hmm, are some users veterans of the war in vietnam ? It would be nice to hear, somethin´ about your units, about your experiences, your storys and your point of view, if you don´t want to talk about it I can understand that as well. Regards, Che.
Che, My involvement was rather minimal. I enlisted in 1970 and by the time I finished training in 1971 I was just in time to assist in pulling out Marine helicopter units( I was a helicopter Crewchief/gunner) that were in the process of withdrawing under the Vietnamization program. Naturally I heard much first hand information from those that had done full tours during the heat of the Tet offensive and earlier events so I have some knowledge of the war beyond my personal involvement. There have been several previous threads dealing with some aspects of that conflict.
zhukov wrote: Needless to say it was rather more controversial in those days. Thank you for the kind words.
Hey, Grieg you´re a hero, no doubt! It would be interessting of which type your helicopter was and if you have some pics of your time in the Nam ? Best wishes, Che.
Why? I'm sorry if this question offends anyone but I would really like to hear an answer to it from Che or Zhukov. Why would Grieg be a hero simply because he fought in the Vietnam War, regardless of what our opinions about that war may be? I understand that it is easy to read this post as if I wrote it in a very skeptical tone, but I honestly don't mean to doubt your words or Grieg's honour. I am merely curious as to why fighting in a war at all makes someone a hero. If this is true, then why do we distinguish between soldiers and heroes at all?
roel wrote: Doesn't offend me. I happen to agree with you. I'm no hero (as I stated previously my involvement was minimal) however I would consider it bad manners for me to point that out to someone who merely trying to be nice so I wasn't going to say it Some people just say that as a way of saying thanks for your service..they don't literally mean you're a hero.
Well going out there and putting your life on the line isnt the easyist thing 2 do roel and i should think that even if u met battle once your still brave (or foolish)
what the hell is heroic to join a war not to talk about the reasons of this f...in bloody war in vietnam vietnam was never a menace to the us
Naturally, but isn't a hero someone of exceptional courage, sacrificing himself for others or something like that? A regular soldier is a regular soldier until he does something heroic.
My father is a Vietnam veteran. He was originally trained as an Armor officer at Ft. Hood. He trained on the M60. Little did he know when he shipped out that he would never command a tank again. The brass transferred him to mech infantry. So he became part of the 25th Infantry division and was platoon leader for a platoon of M113 apc's. I've gotten him to talk alot more about it recently and he has some very interesting stories as well as some very sad recollections. I remember going to Washington, DC with him when I was about 10 years old. To see my strong father cry at the wall made me cry too. Two of his friends that he had known since grade school and went to his church in Tulsa, OK did not come back from the 'Nam. He looked at the wall and saw many other names that he remembered as well.
my dad also served with 25th inf .cu chi,67..68 its kinda funny ,my dad was a maj. of ordenance,worked at office and phone ect ,a remf.officer for sure...however,during a mortar attack one nite[v.c. liked to pop a few over the fence once an a while} he was running for the bunker in shower shoes an stepped on a big nail..because the injury happened during a attack ,he was to receive the purple heart...dad refused the medal because he didnt feel he should get the same medal as some kid with both legs blown off.this action caused him some trouble with the brass.they thought he was being anti war,ie. vets throwing medals at the white house with jane fonda,ect...this medal would have been a boost to his career path as it is not easy for staff types to get combat decorations....needless to say his selfless act will make him a hero in my eyes always...