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The only time I will post on this forum
jimdeere
Member, Moderator Posts: 26,150 ******
I want to thank all veterans from the bottom of my soul for the freedoms I enjoy. Only God and you know the hell you spared me from. I have had a secure and healthy life because of you. God bless you all.
Comments
Please post more. You are welcome here. This forum includes all as long as they don't attack or disrespect anyones service, and you obviously fall in that catagory!
Thanks friend!
W.D.
With every inch of me to you.....Thank You!!
I wish all could be home and be safe, weather we were, and again, are for or against the war, we should show respect for the men and women in uniform who lay down the lives in the face of an enemy that are so determined to bring this country to our knees.
GOD BLESS AND THANK YOU ALL
Only once can I recall a complete stranger thanking me for my service. One day in the late 80's I was traveling on Buford Dam Road outside *, Georgia. I rounded a curve and saw GSP crusiers blocking the road, and a mangled mess of two vehicles beyond that. It was a head on collision with 2 dead at the scene and two more in serious condition. Emergency vehicles were arriving from both directions, and life flight was on the way. I had nowhere to go, so I pulled in the ditch and parked. I could see where the helicopter was supposed to land in the road. It was tight but the pilot set that Bell helicopter right down in the middle of the road. Despite the tall Georgia pines and powerlines. The rescue proceeded for about 20 minutes, and they had the two that were still alive loaded in the helicopter. I saw a fireman up in the pilots window talking to him. The fireman positioned himself on a 3oclock position to the pilot and started giving take off signals. (That were incorrect)I could see the pilot shaking his head. There was nobody on the scene that could five that pilot directions to above the trees and powerlines. The cops attempted to stop me when I approached the perimeter they had set. I tried to explain to them that I knew how to get him out of there but they were not gonna let me thru and threatened to arrest me. Only thing I could do was make the signals from where they were holding me> The pilot saw me, he bleeped his loudspeaker, and said, "Let that man pass". I flagged him out. The cops or the firemen wouldn't even talk to me. Finally, while I was waiting them to clear a spot where they could get traffic going again, an old man (kinda like me) approached me and asked me if I had been in the Air Force. I smiled and told him "No, I was in Vietnam, I know the helicopter language. Sign language".. He grabbed my hand and said, "He always wanted to meet one of us, and that how grateful he was for our service". I still remember that mans face and it was over 20 yrs ago. Been alot of brain cells killed since then.
God bless you. You guys will always be my heroes.
Tom
Now don't get angry , I did not say a private forum where service could be verified like this.
I would also like to state that that some 60% of us have have failed family lives. (I have 3 children oldest 34 that don't talk to me)
Some 28% of have committed suicide , fact.
some 15% of us are homeless.
We have the highest death rate of any valerians.
and top of that we destroyed part of a country we were sent to protect.
at the time we did not know this would happen.
agent orange.
Danang is listed as the most polluted place on earth (airport)
I am proud we served but ashamed of what we were given to serve with.
NO ONE KNEW
http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/asia/vietnam/agent_orange_deformites.htm
quote:Originally posted by pappy177
I have stopped buy here from time to time on this journey through life. I was Nam 70-72 and would like to stress one thing that was studied a lot. If you go into a bar , service club , (I belong to NCOA , MCL , AL , and VFW) and if there is a fellow talking about it ,he probably was not there. This does have a 67% probability.
Now don't get angry , I did not say a private forum where service could be verified like this.
I would also like to state that that some 60% of us have have failed family lives. (I have 3 children oldest 34 that don't talk to me)
Some 28% of have committed suicide , fact.
some 15% of us are homeless.
We have the highest death rate of any valerians.
and top of that we destroyed part of a country we were sent to protect.
at the time we did not know this would happen.
agent orange.
Danang is listed as the most polluted place on earth (airport)
I am proud we served but ashamed of what we were given to serve with.
NO ONE KNEW
http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/asia/vietnam/agent_orange_deformites.htm
I have stopped buy here from time to time on this journey through life. I was Nam 70-72 and would like to stress one thing that was studied a lot. If you go into a bar , service club , (I belong to NCOA , MCL , AL , and VFW) and if there is a fellow talking about it ,he probably was not there. This does have a 67% probability.
Now don't get angry , I did not say a private forum where service could be verified like this.
I would also like to state that that some 60% of us have have failed family lives. (I have 3 children oldest 34 that don't talk to me)
Some 28% of have committed suicide , fact.
some 15% of us are homeless.
We have the highest death rate of any valerians.
and top of that we destroyed part of a country we were sent to protect.
at the time we did not know this would happen.
agent orange.
Danang is listed as the most polluted place on earth (airport)
I am proud we served but ashamed of what we were given to serve with.
NO ONE KNEW
http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/asia/vietnam/agent_orange_deformites.htm
Don't beleive evrything you read!!!![:(]
Until 1986, I wasn't allowed to talk about what I really did there, because it was still highly classified. But I did repeat the "cover" story a few times.
My memories fermented in my head like bad homebrew beer, until they finally erupted. Ironically, it was my wife who got the cork out. She entered me in a novel-writing contest and said to tell about Vietnam, but as fiction. Darn if it didn't work. I managed to get a lot of it down, with a fictional character as me. It was catharsis in its purest form, and the dreams stopped almost immediately.
Won the contest, too.
I then wrote a second novel that is MUCH closer to the true story, using the same character. That helped even more. I have since written the story of that whole year+ in a giant story that only my grandkids will see someday. That helped most of all.
Fellow vets, if you simply can't bring yourself to open your mouth about your service, do this: say it with your fingers. Write it. Even if it isn't in perfect grammar, even if you think you can't write, do it - even if nobody ever sees it but you or your closest family. Believe me, you will be astounded by the good it will do you.
Tom