Mississippi State Flag
Magnolia - State Flower
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| 1,966 Missing. 7 G.I.s killed looking for MIAs 4/7/01. | |
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HOW did I get to this God forsaken place? I was career military. My Wing had a rotational commitment (in and out of country). When the rotation took on the appearance of being permanent - our Wing became permanent! My Wing left McConnell AFB, Kansas in mass and set up two Squadrons of F-105s in Takli and two Squadrons in Korat. Our mission was Operation "Rollin' Thunder". Our objective was to disrupt shipping traffic in Haiphong. We were also tasked to take out bridges, gun emplacements. However, we were hamstrung by our politicians and could not effectively wage war on our terms. Our politicians lost this war!
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| On A Mission | On The Ramp | Comin' In Hot! |
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Where were we? All over the map. Of course back then we were "never" in Laos or Cambodia. Paying close attention to the map, you can see where you could not get to Hanoi without flying directly over Laos. Planes "sometimes" fell down over those "forbidden" areas. We had to go get those pilots! "They" didn't want us to pick up our pilots. We insisted! |
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| Here we come, ready or not! | One down, hundreds to go! | Keeping a Vigilant Eye | Takin' Care of Business! |
We had our domestic side, such as it was. Here's some samples of that "domestic" side of our lives while we were "in country".
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| Our Front Gate | Mama San and sandbag bunkers | Our Mars Station. The only way we could communicate with our loved ones | And every G.I. needs a movie! |
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Well, really what did you expect? The Waldrof Astoria? |
| Ahhhh, Home Sweet Home! |
We acquitted ourselves admirably when called to service. All of us left a legacy there .... some left their lives ....
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| The Fall! | Honoring Them! | The Aftermath! |
| Regrettably I cannot say the same for our politicians (which includes civilians and desk generals). They disgraced themselves, and they disgraced the principles most responsible Americans hold dear. Veterans from that Vietnam era found themselves in a position of command and control during the war to liberate Kuwait. They disgraced themselves by their collective lack of will to finish a war they started. They did it AGAIN in Somalia! They hid behind political positions. They were no better than the earlier politicians who orchestrated such a debacle of Vietnam. I do not think American fighting men should ever have to serve such cowards again. Once politicians make a decision to fight a war, they should NEVER have a say in how that war should be fought. Only those who have direct and immediate command and control should determine the outcome - never a politician or a general in a safe, armchair staging area. |
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For this symbol to have any meaning at all, it is imperative that only men of honor command American Military lives to any act of hostile action! Accountability is the key word! |
BLOOD AND GORE SECTION For those of you who were attracted to a page on Vietnam hoping to see blood and gore, let me direct you to an area where that can be found. Here you will find My Lai. Arguable one of the most infamous incidents of the Vietnam War.
Other war stories, pictures, statistics, debunking myths about Vietnam, and a host of other information can be found here.
And one final comment. I was given a Bronze Star while "in country". However, in order to receive this award I was requested to write my own citation. I declined! My youthful idealism cost me promotion many times. Having this medal in my personnel file would have given me points to secure future promotions. I missed promotion by only "one point" on several occasions. Would I decline again? I would like to think I would. Many medals were "awarded" in just this manner.
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| In Remberance of ...... |
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| These are the dog tags, combat badge, and military decorations I wore when I returned from Southeast Asia. |
