Ken Burns series on Vietnam started tonight
- Thread starter billanole
- Start date
Wow. Glad you did not get the letter. My brother was born in 54, so I think he was on the hook for three years until we pulled out in 75.
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Yeah. I keep hearing the opening cords to The End every now and then while watching.
The series is somber and makes me think.
Dang. My brothers, cousins, and I missed the Nam as we were just a little too young. Older brother registered for the draft in 72, but always pulled a low enough number. He and a cousin who wound up in the intelligence branch were the only ones old enough to have been called up. I have nothing but respect for what you and others weathered. Thank you sir, for your service. I cannot imagine...
At ease my friend, I didn't serve in Vietnam. I graduated from FSU and got my 2LT bars in Aug. of 73 and went to pilot training in April of 74. I went on a ROTC scholarship beginning my Jr year and had an 8 year commitment to the Air Force starting then.
My Dad went to Vietnam in 68/69 during my senior year in hs. Was commander of the largest radar site over there.
The show brings back memories. My Dad served in both Korea and Vietnam fortunately on ships off shore.
We lived near Pearl Harbor '65 to '68 while waiting for him, I remember seeing Lyndon Johnson and Vice Premier Key in a parade. Then we were transferred to Portsmouth NH (actually Kittery Maine) where there were peace protests and a big SDS movement at the high school. Funny thing, couple of years later we moved to Key West and it was what war? Let's party.
We lived near Pearl Harbor '65 to '68 while waiting for him, I remember seeing Lyndon Johnson and Vice Premier Key in a parade. Then we were transferred to Portsmouth NH (actually Kittery Maine) where there were peace protests and a big SDS movement at the high school. Funny thing, couple of years later we moved to Key West and it was what war? Let's party.
The Vietnam war is really an interesting study in how the US changed our philosophy in fighting wars and also showed how politicians and the media can really screw things up. In past wars we had no issue with literally destroying cities and areas in order to win the war; Vietnam saw that change. Why we did not bomb the North into the stone age is beyond me and their treatment of American POWs was criminal. The use of a body count to determine success was another major fail; as anyone with a brain had to realize if you tied enemy KIA to your success and didn't require measurable proof then you would get false info. Obviously hind site is 20/20; but if you are willing to send men and women to war then you should not be afraid to literally destroy your opponent. I could go on and on, but one thing that the majority of Americans don't know is we never lost a decisive engagement; even TET was a major loss for NV, but if you read history books all you hear about is how the US lost all the time over there.
We lived at Sigsbee Park, Gilmore Drive. I loved the waterside activities down there.
1037 Mitscher Dr. on the water with a dock. It was my Dad's best assignment. He was the senior ranking AF officer, so we got to meet and go fishing on a lot of the Key West big wigs boats.
Going halfway to war is a dumb concept. But when I ask what the moral justification is for us to go all Hulagu Khan on them, I'm at a loss.
Totally with you here. Be willing to send General Sherman, or stay home and realize war isn't the solution. That's why, from the little I've read on him, General Mattis is the kind did SecDef you want.
Washington lost over and over too, but his goal was to get the Brits to quit and leave.
Now a considerable ally and victory cemented that, but his goal wasn't tied just to battlefield performance.
I get the morality of it and it would bother me somewhat to see the massive civilian loses; but not as much as it bothers me lose good friends. The value in bombing the crud out of the north is it would have considerably disrupted the supply lines and thus had a positive impact for our Soldiers. Who knows maybe it would have ended the war sooner and with a different outcome. While we were at it we should have bombed Laos and Cambodia as well. It was well known that the USSR and China not only supplied massive amounts of equipment but had advisors on the ground, yet we did nothing about it. The NV plan all along was to outlast us and the generals that did their research (See Hal Moore) knew and understood this; our problem was we put guys in charge that had other ideas. There was also the issue of sending 19 y/o kids who had no desire to be there and not expecting major issues. Obviously it is easy today to see all the mistakes; what bothers me is we still make the same mistakes today. In Iraq it was a proven fact that approx. 15% of the IEDs, VBIEDs, etc. came from Iran and this accounted for a lot of US deaths, we did nothing about it. In A-stan and Iraq the ROE were so restrictive at times that they resulted in US deaths. As a Soldier I don't care either way who/where we fight, just don't make the job even more dangerous by putting rules in place that have a direct impact on my survivability.
OHNole43123
Seminole Insider
You should do yourself a favor and watch the documentary. I, too, am old enough to remember that time period...the documentary cites sources that were not available contemporaneously and sheds light on what was truly a tragically failed policy that needlessly cost far too many lives...both American and Viet Namese.
Have you watched any of the episodes that have aired so far this past week? I am just curious on these points above compared to what has been shown in the show and also the series detailing the amount of ordinance dropped compared to Germany in WWII.
Dropping bombs on a 'suspected truck park' in the jungle isn't the same as firebombing Dresden.
I wouldn't get too hung up on tonnage.
I hope this doesn't become flippant but rather a discussion as I think it is sensitive and also probably personal in some way to everyone on here. The reason I was asking is because I am pretty sure everything listed in the section I was asking about above did occur but I'm sure I will learn more from others too or be corrected.
One important point mentioned in Ep 3 that I have thought about for two days now was the point about taking objective A, going back to home base, and then having to go back and take objective A again. This happened over and over again.
Yup, RangerNole is correct, we should've been a LOT more heavy handed. We should've bombed their harbors, bridges going to China and a lot more of Hanoi.
I still don't think that would end an insurgency fueled in part by opposition to foreign fighters.
When we bombed and seized the Ruhr that had a real impact on German war making ability, but leveling Hanoi isn't going to stop the Russians from building more SA-2s and AK-47s.
If you roll across the DMZ how long before you're eyeball to eyeball with the Chinese hordes again?
Kobiyashi Maru.
We couldn't even destroy their airplanes on the ground. We had to wait for them to get airborne.
Should have bombed the dykes too.
Absolutely, huge waste of air power! That's what happens when the politicians do the targeting!
Wow. I was in a high school that absorbed a good many boat people's kids. This series is bringing out some serious feelings/thoughts/emotions even tho my brothers, me, and male cousins were just young enough to miss participation overseas... we did experience stateside events.
My father graduated HS in '67 and then volunteered for the USMC (poor kid from SC), so I've done a lot of reading on what went on over there. His infantry unit (Lima Co. 3rd battalion / 9th Marines) was involved in some nasty battles while he was there, Battle of Khe Shan to name one. He doesn't talk about Specifics after all my research I see why. He was in battles where his friends were killed all around him. Can't imagine being that age and doing the stuff he had to do as a teenager.
I'm lucky to exist and even more amazed he wasn't a nut job with all the stuff he witnessed.
The documentary has been good, a ton of info you never heard about.
I'm lucky to exist and even more amazed he wasn't a nut job with all the stuff he witnessed.
The documentary has been good, a ton of info you never heard about.
My father was on Danang Air Force Base during Tet and awarded bronze star for saving many lives as airstrip was shelled. He always said you cannot let politicians run a war. My father passed away few years ago from chemical exposure during the war. VA stats for his age group was shocking.
I was in high school and about two years too young to go. Good thing, too. I won the lottery that year ... #001.
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