The Vietnam Story

[bigtiller]

Snip

During the Vietnam war there were all kinds of incentives offered by the Army to those who volunteered, i.e. choice of assignment after a tour in SVN or choice of Military Occupation Specialty if you volunteered. These incentives made duty in Vietnam a little more palatable for those who thought it through before they got their draft notice."

That'll explain the low draft numbers. The lower the draft number, the more we paid attention to where the selective service draw was at. Less than 100, just get it over with and sign up. Over 300, relax you're not going to be invited.

 

[Rock knocker]

Something all of you should think about is what General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Commander in Chief of the North Vietnamese Army had to say about John Kerry in his 1985 memoir 滴ow We Won The War? He said that the North Vietnamese were planning a negotiated surrender after the 68 TET offensive. They watched the US news and heard how distorted our press reported it and the war protesters rioting in the streets of America. He said 展e were delighted. We went from a planned surrender to a policy of needing to persevere for one more hour, day, week month, eventually the protesters in America would help us to achieve a victory we knew we could not win on the battlefield. He also said 的f it were not for organizations like John Kerry痴 Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Hanoi would have surrendered to the US.

展hat we still don稚 understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same at the battles of TET. You defeated us! We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media was definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We were ready to surrender. You had won!

Twice they were waiting to surrender, their generals words not mine.

You don't have any of that right. What he said was that if US air power had interceded in the invasion of Saigon, the NV would have faltered. He decidedly did not say that NV would have folded up their tents and gone home or turned the country over to South Vietnam.

His statements regarding Tet are a little more ambiguous, and does acknowledge that the NVA and VC got walloped during Tet, but I certainly don't think he said they almost gave up.

 

[houstonscott]

Best Critique of Burns Vietnam

Interesting.

 

[houstonscott]

You can clearly read what he had to say from him directly, it's his words not mine.

 

[Rock knocker]

You can clearly read what he had to say from him directly, it's his words not mine.

And you've read his book? Or read what others have said he said? I think I know the answer.

 

[Deere Dude]

I am finding this documentary interesting so far. I missed #1 but watched #2 and #3 and from what I can see Burns did a as good a job as he did on the Civil War documentary.

Just from memory from living at the time politics was way to involved along with these stupid cease fires. That was probably not a good time to be volunteering for anything.

 

[6thgpSF]

Houstonscott,I already told you what I served in.Maybe you forget.So how many tours did you do in Nam? You seem to have some kind of hang up about serving 1 yr tours in Nam and how we are complainers.Again how many did you do...russ

 

[tcreeley]

Viet Nam never needed to happen. Our **** politicians should have ended up in jail.

 

[Rock knocker]

Houstonscott,I already told you what I served in.Maybe you forget.So how many tours did you do in Nam? You seem to have some kind of hang up about serving 1 yr tours in Nam and how we are complainers.Again how many did you do...russ

According to him

I did thirty years, all active duty, 1974-2004, all USCG

Which would likely mean he did zero in VN, because the USCG rolled up their stuff in 1973.
https://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/h_tulichvietnam.asp

 

[Sigarms]

Houstonscott,I already told you what I served in.Maybe you forget.So how many tours did you do in Nam? You seem to have some kind of hang up about serving 1 yr tours in Nam and how we are complainers.Again how many did you do...russ

You seem reasonable to enough to understand that with some men, their just isn't any reason

 

[houstonscott]

Houstonscott,I already told you what I served in.Maybe you forget.So how many tours did you do in Nam? You seem to have some kind of hang up about serving 1 yr tours in Nam and how we are complainers.Again how many did you do...russ

I just want people to understand the much bigger sacrifice today's military member is making without notice.

 

[Rock knocker]

You still haven't answered my question about Giap's book. Are you claiming that he said NV almost surrendered because that is what your actually read in his book? Or are you repeating unverified third, fourth and fifth hand information regarding Giap's statements that you in fact read on the fake-news web. I'm pretty sure the latter is the case, cause that is a lot easier and more inflamatory.

 

[6thgpSF]

houstonscott ,I think you are a wannabe poser. Anybody that was KIA ,WIA etc. in ANY WAR will always have my RESPECT !!! You and the other wannabes that WISH SO MUCH TO BE A COMBAT VET. are the problem w/this country.This country made a huge mistake when it did not reinstate the draft after 911. The men and women w/ multiple tours will have the same problems the vet from any other war had, This country used them up and will spit them out the same way as they did the war vet from other wars.I wish you would have served w/me in NAM,I would of put you on point or strapped a prc25 on your back to see what you are really made of. In closing I won't say because it would probably get me kicked me off this forum.enough said....russ

 

[/pine]

...I wish you would have served w/me in NAM,I would of put you on point or strapped a prc25 on your back to see what you are really made of...

Sorry fella but this does not sound like any combat vet I have ever known and I have known many...it comes across as some phony dialog out of some tacky movie script...
The guys that were really in the trenches (so to speak) generally have to be coerced into talking about their service...it's the phonies/wannabees that run their yappers...

 

[gfreshour]

I gave up talking or arguing about Vietnam. Having said that, I will join the line of folks waiting for their turn to piss on Jane's grave. 38 months of my life trying to do something I later found out my country really didn't believe in. I have never been one to advocate digging up LBJs grave and hanging him, but I would relish reading the story.

 

[RichM752]

deleted post
I don't want to be kicked off the site.
have a nice day
.

 

[TomSeller]

Having said that, I will join the line of folks waiting for their turn to piss on Jane's grave.

A good long piss I hope. She deserves very drop.

 

[turnkey4099]

I have watched many Burns documentaries. It's my opinion that some of them have a somewhat liberal bias.

I was in OCS when the Vietnam war was winding down, too late to be sent there. I served with many Vietnam vets during my time on active duty. They were generally not treated so well by the civilian population. When I came off active duty in mid December 1978, being a vet was an impediment to getting a civilian job, IMO. Sad. The Reagan years ended all that nonsense.

I served (AF) 1955 - 1975. missed all the wars, Korea (onlsy ine a few months before the official end) and all the others. Always on the oppossite side of the world from them except the ?1967? Israeli-Arab 7 day war. Was in Turkey for that.

1968 the army came around offering a greast deal for a few AF specialties. Resign AF, sign up Army as a Warrant Officer and we'll teach you to fly helicopters. I almost bit on it until my physical disability kicked in. The yellow streak up my back.

 

[Creamer]

My hat is off to any vet that has served on foreign soil and their families. There are vast differences between the experiences now and the experiences of past wars due to the differences in how they are fought and the communication. I think of all those that went into WWII and were sent off and their families did not hear anything except by exceptionally slow snail mail or the news. How difficult it was to live and worry. Those serving typically saw less days of actual fighting but they when it was on it had to be terrifying. Now it is much easier to move weapons and troops so they are in harm's way much more often and their loved ones back home know a lot more of what is going on. I am not sure any of it is better or worse but neither is anything close to going to work everyday and going home.

One Iraq vet I work with was laughing at people who were stressing out because they couldn't handle the pressures of work. He said "all you can do is what you can do what is there to stress about. I will tell you what stress is - it is kicking in a door and not knowing if it is wired or not and doing it 30 times in a day." Kind of put it in perspective for me.

 

[oldballs]

Another good story .... I saw an interview of a WWII combat vet. The interviewer asked if being in combat affected him mentally as the years went by. He said that ......"Yes it did. Now, everyday is a good day, because nobody is trying to kill me".

Let's just say that I did my time which I am proud of but never faced combat. May God Bless All Our Troops, whatever their job. As to the Burns documentary........it's probably mostly accurate, but probably tainted by its economic/political sponsor.

Cheers,
Mike