me vietnam to now

[army historian]

I will try to stay with the topic. 1966 to present.

[army historian]

Cam Rhan Bay 1970

[army historian]

More of me - sorry for the quality on some of these.

[army historian]

More of me - sorry for the quality on some of these. Also I though I was replying "Faces of War" not making a new topic.

[army historian]

Last one!

[Chris Boonzaier]

Love the moustache... looks so "Retro" ;-)

Best

Chris

[peter monahan]

Nice thread and great 'threads'! May I ask what the neck order is?

Peter

[Ulsterman]

wow!! I LOVE the neck order.

I gotta ask-why'd you leave the USAF and go army? Our Pxs and NCO clubs were always better (at least in Europe).

Is that an Arctic medal i spy?

[army historian]

ame='army historian' date='02 December 2009 - 22:54 ' timestamp='1259812488' post='380299']

Nice thread and great 'threads'! May I ask what the neck order is?

Peter

It's the Veteran Companion of the Military Order of Foriegn Wars. A little history.

The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Membership is composed of active duty, reserve and retired officers of the United States Armed Services, including the Coast Guard, who have served during one of the wars in which this country has engaged and/or is engaged. The Order was founded on December 13, 1894.

Example:

In 1896 the membership category of Honorary Companion was created. President William McKinley, Admiral George Dewey, Lieutenant John J. Pershing (later General of the Armies), and Admiral John Wooten (of Monitor fame) were some of the earliest Honorary Companions. In 1928, a fourth membership status (Junior Companion) was created. In 1969, Companionship was extended to officer veterans and their descendants who served during a foreign war or expedition and to those who served in an enlisted status and were later commissioned.

The War and Navy Departments, and later the Department of Defense, under various resolutions of Congress, gave recognition to the Order and permitted the wearing of its insignia on uniforms.

[army historian]

wow!! I LOVE the neck order.

I gotta ask-why'd you leave the USAF and go army? Our Pxs and NCO clubs were always better (at least in Europe).

Is that an Arctic medal i spy?

I had planned to stay for a least one more tour, so I asked for Europe. Out of a 4 year enlistment I spent almost 3 years in the Orient. They gave me orders for 2 more years for Japan. So I left. While in College I apply for the Navy OCS and was accepted. I wanted to go into Oceanography or Geology. They would not give me those choices. I didn't want 4 more years of Sea Service. So I joined the Navy Reserve for 1 year on a Ocean Going Minesweeper (MSO-489) USS Gallant. I got married that year and my wife did not like the weekend "Steaming" all three days, so I did not re-enlist. later that year I enlisted in the Army Reserve as a Clerk Drafts man for a General Officer Command (Staff) "GOCOM" of a 1000 bed Hospital Unit, the 6253rd US Army Hospital. I wasn't getting promoted, so transferred to the Graphics Section of the 353rd Psyop Bn. (PWPST). I got promoted to Specialist 5. I transfer in my civilian occupation from the USGS to the US Forest Service, here in Eureka, CA. The only Unit available was a California National Guard Unit. The 579th Combat Engineer Bn. This was 1978. I stayed in to Jan. 1991 when I retired as a Staff Sergeant E-6. I love History so I joined the California State Military Reserve (State Defense Force) as a Warrant Officer for the California Center for Military History. In 2001 I was promoted to Captain. Still working on history. George

[Bear]

Hello,

Nice thread!

Here is a thread on my uncle while in Vietnam. Maybe you could add some info on the places mentioned in his letters.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=29058

thanks,

barry

[army historian]

Hello,

Nice thread!

Here is a thread on my uncle while in Vietnam. Maybe you could add some info on the places mentioned in his letters.

http://gmic.co.uk/in...showtopic=29058

thanks,

barry

Berry I read your uncle's letters. They gave me pause and brought back some not nice memories. But, thanks for posting them. He leaves a lot out. I was on the move in Vietnam a lot, so I did pass through Na Trang, Chu Lia, Bein Hoa, Soa Trang, Tan Son Nhut, Cam Rhan Bay, ect. "Have tool bag, will travel". I have some slides of some of these places, I know at least Na Trang. I can't explain what happened to your uncle, but I can give you this:

I was sent TDY from Ching Chuan Kang, Taiwan to Cam Rhan Bay Air Force Base Vietnam from 11 Jan to 13 Mar 1970 Fuel Shop, Det. 2, 834^th Air Division. Cam Rhan Bay is a peninsula, and my barracks was the last one facing the bay. The Navy and Air Force used 18 foot Boston whalers to patrol the bay between the mainland and Cam Rhan Bay. This is where the fifth event occurred. On 11 February 1970 about 2100 hours Cam Rhan Bay was attacked by 6 to 8 Viet-Cong sappers, all hell broke lose. For some reason I ended up alone again at the bunker outside my barracks, with a 13 inch bowie knife and my tool bag. I could not find the 1^st Sgt., or anyone else, nor could I locate the arms locker. I spent 2 hours waiting for the Viet-cong to come through the wire; they never made it, (Thank God) and watching a gunship (Puff the Magic Dragon) work over the area just beyond my position. It is sheer hell to be unarmed, and alone, not knowing what is happening in the middle of a firefight! Finally things just died down. I still have recurring nightmares about this event. I know that toting a weapon and returning fire is a luxury. Try receiving fire and not being able to return fire. During my tours in Vietnam, my bases received more than 20 rocket attacks, to which no one was able to return fire (similar to roadside bombs) and there were deaths and wounded. I received a hostile-fire pay certificate and extra money, while I was in country. I guess hostile fire does not equate to combat. In World War II, hostile-fire pay was considered combat pay. Could someone please explain this distinction to me?

See: Capt. George J. Albert, website entry: I talk about this incident, and "combat" http://www.airforcet...on_letters07030

See: Ben H. Swett, Colonel USAF (Retired) website http://www.bswett.com/RVN/1970.html . He talks about the incident briefly.

See: Another web site that lists Air Force Policeman killed:

Adams, Erhard J, 12th Security Police Squadron: Date of Death: 11 FEB 1970, place: Cam Rhan Bay.

http://tsgtmackey.tripod.com/id17.html .

The sixth event was when I was separated from Active Service. I arrived at San Francisco International Air Port on 13 May 1970 in my dress Blues. I and the other troops were met with insults, cat calls, spit on, etc. by anti-war (counter culture) freaks. I found out that I and the other service men were aliens in a country that had changed drastically while we were overseas. I had spent almost all my last three years (of a four year enlistment) overseas in Southeast Asia. I found that people I knew before I left view me as a "Baby Burner" or some kind of monster. I had very few friends left after I returned form service and those were ones that had also served. People that did not live through this can not have a concept of what it was like. I felt betrayed and very angry to no avail. This was an insidious and very disheartening thing. All though I had mixed feeling about the war, I did what I through was right. The only people I could talk to other than other vets were my family (my father was a WW2 vet). It was even worst when I attended Junior College the next year. The vets stuck together, because very few others wanted anything to do with them. I remember a near riot at college when some idiot pulled down the American flag and ran up the Viet Cong Flag. This happened at Canada Junior College in Redwood City CA. when Jane Fonda came to speak at my college, I believe it was the spring semester of 1971. It took years to get past these feelings and for society to change enough for some of us to fit back in. Many did not make it. My brother distinctly remembers this as he was with my parents who had come to pick me up at the Air Port.

I hope this may help you understand some of what your uncle may have gown though. Respectfully George.

PS For the record, I did not earn an Arctic medal, you might have seen The Humanitarin Service Medal.

Edited December 3, 2009 by army historian

[Bear]

Hello George,

Thanks for your reply. I had always heard of the spitting but never knew if it was myth or truth.

One story of Jerry that I sort of remember was with my grandparents(My Papas) which was Christmas around 1980(I was around Eight). I was with my older brother and my mom(Jerry's older sister) when the doorbell rang. It was Jerry who was unclean with long hair with his front teeth missing(Jerry had not been seen in years). My mom said that he had lost his teeth in a bar fight. I remember my grandmother saying that my mother should take us to the mall. We(me, my brother ,mom & Jerry) went to the mall and I remember my mom saying she had never been so embarrased in her life. Jerry would remarry & try to get his life together, but he died of heart failure in 1984.

Jerry got TB on the streets and I remember having to go to the hospital to get a TB shot/check. The last photo of Jerry that I didn't post was just before Jerry died. He was 36 and wearing a vietnam t-shirt.

thanks,

barry

[army historian]

Hello George,

Thanks for your reply. I had always heard of the spitting but never knew if it was myth or truth.

One story of Jerry that I sort of remember was with my grandparents(My Papas) which was Christmas around 1980(I was around Eight). I was with my older brother and my mom(Jerry's older sister) when the doorbell rang. It was Jerry who was unclean with long hair with his front teeth missing(Jerry had not been seen in years). My mom said that he had lost his teeth in a bar fight. I remember my grandmother saying that my mother should take us to the mall. We(me, my brother ,mom & Jerry) went to the mall and I remember my mom saying she had never been so embarrased in her life. Jerry would remarry & try to get his life together, but he died of heart failure in 1984.

Jerry got TB on the streets and I remember having to go to the hospital to get a TB shot/check. The last photo of Jerry that I didn't post was just before Jerry died. He was 36 and wearing a vietnam t-shirt.

thanks,

barry

Barry, the spitting and insults really did happened at least at SF International. A story about that evening at SFO. One of the more aggressive "Freaks" who was spitting, hit a Marine (from the Marine's rack - he saw a lot of combat). The Marine beat the "S---" out of the freak. The rest of us servicemen, including my dad made sure no one interferred. The police showed up, the freak was shouting and unruly. The police arrested the freak and hualed him away, to a standing ovation! At least from the servicemen and a few older veterans around. It was the only positive thing I remember from that time. Like I said "Some made it back, and some didn't" I did not mean only the KIA's. There were and still are, what I call the walking dead. Respectfully George Albert

[Douglas Jr.]

Fantastic topic.

George, congratulations for such nice service record.

And thanks for the pictures and stories about 'Nam and the comeback.

Douglas

[army historian]

Fantastic topic.

George, congratulations for such nice service record.

And thanks for the pictures and stories about 'Nam and the comeback.

Douglas

Douglas Thank you for your interest. Cheers Captain Albert