Last Stand at LZ Hereford

Soldiers shield themselves as best they can from dirt and debris stirred up by a Huey squeezing into the tight, one-ship landing zone around noon. The pilot touches down and two officer’s jump from the helicopter and land in a large mud puddle. One GI chuckles, pokes his buddy and laughs quietly at the officers in fresh jungle fatigues, stamping the mud off their polished boots. A dirty, unshaven captain greets them wearing torn jungle fatigues and mud-covered boots, toting an M-16.

Click here to read more…

ROTC terror exercise waged in the hills of Santa Clarita

Acacophony of gun­shots echoed through the hills of Santa Clarita as soldiers battled it out — armed with paintball guns.

But it wasn’t just a game.

“On campus, we run through the drills that they’re doing right now on the field. But here, we add the paintball guns to it and we find that it adds an extra element of realism to it all,” said Major Vic Stephenson, who oversees the ROTC programs at Cal State Long Beach and UC Irvine. Continue reading →

Happy Vietnam Veteran’s Day

By Major General Donald Dunbar, Wisconsin National Guard.

Forty years ago in 1973, the last American combat soldier departed Saigon and ended America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

Today, we honor our Vietnam veterans — soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen who served our nation with honor and distinction at a very difficult time in our nation’s history, a time of war and a time of social unrest at home, a time when our society failed to distinguish between our nation’s policy and the faithful service of our military. Time has brought perspective, and today our country knows that our Vietnam veterans’ service was extraordinary and that honor was and is due. America has a proud tradition of military service, and the Vietnam chapter in America’s history is just as important to this nation and just as valued as any generation prior or since.

Our Vietnam veterans, like previous generations of veterans who served in time of war, served with valor on the field of battle and came home to make America better. We remember the difficult time during this conflict, but often miss the extraordinary contribution of so many of our Vietnam veterans. They have made America better and stronger, by building our institutions, starting and succeeding in business, serving in office and in our communities, and raising families. And they continue their commitment to the men and women who wear the uniform. They have been at the foundation of America’s commitment today honoring those who have served in our most recent conflict.

How do I know? I see them every time we deploy a unit of the Wisconsin National Guard — a tear in their eye, pride in their gaze, a flag in their hand or on their shirt, and a staunch commitment to supporting this current generation of warriors. America is better not in spite of our Vietnam generation, but because of it. So on behalf of the 10,000 soldiers and airmen of the Wisconsin National Guard, I say to all Vietnam veterans — thank you for your service and commitment to America. You have our respect, our appreciation and our admiration. Our history is freedom’s history and it must be preserved. Each generation must keep the torch of freedom lit and pass it on to the next generation.

You, the Vietnam generation, faced significant challenges as you carried that torch, but you kept it burning and burning brightly. Thank you. —  Major General Donald Dunbar, Wisconsin National Guard.

Funny True Story from Vietnam SOG teams

I was reading a book on SOG teams in Vietnam and came across a real jewel of a funny story. It stood out for me because there really are only a few of these light hearted moments in a sea of sorrow for the men of SOG, whose casualty rates were exceedingly high.

——————————————————————————————————————

The story begins upon insertion into Cambodia to seek out and pinpoint a major supply base known (which means “thought”) to be in the area. The one-zero (team leader) inserts and leads men in a five day search of the area but finds absolutely nothing. Extremely frustrated at the waste of time they come across a single hooch with a brand new bicycle next to it. Now in Vietnam, the bicycle was and still is as common as the car in modern day US but to find a brand new one with a nice red paintjob was rare indeed! Continue reading →