[runup]

Get Out and Go: Nordique has evidently deleted his post that seemed to contrast your service with his in an uncomplimentary fashion. Your gracious reply further highlights the character of the soldiers of the distinctive unit in which you honorably served. Truly first class, as so artfully noted by catsp. Thank you for your service.

[Backpacker Joe]

[catsp]

[Pahoehoe]

The father of a friend of mine was drafted and to be sent to a deadly place during Vietnam. Then someone of some level of authority learned he played the organ exceptionally well. He ended up in relative safety doing clerical work and playing the organ. His unit got annihilated. He called it luck when he told me the story.

[timberghost]

link didn't work

[Anne Elk]

My great-uncle died last year and was buried with full military honors at Tahoma National Cemetery. I'd never attended such a service before. What really made an impression was how solemn the enlisted and veteran participants were; how seriously they took the ceremony - as if the deceased was one of their own - which, in a sense, they are. I got all verklempt.

[cdestroyer]

To all those who give us veterans a thank you for your service, you are welcome. I was a po2 (e5) navy radioman. I was on SAR station the tonkin gulf three times, incountry the delta once and guam at the end. My brother and I were in the 'nam' at the same time, he was slightly wounded but it hounded him until he bit the bullet in 2005. I at 73 look back 50 years and remember, some good most not so good. yall is welcome and enjoy your freedom! Go Navy

[moonspots]

[runup]

I’m fortunate to still be in contact with some of those I was honored to serve with years ago. The consensus among us is that those most deserving of recognition for their sacrifices are those who wait and worry during deployment of a loved one and must deal with whatever the outcome may be.

[nordique]

I was drafted out of grad school in 1966, out of a program from which no one else was ever drafted. In WW2, dad got a draft notice; he tore it up and enlisted in the army air corps where he served as a flight instructor, saving the lives of more than a few rookie pilot trainees who were ill suited to flying. I did well in basic training and the army sent me to military intelligence school, which was very interesting and served at Ft Bragg in a military intelligence unit. My unit was then sent to Vietnam for a year, where I worked in a joint U.S. Army/South Vietnam Army MI unit that processed captured enemy documents. South Vietnamese translated those documents into rough English and we college kids made them into intelligence reports that were widely shared. Only a few of us edited those secret reports so we could tell who wrote what when some of our work turned up in Time magazine. When the 1968 Tet Offensive started, I climbed up onto the roof of one of our buildings to take photos. I was wounded by enemy sniper fire on that rooftop. I was able to climb back down, one-legged, and was rushed by my buddies to a big army hospital which soon came under enemy fire as well. I was flown out of Vietnam the next day to Japan. After two weeks of stabilization in Japan, I finally was flown to California and then on various flights back to my home state on the east coast. When I finally got out of the army, on crutches, I was declared no longer physically able to perform my duties, so I at least got out of years of reserve duty. I always had great medical coverage in my working years which was good since that right leg generated a lot of later operations. And that is why I am so happy to now be able to hike without crutches, if slowly! I get around the house on crutches often.

Near the Saigon Central Market. Then, as now, always a camera at the ready.

[williswall]

What the hey, myself and my father.....

AF T-38/1983

Corsair

[catsp]

(Warning, sense of humor check.) Over the years I’ve managed to pick up some decent hiking gear for reasonable prices from Army-Navy stores. So I just wanted to say… Thank you for your surplus.

[cdestroyer]

I've said my "piece" above. this is not the place to delve further into what "really" is. but send more hiking pictures for us to look at...

[Bernardo]

I am impressed by and appreciate the veterans on this forum. I love the pictures which evoke moments in lives when we were part of something larger than ourselves. Now that I’m old and a father I understand how important it is for the older generation to not squander the willingness of youth to serve and protect. May we be worthy of this responsibility. There is a thread going about getting lost. I always think, I can’t get lost. My unit is counting on me to call in air support or artillery if needed. I need to know where “we” are at all times. Those are the kind of thoughts and habits that stay with veterans, that haunt them perhaps, for better or worse, throughout their lives.

[NikonHiker]

Best job I've ever had.