Author: Fred Childs

True Friendship

Fred Childs Posts

Bud writes:

People wonder how a group of men who knew each other for such a short period of time could retain a friendship for so many years without making contact.  For those of us who were there the answer is easy.  The intensity of our situation forged a relationship like no other.   Those days of being kids a long way from home and depending on each other to stay alive changed our lives forever.  There are a lot of things about Vietnam I would have chosen not to have experienced but today I am reaping the benefits of that year…your friendship.  Make no mistake about it,  you have touched my life,  now and for the years since 1967-68.

You can’t say it better than that.

Transport Ship Graffiti

Fred Childs Posts, Videos

The US Naval Ship General Nelson M. Walker was one of three ships that took the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division to Vietnam in 1966. On July 21, 1966 the 1st Battalion of the 22nd Infantry Regiment sailed on the Walker from Tacoma, Washington and sixteen days later, on August 6, 1966, landed at Qui Nhon, Republic of South Vietnam. The Regulars who sailed on the Walker are affectionately known as the “Boat People” and the “Walker Babies”.

Graffiti found on the General Nelson M. Walker’s berthing units represents the most honest expression of the writer’s feeling at the moment written. Musings of home town, love, women, anxiety, military pride, the 1960’s, humor and folk art-like drawings express a soldier’s or Marine’s personal feelings and aspirations, likes and dislikes. The graffiti also indicates how a person felt in the middle of a vast ocean, facing an uncertain future.

To read more, Click on Graffiti Project

Army Pursues 30-year Modernization Strategy

Fred Childs Posts

Army Pursues 30-year Modernization Strategy

by Michael Hoffman

Army leaders want to transform their service the way their counterparts did in the 1980s when the Army built the legacy systems known as the “Big Five” that soldiers still use today — the Abrams tank, Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, Apache helicopter, Black Hawk helicopter, and Patriot air defense system.

The Army is entering a period of transition after spending the past 11 years fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers see technology outpacing their aging vehicles and weapons.

The service wants to make wholesale replacements or upgrades to some of the Army’s warhorses such as the Humvee, the Bradley, and its entire stock of radios. Unlike the 1980s, the Army will not have the benefit of the Cold War threat, which gave it essentially a blank check from lawmakers to restock its forces. Continue reading →

eBenefits Offers Speed and Convenience

Fred Childs Posts

VA’s electronic “one-stop shop” for veterans wanting tools and information regarding their claims and benefits is becoming more popular.  Created in 2007, the eBenefits web portal offers vets, troops and family members the speed and convenience only the Internet can provide.

Here is an update on who is (or is not) using the site, according to an October Stripes.com article:

  • 2 million registered users
  • 35 million eligible GIs. Vets and family members aren’t using the service
  • 30,000 veterans use eBenefits daily to track VA compensation and pension claims
  • 780,000 veterans use eBenefits monthly to view payment and reimbursement history
  • 10,000 veterans, active-duty troops and Reserve and National Guard members use eBenefits monthly to print or send lenders copies of their home-loan guaranty certificate of eligibility.

Vets, troops, Reserve and Guard members, their families and survivors are eligible to use eBenefits.  Users must be registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and obtain a DoD Self-Service Login.  Access the site at www.ebenefits.va.gov, or call 1-800-827-1000 and select option 7.

Merry Christmas

Fred Childs Posts

The Legend of the Holly

     

When Christ was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night, a barren bush outside the stable blossomed full and bright. It bore a grim reminder  at the crown he’d one day wear; it’s prickly leaves foretold the thorns of sorrow He would bear. Amidst the green there grew strange fruit with small berries scarlet red, as crimson as the very blood our Savior was to shed. In honor of the Prince of Peace a flower pure and white, blossomed sweetly when the Lord was born that holy Christmas night.

Purple Heart Hall of Honor

Fred Childs Posts
The Purple Heart
The Purple Heart

If you are one of the nation’s 1.7 million Purple Heart recipients, it is time to enroll in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor at New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site (of George Washington fame) in New York.  Some 170,000 recipients have already done so.

Enrollment is free. Simply provide verification or receipt and a photograph of yourself. To obtain an enrollment form and learn about the Hall of Honor, visit www.thepurpleheart.com.

Here is the point of contact:

Aniya Pidala
Director, National Purple Heart Hall of Honor
P.O. Box 207
Vails Gate, NY 12584
1-877-284-6667 or
(845) 561-1765, ext. 29.

 

SOURCE: VFWmagazine.org

China Involvement in the Vietnam War

Fred Childs Posts

China Involvement in the Vietnam War

Far before the Vietnam War started, China had ties with both Japan and Vietnam. When Vietnam was against war with France in the mid 1900’s, China helped them with military power and financial power. Hundreds of military equipment and weapons were provided by China. China has been known to help Korea as well in terms of warfare and politics. America and China had affiliations as well during the time of the Vietnam War, but none of it was related to the actual war that was taking place. China was shipping out tons of products to North America on a daily basis. Thousands of tons of food products would be shipped out from China each and every month. None of this was affected by the Vietnam War as people would have expected. Continue reading →