In memory of the hundreds of thousands of common Joes who served in Vietnam

[Okla-homey]

Feb 9, 1965 : U.S. sends first conventional combat troops to South Vietnam

http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/11296/2003127871820485536_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003127871820485536)
Newly arrived Marine air defense battalion member deployed to Da Nang in 1965. Looks happy don't he?

Forty-three years ago today, A U.S. Marine Corps HAWK* air defense missile battalion is deployed to Da Nang in the Republic of Vietnam. President Johnson had ordered this deployment to provide protection for the key airbase there which was threatened by the increasingly capable North Vietnamese Air Force which was operating Soviet designed fighter and strike aircraft.

http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/9946/2002031482529025185_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002031482529025185)
LBJ

http://aycu11.webshots.com/image/11370/2003181310658025049_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003181310658025049)

This was the first commitment of conventional American combat troops in South Vietnam. JFK had deployed special forces advisors to bolster ARVN forces but this was the first time ordinary "Joes" were deployed to the war-torn area.

http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/8596/2003159525599775556_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003159525599775556)

There was considerable reaction around the world to the new stage of U.S. involvement in the war. Predictably, both communist China and the Soviet Union threatened to intervene if the United States continued to apply its military might on behalf of the South Vietnamese.

In the wake of LBJ's ordered deployment of American SAMs, some 2,000 demonstrators, led by Vietnamese and Chinese students and clearly supported by the authorities, attacked the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

http://aycu15.webshots.com/image/9854/2002038504132223136_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002038504132223136)
US Embassy - Moscow

Britain and Australia supported the U.S. action. France, which had left Vietnam in disgust after having their Gallic rear-ends handed to them by Ho Chi Minh's communist fighters predictably called for negotiations.

*HAWK: "Homing All The Way Killer." Catchy name for a radar guided semi-active surface to air missile system IMHO. For the record, they never had to fire a shot in anger in Vietnam because Big Blue and the Brown Shoe navy never allowed Charlie to fly that far south.

http://aycu18.webshots.com/image/10417/2002089167210913093_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002089167210913093)

http://aycu18.webshots.com/image/10417/2002060670497193685_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2002060670497193685)

http://aycu09.webshots.com/image/11968/2003142164746044318_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003142164746044318)

[olevetonahill]

Ya think ?

[Flagstaffsooner]

Honor to them all, even Olevet.

[olevetonahill]

Honor to them all, even Olevet.
I spent my 3 days In Hawaiie

[olevetonahill]

http://www.nps.gov/pwro/piso/peleliu/pelimage/TScan132.jpg
Maybe

[olevetonahill]

http://www.seacoastmarines.com/GuadMarine1000yardStarewith.jpg

[Flagstaffsooner]

may these bastards all rot in hell.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Dean_Rusk,_Lyndon_B._Johnson_and_Robert_McNamara_i n_Cabinet_Room_meeting_February_1968.jpg/800px-Dean_Rusk,_Lyndon_B._Johnson_and_Robert_McNamara_i n_Cabinet_Room_meeting_February_1968.jpg

[olevetonahill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gL3HTlfW0A;)

[olevetonahill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gL3HTlfW0A

[Flagstaffsooner]

Whap Charlie (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4865904049709054500&q=apocalypse+now&total=1709&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0)

[olevetonahill]

Whap Charlie (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4865904049709054500&q=apocalypse+now&total=1709&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0)
you Know Me to close Bro .:mad:

[reevie]

My ole man and the rest of his fightin' Seabees landed in Da Nang about two years later.


I wouldn't be able to post a picture of his lighter - It'd be censored.

[olevetonahill]

Kill that Bitch shes a zapper !

[olevetonahill]

My ole man and the rest of his fightin' Seabees landed in Da Nang about two years later.


I wouldn't be able to post a picture of his lighter - It'd be censored.

You Post it Bro
Ive got your Back

[reevie]

I'll see if I can get ahold of it

[olevetonahill]

I'll see if I can get ahold of it

Maybe I had His back

Dayum you Homey
I didnt Need these Memories
40 years ago was Just yesterday

[Okla-homey]

Maybe I had His back

Dayum you Homey
I didnt Need these Memories
40 years ago was Just yesterday

Welcome Home.

http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/43983/2001392904973306224_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001392904973306224)

[BigRedJed]

Thanks vet(s).

[SoonerStormchaser]

Galdammit...I thought I'd never have to see that HAWK thingy again after the ops phase here at Nav School...thanks a lot sir! ;)

[OCUDad]

Thanks, vet.

[SoonerStormchaser]

My godfather flew C-130's for the CIA during the latter parts of the war. He always tells this story of how the morons in Saigon would always send in a convoy of slicks to resupply this one base near the DMZ. The VC picked up on this and placed an AAA battery on top of a hill near the landing field. Sure enough, at 1700 every single day, the 5 ship formation would come flying right by. They'd miss the first two planes, but would always nail the third, most of the time shooting it down. It took THREE MONTHS of that **** before the morons in Saigon decided to change the strategy. Shortly thereafter, the same formation came by at 1700. VC missed the first two, and keyed in on the third ship. Unfortunately for them, the third ship was one of these bad boys:
http://www.jesseshunting.com/images/AC-130-headon-fire-night-med.jpg
It took out the battery...and the top of the hill completely off.

On a different note, Col. Debellevue was at our house for dinner a few weeks ago and was giving us a few of his old war stories. I'm glad I wasn't around during that time and a vet. I don't think I'd have reacted too well to being spit on.

And now I have to defend those sorry ****s in Berkley who want all our troops out of that town. Fuggers. Oh well.

[Sooner_Bob]

Thanks to one and all who serve today and back then . . .

[Flagstaffsooner]

http://aethlos.com/welt/uploaded_images/hanoi-jane-725752.jpg

[BigRedJed]

BOO!

[stoopified]

My Dad who is retired Army BATTALION fIRST SGT. served in Nam from 67-68,69-70.My uncle Richard who is a retired Air Force Tech. Sgt. was also in country from 67-68.He was offerred the chance to go home when my Dad arived in theater.He was told that he would have to return to finish his tour after my Dad rotated home.My uncle said:I'm here now,I'll finsh my tour.He got home just before Tet.

[SoonerStormchaser]

As President, wanna bet McCain's first order of business is to have Jane tried for treason?

[Rogue]

Puff has 20mm Vulcans on board. I was ADA in my time and had some great Vietnam vets watching out for my *** in 1991.

In case you missed it, Homey's "Welcome Home" post is worth pointing out. Seriously try this sometime...tell a Vietnam vet "welcome home and thanks for your service." Most will seem shocked, some will admit it's the first time anyone has, and a few will just say "thanks" or "you're welcome." Then buy that vet a cold beverage.

[Rogue]

He was either a battalion sergeant major or company first sergeant.

Could be a Battery 1SG too, that throws folk sometimes.

[Chuck Bao]

In memory and in honor, I do very much agree and respect these brave people, who paid so much and in some cases paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The debate has to be not on the loyalty and bravery of our fine young men and women, because that's not in question. It's whether the cost was worth it.

I have argued before that Vietnam was an important proxy cold war battleground. The domino effect of Asia falling to the communists proved to be unfounded. But, without a committment to defend against the spread of communism who knows what would have happened if the red tide were allowed to run unchecked through Southeast Asia in Thailand and Indonesia and Philippines.

I have to say that as things turned out, Thailand turned out quite okay. Vietnam and Laos didn't, yet. Cambodia got much, much worse with genocide of one-third of populace of their country.

Thailand was a borderline state and had a repressive military regime running the country at that time, which effectively forced some of the activist students into the arms of the communinists. They were effectively routed and fled into the jungle, only to emerge in the 80s pardoned and forgiven. These are poets and artists and some of them I call my friends.

I don't think I have a point here, except I hate the idea anytime and anywhere that a military is used against its own people. And if it is, it's not permanent and forgives and forgets, as was the case in Thailand.

I still want to say thank you to the Vietnam War vets. Thank you.

[Whet]

Thank you all for your service and sacrifices.

And for Clifford W. Friezel, MIA - September 30, 1968, over North Vietnam .... May you someday be returned home.

[olevetonahill]

Thank you all for your service and sacrifices.

And for Clifford W. Friezel, MIA - September 30, 1968, over North Vietnam .... May you someday be returned home.
God Bless the MIAs