I volunteered for the Army in 1971 ( prior post). After AIT ( 105s) I had "Alert orders" for Long Binh, RVN. Waited around for 10 days or so, wondering where the orders were, when told that Nixon was pulling troops out, no new Arty guys needed. I would have went if they came through, of course, and done my best. We all knew they (politicians) were not trying to win the war, it was just a meat grinder. So I was relieved when I was sent to Germany. Afterward, upon ETS, I attended Jr College, but was shunned by most. I was not ashamed of my service, nor of the service of Nam Vets either. I developed "survivors guilt". I felt I "owed" Nam Vets something I was never able to give, I wasn't there. My Cold War experience meant very little. I'm better, but its still there. Whenever I have had Veterans business, and they call me a "Vietnam Vet", I correct it and stress that I am Vietnam Era, same time, but different place. Fast forward a few years...I have a Veteran's cap that came pre printed "Army Vietnam Era Veteran." People seem to either not know what that means or just see "Vietnam". Nam vets say "where in Nam did you serve? Or Where were you at over there? I say, "Vietnam Era, I had orders for Nam, but was sent to Germany. They get a look in their eyes and say "Oh". I had that happen again today...it brought back a lot of guilt for not having "volunteered" for Nam anyhow. I did try, with a year left, but it made no sense to re-enlist for 3 more years just to be sent to Nam ( and get out of Germany) and then come right back to Germany when done with Nam! My girl back home ( and future wife) was not an Army Wife type. Nor later, a Law Enforcement Wife". I wanted her more than a military career, though I was very good at my job, any job they gave me. I'm not whining, not at all, I just feel like not even wearing anything that says Vietnam Era. I don't want to give false info for anyone to even "think" I'm a Vietnam Vet, not because I'm ashamed to BE a Nam Vet,...but ashamed "I wasn't". Am I really just crazy and don't know it or what is up with this? Help guys...

I understand.

A lot of stories like yours.

Hell I was there and never received my Viet Nam service metal. A very complex story.

I am a survivor of the 1968 TET OFFENSIVE, even had a runway blown out from under our C-47. Only two or three people even knew I was there!

I know a Navy pilot that when I question him if he ever thought about the men who work on his aircraft the said, "why would I" He is a real jerk.

The cooks and the clerks never get any credit for keeping things running and have the same feelings you do.

God bless you.

RA all the way. Straight leg and tough as nails at 75 years.

BTW the first US Army service member kill in Nam was a TRUCK DRIVER

Thanks guys...when I told one couple ( again, yesterday) that I was not in Nam, but Germany, they said, "Oh at least no one was shooting at you", I said "There were plenty of knives and boot heels" where I was"! "Racial trouble" I replied....blank stare.

I don't believe in anything that even has a "wiff" of Stolen Valor. Awhile back, I saw a man in Cracker Barrel, well worn "Vietnam Vet" cap on, along with ribbons of Nam. I went to say thank you and he said, "Oh I never left the states, I was in Ft. riley, I was "Vietnam Era". Even though it was none of my business "what some stranger did", I didn't like it! I didn't say anything to him about my service. I told my wife that was wrong. He didn't "earn" that right. I told the local American Legion that too when they sent me material with "Vietnam Vet". I called and corrected it. Said I was proud to be Vietnam Era, if they wanted to print me something, but to get it straight. I attended far too many Military funerals as a teenager to treat it lightly.

Jim,

Maybe you are giving to much info,

How about a hat the has "US ARMY, 1971-1975" or what ever.

You know, I came home yesterday and was looking at the Custom Veteran caps, to order one that's Like that. Army "71-"77 .My dad was with MacArthur's Army and so I ended up in the Army, like most sons. I think that's the best...at least for my own peace of mind, ha. Thank you!

This isn't just a Vietnam era situation. My dad was a WW-2 vet who served from 1942 through all of 1944 state side working in hospitals on bases where bomber crews were being trained. There were lots of accidents, injuries and deaths in training. He was transferred to the infantry for training in the fall of 1944 and finished his training just in time to go to Europe in January 1945 as a replacement during the Battle of the Bulge. Once in Belgium they took his rifle, painted a red cross on his helmet and assigned him to a field hospital. He spent the rest of the war driving an ambulance picking up wounded and bringing them back to the hospital. Dad never fired a shot. The only time he was shot at was crossing the Rhine on a pontoon bridge while the Germans were taking blind artillery shots at it.

Before his death dad pointed out something to me that I'd never thought about concerning WW-2 vets. Back in the 1940's 90% of the soldiers were in support roles just like my dad. Many were cooks, truck drivers, mechanics, clerks, and a large number never left the USA. I had an uncle in the Navy who spent the entire war in Seattle loading cargo ships. In the Pacific the number of servicemen actually in combat was closer to 5% of those who served. I've since verified those numbers, dad was correct. Dad was always honest about the role he played in the war. But the thing that bothered dad was that he had never met another WW-2 vet that hadn't fought somewhere. He had never ran across anyone who would admit that although they did serve during WW-2, they served in a support role and were never near combat. Considering that only 5-10% of those who served were ever actually in combat the odds just don't seem possible.

My dad was no hero. But he did the job he was assigned to do. Just as you did. I'm still proud of my dads service, and I thank you for your's. Be proud of what you did. There was a real threat from the Soviets in the early 1970's.

Thanks JM, that was kind of you to share that. I guess I was just shocked to realize I still have some that "angst" in me, ha. I thought I was long past it until this veterans Day. I work Pt Time for Home Depot as a Greeter ( I used to work Freight, so I know where most everything is) and they like me to wear my Veterans cap. We have several veterans who work there, as you can imagine. The first one to say anything was a Nam Vet, 4th Infantry, out of Pleiku. I have a great friend who was a Section Chief on a Huey back then, also at Pleiku. The guy was nice enough. I guess I caught him off-guard as well? ha. Appreciate it guys.

Mr Knight, Great credit to you and it reflects well on you personally that you even worry about it. So many try to steal just a tiny bit of valor with their bs stories. Yes, if you saw their dd214's, they may have been there, but only 1 in 7 if I'm correct, could be considered to be in combat units, the rest of us were mechanics, cooks, clerks and such. But when the bs starts flowing, everybody was Carlos Hathcock and Chuck Mawhiney(sp?). Sad but true.

Jim,
I understand and feel the same. I spent the war as a T-38 instructor at Columbus AFB. I sent a request about once a month for an assignment to Vietnam, and they kept coming back rejected, telling me I was too valuable where I was. Finally got tired of sending requests, and shut up. I've had several vets tell me don't think about it, it wasn't your fault, but I still have the guilt. In my own mind, I guess I consider myself on the plane. I was in a situation where the peopel trying to kill me were riding about 4' in front of me. I trained quite a few Iranians, Vietnamese, and other foreign students, and, with most, it was a circus. I just wear an Air Force hat, so I very seldom get asked those kind of questions. Just remember, you were ready and were not called. Don't think that there can be more than that.

I think I have grown to just accept fate, and press on. I'm proud of my service, as you should be. We are brothers that can hold our heads high as we did not run and we answered our country's call and did not skip the country. You are welcome at my table anytime.

Jim

Don't wear anything that gives others the false impression you are a Vietnam vet if you are not actually one. That would border on stolen valor and could make you feel guilty unnecessarily.

I understand.

On the flip side are those veterans of periods like the Cold War who were actually under fire or at extreme risk of it and are not considered war veterans. A few hundred lost their lives due to enemy action. Of course some of the missions were classified, at least at the time. The C-130 shot down over Soviet Armenia on 2 Sept 1958 was one such incident. The USS Liberty was an example from the Vietnam era, and the skipper received the Medal of Honor, even though the ship was nowhere near Vietnam. Point being, the Cold War is a misnomer, it was not cold.

On a personal note, I am a life member of the VFW but am not eligible for membership in the American Legion, even though veterans who never left the states can join the Legion if their service was during an eligible period.

A salute to all who served honorably.

Paul

FYI,
All veterans can join the American Legion.

You are correct. Thanks for the updated info. The change is recent, and was signed by President Trump.

I recall getting an invitation to join the Legion addressed to "Dear War Veteran", and the fine print saying "...but you're not eligible".

Paul

That's right.

I understand that feeling, Jim Knight.

I graduated high school in May 1973, and to be perfectly honest I don't recall just exactly what was going on at that time...it does seem that the writing was on the wall, though. I never gave it much thought over the next couple of years. I had no earthly idea what I wanted to do and no ambition left (my parents did all they could to dissuade me from getting involved in the only real passion I had ever harbored, which was automotive racing).

I did enlist in the Navy in late '75 on a delayed enlistment program, and left for boot camp the following April.

Since my Navy days, I have always felt guilty and pretty much second class in the company of those who actually went to Vietnam. Such men are deserving of all respect that can be rendered. On the other hand, I did play a crucial role in the Cold War, but that was more or less just a protracted political situation in my mind.

I guess guys like us were really just caught up in circumstances just like everyone else. We did sign on the dotted line and we knew the risks and what the potential price was, though. All things considered, I'm proud that I served and you should be too (and I sense that you are).

I enlisted for three years in 1968 unassigned. Upon graduation from basic training at Fort Benning I fully expected orders to Fort Polk for 11 Bravo. They give me 16 Bravo and I didn't even know what that was. It was Nike Hercules so I was a black boot Cold War soldier. It was a lonely thankless MOS and I too have always felt guilty that I did not go to Vietnam. You take what they give you but I still feel guilty after 53 years.

I enlisted in March of 1975, delayed entry. I went active in June, did basic and AIT at Fort Knox. We were almost finished with AIT, when one day in formation, we were asked if anyone would like to volunteer for Vietnam. I'd enlisted to go to Germany. I hardly considered it. Now I wish I would have volunteered for it. I've regretted it for years. I also wonder what we would have been doing in Vietnam in October of 1975.

Gentlemen, your humility really impressed me. Just to serve during that time in a very unpopular effort is something to be proud of. No matter what or where you served, you served. I thank you for it!

Semper Fi

Thanks MGunns.
And thank you Jim Knight.

My story is similar. Joined in early '71. Basic, then AIT, then shake-n-bake. Rolled around to December by then and we were shipping home more Huey mechanics than were going over.

Got sent to an artillery unit at Ft Lewis which then moved to Ft Sill. Spent my entire 3 years stateside.
Like you, Jim, feel some "survivors guilt".

Am proud of my service and careful to let anyone who asks that it was Vietnam Era and not Vietnam.

Much respect to all who went over, and welcome home, guys.

Bob.

Thanks for all the kind support guys, I really appreciate it. I was also given a shot ( in Reception Center, Ft Leonard Wood no less!) to attend OCS. But I was 18, still had my long hair at that point, and scared. I could just see myself with the responsibility of 30 men's lives and me next to a radioman with that antennae sticking up! They also told me I had to take additional 3 yrs. I turned that down too. I could have ended up anywhere, who knows? But I really just wanted to serve my 2yrs and go to college with the GI Bill. Marry my girl and buy a home with the GI Bill. Have babies and live happily ever after! I got most of it...

If I read your original post correctly, you volunteered for the Army in a time of war. That is more than most people did or will ever do for their friends and family.
I joined the Marine Corps Reserve prior to 911 as a 0311. I was part of one of the last grunt battalions to be sent to Iraq. It was awful watching Falluja on the news every night. I finally made it to Iraq and then back again a year later and then on to Afghanistan and a few other countries in the Middle East and then few other non-combat deployments. Now I see younger Marines, that joined a wartime Corps going through exactly what you described. They enlisted willing to go wherever the Corps sends them but have not been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan or Syria for that matter. They feel like less of a Marine that those that have been to a combat zone. I remind them that they joined the service in a time of war. I didn’t do that, I joined for drinking money while I went to college and a war just happed. My hat off to anyone who enlisted during a war, you enlisted understanding that you would very likely be sent to Vietnam. I didn’t do that.
You couldn’t help not making it to Vietnam; I can’t change being deployed so late to Iraq and these young Marines fault they have not been deployed yet. We don’t have a lot of control over the nature of our service. A Veteran that served honorably should never feel like less that other that happened to serve in a combat zone.
If people look at you funny or are giving you SH^T over Vietnam Era vs Vietnam Vet, remember that you served and tell them to faq off.

Good post.

I agree with most,wearing anything that says Vietnam on it tends to lead people into believing one served there .I volunteered for five years into the air force in 1962.Failed the physical.So I could say I volunteered in the early Vietnam era and leave it at that. I did my service. I spent the next ten years working at a national lab developing weapons used in Vietnam.Then another 20 years working in under ground nuclear test to develop hardening methods for Us weapons in nuclear environments.I have more radiation exposure than what would be determined unsafe.

However, I would never put myself in a class where all gave some and some gave all. I had close friends that never came back.
Thanks to all that gave that service.Vietnam or otherwise

I had a partner who was commissioned a 2LT in field artillery and sent to Germany in 1968, then ETS'ed in New Jersey 3 yrs later. My other partners and I were all Nam vets. He used to say "The North Vietnamese never crossed the Rhine river!" He was right. He did his job as assigned and was proud of it. So should you be.

Your dad is a hero in my book!

Cecilb----- The Army personal screwed with your ---- Every week in basic they would start the rumor that we were on standby for Vietnam. " The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon, was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong on 30 April 1975. " In November 71 I tried to extend my time in Vietnam--- ( stupid of me ) --- flat out told no---- We are pulling out. By sometime in 1973 we were basically out. ---------- I've talked to more that a handful of Vietnam Vets at many a reunion that either flew first in country into the Reception --- Placement Center in Pleiku or arrived Via ship at the port of Pleiku .

Let me throw my hat in the ring also Jim. Enlisted in '66 and spent my whole enlistment stateside. Told a real Viet Nam vet how I felt guilty for not having "done my part" in the war. He said you served honorably, that's all that matters.

well said

Thanks again guys...I really appreciate the comments.

Everyone has a job to do in all the services.
If they aren't done then someone else suffers in some small way.
Yes there are horse's a$$e$ in all POsitions/levels, and the Navy pilot described above is but one example.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all vets, you served your country well.

Has anyone here meet a WW2 Marine that was not on Iwo Jima? I meet just one out of about 70. That island had to be green for all the Marines on it. In the late 70's I meet a old Marine that said he was on Iwo. He said he was wounded and they sent him stateside for the rest of the war. I asked when that was and he said Oct 44. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Iwo was Feb 45. I was in the Army from Oct 66 To Oct 69 but I had two foreign assignments Germany and Oklahoma.

I may be a little late to this....

My stepdad as an Air Force pilot, spent 49 months in Vietnam.. all in combat.. Most of it he flew C130s on BlackBird Missions.

Myself I was drafted in the very last draft call of 1972... due to head injury the previous spring,( intramural sports at college) and spending 2 weeks in Chelsea Naval hospital in Boston, them concerned I might go blind)...stepdad told me if I could avoid Vietnam to do so...his big concern being a career AF officer, is that they were not fighting the war to win it...
Growing up as a military dependent, Vietnam was real to me... I had a lot of friends whose dads and older brothers went over there and did not come back, along with military friends of the family.... Spent from June1966 to June 1968 at Ft Bragg.. in those days at Ft Bragg seemed everyone was either there to go to Vietnam or had just got back from Vietnam...... Lost my best friend over there when I was 16.. Mike was 19... joined up the day he graduated High School, to go over and avenge the death of his dad who had died over there in 1966 as a helicopter mechanic...

I was in the very last group drafted in October 1972....there were 200 of us.. out of Boston...I was the only one that did not get on the buses sitting there marked Ft Dix NJ.. they were shutting down the induction station as we cleared each room, movers were moving everything out and putting in moving vans...This was at the Charlestowne Naval Yard in Bean town...Student deferment ended in July 72.. no more 2-S....I was given a paper that I could sign, to delay enlistment until I graduated college, and I will not lie... the only reason it was shown to me and in private was by a Marine Colonel that knew my stepdad in Vietnam....As a college kid I didn't have much in possessions, but what I did have I had given it all away.. to include my car....my folks were living in Hawaii as my stepdad was assigned to PacAF....

Fast forward in time, graduated college with dual major in 1975.. signed up.. and wanted to go get all the medical training the Army would give me... had two people at car accidents die in my arms during those two times, and i didn't know what to do to save them.. that is the most empty feeling I've ever known.... and never wanted to experience it ever again....

that's my enter the military story... growing up as a dependent, I was sorta programmed that it is everyone's duty to serve, so it would have happened anyway....

My time on Active Duty, I served at Madigan Army Med Center, Ft Lewis WA.. major hospital at the time...I had many patients who were combat vets, from Vietnam all the way back to WW1... we had plenty of the later, those guys would have been in their 70s and early 80s in that period... I started to feel a little guilt for not having been a combat vet....when I voiced it to patients, whom I had gotten to know, taking care of them for a week or two.. especially the Vietnam crowd, I got the same answer over and over, like they had all rehearsed it.... " you didn't miss a damn thing!".. I still hear it to this day....

Metro Washington DC ( Northern VA) was always home...I'm 17th generation Virginian....when the Vietnam Memorial Wall was finally constructed, it took me a few years to be able to go to see it.. having to take a wife and a few kids in tow...I was really taken in by it... especially finding names of people I knew growing up.. some of my friends Dads, or their brothers, friends of my parents and our family.. the last one I found was of my best friend who was killed in combat at 19 years old, when I was 16... I was touching Mike's name on the wall, when I turned to my wife at told her that I felt so guilty about serving and never going to Vietnam, like the rest of these people had....just about that time, I felt a big slam between my shoulder blades, as I face planted right into the wall.. before even being able to figure out what just happened, he is one of this veterans that just spends his day hanging around the wall... he had to be 5 ft 1......he grabs my collar and pulled me down looking up at my face... and sticks his waving finger under my nose... "Listen Ass ole... their are 58,000 families in this country that wish to hell that their loved one never went to Vietnam... because if he hadn't he'd probably be here today.. so don't you EVER regret not going to Vietnam... because there are 58,000 brothers names here who wished they had never gone there.... So F. U.. ass ole... " he just walked off...

What could I say, he was 100% right.. that perspective took away most of the guilt I've had since over that.. I now thank God now that I was not sent over there... guess he had other plans for me in this world.....

The second thing happened here in the late 90s here in Oregon....I was out at a restaurant to eat... there was a line.. and I was standing in line with a Marine buddy, and 5 of his fellow Marine Buddies... we all had veterans hats on, Mine just said US Army Vet.. so this Obama/Hillary voter type looking guy comes over, and asks me was I a Vietnam combat vet like the other 6 guys I was with.. and I told him no, I served stateside.. so he starts giving me schitt about even wearing a Veterans hat.. Before I could even respond, everyone of these Marine vets were on his ass like bees on honey...."Listen Butthead, he still served? Did YOU?".. the guy kinda stuttered a NO I didn't.... One of the old Marine guys, shoved this guy right on his ass in the line...and told the guy to just STFU... you didn't serve, so you have no right to open your mouth at a Veteran about what they did or didn't do....

My friend Warren, then stood over the guy, with a statement I have borrowed to this day, as I see this happen to this day to other veterans by some wise ass....'listen ass ole.. every damn one of us, did what ever other veteran has done.. we went where we were told to go, and did what we were told to do, and what we were trained to do.. we all can't be Rambo!"....

This guy scampered away...then here I have 6 Marine Combat vets apologizing to me, for what this asshat has said toward me...
Hey, ya served, ya served.. end of story, was pretty much their point....

I'll pass it on to ya Jim.. I outwardly don't feel guilty about not doing my time, in harms way.. certainly would have gone if sent.. and I do put myself a little further down the Veterans list behind those that did put themselves in harms way.. and yeah, inside I still feel that guilt.. but I don't let it get me down.. and the few times anymore I say it to a combat vet from Nam, their normal response is to smack me in the back of the head, like a big brother would and ask WTF is wrong with you?

I don't feel any lesser in life.. but I certainly have no delusions about what each and every one of us in this Nation owe these folks...most of these guys who have served in harms way think the rest of us who might feel guilty about not having to, think we are idiots...at least that is what they have no problem letting me know about...

These are interesting and meaningful stories from veterans across the USA.
We are now in troubled times, similar to the late 1960s-with the same flag-burning mindless liberal socialists.

My experience is one of close calls and good luck. After IOBC and parachute school, it was SFOC and snow jumps out of a C-47 with door bundles of cross-country skiis and snow shoes-the 10th Special Forces Group(ABN) at Flint Kaserne-Bad Tolz, Germany and Mass. In 1970 I volunteered for Vietnam and was rewarded with a long tour from late 1970 through 1972.
During that time I was a rifle platoon leader at Khe Sanh and later back to a 5th Special Forces Assignment with MACVSOG in close to the same area in I Corps.
There is a statement by an SFOD-DELTA NCO in Black Hawk Down-concerning the Sergeants repeated tours"Hoot-are you a war junkie? I don't say a thing-they would'nt understand.". Maybe this is close, for those who will never get it-but the sacrifices were made by those who did'nt volunteer-the folks who did'nt come back or the veterans who came back shattered in body or spirit. All veterans make or have made sacrifices. I personally think a period in the military is good for young people to help them get grounded and learn self discipline early. Every job is critical, as someone's life may depend on a working radio or a helicopter engine. Yes-I became a lifer. But I brought ALL of my people home safe out of a hot combat zone. Medals and awards are not important. Accomplishing the mission AND bringing your people home is the best reward a leader can earn.

I was talking with another Army officer friend who had been in combat in Vietnam and with the Old Guard at Arlington National-spent time at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier-We both agreed that if the current
group of individuals came to deface the Arlington monuments, we would fly to Washington in our dress blues and defend those memorials on hallowed ground.
Vietnam combat veterans know and understand taking an unpopular stand, or even abuse at the hands of our fellow undeserving "American citizens". But defacing the national flag or monuments to our war dead will not be tolerated as long as I am drawing breath.

Marriott
Lt Col-USA-R


De Oppresso Liber

"Retreat hell! We just got here" USMC officer in WW I
Audens! Audens!-Marat (Napolean's Cavalry Commander)

i wanted to go.
I was too young.
in 74...I signed up.
while I was in training, frequent wind kicked off. I met my ship as it was returning out of the combat zone.
didn't get any medals. cant say I didn't try.
its just the way it goes for some.
some didn't want to go and did.
some wanted and couldn't.
fact is I was one who stepped to the plate.
call me era. fine. never shot at.
but don't ask me to respect all nam vets.
I know plenty who checked out a revolver from the ship armory...flew into Saigon. spent 24+hrs in country drinking...just to get the medals.
then flew out.
its the intent of the heart that matters.
and apparently my hometown feels that since I was signed up prior to june 75....I was rated a nam vet. the marble stone with all the town vets names in the town square that SERVED by not retreating to college or a factory job, reflects it.
I didn't ask for it, it just happened.

for the record, because I couldn't be in country I felt like I let down my country.
so....to make up for it, I stayed in 22 years. it may not have had bullets flying, but it was proud service.
im sorry for those that were injured or maimed in nam. it wasn't my calling....but for the 22 years I did serve, hopefully it saved many from that fate.
in my retirement speech I said to the crowd...that I served one for myself and 4 more for those that wanted but couldn't.
it drew applause.

Bobski thank you . you have my up most respect for what you did .no apology needed on your end

for all of you that was in you was lucky you did not have to go. As a Army brat but joined the Corp that blew a long tradition of Army lineage. Joined in 66 did 3 and 1/2 tours got the million dollar wound came home spent 5 months getting better or over what happened. found out why we was not liked spit on and called names but that happens. you should not feel guilty about not going you did your service and did it good walk tall proud and eyes straight. And remember the only easy day was yesterday

I went to a book signing for a book written by a SEAL one day. Talked to him a bit as I didn't go to VN either. Went on sea duty but not there. I told him about like what OP wrote. He said simply, "You did your part". It surely did make a difference as to how I felt about it.

And, a man who was a friend who was truly 4F told me about 25 years after the war that if his sons got drafted he'd take them to Canada. That did not sit well.

It is a difficult situation. I know people who never left the wire in Bagram, who like to make a big deal of being in country, but by their own admission where never in danger. I know people who have never been in country, but have been in real pucker factor situations. I know someone who is a Vietnam Era Vet, but logged actual combat time as a DMZ pilot in Korea. People know about Vietnam though, so he just goes with saying he is a Vietnam Era Vet. The problem is trying to judge people based off of a shallow metric that tells nothing about what they actually did. What about people who where in combat, but ended up with a BCD, you know some of them go around touting their service, yet ignoring the fact that they where a problem, rather than an asset.

Service is service. I thank you for yours wherever it was and whatever you did.

I also served, every day I prayed for action; now I thank God I didn't get any.

Allowing yourself to be judged on where, when and how you served is IMHO wrong.. You served - f#ck whoever judges you - if they're a true vet they won't and if they're not.......

Amidst the plethora of things most folks don't understand is the war machine requires many parts and the support side of the equation devours a large share of the population. They never see conflict, but without their contribution those on the field of battle would never win. There is no shame whatsoever in missing out on the combat side of things and I am more than grateful for those that serve in the support roles.

Lineage on both sides of my family is peppered with those that were combat veterans and "era" vets. Won't bore you with the telling, but the "era" vets outnumbered the combat vets in my family by noticeable margin and this ranges from the US Civil War, both world wars, Korea and Vietnam.

Have no regrets, hold your head high!

If you served in the early 70's, you gotta be 70+ yrs old. I say put it behind you and move on. From a guy who served my 2yrs in Italy 1969-71. And was glad of it.

My first enlistment was June 1973 to June 1976. I was stationed at Ft. Sam Houston and a Nike missile base outside of Anchorage Alaska. I was a real cold war warrior. I rejoined the National Guard in 1985. I was activated for Desert Sheild/Storm and never left the States. I was activated again for Iraqi Freedom and again I never left the States. I did make it to a combat zone after retiring from the P.D. at the end of 2008 and went to Afghanistan as a contractor.

But if you ask, I'm a Viet nam Cold war era soldier.

kwg

They called legal draft dodgers, US Army Reserve.
I came out a Staff Sargent, we were first a service battery, then 205 Howitzers.

Thanks for your service. you stood up and answered the call to duty, you wrote that check, and that's what matters.

I came along much later, skipped school right after Christmas Break, early Jan is cold in the NE, went to the recruiter station and signed up as my tolerance level was low from people asking what I was going to do after High School? Imagine the look on their faces of a 17 year old country boy with long hair saying he was leaving for the ARMY when he graduated. I had a short tour none the less, 26 years, 24.5 of it Active Duty, you don't always get to choose where you ended up.

Thanks to all that served.

When I got out, a littler girl spit on me while her parents, arms crossed laughed gleefully.
The human resources doors had "NO VETERANS!"
The professors told me that they didn't like my kind and would never give me an "A". At the church I attended the church, the council waited for me at the door and told me that they didn't want scum like me in their church.
The only jobs I could get were day laborer at less than minimum wages. It was either hard labor or just jobs no one else wanted.
Even the police treated veterans like [bleep]. They knew that we were the ones who brought drugs into town. I got stopped by the highway patrol every time I met them on the road. They did an entire search of my car including the trunk. One highway patrolman handcuffed me and put me in the back of his cruiser when he found white touch up paint in my car. He tasted it and said in disgust, "What is this [bleep] anyway?"

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...AycPX8Bfpy6Z1xbiYjZ_TEfTrAgebllBuUM1ZxQg

Can't sleep tonight for no particular reason, but re visited this thread.. Yeah, I served, but never in harms way, although I certainly trained for it...

I am proud of serving, but looking back, I wished I had done more for my nation....

I say this toward no one, I just apply it to myself.....

I still have more respect for those that served within harms way, than I do for the service that I did in the Medical Corps...

91 Bravo, 91 Charlie, 91 Sierra, 54 Echo...

To all my brothers who put on the uniform.........a Heartfelt THANK YOU...

I was in 1969 to 1972 USMC. 50% of my platoon died in the first two weeks In Vietnam. I lost track after that. I was the oldest at 20 years old (of the recruits). Most were just 18.

I spent 6 months at Bal Boa Naval Hospital and 6 months at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. Two years later I was excited to leave hoping to get back to a normal life - I left as an E-5 Sgt. Little did I know that I was a druggy, a baby killer and a rapist.

Too young, never served, so this may be all wrong.
It's definitely not meant as an insult to anyone.

If you volunteered for the Army during Vietnam,
Don't let anyone who was probably drafted and "forced" to Vietnam,
try to make you feel bad about not serving there.

Ponder that.


I have heard much talk looking for recognization if their service from guys
whose story started with getting a letter.

They did their duty, served when ask, but they did not volunteer.

And again, it's a distinction, and not meant as a slight to those who were
drafted. Their country called, and they answered, at a time when many didnt.

I think the backbone of the army was and is it's NCO's, and I can tell you from personal experience, we volunteers, RA's were treated with slightly more deference by the NCO's in my case , in 1964.
At the recruiting office in 1964, the senior sergeant went to my high school and demanded they review my records and give me my diploma if I had the number of credits required, so he could give me the mos school I requested. (I had left home and didn't graduate formally with the class, living in the back of my old pickup) They reviewed my credits and awarded the diploma and I got my school,,, thanks sarge. Then I scored very high on my battery tests, and they were pressuring me to go to OCS after basic. The company First Sergeant pulled me aside in confidence and warned me to be VERY careful. He told me my mos would be out the window, and I would graduate OCS in Infantry rather than Engineers. He explained at length the average life expectancy of a 2nd Lt. of infantry. Probably saved my life. I liked the Army, but I was not a natural born leader or warrior. And through the next two plus years I felt I was treated well and fairly. I graduated near the top of my class at heavy equipment repair school, it gave me a trade for the rest of my life, and never heard a shot fired in anger. I was given responsibilities far above my E-4 rank, and with that went privileges, I never washed a dish or mopped a floor after boot camp.
But, then, I am a weird duck, I am the only guy in the US that LOVED army chow (although in honesty, Navy and Air Force was even better, and I worked for them frequently, often showing up at mealtime).
I always had a place in my heart for the grunts, RA, US, NG, regardless,always thought, "that could be you, you lucky bastard", as I looked at their dark hollow eyes, the thousand yard stare is not a myth.

Jim_Knight,

I understand. I was in a branch of the military that many think do nothing outside the sight of land, much less to see actual combat in Vietnam. A number of years ago I had a serving Marine ( who had never seen combat anywhere, at that time) question how in the hell I even got a US Navy Combat Action Ribbon!!

Nevertheless we just move on. Nothing to be ashamed of in your service.

Bob

Member US Coast Guard Squadron 3
Served in Vietnam September 1970 to August 1971

I was in the Marines from Oct 1968 to July 1970. I got as far as Okinawa and never made it to Nam. From what I heard about 65% of the guys I went over with didn’t come back or not the way they went. I never really talk about me being in the Marines as I feel I never did my part for what I was trained for. I guess I’m suffering from survivors guilt or something? I’ll still proud that I graduated from boot camp at Paris Island as a PFC!😄

I enlisted for 3 years in the Army in 1968 "unassigned". Upon completion of basic training I figured I would get orders to go to Fort Polk for 11 Bravo training but instead I was given a MOS of 16 Bravo. I didn't even know what that was. It turned out to be Nike-Hercules missiles in ARADCOM. I became a "Cold War" soldier with black boots. We never got any recognition but we certainly spent many long, boring and lonely hours guarding against the Communists. Like another poster said, there are many jobs that don't get much credit but I do take pride in knowing that I served my country well and I wish I could go back but at almost 72 we know that's a daydream.

Jim, You did your job just like millions of others. There is no reason for you to fret or lose sleep over not potentially getting your ass shot off. I was there in 67, and after a couple of months and a serious accident ended up in TAMC, where I spent a few months . After my being certified for duty, I was reassigned to another job and did not go back to Nam. I did not see combat, as did others, that's the luck of the draw. Nothing can be done about it, I do not fret or lay awake at night worrying about that fact. I do sometimes feel guilty but I am a rational human being and understand those thoughts and feelings. You as I, did what was asked of us and survived, enjoy your life, and never forget those who did not make it back.

To those who served honorably, I salute you and thank you.
Not everyone had to spend a year in a combat zone to have done a great job serving their country.
RSVN 68-69

JIM: Being lucky is sometimes just that. I've had a wee taste of what you're going through. I was in one of the two years that didn't have to register for the draft, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. My dad spent all of his teen years slowly watching WWII unfold and was on a ship bound for Okinawa when the bombs were dropped. He was lucky too. However, I don't remember him ever feeling guilty over the two-weeks' combat pay he got laying off Okinawa in his transport. I also don't remember anyone ever getting on him for not doing enough.

What got me in trouble was after a couple of incidents in Caving, I started developing what was probably PTSD. At the time it was coming on, I'd have guessed PTSD last on the list, but in retrospect, I had all the signs. At the same time, I had found that I was good friends with a bunch of combat vets and we were all hanging together. I got the same kind treatment that they gave each other. I was the baby of the bunch. Everyone else was 20 years older or more. Nobody ribbed me about not serving.

I went through a period of feeling guilty. Heck, a lot of these guys had the idea I'd served. Two of them thought I was in Nam. It was nothing I did. I wasn't a poser. It was just my age and the way I carried myself. It's just I seemed to get along well with combat vets. I liked their stories, and I didn't judge them. In the end, they helped me and I helped them, and one went on to be a PTSD counselor. We were all happy for each other's company.

There's a lot of free-floating anxiety in a man's life. It's easy to let it get attached to an idea like "I didn't serve." or "I shoulda gone to college," or "I screwed up not marrying Suzy Creamcheese." The trick is learning to slough it off. My Dad's opinion on the subject: "Life's too short." My advice from the bleachers is: "Keep your head up. It's all about dumb luck." Heck even my mishaps in the cave were all just being down the wrong hole on the wrong day. It's like that.

Most of the guys I've known over the past 40 years that went to France, Italy, Nam, the Islands-- whatever- were so thrilled that they went even though they were haunted by it. They couldn't be happier that the next guy didn't have to go-- that they'd saved him the trip. Most of it was dumb luck though. It was not about being noble. It was all about things like watching the next foxhole over get a mortar round and realizing you're still alive.

Yeah, not all of us who served went to Vietnam. I was about to get drafted in 68, ran and joined the USAF. Basic, then two months hold and OTS. Trained as a Weapons Controller. guided interceptors to target, or friendlies to airborne tankers. I was supposed to be in AWACS and with typical screw ups, could not pass flight physical due to severe allergies., so finally got reassigned as a Pharmacy Officer where I stayed. In my type of support job we took care of more dependents and retirees than active duty. Active duty liked to know that their dependents were cared for while they deployed away from home. Got married, and we went to Turkey 72-74, in support of one of the major NATO headquarters, the only reason I was there was because we had a couple of 4 star Army Generals there, most postings at a clinic/very small hospital like ours would have a senior NCO in charge of pharmacy. I did relieve personnel in a field hospital set up at Eglin AFB one day in 75 at one of the Vietnamese refugee tent cities, my only experience with the VIetnamese. Later got called up for Desert Storm and helped man a contingency hospital in the UK.While there we did supply support for a B 52 wing flying missions out of RAF Fairford against Iraqi troups in Kuwait. I'm probably one of the few of my generation who have seen American bombers over London headed east in harms way. We did get the opportunity to help load bombs one day, as we never got the anticipated causalities and were suffering from boredom.

Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with a guy and wonder what y'all thoughts are. A little background...

I have known this guy for years very casually. His daughter and my daughter are the same age and both of them being athletes in high school we sat through a lot of various sporting events together. Nowadays it's grandkids and we are once again sitting around watching volleyball, basketball and softball games. This gentleman is always decked out in some sort of Army apparel, usually of the Vietnam era. Shirts, jackets, hats with "Vietnam Vet", Ranger tabs, jump wings, CIB, POW, ect. He keeps a POW flag and 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles flag flying in his front yard. I had always assumed he saw action in Vietnam. He has a CIB pin on his hat and CIB patch on his jacket. People often tell him "thank you for your service," and one day a guy introduced his son to him as a hero. "Look son, this man is an Army Ranger and was a POW in Vietnam." The guy in question always acknowledged the thank you as if it were fact.

Yesterday we ended up sitting beside each other at a basketball game and had a one hour break between games. That gave us some time for conversation and I asked about his service in the Army. I was surprised when he told me he never went to Vietnam. He enlisted and served in the Army from 71-75 and his only posting out of the US was to Germany. He was a crewman on an APC and was a trained as a mortar man. He said he was later "attached to the 101st". No talk of earning a Ranger Tab, CIB or of POW.

Seems pretty disingenuous to me. Is this a case of Stolen Valor?

Sounds like it to me!

I didn't have to join. I was in a job that could have kept me out and I was much older than everyone else in my platoon. I went in 1969. I was injured and spent six months in Bal Boa Naval Hospital and six months in Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. I've spent time in VA hospitals after I got out.

After being in Bal Boa for awhile a friend from my platoon was admitted. He told me that half the platoon (40 teen agers) was dead already (they hadn't been in country all that long). I never heard how many made it back to the states. I need to go to the wall.

In my high school class more people killed themselves after they got back then were killed in Vietnam. My brother-in-law also killed himself after he got back.

We couldn't get jobs because we were veterans. The signs on the HR doors stated, "NO VETERANS!" The police harassed veterans because they knew we were all dope dealers. The story goes on and it wasn't good.

[bleep] LBJ.

Saw your post...was their in 73-74...knew some of the Marines that were evacuated in "Operation Frequent Wind." Knew most members of PSU for Ambassador

Graham Martin. Served at AMB. residence then later was awaiting orders for Da Nang Consulate. Couple weeks later, I and some more Marines were sent to MH # 2.

Close to end of my tour, put in request for 6 month extension but State Dept. had decided to reduce the ranks there. If I would have gotten it, would have been there

during the siege/fall. Thanks for getting all the Marines and Embassy personnel out. It's a shame the S.Dept. didn't get everyone out that was promised...especially

in Da Nang.

By the way, haven't read all the posts but the last, mostly Marines on the Vietnam Wall, were killed during the SS Mayaguez incident...aprox. 40 Marines.

Met a GySgt. in 2010 that was there and his SS 56/7 was shot down. It happened about 2 weeks after Operation Frequent Wind.

Man I’m sorry to hear that. Thanks for all you’ve done and God bless those gone by

My Dad served in Vietnam and his brother, my uncle died at Khe Sahn. You all never got the thanks you deserve

This Thread strikes interest in me I am the generation younger than most commenting here. My father-in-law Vietnam era vet but was never in Vietnam I will never knock him for his service but he sure eats up the veteran status when able. My mother's brother speaks very little of it what was in the absolute middle of everything. Dustoff unit volunteered for the Declassified nowadays poww Rescue Mission
It takes all aspects to keep things rolling I understand this but somehow the ones that did the most talked to least it seems like or at least right out of the situation very confusing for a lot of people.

THANK YOU to every body that went to that chitt hole .that was a useless war that wasted to many men in my op.

All gave some, some gave all.

USMC 68-71, RVN 69-70.

Semper Fi.

Just buried my FIL last week. He served from 69-94. Never went to Vietnam, but not by his choosing. Just worked out that way. He did get in some time during the Gulf War and almost got it when the British lit up their convoy. He never mentioned being a Vietnam era vet as it was too much to explain and usually said he was too young for Vietnam if anyone asked.

He was buried in a National Cemetery with full honors. The one thing he didn't do prior to dying was have his uniform ready to be buried in. He made it clear he wanted to be buried in the uniform so I had to recreate as much as I could from his DD214. I bought half the ribbons and used some of my own. They already had him in the jacket in the casket, so I had to do it all while he was wearing it. Might have poked him a time or two, just for the hell of it.

Service is Service.

I I listed in the Army in 66 to 69. Went to Vietnam in August of 66 did one tour. I was a crane operator and worked Saigon port and barge sites around Saigon. I always felt a little guilty about never being in combat when I see what other guys went through. I think the only people that were happy to see me to come home were my parents. I wear a Vietnam Veteran hat at times and people will thank me for my service but I feel guilty because I wasn’t a combat veteran.

Terry

I have a high school class mate who was involved in that incident. He lost several good friends in that operation. To the best of my knowledge their bodies were never returned. My friend stayed for 20 years in the Corp and retired out as a GySgt.
kwg

Years ago I was talking to a SEAL who had written a book and mentioned that I had been in uniform but not in Viet Nam. He said, "You did your part".

One man I knew was a truck driver in VN and felt like you stated.

You both did your parts, too.

Almost correct. Joined the USAF in Aug 1971. Retired in September 1992 and currently am 67. Was never troubled by not going to Nam. I volunteered on my dream sheer but was never selected. The military is a team. We all did our parts to make it run smoothly.

I worked with a guy back in the 90s that was drafted in 1970. His BIL was a SMAJ in Germany and he pulled some strings for him. Got sent to Germany and worked in a mail room for two years.

Absolutely Stolen Valor.
Especially the CIB. And if a real Ranger caught him pretending to be one, a butt kicking would not be out of the question.
I beat the draft by enlisting in the Army in late 1967. After Basic and AIT i was assigned to a field artillery unit at Fort Carson, Colorado.
One winter at Carson, going to the field with the guns in below zero temps and FEET of snow was no place for a Florida Boy.
I volunteered for a lot of places trying to get out of there, but kept getting turned down. They accepted my request for overseas service in the Republic of Vietnam, however.

I was assigned to a brigade that was on loan to the Marines, and operated with them along the DMZ. It was known as Indian Country.
I spent my year behind the wire on an infantry base camp. Got to dodge rockets, mortars, and the occasional sniper, but at least I wasn't out beating the bush.

The only people eligible to EARN a CIB have the MOS of 11B (Infantry). I was not, but was awarded a Meritorious Bronze Star Medal instead. But, I never wear it, nor the Army Commendation Medal I was awarded, either.
I DO wear caps identifying myself as having served in the 5th Infantry Division - I'm damn proud of that.

To me, anyone who raised their right hand, took the oath, and served honorably, is my Brother or Sister.
I don't care if they served stateside or in a combat zone, Europe or Korea, or somewhere else. In the sky or at sea. War time or peace time.
None of that matters to me. Each and every one of us went where we were told, did what we were trained to do, and made the choice to die for our country if it came to that.
Brothers and Sisters. And I'm honored to be in their company.

Funny this got bumped. It's a small town here, I ended up in the barber shop last week getting a haircut about the same time as the guy in my post. It's a single chair shop and he got his haircut ahead of me. He laid his cap on the bench seat beside me. It was an Army hat with a Screaming Eagle pin on one side and a CIB pin on the other. There was talk in the shop of gun regulations coming down and our AR15 rifles being threatened by the democrats. The barber asked this guy if he had an M16 in Vietnam and this guy said yes and that they jammed a lot. Kinda hard to listen to without fronting the guy out. Even if I did question him I'm sure he would just like lie to get around it.

Thanks again gentlemen, I really appreciate the encouraging words. Two of my childhood friends joined along with me, in Aug, 1971. We were all in Boot Camp together in Ft Leonard Wood, MO. I was sent to Artillery, Ft Sill; one buddy went to Helicopter Mech school in Geogia, and one went to Medic School in Santone, Tx. (We were all from East Texas) The Mech( he was a poor helicopter mech so they put him in a Transportation co, trucks) was stationed in Mainz, GE. The Medic was stationed in Stuttgart, GE. I was stationed in Augsburg. One of them died of cancer three years ago. The other shot himself last Thursday night. There are no answers to my questions, I miss them both terribly so. "There is a friend that is closer than a brother"...that's anyone you Served with for sure.

I've been casually following this thread and hesitate to comment but here goes.

First off, thanks to any and all who served. Having served 20yrs. I know that everyone in uniform has a part to play and it all matters, period. Also, anyone who raises their right hand and takes the oath is signing a check for up to and including their life, period.

Having said that, there are combat zones and then there is combat. Less then 10% of servicemen that deploy to a combat zone even see the enemy, much less engage in a two way live fire event. Yet, there is no shortage of vets, from all eras, sitting at the end of bars, holding court while festooned in patches, badges and hats (often not deserved, much less earned) for the sake of recognition. These people soak up every benefit or perk they can, from inflated disability ratings to free hunts. These are the vets that make vets look bad.

Again, thanks to any and all who served. Be proud of your service but never claim to be something you are not.

pointed out to me by a buddy, who is a Marine Vietnam Vet, and several of his buddies with the same credentials..

Someone who never served, was giving me crap about I wasn't a Veteran if I didn't serve in a combat zone..

This Marines surrounded him, and their basic point forced down his throat, was If you served you are a Veteran..
does not matter, where you served, when you served or what your MOS was.. Less than 1% of people in this nation are Veterans.

They asked this guy did he serve, and when he said no, boy did the schitt hit the fan over that, for criticizing me since I wasn't a combat vet..

Then these Marine Vets apologized to me.... I didn't understand that...

Guess we all can't be Rambo....

A lot of those guys although not in combat operations were in the theater of operations and could be subject to enemy action/gunfire/artillery, ect even if unlikely. I spent ten years active duty in the USAF during the Vietnam era, as a pharmacist. Back in 1969 at McCoy AFB, Fla our bomb wing deployed to Guam to bomb Vietnam and I stayed behind, My job and that of our physicians, nurses and technicans was to support the remaining active troups there, the dependents of those deployed so that those folks did not have to worry about medical support for their dependents, and the hundreds of retirees in the area. Dangerous, no, needed, yes, it was still honorable service. A couple of years later I was posted to Turkey, and was under blackout conditions when the Turks invaded Cyprus fighting the Greeks over some problem, of which I cannot remember. I got recalled and posted to England to man a contingency hospital during Desert Storm, Our big danger was being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the IRA, as a couple of their terroist attacks occured nearby when I was in London doing a bit of touring.

I passed on a furlough to Ireland in '72 for that very reason! ha I figured I had enough Baader-Meinhoff BS right where I was at. Instead I just went home to Texas and fell in love with my future wife! While I was there, Black September killed the Israeli track team in Munich! I came back, thinking I was going to get to use my ticket to the Olympics, but NOOOOO, Had to put on my frogs, get a Unit of Fire and hit guard duty! Army mind screwing...

Maybe this is just a relative kid's opinion, and I completely get where you are coming from in as much as someone who wasn't there can...

But you fellows in Germany were locked and loaded for actual, no schidt, WW3. Nukes and the Red Army coming across the Fulda gap and everything.

That is a pretty dang big deal!!! And by no means unimportant. It didn't turn hot but no one needs me to say it dang sure coulda.

Drove a few miles on a public road today. Cars, trucks, semi's roaring down the road. Didn't get killed, but I could have!

I Thank all for your service.

Haven't been in this section for quite a while...

Jim, like you I am one of those Vietnam Era Veterans...

I had orders for Vietnam and then that changed... was sent to Ft Lewis for more medical training...

ya know, EVERY Vietnam vet I ever spoke to, stating I am sorry I didn't get the opportunity to do my duty over there, their response has ALWAYS been " you didn't miss a damn thing"....

It was decades ago, but I was getting hassled by some leftist do gooder, about not serving in Vietnam.... and that I wasn't really a Veteran Then...
it was at a restaurant in Minneapolis area..... Out of the clear blue, some Marine Corps Vietnam Vet, walked right over and butted into the conversation...

not at me, but the left winger hassling me....

Typical Marine... short and sweet.... along the lines of " Hey Ass Hole.... where did you serve? what were your dates of service.... yeah I thought so.... Well this guy put on the uniform and served his country.. and he did exactly like we all did.... went where we were told to go, did what we were trained and told to do... We all Can't be Rambo.."
Then he turned to me, extended his hand thanking me for my service and I did the same back to him....

The hassler.... he just sort of walked off real quick.... I am pretty sure if he started slinging schitt again, the Marine would have just knocked him on his ass... and it would not have been pretty....

He made a good point... Whoever put on the uniform, has served their country... no matter where or whatever their MOS/ job was...and that is around 1% of our population..
Whoever that 1 % is or was, they are our brothers... we did something the other 99% have never done... served our country....

Thank you for your Service!

Navy, 1967-71. Three 8 month WESTPAC cruises to Vietnam on USS Ranger. I worked on F4 Phantoms on the flight deck and hangar deck. I stayed out of the way during flight ops most of the time but sometimes had to climb up on an airplane on the catapult and flip a switch to the right position to make the radar work right, or some other simple repair. Otherwise it was stay out of the way until the airplanes are all aboard and chained down and then try to fix any broke airplanes quickly so they could launch them next time. It could be dangerous up there, especially at night, but I wasn't getting shot at. What an adventure for a dumb-ass farm kid! I loved the airplanes and all the amazing stuff going on up there, but I wasn't cut out for the military. 4 years of it was all I could take. But I'm a member of the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club and the training I got in the Navy started my career as an electronics tech and engineer off very well.

An Army guy and I were walking thru the San Jose airport, both of us in uniform. We had just got off the plane and we had to pass some people who were yelling at us and calling us "baby killers". We just kept going. My ship had garbage dumped down onto the flight deck as we passed under the Golden Gate bridge on one of our trips to Vietnam. But mostly nobody had any idea what we were going thru, and they didn't care. That was disappointing, but it was better than open hostility.

Same as Jim. Volunteer in '71. Vicious basic at Ord and AIT at Ft Sill where high test scores got me pulled from artillery and promoted to E4, acting E5. Regular army cadre with security clearance in all US draftee units filled with drug addicts, gang bangers, criminals, burn outs, and drunks awaiting less than honorable discharges. Twenty eight months in FROG, 3d ID. Three years of honorable service (my whole family served since WW1 and more) where I learned to never trust another human being for the rest of my life, including my superiors. (psychotic page long rant deleted) Details in text were too personal and don't help anyone. I saw the enemy and it was us.

M109 Palladins destroyed my hearing. I have a 100+ decibel high pitched screaming (9-10 KHz) in my ears since I was 20 and always feel like I'm on a rocking boat. I haven't slept much, maybe a couple of hours a night, in 50 years that followed. I never talk about my military experience or all the veteran nastiness after I ETS'd with anyone. I started to write some of it down here and deleted it. Can't keep a relationship even now. I'm honest but blunt, unpredictable, and in-your-face. I will say I hate nonsense, hippies, war protesters, liars, commies, draft dodgers, and the jerks who steal honor equally. I wouldn't wear the color green for the next 30 years. Ask me anything. I just nod and try to work up a smile... I'll never get to sit at the cool kids' table. Oh darn. And I hunt alone.

The HQ where I was stationed is now a shopping center.

Nothing, Saigon fell 30 April 1975.

My old base camp, 8 miles south of the Vietnam DMZ, is now a Chevy dealership.
I guess we won the war after all.

It believe we all served with HONOR...........................................................

I voluntarily enlisted in the Army, and later volunteered for Vietnam.
The way I look at it, anyone who raised their right hand, took the oath, and wore the uniform is my Brother or Sister.
It doesn't matter to me where they served, or when they served. Or in which branch.

Sure, the different branches razz each other, but against outsiders we stand shoulder to shoulder.

I was RA and spent time in Germany and Vietnam. I tried to make the cooks and mechanics my best friends;-)

Haven't looked at this thread in a while.... Never read this post Jim...

Sorry for your loss.. we all walk our own paths.... some of our ends are at the hands of others... some of our ends are poor health, and some of our ends are just we can't mentally and emotionally handle life any more...

I've always believed our end, has been determined by God, before we are ever born.

When we lose those we have know or especially served in the military with, their loss hits home even more than losing one of your family members.. It at least did for me.. so I am not speaking for others...

But I also believe that one day we will be re united with our friends in our lifetime.. and heaven will be, that we are all young and will never grow old, and never have to live in harms way ever again....

For anyone who put on the uniform....

We served our nation, went where we told to go and did what we were trained to do...

We all can't be Rambo, regardless if we wanted to or not.

We shouldn't feel bad we didn't have to put our asses on the line, and take fire from our enemies
to actually be considered a veteran...

only about 1 out of every 100 citizens, has even put on the uniform and taken an oath.

Too all that have put on the uniform and taken the oath, each one is a brother.

I am not a brother to a queer serving in the current armed services.

My experience over a few decades was an extended period of close calls, interrupted by periods of endurance and patience.

Once in the military, we all served and SOMEONE is going to tell you where you are going and what you will do. One way to partially
avoid that is to volunteer for duty in a unit that nobody much wants to have anything to do with-either because it sounds dangerous
or the unit's reputation has preceded it.
Having survived spinal meningitis at Ft. Benning, GA. , I volunteered for just such a unit after more time at Ft. Benning and Ft. Bragg, NC.
(Names of military bases do not change in the minds of soldiers or Marines who serve there.)
CCN-CCC-CCS were the MACVSOG OPS 35 Ground Reconnaisance elements assigned from the 5th Special Forces Group. Mention of "CCN" at Ft. Bragg could stop conversations in mid-sentence...
I served with SOG from 71-72, and part of that time operated out of Khe Sanh and Quang Tri.
Cross border operations were TS and only one unit in Vietnam was authorized to conduct them.

I spent one tour at the Pentagon, and was counseled there for commenting "that having seen it-I now know why we did not do so well". I would be relieved by the current military leadership.
There are three possibilities in combat: WIA, KIA, or promotions. I received two out of three. {For a reality check, look up MSG Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver}
{Hollywood movies and the current Washington leadership get the same level of disrespect}

I was a Nike Hercules MP in Alaska 1975 and 76. I know all about the "cold war". I joined the National Guard and was activated for Desert Shield/Storm and again in 2003 for Iraqi Freedom. I never made it to a combat zone until I worked as a private contractor in Afghanistan. I had 24 years total time. Right now I wish we had another "Iron Dome" of anti missile missiles. Something updated from the Nike Hercules.

kwg

Edit to add that the Nike Hercules system across America was a bargaining chip against the Russians. No, we didn't get shot at but we kept the Russians in check from 1959 to 1979. We have nothing now. We are extremely vulnerable from a missile or even an airplane attack from Russia or China as we speak. I don't think Russia is interested but I really think the Chinese would launch on us in a second if they could.
kwg

It didn’t matter if a person didn’t go to Vietnam or not HR said, “NO VETERANS!”
All were scum. All were baby killers. The war was caused by the enlisted men, not politicians.

I learned that most HR folks don't know a thing about a successful military enlistment or those who chose to stay for 20 plus years and what it takes to reach 20 years. They are educated idiots in a very powerful position.

kwg