Didn't matter then, doesn't matter now. I did what I was asked to do. Moved on as was expected.

As an individual with a US serial number who served two tours in Nam the only thing I can say about my arrival in the States after my first tour was some a**hole spat on me and I put the boots to that piece of ****. Got busted from E-5 to E-2 (I still think it was worth it to this day).

When I arrived state side after my second tour I can remember changing into civies at the customs check in Hawaii and tossing my uniform in a trash bin.

That gives you an idea what my thoughts are about the "flower" and peace sign generation.

I'll never forget and I'll never forgive. I came to terms with this years ago and you can't teach an old dog new tricks

I am a "Vietnam Era Veteran" -- I was in USAF from 1960 through 1980, but I cannot claim to be a "Vietnam Veteran" because I never served there. My overseas assignnments were Labrador, Iran, and Germany. I did not understand or condone the treatment of our returning Vietnam Vets by the unwashed public. I am glad that such attitudes are no longer the norm.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I cannot claim to be a "Vietnam Veteran" because I never served there.

That may be technically true, but that “blank check” every military veteran gave to the Nation to be filled in and cashed whenever it was deemed necessary is why I view everyone who served during the “era” to be worthy of the same respect. Some veterans are deserving of additional respect for what they did and accomplished but that’s a separate matter.

I am still interested in predictions about what the future holds, however.

I think that we will be mostly forgotten by a large % of the people. This is o.k. with me, as I didn't do it for recognition by the non-veteran, I did it for me and the other warriors.

USMC 1964-1968 I often think of those we lost and why I survived.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I am a "Vietnam Era Veteran" -- I was in USAF from 1960 through 1980, but I cannot claim to be a "Vietnam Veteran" because I never served there. My overseas assignnments were Labrador, Iran, and Germany. I did not understand or condone the treatment of our returning Vietnam Vets by the unwashed public. I am glad that such attitudes are no longer the norm.

flashguy

I spent a year in Iran 1961-62, then reassigned to Germany until 1966 when I got out.

I was stationed in Kermanshaw, Iran for that year. When and where were you assigned in Iran?

As to Vietnam war vets, I was stationed in Frankfurt during most of that mess, 8 of us with the same "critical" MOS put on 24 hour alert for movement to Viet Nam. When I got discharged I was the only one who had not gone there. Of the 7 who went, 5 never came back. And for what?

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I am a "Vietnam Era Veteran" -- I was in USAF from 1960 through 1980, but I cannot claim to be a "Vietnam Veteran" because I never served there. My overseas assignnments were Labrador, Iran, and Germany. I did not understand or condone the treatment of our returning Vietnam Vets by the unwashed public. I am glad that such attitudes are no longer the norm.

flashguy

I spent a year in Iran 1961-62, then reassigned to Germany until 1966 when I got out.

I was stationed in Kermanshaw, Iran for that year. When and where were you assigned in Iran?

I was at ARMISH/MAAG Hq on Doshan Tappeh Air Base, Tehran 1969-1971. I was the "Radar Advisor to the IIAF" and made visitations to many of the Iranian radar sites during my duty there. I believe I visited Kermanshaw in 1970 (and had a fine meal of roasted wild boar). My Germany duty was at Ramstein AB -- I was one of a number of computer programmers doing work for Hq, USAFE and NATO in 1977 through 1980 (I actually retired as a Captain O-3 at Ramstein and spent a few months traveling Europe before returning to the States). While there I often went shooting at the Heidelberg range and a little indoor range at Kleber Kaserne (I think). I was just an NCO (E-5 through E-6) but I did have a car (1971 Pinto) and could get around pretty well. I took several other enlisted men with me to the ranges, one of whom became my 2nd Best Friend -- I do see him because he lives only 65 miles away.

I was a Captain in Iran, but failed of promotion to Major too many times and was forced out in 1975. I resigned my Regular commission and enlisted as an E-4 COBOL computer programmer to fill our my 5 years for retirement.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I am a "Vietnam Era Veteran" -- I was in USAF from 1960 through 1980, but I cannot claim to be a "Vietnam Veteran" because I never served there. My overseas assignnments were Labrador, Iran, and Germany. I did not understand or condone the treatment of our returning Vietnam Vets by the unwashed public. I am glad that such attitudes are no longer the norm.

flashguy

I spent a year in Iran 1961-62, then reassigned to Germany until 1966 when I got out.

I was stationed in Kermanshaw, Iran for that year. When and where were you assigned in Iran?

I was at ARMISH/MAAG Hq on Doshan Tappeh Air Base, Tehran 1969-1971. I was the "Radar Advisor to the IIAF" and made visitations to many of the Iranian radar sites during my duty there. I believe I visited Kermanshaw in 1970 (and had a fine meal of roasted wild boar). My Germany duty was at Ramstein AB -- I was one of a number of computer programmers doing work for Hq, USAFE and NATO in 1977 through 1980 (I actually retired as a Captain O-3 at Ramstein and spent a few months traveling Europe before returning to the States). While there I often went shooting at the Heidelberg range and a little indoor range at Kleber Kaserne (I think). I was just an NCO (E-5 through E-6) but I did have a car (1971 Pinto) and could get around pretty well. I took several other enlisted men with me to the ranges, one of whom became my 2nd Best Friend -- I do see him because he lives only 65 miles away.

I was a Captain in Iran, but failed of promotion to Major too many times and was forced out in 1975. I resigned my Regular commission and enlisted as an E-4 COBOL computer programmer to fill our my 5 years for retirement.

flashguy

I spent 11 years in uniform. Then decided to get out as the politics were so bad that I could not stand it any longer. We had a SFC in my unit that was a real crook. Stole a truckload of tires and sold them to an undercover agent. Didn't even get busted for that.

Was blackmailing several people in our battalion, committed insurance fraud among some other things. I was detailed to do the investigation of some of his claims against the army.

Pile of paper was about an inch thick! Had German police reports, eye witness reports, etc ad nauseum.

I took the whole pile of stuff to the battalion CO to get his signature. We reviewed the paperwork, and he asked me to let him handle it. I did. Battalion CO transferred the asshole to Viet Nam, precisely where he wanted to go. The money over there was too good to pass up. That was also when I decided to leave the army.

In 1968 I went down to the local draft board and volunteered. I ended up in Armor, and served my year in RVN as a Sgt. E-5 TC in the Central Highlands.

When I came back in '70 I was processed out at Ft. Lewis, Washington. They were processing 24 hours a day at the time, and I finally cleared post at 0-dark 30, and went down to Sea-Tac to catch a flight home. We were required to travel in uniform at the time. Thankfully I departed and arrived so early, that the airports on both ends were quiet, and there were no issues.

Considering the obvious social and political direction of our country, I suspect that 20 years from now most will be unaware, or only vaguely recall, some nasty little conflict on the other side of the World. Those who remember at all, will likely believe it was an unjust, undeclared war on peaceful Asians, instigated and prolonged by evil white men controlling the Military-Industrial complex in order to accumulate even greater wealth, influence and Power. Vietnam veterans will never be held in the high regard that WWII veterans are today.

I was perhaps naive in volunteering, but I don't regret that I did. I can't help but think though, that today the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a Communist dictatorship, just as it would have been if not a single US soldier had set foot there....

My dad joined the Army in 1964 when he graduated. Three years and a tour in Vietnam as a motor T mechanic. In 1967 when he got out he was hired by Polaroid and was there until he passed in 1984. He never talked about his time. I found his boot camp photo album in the cellar when I was a kid and asked my mom about it. I will never forget his service, or the service of the many dads of the friends I grew up with. I lived in a small town just about 15 miles south of Boston and the number of dad's that served was amazing. My high school history teacher was a Marine. Last summer at my mom's funeral I got reacquainted with a great friend of her and my dad. He spoke about how he and my dad used to go out on the pond and play hockey late at night while they were wooing their wives. How they went in the Army. He's older now, and was very happy with the fact that the VA got him some glasses and hearing aids. I about choked up. From the few stories I have heard it was not a good time for them.

10, 20, 30 years from now I will never forget the veterans of Vietnam. And as long as I breath no one else will either.

I was born in the middle of the war so I didn't learn about it until later in life. I've studied the conflict in depth and personally hold Vietnam veterans in high respect, mostly for what they did and what they returned to stateside.

Bottom line for me is that most of them didn't want to go, they had to go. They did what their country demanded in an environment that had never been seen before in modern warfare. When they returned the were shit on by a bunch of vocal liberals who had no concept of what they'd been through, mostly to make them feel good about being anti-everything idiots.

I make a point to say "welcome home" to every Vietnam veteran I cross paths with in life. I hope successive generations see it as I do.

When I was a kid I heard stories about him. He was a local guy, graduated with my mom from Abington High School in Massachusetts. His name was Richard Fitts.

In 1963 he witnessed the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As the story goes, as I read it from the anniversary story of what happened from my hometown newspaper The Brockton Enterprise, he turned to his dad and said “I want to be one of them”. He was referring to the “Green Berets”; President Kennedy authorized the wearing of the beret and Ritchie wanted to be one. John Kennedy was a “home town boy” and who didn’t like him?

So he joined the Army. Went to the special forces school and went to Vietnam. On 30 November 1968 he was listed as missing in action. He was on a mission over Laos. For years the government would not tell his mom what he was up too. "Classified" they said. Many times they approached her with remains that were suppose to be his but after independent analysis they were confirmed to not be those of Ritchie. I remember talking to his mom and her telling me of horrible dreams she had about Ritchie being held prisoner. It scared me. I wore a crimson MIA bracelet with his information on it all throughout high school.

And then it happened. They found him. Word in town was they thought they really had him this time. His mom had the family doctor look at the remains they found and yes, it was Ritchie. I remember the funeral. It was raining and cloudy. Long procession. His mom asked that anyone who was wearing his MIA bracelet would please put it in a bag to be buried with him. I did.

This happened in 1990. I see it clearly this day. And i’m not the only one.

I love my dad, I love Donnie (dad’s friend who needed the glasses and hearing aids), and I love Richard Allen Fitts.

And I’ll be dammed if anybody forgets any of them. Not on my watch.







http://www.masshome.com/powmia/fitts.html

us army '69-71, vietnam '70-71 as helicopter pilot.

Lost one cousin in that war. To this day I miss him. FUCK Vietnam veterans will always be heroes to me. I remember every meals blessing praying for Ray, fuck it hurt when he got killed.

Send me a contact number and I will let you know in 20 years.

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