Month: March 2012

Good Morning Vietnam

Fast Freddy Posts

Memorable quotes from Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) starring Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer.

Dickerson: This is not military issue, airman. What sort of uniform is that?

Adrian Cronauer: Cretan camouflage sir. If you want to blend in with a bunch of drunken Greeks there’s nothing better.

Dickerson: That is humor. I recognize that. I also recognize your brand of soldier.

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Richard Nixon: [Adrian has inserted his voice onto the press conference with Nixon] As I leave Vietnam today there will be no doubt in my mind that the Viet Cong will be defeated. And this war will be won. It does involve as you have suggested give and take.

Adrian Cronauer: Well I really didn’t make that suggestion, sir, I’m sorry.

Lt. Steven Hauk: Why would Cronauer’s voice be on this tape?

Private Abersold: I don’t know, sir.

Adrian Cronauer: Mr. Nixon, thank you for that concise political commentary, but I think I’d rather delve into a more personal for the men in the field. How would you describe your testicles?

Richard Nixon: [Hauk turns to the radio in horror] That they’re soft and they’re very shallow and they serve no purpose.

Adrian Cronauer: So what are you saying, sir?

Richard Nixon: They lack the physical strength.

Lt. Steven Hauk: Oh, my God. Please don’t do this to me.

Adrian Cronauer: How would you describe your sex life with your wife Pat?

Richard Nixon: It is unexciting sometimes.

Adrian Cronauer: Well, you can consider a sex change. There is an operation that can transform you into a female white dane or a very hell wung chihuaua. Mr. Nixon it is rumored that you have smoked marijuana. Are you planning to take some of the marijuana home back to the United States? How would you do that?

Richard Nixon: By plane. By helicopter and also by automobile.

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Censor #1: [Adrian sees the story about the bombing that he witnessed and he starts taking it to the control room, going past the two censors] What do you think you’re doing? You know you’re forbidden to read anything not checked by this office.

Adrian Cronauer: What was there to check? I was there.

Censor #1: You know the rules, airman. If this is a legitimate news story, it must go through proper channels.

Adrian Cronauer: Look, tweedledee, it’s an actual event.

[referring to the blood on his shirt]

Adrian Cronauer: What do you think this came from? Shaving? It’s the truth. I just want to report the truth. It’ll be a nice change of pace.

Sgt. Major Dickerson: What’s going on here?

Adrian Cronauer: Sir, will you listen to me?

Sgt. Major Dickerson: [reads the story] This is not official news, airman. As far as I’m concerned, it didn’t happen.

Adrian Cronauer: It did happen.

Sgt. Major Dickerson: You shut your mouth!

Adrian Cronauer: What are you afraid of Dickerson? People might find out there’s a war going on?

Sgt. Major Dickerson: This news is not official.

Adrian Cronauer: You wanna know the assumption is perfectly safe around here? Well, it’s not. The fighting’s not in the hills, it’s downtown. It’s a

[shouts]

Adrian Cronauer: couple of fucking blocks!

Sgt. Major Dickerson: I said it’s none of your goddamn business!

Adrian Cronauer: I see your point. I’m sorry. Once I get inside and hit these air conditioners I get a little dizzy. Thanks for setting me straight.

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Lt. Steven Hauk: And where you do imagine you’re going?

Adrian Cronauer: I’m going to get something to eat.

Lt. Steven Hauk: You ain’t got time. You’ll stay here and drink instant beverages or something. We promised our viewing audience Nixon highlights by 4:00 PM.

Adrian Cronauer: I’ve been on the air for four hours. I’m a little hungry.

Lt. Steven Hauk: That’s a joke right? I get it.

Adrian Cronauer: No. I’m actually hungry

Lt. Steven Hauk: Well I’m actually giving you an order.

Adrian Cronauer: Oh it’s an order. In that case gentlemen. Let’s edit.

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Lt. Steven Hauk: First of all, don’t make fun of the weather here, and don’t say the weather is the same all the time here. Because it’s not. In fact, it’s two degrees colder today than yesterday.

Adrian Cronauer: Two degrees colder, me without my muff.

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[imitating Walter Cronkite]

Adrian Cronauer: I just want to begin by saying to Roosevelt E. Roosevelt, what it is, what it shall be, what it was. The weather out there today is hot and shitty with continued hot and shitty in the afternoon. Tomorrow a chance of continued crappy with a pissy weather front coming down from the north. Basically, it’s hotter than a snake’s ass in a wagon rut.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Mantovani? They feed Mantovani to insomniacs who don’t respond to strong drugs!

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Adrian Cronauer: Goooooooood morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a test! This is rock and roll! Time to rock it from the Delta to the D.M.Z.!

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Lt. Steven Hauk: Furthermore, you are to stick to playing normal modes of music, not weird stuff. Those who we’d find acceptable here would include Lawrence Welk, Jim Nabors, Mantovani…

Adrian Cronauer: …Percy Faith…

Lt. Steven Hauk: Percy Faith… good!… Andy Williams, Perry Como, and certain ballads by Mr. Frank Sinatra.

Adrian Cronauer: Would Bob Dylan be outta line?

——————————————————————————–

[Lt. Steven Hauk uses Army jargon to refer to a press conference to be given by former Vice-President Nixon]

Adrian Cronauer: Excuse me, sir. Seeing as how the V.P. is such a V.I.P., shouldn’t we keep the P.C. on the Q.T.? ‘Cause if it leaks to the V.C. he could end up M.I.A., and then we’d all be put out in K.P.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: You are in more dire need of a blowjob than any white man in history.

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General Taylor: Woah, Dick, put the brakes on. I wanted to wait until airman left to talk with you. Dick, I’m transferring you.

Sgt. Major Dickerson: Transferring me? Where to sir?

General Taylor: You’re going to Guam.

Sgt. Major Dickerson: Guam sir? There’s nothing going on in Guam. Why Guam?

General Taylor: Dick, I’ve covered for you a lot of times cause I thought you were a little crazy. But you’re not crazy, you’re mean. And this is just radio.

[goes to the elevator and laughs]

General Taylor: “More dire need of a blowjob than any white man in history.” That’s funny.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: If I don’t get to my English class, they’ll be a lot of people speaking in short choppy sentences.

Edward Garlick: Look, we’ve got to talk and talk now!

Adrian Cronauer: Not now man come on.

Edward Garlick: I can’t believe you. What? That’s it? You’re going to leave the whole fucking thing behind and leave everything fucking hanging! People are depending on you!

Adrian Cronauer: Edward, please! That’s two nasty words in one year. Forgive me.

——————————————————————————–

Sgt. Major Dickerson: [Pointing to his rank insignia] What does three up and three down mean to you, airman?

Adrian Cronauer: End of an inning?

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Adrian Cronauer: The Mississippi River broke through a protective dike today. What is a protective dike? Is it a large woman that says “Don’t go near there! But Betty- Don’t go near there! Don’t go down by the river!”… No, we can’t say “dyke” on the air, we can’t even say “lesbian” anymore, it’s “women in comfortable shoes. Thank You.”

——————————————————————————–

[Listening to Cronauer]

Private Abersold: You know, he’s funny, he’s like a Marx Brother.

Lieutenant Steven Hauk: And which Marx Brother would that be, Private? Zeppo? I don’t find him funny at all.

Private Abersold: Zeppo? Wasn’t he the one with the hat?

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: You know, you’re very beautiful. You’re also very quiet. And I’m not used to girls being that quiet unless they’re medicated. Normally I go out with girls who talk so much you could hook them up to a wind turbine and they could power a small New Hampshire town.

——————————————————————————–

Sgt. Major Dickerson: You’re not gonna last long here, pal.

Adrian Cronauer: You can always send me back to Crete.

Sgt. Major Dickerson: Oh, you think this is a joke. I can come up with alternatives other than Crete and I’m real good at stuff like that. I got people stuck in places they haven’t even considered how to get out of yet. You don’t think I can come up with something good? Can you envision some fairly unattractive alternatives?

Adrian Cronauer: Not without slides.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Hey, we’re back. That last two seconds of silence was Marcel Marceau’s newest hit single, “Walkin In The Wind.” And now, here are the headlines. Here they come right now. Pope actually found to be Jewish. Liberace is Anastasia and Ethel Merman jams Russian radar. The East Germans, today, claimed the Berlin Wall was a fraternity prank. Also the Pope decided today to release Vatican-related bath products. An incredible thing, yes, it’s the new Pope On A Rope. That’s right. Pope On A Rope. Wash with it, go straight to heaven. Thank you.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Here’s a news flash: Today President Lyndon Johnson passed a highway beautification bill. The bill basically said that his daughters could not drive in a convertible on public highways.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Mayday! Mayday! Dragon-Lady with incredible figure at 11 o’clock! Stop the car.

Edward Garlick: I can’t do that, sir.

Adrian Cronauer: Aw, Edward, you don’t understand. I’ve been on a small Greek island with a lot of women who look like Zorba, I never thought I’d find women attractive ever again. And now that I do, you won’t even turn the car around? Thanks a lot.

Edward Garlick: You have a very important meeting with the top brass…

Adrian Cronauer: -Oh, there she is again! How did she get ahead of us?

Edward Garlick: That’s another person, sir.

Adrian Cronauer: She’s beautiful and quick. Speed up, check her stamina. Oh my God, they’re quick, they’re fast, and small. Ha, ha, ha, ha! I feel like a fox in a chicken coop!

——————————————————————————–

Lieutenant Steven Hauk: I understand you’re pretty funny as a dee-jay and, well, comedy is kind of a hobby of mine. Well, actually, it’s a little more than just a hobby, Reader’s Digest is considering publishing two of my jokes.

Adrian Cronauer: Really.

Lieutenant Steven Hauk: Yeah. And perhaps some night we could maybe get together and swap humorous stories, for fun.

Adrian Cronauer: Oh, why not? Maybe play a couple of Tennessee Ernie Ford records, that’d be a hoot.

Lieutenant Steven Hauk: That’s a joke, right?

Adrian Cronauer: Maybe.

Lieutenant Steven Hauk: I get it.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: What’s the demilitarized zone? It sounds like something from the Wizard of Oz “Oh no don’t go in there!” “Ohhh wee ohh. Ho Chi Minh.” “Oh look you’ve landed in Saigon. You’re amongst the little people now.” “We represent the ARVN army, the ARVN army. Oh no! Follow the Ho Chi Minh trail! Follow the Ho Chi Minh trail!”

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: [On Lt. Hauk] In the dictionary under “asshole” it says “See him.”

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: [impersonating an Intelligence Officer] We’ve realized that we’re having a very difficult time finding the enemy. It isn’t easy to find a Vietnamese man named “Charlie.” They’re all named Nguyen, or Tran, or…

Adrian Cronauer: [as himself] Well, how are you going about it?

Adrian Cronauer: [as Intel Officer] Well, we walk up to someone and say, ‘Are you the enemy? And, if they say yes, then we shoot them.”

——————————————————————————–

Edward Garlick: What will you do, sir? What will you do? What will you do with your time?

Adrian Cronauer: Oh, I don’t know. There are plenty of things I can think of. Maybe go downtown and try to find a Vietnamese man named “Phil.”

——————————————————————————–

Lt. Steven Hauk: Sir, the man has got an irreverent tendency. He did a very off-color parody of former VP Nixon.

General Taylor: I thought it was hilarious.

Lt. Steven Hauk: Respectfully, sir, the former VP is a good man and a decent man.

General Taylor: Bullshit! I know Nixon personally. He lugs a trainload of shit behind him that could fertilize the Sinai. Why, I wouldn’t buy an apple from the son of a bitch and I consider him a good, close, personal friend.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Five months in Vietnam, and my best friend is a V.C. THIS WILL NOT LOOK GOOD ON A RESUMÈ!

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Adrian Cronauer: Goooooooood morning Vietnam! It’s 0600 hours. What does the “O” stand for? O my God, it’s early! Speaking of early, let’s hear it for that Marty Lee Drywitz. Silky smooth sounds, making me sound like Peggy Lee…

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Here’s a little advice: Never eat in a Vietnamese restaurant next to a pound.

——————————————————————————–

[imitating Lawrence Welk]

Adrian Cronauer: Thank you for the lovely tune, that funky music will drive us till the dawn. Let’s go, let’s bugaloo till we puke!

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Adrian Cronauer: What is the difference between the Cub Scouts and the military? Bzzzzzt! Cub Scouts don’t have heavy artillery!

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Adrian Cronauer: [after eating a spicy Vietnamese dish] Shit! This stuff is burning the hair off my feet!

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: I can’t even make fun of Richard Nixon, and there’s a man who’s screaming out to be made fun of.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: How can you fight a war in this shit? I don’t know where they are, I don’t even know where I am. I can’t see dick. Like hunting with Ray Charles.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: I’m sayin’ I’m through, Ed. I’m tired of people tellin’ me what I can’t say. “This news isn’t official.” “That comment is too sarcastic.” I can’t even make fun of Richard Nixon and there’s a man who’s screaming out to be made fun of!

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: [an Army sergeant demands to know who allowed Tuan in the bar] That’s all right. I did. Hey, come on now. If you kick out the gooks, the next thing, you have to kick out the chinks, the spicks, the spooks and kikes. All that’s gonna be left in here are a couple of brain-dead rednecks, and what fun would that be?

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Real homey, in an opium kinda way.

——————————————————————————–

Adrian Cronauer: Good morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a test. This is rock and roll. Time to rock it from the delta to the DMZ! Is that me, or does that sound like an Elvis Presley movie? Viva Da Nang. Oh, viva, Da Nang. Da Nang me, Da Nang me. Why don’t they get a rope and hang me? Hey, is it a little too early for being that loud? Hey, too late. It’s 0600 What’s the “0” stand for? Oh, my God, it’s early. Speaking of early, how about that Cro-Magnon, Marty Dreiwitz? Thank you, Marty, for “silky-smooth sound.” Make me sound like Peggy Lee. Freddy and the Dreamers! Wrong speed. We’ve got it on the wrong speed. For those of you recovering from a hangover, that’s gonna sound just right. Let’s put her right back down. Let’s try it a little faster, see if that picks it up a little bit. Those pilots are going, “I really like the music. I really like the music. I really like the music.” Oh, it’s still a bad song. Hey, wait a minute. Let’s try something. Let’s play this backwards and see if it gets any better. Freddy is a devil. Freddy is a devil. Picture a man going on a journey beyond sight and sound. He’s left Crete. He’s entered the demilitarized zone. All right. Hey, what is this “demilitarized zone”? What do they mean, “police action”? Sounds like a couple of cops in Brooklyn going, “You know, she looks pretty to me.” Hey, whatever it is, I like it because it gets you on your toes better than a strong cup of cappuccino. What is a demilitarized zone? Sounds like something out of The Wizard of Oz, Oh, no, don’t go in there. Oh-we-oh Ho Chi’Minh Oh, look, you’ve landed in Saigon. You’re among the little people now. We represent the ARVN Army The ARVN Army Oh, no! Follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail. “Oh, I’ll get you, my pretty!” Oh, my God. It’s the wicked witch of the north. It’s Hanoi Hanna! “Now, little GI, you and your little ‘tune-ooh’ too!” “Oh, Adrian. Adrian. What are you doing, Adrian?” Oh, Hanna, you slut. You’ve been down on everything but the Titanic. Stop it right now. Hey, uh, hi. Can you help me? What’s your name? “My name’s Roosevelt E. Roosevelt.” Roosevelt, what town are you stationed in?. “I’m stationed in Poontang.” Well, thank you, Roosevelt. What’s the weather like out there? “It’s hot. Damn hot! Real hot! Hottest things is my shorts. I could cook things in it. A little crotch pot cooking.” Well, can you tell me what it feels like. “Fool, it’s hot! I told you again! Were you born on the sun? It’s damn hot! I saw – It’s so damn hot, I saw little guys, their orange robes burst into flames. It’s that hot! Do you know what I’m talking about.” What do you think it’s going to be like tonight? “It’s gonna be hot and wet! That’s nice if you’re with a lady, but it ain’t no good if you’re in the jungle.” Thank you, Roosevelt. Here’s a song coming your way right now. “Nowhere To Run To” by Martha and the Vandellas. Yes! Hey, you know what I mean! Too much?

Facts About The Vietnam Memorial

Fred Childs Posts ,

Interesting And Fun Facts About Vietnam War Memorial

• Jan C. Scruggs, a decorated Vietnam infantryman, is the main inspiration behind the establishment of this memorial. He set his own $ 2,800 aside and started raising funds for the construction of the memorial in May, 1972.

• Scruggs was successful in collecting $ 8.4 million for the designing and construction of the same.

• The first stone was laid on March 26, 1982 and in the same year, all the three parts of the memorial were completed.

• The Constitution Gardens where the memorial stands erect adjoining the National Mall, and close to the Lincoln Memorial, was a result of Scruggs requesting the Congress to set aside 3 acres of land for the memorial site.

• The Vietnam War Memorial was designed by a 21-year old Yale University architecture student, Maya Ying Lin from Athens, Ohio out of a total 1,421 entries received as part of the design competition.

• The memorial has been managed by the US National Park Service and governed by National Mall and Memorial Parks group.

• The Memorial Wall comprises of two black granite walls 246 feet 9 inches (75 m) long.

• At 10.1 feet (3 m) high, both the walls reach the highest tip where they meet, then narrowing down to a height of 8 inches (20 cm) at their extreme ends.

• Due to the best reflective quality, granite was intentionally imported from the Indian city of Bangalore in Karnataka.

• The bronze statue named ‘The Three Soldiers’, also known as The Three Servicemen, is located at a short distance from the Memorial Wall. The three statues represent the three different castes of soldiers, who were a part of the war. These three soldiers, identified as White American, African-American and Hispanic American, seem to interact with the wall.

• The Vietnam Women’s Memorial is another part of the memorial situated towards the south of the wall. Designed by Glenna Goodacre in 1993, the memorial honors the women who served in the war, most of them being nurses.

•In 2007, the American Institute of Architects awarded Vietnam Veterans Memorial as the 10th most favorite on the ‘List of America’s Favorite Architecture’.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Charlie Shyab

Fred Childs Posts , ,

Our friend and Army buddy, Charlie “Doc” Shyab, is a patriot and a teacher.  When he taught at John Nevins Andrews School he helped JNA sixth graders experience national history.

Doc escorted the group to Arlington National Cemetery to present a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is an honor that is in high demand.  The students also visited the Vietnam Wall.

To read about this event  Click Here.

In addition, Charlie also provided this experience to the students more than once.  Click on May 2005 for another visit Charlie conducted.

Agent Orange

Fred Childs Posts ,

Agent Orange was a powerful mixture of chemical defoliants used by U.S. military forces during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, as well as crops that might be used to feed them. The U.S. program of defoliation, codenamed Operation Ranch Hand, sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam from 1961 to 1972. Agent Orange, which contained the chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used of the herbicide mixtures, and the most effective. It was later revealed to cause serious health issues–including tumors, birth defects, rashes, psychological symptoms and cancer–among returning U.S. servicemen and their families as well as among the Vietnamese population.

From 1961 to 1972, the U.S. military conducted a large-scale defoliation program aimed at destroying the forest and jungle cover used by enemy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops fighting against U.S. and South Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam War. U.S. aircraft were deployed to spray powerful mixtures of herbicides around roads, rivers, canals and military bases, as well as on crops that might be used to supply enemy troops. During this process, crops and water sources used by the non-combatant peasant population of South Vietnam could also be hit. In all, Operation Ranch Hand deployed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over 4.5 million acres of land.

The most commonly used, and most effective, mixture of herbicides used was Agent Orange, named for the orange stripe painted on the 55-gallon drums in which the mixture was stored. It was one of several “Rainbow Herbicides” used, along with Agents White, Purple, Pink, Green and Blue. U.S. planes sprayed some 11 million to 13 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam between January 1965 and April 1970. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Agent Orange contained “minute traces” of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), more commonly known as dioxin. Through studies done on laboratory animals, dioxin has been shown to be highly toxic even in minute doses; human exposure to the chemical could be associated with serious health issues such as muscular dysfunction, inflammation, birth defects, nervous system disorders and even the development of various cancers.

How’d I get here

Mike Stokes Posts

After graduating from high school with a “D” average I enrolled in Jr. college where it only took one semester to flunk out. With few options in life my career took a path of recreation and parks worker, life guard. construction, sales clerk at J.C. Penney’s and finally factory work. My  future seemed rather dim, much like I was.

Things changed on Christmas Eve of 1966 when my uncle gave me a gift, an all expenses paid vacation to exotic places.The trip started at Ft  Ord  CA. then on to Ft. Puke LA.

With all the preparation finished, including a short stint as a pin cushion, the really exciting part of the trip started. South East Asia, with all the amenities of the vacation including, flights as well as ground transport, food, appropriate clothing and best of all as much ammo as I could shoot. They also included moving targets.

Upon arrival in South East Asia, I was greeted by a travel agent. This guy was a very interesting man who had an air of confidence and very loud voice. It was always easy to spot him, in the crowds of people, by the five stripes he had on the shoulder of his shirt. How exciting it was when he took me to shop in a near by store and let me pick out the clothes I wanted to wear  through-out the remainder of the trip. By the way, there was no charge because my uncle had made arrangements in advance.

A truck arrived and gave me a very pleasant ride to a place called Dragon Mountain, I never did see any dragons. Another tour guide met me here at Dragon Mountain and said I would need a little more acclimation to the area before proceeding to the next part of our journey. For the next four days we took little walking tours to see some of the flora and fauna and wild life. Then a wonderful helicopter ride to a place called LZ X Ray, you may recall this from the movie “We Were Soldiers”. This LZ X Ray is in the I’Drang valley, a pleasant, bucolic little area in the lower part of the Central Highlands.I’ve been told there was some trouble with the locals here, about eighteen months before my visit, but we had no problems.

At LZ X Ray  things began to really change, there were more tour guides and lots more people who had gotten the same vacation from their uncle. How strange that so many people’s uncles had decided to give them the  same gift at the same time. Oh well just a coincidence I’m sure. My uncle must  have spent  much more on my ticket than some of the other vacationer’s uncles because some of them had different accommodations. These people were put up in what was called Head Quarters Company, while the rest of us were put in teams, squads and platoons. You might find it interesting that although the food for each group was the same, the little independent tours we went on were not. We got to do so much more than Head Quarter Company, like OP and LP and pulling night guard duty.  When we went on our walking tours the HQC people were told to walk in the center of the rest of us so they didn’t have as good a view of all the exiting things we came across.

We also got to live on the perimeter, sort of like living on the edge. There was so much more excitement on the perimeter. We were in a much better position when it came time for target shooting. I truly felt sorry for the guys who had to stay in the HQ. area, not being allowed to participate fully with the rest of us. I wish I had been kinder to them and maybe done something to make there trip a little more pleasant, like making coffee for them or some thing.

Well there is much more to tell you about my vacation but it will have to wait until next time. Just one more little item before I sign off. One of the guys they called a medic from HQC gave me a great honor by bestowing a special name on me. From that time on I was refereed to as “Perimeter Grunt”.

Until next time. PGrunt

The US Lost The War?

Fred Childs Posts ,

MYTH: The United States lost the war in Vietnam.


FACT: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike (a professor at the University of California, Berkeley), a major military defeat for the VC and NVA.

The US did not lose the war – the South Vietnamese did

The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973.

How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? We fought to an agreed stalemate. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides’ forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States.

As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous.

Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. – Nixon Presidential Papers.

Vietnam Memorial Wall Statistics

Fred Childs Posts

A little history most people will never know.

Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.


12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam .

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. I wonder why so many from one school.

8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The Marines of Morenci – They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale – LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 – 2,415 casualties were incurred.

For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

What Charlie Company Means to Me

Fred Childs Posts

Like many soldiers returning from Vietnam I just put my duffle bag and uniform in the closet.  I didn’t want to remember some of the terrible experiences so they were just pushed to the back of my mind.  I returned to Southern California in July of 1968 just after the 4th of July.

One of my former roommates, before I left for the Army, called me up and wanted to go to a movie.  In those days we had to go to Hollywood to see a first run movie since it took a couple months before the movie would play in the local theaters.  We decided to go to a Sunday afternoon matinee.  I think it was a James Bond film.  He brought his girlfriend and I was solo.  After the movie we were walking across Hollywood Blvd and a car drove by and either it backfired or someone tossed out a firecracker.  When my friend looked around he could not find me.  When he did I was on the other side of the street lying on the sidewalk behind a mailbox.  He laughed but I didn’t think it was very funny.

For years I would have nightmares and wake up in a cold sweat from the dreams of Vietnam.  It took about 20-25 years to stop having those dreams and not to duck when I heard loud noises or saw flashes of light.

I think it was sometime in 2007 when I received a phone call.  I was asked if I served in Vietnam and was with Charlie Company 1/22.  I replied yes and then he said “I am Bud Roach”.  I remembered Bud as a medic with Charlie Company.  He told me a group of buddies have been located and they held reunions every year and that the next one was going to be in Gilroy, California.  He asked if I remembered Jack Chavez and I replied sure then Bud told me Jack and his wife Kathy were putting it together.  Bud put me on his list and told me he would contact me in the future with other information and about future reunions.

I was thinking of attending since I could just drive to Gilroy but for some reason I did not attend.  I probably did not want to relive some of those memories.  The next year the reunion was planned for New Orleans and again I did not attend.

The 2010 reunion was planned for Branson, MO and after a few phone calls and emails from Bud I finally decided to attend.  It is not easy to get to Branson from Los Angeles.  You can’t get directly to Branson and you have to fly into Springfield, MO and then rent a car and drive.

I arrived in Branson and checked into the Hotel.  The first person I saw walking toward our meeting room was Charlie Shyab.  I looked at him and said…”Charlie?” and he said…”Fred?”  Well I was feeling better already.  I connected up with other Charlie Company buddies including Tim Dieffenbacher, David “Kentucky” Ratcliff, Ray Warner and many more.  One interesting thing was that you really only knew those in your platoon or squad and not too many from other platoons.

I showed up with maybe about 10% knowledge of the pie or remembrance of our time together in Vietnam.  By the time the reunion was over I had about 40% knowledge of the pie.  When talking to the others it was just like continuing a conversation we had 40 years ago.  I had never really shared or talked about my experiences in Vietnam before but with these great guys it was easy.

All-in-all I now feel better about myself.  Charlie Company was the best therapy I could get…and I want more.

– Fred Childs