Veterans

[jerryd6818]

Looks like I'm about eight months late for this one but better late than never.

USMC 1962-1966 MOS 1141/5912
MCRD San Diego - Port Hueneme CA - 29 Palms CA
Ft. Bliss Tx - Cherry Point, NC 3rd LAAM Bn. > Operation Steel Pike in Oct/Nov '64 and Firing Exercise @ Vieques Island, PR April '65
Da Nang VN, Monkey Mtn. Bravo Battery 1st LAAM Bn

Semper Fi til I die.

[grelcar]

USN 75-81, USS Claude V Ricketts DDG-5 77-80

[FRJ]

U.S. Army. Active 66 to 68. 67-68 in Nha Trang, Viet Nam. Psycological Opperations.
Thanks to all who served whenever and whearever they served, and thanks for the appreciation of others.
I, for one, was treated with respect when I came home to Spokane.

Joe

[Owd Wullie]

U.S. Army. Active 66 to 68. 67-68 in Nha Trang, Viet Nam. Psycological Opperations.
Thanks to all who served whenever and whearever they served, and thanks for the appreciation of others.
I, for one, was treated with respect when I came home to Spokane.

Joe

I was spit on or at several times at airports when I was flying military standby in my uniform. I'm glad times have changed. I hope NONE of our service men and women ever have to endure that again.

While I was up in MO last week we went to the funeral of a family friend. He spent 26 years in the Army and retired in '76.

It was HOT and muggy at the funeral. The Army sent a detail out from Ft Leonard Wood to do the honors. I know it was rough standing there at attention in their dress uniforms. I met the young men by their van and thanked them for showing up and doing what was asked. As far as I know, I was the only one to do that. I ain't bragging but it just didn't seem right that no one else bothered to tell those men that what they do is appreciated.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Willie, good for you. I did likewise at Sarah's Uncle Riley's funeral last year. He was a Field Medic in an infantry outfit in WWII. God only knows what the man saw and did. He lived in a small, really small, town in north Alabama, Three man detail, all Iraq or Afghan vets with multiple tours, did the duty. Hard to stand there and listen to Taps, and try not to shed tears. I failed. Those three men came up from Ft. Rucker, practically the entire length of the State. I shook each of their hands, thanked them for their service and told them to be careful if and when they were once again deployed.

I was in the U. S. Army from May of 1967 until April of 1970. Did Basic at Ft. Campbell (Hot!), Infantry AIT at Ft. Ord, then Jump School at Ft. Benning. Spent the next forty-eight weeks in the Special Forces Qualification Course at Ft. Bragg, served eight months with a special weapons A-Team of the 6th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg. Didn't seem as I would ever be deployed with the 6th Group, so I called the SF overseas coordinator at the Pentagon, volunteered for VN and spent the last bit (seven months)of my enlistment on the Cambodian border in South Viet Nam with eleven to fourteen other American SF Soldiers and about four-hundred-fifty mercenary Civilian Irregular Defense Group soldiers composed mostly of Montagnards and Cambodians, and a few South Vietnamese, dodging mortar, rocket and AK fire. Came home the end of April, 1970.

Thank you, each and every one, for your service.

Charlie Noyes

[Owd Wullie]

Thanks Charlie.

I'm not ashamed to admit I can't listen to taps without shedding a few tears.

Of the young men there that day, there were eight I think, about half looked to have done at least couple of tours by the amount of ribbons on their chests.

The man in charge was an SFC and he had a chest full of stuff.

Not knocking the deal, but my father-in-law spent 20 years in the USN from 1952 to 1972. He had a China Service medal, a Good Conduct medal and the "gedunk", National Defense medal, that everybody gets. The State of Missouri gave him one for Korea. He was on several diesel subs, a mine sweeper, and two flat tops, as well as tour as a recruiter. We had great times making fun of each other's jobs. He called me a stinking airdale and I called him a sewer pipe sailor.

I miss that old fart too.
Here's picture of of the stuff Grand maw put together. The picture of him is fresh out of boot camp in 1952, the year I was born. He was a piss cutter.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Reviving an old thread.

I was rearranging some items in the top of our antique secretary this morning and came across this old Polaroid print.

Boy, how I have changed.

The photo was made in 1969, while I was at the U.S. Army Special Forces Camp at Bu Dop, Republic of Viet Nam.

I'm the man on the left, BTW.

The man on the right, Mr. Hahn, was a Cambodian RN that worked with us. He was excellent and definitely knew what he was doing. I was there for a period of time and came home. He was there for years and worked with multiple Special Forces Teams and personnel.

We were on a Medical Civic Action Patrol, examining and superficially treating some Montagnard villagers. Trying to win the hearts and minds, as it were. Not much to do in that regard. The Montagnards hated the communists and continued to fight them, without our assistance, for years after the war ended in 1975.

Well, they hated the South Vietnamese, as well, but agreed to work with them against a common enemy.

Fond, if not poignant, memories.

Charlie Noyes

[jerryd6818]

Boy, how I have changed.

Fond, if not poignant, memories.

Charlie Noyes

God, Charlie. Haven't we all.


This was taken while in HAWK CW Radar school at Ft. Bliss TX
Tom Arvoy on the left (my best friend in the Corps) - Me in the middle - Vic Green, US Army from Wichita KS on the right. The others are two of the six Israelis that were in our class.

I (on the left) and Steve Kjentvet had just made Corporal. 1966, Monkey Mountain, Da Nang Viet Nam

[RobesonsRme.com]

Jerry, I've seen that second photo before, not sure about the first.

Hope we haven't lost that cockiness we possessed back then. We know now, of course, that we are not invinceable, but we should hold on to that joy of just being and doing that we had.

What a time and what a time we had.

Special Forces had a quasi-motto:

"You have not lived until you've almost died. For those who've had to fight for it, life has a flavor the protected will never know."

I do not know the origin of that, but I'm pretty sure it came from an old warrior of some sort.

Charlie

[jerryd6818]

Jerry, I've seen that second photo before, not sure about the first.
Charlie

I imagine you have. It's one of my favorites of the handful I have of me during that period of my life.

[ken6]

Vietnam 7.jpg (36.9 KiB) Viewed 3871 times

[jerryd6818]

Can't quite figure out what you're doing there Ken. Looks like you're beside a tent with your straight knife out of it's sheath (not a Ka-Bar ??) and you're cutting something while smoking or just sucking on your corn cob pipe.

[ken6]

No, my K Bar was on my ammo belt. This was another knife and I had a hold of a guy who owed me money, had the knife in his belly - we were just putting on however.

[RobesonsRme.com]

I can see why you only posted half the photograph. The whole thing would appear somewhat incriminating.

Charlie Noyes

[Old Hunter]

Me and my best buddy (Jesse), Fort Bragg NC, early 1990's.

[Quick Steel]

I think I have this quote from Churchill fairly accurate. "There are few things in life more exhilarating than to be shot at and missed."

[knife7knut]

United States Navy 20 June 1964 to 11 October 1967.NTC Great Lakes;NAS Boca Chica FL NAS Jacksonville FL;NATC Patuxent River MD NTC Virginia Beach.Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd class.
Lots of good times and some not so good.How the times have changed.See pics.1st one taken in 1965 right after making E-4; the 2nd one taken in Chicago about 3 years ago.What a difference 40-plus years and a hundred lbs make.

[ilikeknives]

US Army 1985-92
Watched the Berlin Wall fall,, stationed in West Germany (at that time), in the Fulda Gap,,, what an experience !! LOVED it !!
Until,,,Desert Shield/Storm 1990 (pre buildup) through 1992,,,, MOS=16S ("Stinger" Air Defense Weapon System-Gunner/Chief),,," If it Flies-It DIES",,,NEVER,,,ever seen one miss, badass. Google it, I'm sure it must have a video somewhere,,,you won't be sorry. YT video, way cool, http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&featu ... yrDh2K7b8M
DAMN good to be a vet these days, thanks to all who make it known.

[jerryd6818]

It felt like the thing to do to revive this old thread for those who have joined AAPK over the past few years.

[carrmillus]

..........u.s. army-corps of engineers...1958-1962............ ................

[wlf]

Good thread ,thank you all.

Daddy saw a lot in WWII and hoped none of us boys ever had to see war. His prayers for all five of us were answered.I was in school in '70(when I was 18), and after ,my lottery number was 315 .

[steve99f]

USN 1970 to 1974 Boiler Tech 3 at separation. Boot camp at Great Lakes as well as BT "A" School, Dago then Yokusuka with the Midway on board the Rowan DD 782. Started in the after fireroom, then oil King then forward fire room. Naval gunfire support and plane guarding on Yankee Station until it was done.

The interior photo are watchmates in the after fireroom. The other is a cruise book pic of the ship.

[fergusontd]

Stev99, those pictures look familier. I was a machinist mate on the Anderson 786 so I know that those pictures of yours look very familiar.) I was water King on the Anderson. Now you being on the Rowan we could have crossed paths at one time. I was in from 68 to 71 we did the same things you did gunfire support and Shore bombardment stuff like that it was nice and hot down there in those engineering spaces then. ftd

[tangoalpha]

2 years Australian Army 1969-70
Spent 1970 in SVN with B Squadron 3rd Cavalry Regiment.
Good times/not so good times. Lifelong friendships.

Tangoalpha.

[djknife13]

USAF, 1970-74, during Viet Nam, never left the states, Grandpa:Army Air Corps during WW1, taught air plane mechanics stateside, Dad: Army Air Corps, worked on bombers stateside during WW2. My son USAF several tours and AF Reserves been deployed more times than I can remember all in Mid. East hotspots. Grandson (5th generation Air Force/Air Corps) in the AF Reserves being deployed soon along with my son.____Dave