Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts

Friday, August 24, 2007

Interview Vietnam/Desert Storm/OEF I Vets: Never Again

While we were at the VFW convention, we met and spoke with many veterans of wars from WWII to our current conflicts. We interviewed several of these men and asked them about their service and what support from home meant to them while they were deployed.

I noted on my previous post that there was a recurring theme among the vets: many of them had family who were serving in the military today. The second theme? Vietnam era treatment of our troops: never again.

Not long ago, I read an article stating that some of the treatment the vets received, like being spit on or called "baby killer" did not happen. It was a myth or occurred on an extremely limited basis. The person that wrote the article allegedly based this assumption on known police reports or other non-fiction stories that they could reference on the internet. A faulty premise to base such an assumption on and then write an article for a re-known paper in which to try to change history or assuage some guilt for politicians who were actively anti-war during the period and may have participated in protests against the war. They want to show that they are "anti-war" not "anti-military". A fine line to walk during a war that is unpopular and where protesters attempted all sorts of acts that are similar to the "old school", but often mere caricatures.

So, in rejection of any mythology theory on the "spitting, baby killer" meme, I bring you this video of a vet talking about his experiences on returning from Vietnam and the importance of support to the men and women on the front lines.

Never Again



If I had, had enough memory and tape, I could have recorded hundreds of these stories. There is no myth. They remember the day and the place. These gentleman and ladies just don't care to write it down to be researched on the web.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Vietnam Vet Volunteers for Iraq

Via Blackfive:

(CBS4) DENVER CBS4 is saying farewell to two of our colleagues who are heading to Iraq to serve their country. Dr. Dave Hnida is the Medical Editor at CBS4 news. Mike Silva is the Copter4 pilot.

Hnida has served one tour of duty in Iraq as a combat physician. This time, he'll be caring for the seriously injured in a field hospital.

For Silva, heading to Iraq means returning to war 38 years after he first served his country in Vietnam. He officially retired from the Colorado National Guard 14 years ago. It took a briefcase full of documents to persuade the Army that he could come back.

Hnida expects his second tour of duty to last about 4 months. Silva will be gone for about 400 days.


Read the rest here. (videos on side bar)