Mellinger prepares to retire, he is grateful he found his calling.

Tweet ShareThis Mellinger, 58, was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, and the Army believes he is the last draftee to retire, after 39 years. Most did their two years and left. But Mellinger had found home.

“I think I’m pretty good at it, but I like it,’’ he said. “That’s the bottom line. I love being a soldier and I love being around soldiers.’’

When the draft notice arrived in the mail in 1972 at his home in Eugene, Ore., tens of thousands of troops had been killed and antiwar protests were rampant. The return address on the letter was the White House. Just 19, he was impressed that President Richard Nixon would write to him. “I opened it up and it said, ‘Greetings from the president of the United States.’ I said, ‘Wow, how’s he know me?’ ’’ Mellinger said, laughing.

Once the path was set, he said, he didn’t consider trying to find a way out.

He earned a spot in the Army Rangers, and would go on to do more than 3,700 parachute jumps. He was made a command sergeant major in 1992.

Nearly a decade later, he was sent to ground zero in New York right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Then came his time as the top enlisted soldier of the multinational forces in Iraq, where he says he survived 27 roadside bombings during his deployment of nearly three years straight.