AT

Vaq, he is a hero in my book. What was his job in the Army? Sorry but he looks like a banker with the glasses. I am not trying to be funny or anything, no disrespect, please don't take it that way.

"He graduated from Hawley High School and was a U. S. Army veteran of World War II and was a member of the 536th Amphibious Tractor Battalion."
He would not talk about his experiences during the war. His unit held 5 year reunions in Las Vegas. "Going to play some desert golf" was the reason for the trips. His widow was shut out of the reunions, along with the other wives. It coulda been nothing, maybe they just looked at the surviviors and wept. I don't know. Guys are funny that way.
Yep, he's a hero. Didn't want to be? He still is.
Glasses, He had lasik surgery about 8 years ago. Nobody remembered the glasses except his army buddies. Why would you get lasik in your 70s?

Does he still drive?

I posted the pic after the obit.
He passed away in April this year.

Dam, I'm sorry!

Nope, The blame rest squarely on me on this one.
I could take the time to learn to add a picture to a thread like Hamp. I reckon I'm just too lazy.

No need, I don't know how either!!

101st Airborne Glider Batt D-Day Normandy
Battle of the Bulge
You never know what a guy did just looking

Is when ever I go the VA Hospital I see these "old" men then in talkin to them you find they were part of the Battle of the Bulge or Dday or spent months trying to keep the Japs from get hold of some piss ant island in the Pacific, I see these guys and am in awe and ashamed that I did not complete my duty due to my injury. These guys are among the greatest. I had the good fortune of talking to a guy that was belly gunner, never talked about the battles but said everytime he got into the belly turret he was making his piece with the Lord. To all those who served thank you and to you Korea and Viet Nam vets welcome home and thank you!

no shame in being injured and being unable to complete your tour/career!

right after basic. Doc said I had a bad heart
and they sent me home. I never had a chance.
I don;t think you did either. If you didn't shoot
yourself in the foot there is no shame.

My dad served in Europe and the South Pacific
My uncle was D-Day in a glider and Battle of the Bulge

Man look what I had to look up to and failed. But if they
say your heart is bad what do you do? I've had a few
problems but still here at 63.

You have no shame

my dad was in 101st in korea,got caught in a ambush,his entire squad killed except him,although he was shot thru the femur and mouth,happened on his 21st birthday.He was part of the "speed bump",occupation forces in Japan that were sent to stem the flow of the NK into SK.Tough bunch of gentlemen there i'll tell you.

but don't completely understand.........My service was minimal compared to these men but I NEVER feel ashamed but I do feel inferior, but I can live with it, we'll leave it as a case of personal opinion/feeling. On a lighter note, I see that ebear is on his 52nd week of vacation for the year.....Damn teamsters!

i think i pulled a muscle scratching my ass today!!!!lolol...shit i go back to work on monday!!!!...i have to wait all the way till Feb...for my next vaca!!!!!

Reads like a pretty interesting day so far. How ya all doing??

if it was any better it would be illegal.....how was ur Turkey big daddy?

Thanks Larry, all is good.It's great to be back. If I act too excited ebear will want to hump my dog or something.

on what the " or something" is

ebear, wuzzup you psycho b otch!!!

in the VNVMC too,guys that were "in country" but not in combat,"combat "vets that operated in small units vs combat vets that operated in big Battalion operations vs Nam era vets who were in but never set foot on Vietnamese soil,it got way to fractured,but i believe everybody kind of pigeonholes people,happens here on gunslot too.If it's good enough for the Govt. that you are in for 90 days to receive benefits,then it ought to be good enough to not feel you can't stand shoulder to shoulder with any other Veteran,escpecially if a discharge is medical.

I dont think that I was clear, I am not ashamed of my time in and the fact that i got hurt, there are times of course but usually I ok with it, i was trying to say that after I talk to those guys I feel unworthy for a little while but not to long. Am I making sense? I sure as hell am trying to! LOL

has nothing to feel bad about. If you didn't do as much as some others, well that's the way the ball bounces. My wife's first cousin's husband, and one of my friends from my home town both served 3 tours in Viet Nam as helicopter pilots. They were under fire over and over. Compared to them, I did very little. I salute them for what they did, but I don't feel bad about what I did.

I agree with you Bob.One of my best friends is an ex marine (if there is such a thing lol). He didn't make it much past his first year. Something about a medical discharge. He is a true American in my book. He tried to stay in and they made him leave.

We had two detachments while serving in Vietnam..one out of the PI for Yankee Station.. The other out of U Tapao Thailand for Operation market time...

It's hard when your talking to a grunt who spend a year living in country, and meanwhile i never got off the tarmac at DaNang..

By the same token, we had high losses.. Our squadron had 10 P-3's, and 12 CAC's (combat air crews). each of those crews was 12 men, and we lost two of them..

Both from small arms (this meant non SAM's) statistically we had pretty rough losses.. That being said there is no way i can look at the guys who were in daily danger and compare what i did.. In any way shape or form..

Yet 24 out of 300 are not coming back, no bodies were recovered..

I don't have any problem with wearing that 67/68 Vietnam tattoo...But only cause i make it clear that i was never in the danger others were..

You guys will like this one to.. i also have a medal for "Korean expeditionary force"... Yep when the Pueblo was captured by NK's back in 68.. They launched everything that could fly..

This was a political game of "chicken" the deal was that the NK's were supposed to see nothing on thier radar screens cept every A/C that we could put in the air.. Then with them coming in a last second attempt to get them to release Cmdr. Butcher was made..

Only problem was the NK's played the game better i guess...Least we all turned around and flew back.. I wasn't even on one of the flights...

But a month or so later they lined us all up in front of the hanger.. Dress whites.. and awarded us Medals for this act.. So besides the two Vietnam medals i have one for Korea as well.. Telling you drinking all that San Miguel was quite the hair raising experiance..

I could have fallen off my bar stool any number of times...