To All My Fellow Veterans ....

[JimT]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

1966 - 1969

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[Bill in Oregon]

Amen!

[samsi]

Back at you Jim. One of my sometimes Armistice Day traditions is to pull a .303 bullet and burn the cordite stack, have to go find the remnants of the milsurp .303...

I haven't seen a flying T-Bone in the wild since the early '90's, wonder how many are left?

[TraderVic]

Thanks Jim

USS John R Craig DD-885, Vietnam / WESTPAC

USS Hoel DDG-13, WESTPAC

[stretch]

And the same to you, Jim!

USAF

2045th Comm Group, Andrews AFB, Washington, DC
1962nd Comm Group, Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan

-Stretch

[4t5]

Thanks to all of you!

[Grizz]

Thank you veterans, we are grateful. Even you R.

[GunnyMack]

My deepest heart felt
THANK YOU!

[COSteve]

June '67 to June '70 US Army. After Basic and AIT, sent to the 1st Squadron, 3 ACR in Baumholder, Germany as a tank crewman M-60A1 until July '68 when we redeployed the squadron back to Ft. Lewis, WA under the 1st Operation REFORGER.

Sep '69 to June '69 Sergent Tank Commander, M-48A3, 25th ID (Electric Straw Berries) Cu Chi, RVN. June '69 to Jan '70 patient at Madigan Amy Medical Center, Ft. Lewis, WA. Jan '70 to June '70 Instructor at Ft. Knox, KY.

June '70 to . . . . home to being called a baby killer, spit on, and ostracized for being dragged into the war by every friend I had before I left for the Army (none of them served). That's why I and all the other vets I know from VN cringe every time someone says, "Thank you for your service."

[jkbrea]

I enlisted in early 80's. Most DI's and instructors were Vietnam vets and we learned alot from them.
Hope you all have a great day.

Somewhere in W. Germany in '84 during Reforger Exercise with my M203.

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[marlinman93]

Thanks Jim, and same to you also!

USAF Loadmaster C-141's Military Air Cargo service 1969-1975.

[Ray Newman]

In all honesty, Veterans’ and Memorial days I really try to forget. Memorial Day I think of the KIAs I knew. Veterans' day several fellow vets who had a difficult life or are now gone come to mind.

As for myself. enlisted USMC June ’64. Third MARDIV Okinawa February ’65 to July ‘65. July ‘65-March ’67 RVN service with Echo Battery, 12th Marine Regt. Echo battery –105s –provided direct fire support of 2nd battalion, 9th Marine Inf. Regt. Disability retired as Sgt. Mar. ’68

COSteve IS onto it! -- Came "…home to being called a baby killer, … ostracized for being dragged into the war by every friend I had before I left for the Army (none of them served). That's why I and all the other vets I know from VN cringe every time someone says, ‘Thank you for your service.’ “

Many times I heard what COSteve posted. If about my age, I often asked if they ever served. A few hesitantly say no or just walk away. But I do not know how many said they promised their mother they would not enlist or could not pass the physical because of their high school/college sports injury. Never realized high school/collegiate sports were so dangerous and disabling and so many kept their promise to their mothers. An acquaintance -- who freely admitted to me his mother pulled political strings with the draft board to keep him out of WW II -- told me Vietnam vets did not want to fight.

[Bruce Scott]

1967 - 1993
Tank crew commander, Vietnam Sep 1969 - Dec 1970:

[Griff]

Thanks Jim. USN: 3/70 to 12/73, VN, USNS Midway, USS Somers (DDG-34), WestPacs /72 & /73. I personally don't need any thanks, I enjoyed it all. I appreciate the sentiment tho'... a far cry from the day I separated from active duty when I was told, "...unless you're applying for a gov't job, don't put down that you were in the service for the past four years, you'll find it hard as a Vet to get a job in the civilian market these days."

[TraderVic]

Steve nailed it bigtime !
I'm not sure what to say or think when I hear "thank you for your service". I believe some are sincere.
I was back in the states about a week after my second tour to SE Asia, heading home on leave.
I was walking through the Twin Cities Int'l Airport in my dress whites, to catch a connector flight to La Crosse (home) when a gal comes up to me and called me a baby killer. I was so happy to be almost home, it didn't register with me until I was in the air again.

[Walt]

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all you vets on the forum and all US vets. I went into the Induction Center of the local Selective Service office in 1968, took all the tests, was told I was the first one at that location ever to score 100% on the written test but then was sent on my way with a 4-F classification due to my miserably poor eyesight.

I salute you, gentlemen.

[CowboyTutt]

Thank you Gentlemen! We would not be around to experience the USA if not for your service!!! This was posted by a friend of mine, didn't know this:



-Tutt

[JimT]

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[Ysabel Kid]

Thank you veterans!

[marlinman93]

Many decades after I served I was doing some electrical work in a senior retirement center and the apartment I was working in had a single guy who rented there. We got to chatting and realized we were the same age. He mentioned he had gone to Canada to dodge the draft, and asked if I went in the military. I told him I did, and added that I didn't have any choice. He said, "We all have a choice, and you could have done the same thing I did."
I told him he might have been raised differently than I was. And that in my family if your country asked for your service running off to Canada wasn't a choice we were ever taught was an option.
He got pretty quiet, and then apologized, but added he's always felt guilty about the choice he made. I actually felt a little sorry for a guy who lived his entire life feeling guilty about a choice he'd made once. I can still look back and even with the anti war, and bad reactions we got coming home, I don't have to ever be ashamed of what we did. We did what we were asked to do, and no apologies needed, and the only ones who should feel bad are those who blamed us for serving.

[JMick]

Never forget
US Army 1983-1991

[JimT]

Many decades after I served I was doing some electrical work in a senior retirement center and the apartment I was working in had a single guy who rented there. We got to chatting and realized we were the same age. He mentioned he had gone to Canada to dodge the draft, and asked if I went in the military. I told him I did, and added that I didn't have any choice. He said, "We all have a choice, and you could have done the same thing I did."
I told him he might have been raised differently than I was. And that in my family if your country asked for your service running off to Canada wasn't a choice we were ever taught was an option.
He got pretty quiet, and then apologized, but added he's always felt guilty about the choice he made. I actually felt a little sorry for a guy who lived his entire life feeling guilty about a choice he'd made once. I can still look back and even with the anti war, and bad reactions we got coming home, I don't have to ever be ashamed of what we did. We did what we were asked to do, and no apologies needed, and the only ones who should feel bad are those who blamed us for serving.

Well Said!
I never felt I made the wrong choice by joining up. I felt it an honor to serve my country and didn't give a daymn about those who wouldn't. I enjoyed my time and grew up a lot during those 3 years.

[jeepnik]

What I find most amazing is just how few admit to mistreating return vets these days. Try to find anyone who acted this way. But it wasn't just the college kids. The San Francisco police also took a dim view of returning vets.

Thanks for your service, brothers. Even if you had all cushy assignments it still cost in ways that can't be measured.

[Ray]

Deleted.

[marlinman93]

I enjoyed my job as a C141 Loadmaster so much I seriously considered staying in as a career in the USAF. I loved the job, and made rank so quickly that by 20 months into my 4 year enlistment I'd made Sgt. already! Then a few weeks after making Sgt. I was called into a snot nosed 2nd Lt.'s office and he told me I had to sign this "intent to reenlist" paper? I asked what it was and why i had to sign it, and he said it was a promise to reenlist when my 4 years was up. He went on to say if I refused to sign it I would be "frozen in rank" until I signed, or finished my 4 years.
Well I never took well to ultimatums and I refused to sign it. I told him it was going to change me from the Air Force's best employee to a guy with a bad attitude, which just ticked him off too. About 2 months later the Air Force came up with a new program to reduce forces called "Palace Chase". It offered anyone who wanted to get out early to go home and whatever time they had left on active duty they could finish as Reserve duty. I jumped on it, and headed home.

[jeepnik]

MM, things changed when Vietnam was ending. Through E-4 was still pretty much automatic based on time in service and time in grade.

They weren't even offering letters of intent. I made E-5 under four which was pretty much impossible on the next cycle. When I made it there was only two that made E-6 and I was the only E-5. In earlier times it was usually two to three times that many and a fair number of E7/8/9's.

Two things stopped my making it a career. First was a Latino kid that didn't like doing the shitty jobs every new fireman did so he reported me to the race relations folks. He screwed up because he didn't know my wife was a Chicana. I did make his live a living hell after that.

But the straw that broke the camel's back was when I had to explain why the troops had to do things beyond my saying so. Discipline had gone straight down hill.

[earlmck]

A couple hours ago I got back home from visiting my "transfer agent" where I picked up some handguns I'd ordered from AIM Surplus (thanks for the tip guys!). He advertises a discount on the fee if you are a vet. I didn't let him know I was a vet -- would rather pay the extra $5 than hear "thank you for your service" from a perfectly nice young fellow.

C.O. Steve nailed it with how us old Namvets cringe when we hear that.