DU vets and those who honor their service ... check in early for Veteran's Day.

[11 Bravo]

The freeper threads will be along eventually, but let's get out in front. I'll go first.

U.S. Army 1970-1972 Operation Lam Son 719 and Operation Texas Star

[B Calm]

1. US NAVY 1969 to 1973

USS Yosemite AD 19
USS Albany CG 10

?t=1194663035

[TomInTib]

2. Checking in, 11 Bravo.

[11 Bravo]

17. Charlie Mike, TinT

And welcome home, bro.

[TomInTib]

20. 35 years later, and guess what?

I am attending my first-ever Veterans Day gig.

We have the coolest small-town library on the planet and they started holding Veterans Day remembrance and reflection events a few years back. I have always come up with some lame reason or another not to attend.

Well, no more of that. I am gonna suck it up and head in.

TahitiNut is attending his first up in that place where he lives, as well.

I guess it just takes a while for some of us to roll around to the Right Spot.

Gee, ain't it great to be back Home?

Tom

[abbeyco]

29. I think it's great you're attending

Sometimes it's a damn tough thing to do - I hope you'll feel okay after having done so; the Right Spot you speak of is correct.

The first year I attended a service after my Dad passed, it was tough, but I was proud having attended in his honor.

I'll be with you and all Vets and their families in spirit.

[TomInTib]

41. We will all be There together.

And I will tip a glass of Cabernet for your Dad.

[11 Bravo]

61. I get it. I only live about 10 miles from TheWall. I've been once ,,,

and it laid me out. I've never been able to return.

[TahitiNut]

73. I hear you.

:cry:

[Stinky The Clown]

80. It gets a little easier each time for me

I'm about as close as you are ..... I've been there maybe five times.

At first I couldn't stand it and blubbered like a fool.

The last time, I got into a 'conversation' with some guys in a tent set up just off the path to The Wall. They were supposedly representing veterans and begging for money. They were cheerleaders, is all. I had on an old DU "Hero/Zero" t-shirt, so they knew where I stood. That 'conversation' turned out to be cathartic. It allowed me to go to The Wall for the first time with a dry eye.

[fenriswolf]

3. here

US army 31f(network switching systems operator/mainaner) 101st div (air assault) from sept00-sep-04 did one year in the desert.

[MikeNearMcChord]

4. US Army 1982-1986

24 Tango, Patriot Systems Mechanic.

[lonestarnot]

5. edit out....

I don't honor my service, I just did it for school.

[hobbit709]

6. USAF 1970-73

Defending mountaintops in Italy with radio emissions.

Or as we called it Always Fucking Cleaning Something.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Marine Crotch (aka - the Suck) 1961-65

[Bigmack]

75. More for the Corps....

or....putting it another way... Eat the Apple and Fuck the Corps. 1962-66 Southeast Asia War Games. ("Hey, we came in second.")
- - - -

YOU DISGUSTING FUCKING MAGGOT!!! YOU WILL WISH MY BELOVED MARINE CORPS A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY, WON'T YOU? WELL... WON'T YOU? ..... I CAN'T HEEEEAR YOU!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. My husband USN Chief Retired

I guess my duty was as a wife...

(and I also served somewhere else for ten years)

[11 Bravo]

13. Moms and wives had it tough. I wasn't married at the time ...

but my mom didn't sleep for the 12 months I was in country. I always knew when I was being shot at, she never did. Please, never undervalue what you and the rest of the wives and moms had to undergo.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. I don't there is this scene in Heartbreak ridge

where she is pissed at gunny... that scene made much more sense after Tom went to war... thanks to Bush

And I also apreciate my mom...

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

9. USAFSS '73-'75

[hobbit709]

19. You was a ditty-bop?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

43. I was in the next room over

I had to learn code, then I never had to use it and it all went away.

[indypaul]

100. AFSS

1950-1954 Japan and Korea 51-53
Arlington Hall 53-54.

[TahitiNut]

10. USARV HQ, Long Binh, Jan-Nov '69 - E5, 74F20

[madokie]

11. USNavy 8 '67 - 10 '70 S.E.R.E.

'Nam 6 '69 - 10 '70
Survival Evade Resistance Escape

[Name removed]

12. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BamaGirl]

14. US Army 93-96

Military police. And 13 years and counting as an Army wife. :)

[AspenRose]

15. Thanks, Daddy. U.S. Army 1966-1968

eom

[pscot]

16. U.S. Army, 1962-65

I did my service guarding the Fulda Gap. It was a day at the beach compared to service in Nam, but that was after my time.

[RushIsRot]

18. U.S. Army - 1963-1966

[cloudbase]

21. U.S. Merchant Marine (retired)

Rode a few ammo and unrep ships in my day.

[me b zola]

54. I used to load/off load those ammo ships for the USNR

One of the most surreal things that I ever saw was when we were loading one ship (don't remember if it was USN or MM) a Fed-Ex truck drove onto the dock. It was carrying a few anti-tank missiles for us to load on the ship. I still chuckle when I see certain Fed-Ex trucks, God only knows what they're carrying.

[cloudbase]

64. Well, you know,

when it absolutely has to get there overnight.

[UTUSN]

22. I've never seen a BIG #5 K&R I wouldn't KICK!1

I just found out that a shipmate from '68-69 was much older than I thought and died in '02.

[OzarkDem]

23. Thank you all for your service and sacrifice

and prayers to those who gave all and didn't return.

You have my admiration and respect.

[hwmnbn]

24. US Army,

1966 - 1968

[abbeyco]

25. My Dad - WWII and Korea

WWII as a Sergeant in the Army and Korea in the Air Force.

May Bill RIP as he passed 8/25/05 and I miss him every day.

Love,
Abbey

[AwakeAtLast]

26. Mr. WakeMeUp - Army National Guard Operation Iraqi Freedom

He is also still an active Guard member.



A hearty salute to all of our DU veterans - we are proud of you!!!


:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[JohnnyLib2]

28. Here's a salute for Monkeyman, RIP

I sure miss his posts.


JL2, 5 Army years, still ambivalent about them.

[11 Bravo]

57. Roger that. Rest easy, Monkeyman.

[lonestarnot]

59. Thinking of him.

:patriot:

[Homer Wells]

30. Reporting In

US Army Signal Corps 14 Feb 1968 to 17 December 1970

244th SAC Can Tho, RVN 15 Apr 1969 to 1 April 1970

[Glorfindel]

31. US Army, 1966 - 1968

Headquarters, I Field Force Vietnam, Nha Trang, RVN, Dec 66 to Dec 67. MOS 71C30, Secretary/Stenographer (I wonder if anyone even knows shorthand anymore?) My boss was the ACofS, G2, so everyone in our office had TOP SECRET clearances (and beyond). Nha Trang is a tropical paradise; I'd love to visit it again someday.

[tabasco]

32. Army infantry 1986-1996

Army Reserve 1996-2006.

ABN RGR CIB

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

33. I honor our vets. Bro - USMC 1989-1994; USNG - activated 3 g-d times in three years.

Please forgive my ignorance on the rank and op.

I love you all!!! :hug: Thank you so much for your huge sacrifice.

[NeedleCast]

34. Early Check In

U.S. Army 1997-2001, 2003

96D - Imagery Analyist

[joe black]

35. service

20th. Combat Engineers, Pleiku, Vietnam '68-'69

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

37. Welcome to DU, Sir!

:patriot:

Thank you for your service!!!!

:patriot:

[Kajsa]

67. Welcome to DU, Joe.

My brother ( USAF) was a mechanic at the airbase.

He was there during the midnight raid by the VC.

Fortunately, he made it home too.

:hi: :pals:

[Mountainman]

36. US Army '66 to '68 Vietnam '67 to '68 survivor of Tet 1968

[nonconformist]

38. Wife of a U.S. Army vet, 1993-2001.... granddaughter of a Koren War vet. nt

[Stinky The Clown]

39. USS Adroit - MSO 509

1967-1969

Prior to that, USS Pandemus - ARL 18



Bonus points to anyone who can identify the ship type (ARL).

Hint ... we had an industrial woodworking shop aboard.

[B Calm]

72. ARL is a landing craft repair ship. We also had woodworking shop aboard the

USS Yosemite AD 19 - Destroyer Tender Repair Ship. I should know, I was a carpenter Damage Controlman.

[Stinky The Clown]

74. Bingo!

Repair ship. Former LST. Leaked like a sieve. The bottom was rotten and full of DC plugs and concrete patches. We should have been welded to pier to keep her afloat. I rode her till after she was decommissioned then went to the sweep.

Where was the Yosemite home ported?

[B Calm]

77. When I first boarded the YoYo in 1969 it's homeport was Newport, RI.

After the 1969 Med Cruise we moved to our new homeport in Mayport, Florida. She was basically welded to the pier in Florida, except for an occasional shake down cruise to the Caribbean or GITMO. I stayed on the destroyer tender for two years then transferred over to the USS Albany CG 10. Two years aboard the Guided Missile Cruiser and I really did see the world.

[Stinky The Clown]

79. Newport ..... okay, that;s why the bell in my head rang ........

I went to A School in Newport in 67(?). Storekeeper.

[DinahMoeHum]

40. For my father - WW II vet - 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Regiment

http://ice.mm.com/user/jpk/stroh.htm

He passed away on 30 January 2005 at the age of 81.

Dad...especially now...I love you and miss you.
Rest In Peace, Hero.

:patriot::patriot::patriot:

[Patchuli]

71. Wow! What a story! Thanks for that!

My Dad was flying in a B-17 from San Diego to Pearl Harbor when it was hit! Apparently unarmed, as well!

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3897/is_200106/ai_n8975865/pg_1

[B Calm]

89. My dad was a interpreter in Belgium/France with the infantry.

I'm not sure what division he was in. He lost three toes due to frost bite in Belgium. He's 90 years old now and still alive. The poor man had a bad stroke two years ago and is bedridden now. My older brother is caring for him and says from time to time dad will speak in 5 different languages to him and dad can't understand why my brother doesn't know what he's saying.

[astonamous]

42. USAF 1983 - 1990 Andrews AFB

Most interesting patients:

(3)Caspar Weinberger - Only because of what was going on during that time frame.
(2)Frank H. Reed - Held hostage for 3 1/2 years freed in April 1990.
(1)Barry Goldwater - What a character.

[Larry Ogg]

44. US Navy 11/73 – 11-77

Guantanamo Bay - port services - YFB 90

USS Barnstable County LST-1197
E-5 Engineman 2nd class

Cant believe it’s been 30 years…
Too all veterans, until we meat again :toast:

Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall ninety nine bottles of beer…


For man…, time is not long enough to be forgotten, but it seems forgotten long enough to be repeated…

[lpbk2713]

45. USN 65 - 69

Airdale.

[sce56]

46. US Army 1974-1994 Dial up warning heavy picture

Been there done that all around the world just about! MOS 52B 52D 63B and 52E



Anyone know where this is and what it is?



Best mission I was ever on actually helping people in Kuai Hawaii and Guam after Typhoons and Hurricanes.
Even the locals appreciated us they posted this the day after I installed a generator at their cane
plantation to get the water pumps going again so they could have clean water















Check out the So Cal Edison Lineman in a grass skirt!




Powering up Disaster centers with our prime power 750KW sets



And FEMA small units




I was hooking up a small unit to power up Anahola DAC and church


All this was after we came from Guam









Arc light memorial was popped around by Omar



And when I was assigned to the DC area I used to take visitors to the grave side of
a very famous Democratic President who I know is the opposite of the Fascist in charge today!
Imagine if he would not have be stolen from us how many fewer tombstones there would have
been in all our veterans cemeteries! He was a real hero!





unlike some wannabe who went AWOL from Texas ANG

[Stinky The Clown]

81. That's the Corps of Engineers "Castle" in DC, near the reservoir.

That castle is also their logo.



http://www.usace.army.mil/

[sce56]

86. Yes you got it

It is actually a control plant for water to the DC area. It was built in 1902. I first saw it from the Virgina side of the Potomac and since I wore that brass on my collar for so many years I naturally had to get a closeup before I retired. Do you know why it has 16 windows?

[msedano]

47. US Army, 69-70, Korea

there's a story behind it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x6515#6559

mvs

[Hekate]

48. Thank you all for your service.

Here's a parade from me to you:

:patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :yourock:


Hekate

[dgibby]

49. reporting for duty!

US Navy Nurse Corps 1969-1991

[Geoff R. Casavant]

50. US Navy here

1991-1997, 1999-present (Reserve).

[ShortnFiery]

51. US Army 1982-1985

INSCOM Puke - Airborne! ;)

[Crabby Appleton]

52. US Army 68-69, Long Binh, Vietnam

[donheld]

53. To all of you

:yourock:

[5thGenDemocrat]

55. US Army, 1974-76

Communications Center Specialist (think Western Union clerk-typist), United States Army Communications Command, Fort Monroe, VA.
John
AKA The Least One of These.

[KBlagburn]

56. USAF 89-96, Desert Shield/Storm

[Joey Liberal]

58. Checking in - Army 1980-86

Carry on DU Vets! Out here.

[Toots]

60. US Army 1967-1971 11B and 67N

11Bravo for those that don't know is grunt, 67November is doorgunner/crew chief

[shadowknows69]

62. Aye aye

Just a humble citizen here but thank you all for your service. It is an honor sharing this discussion board with you.

[Toasterlad]

63. USN 1982 - 1987

Grenada was the only real operation I was remotely involved in, and it was all over by the time my ship got there, but I DID get a medal for it!

[cloudbase]

65. Happy birthday, Marines. n/t

[Kajsa]

66. Thank you, all of our servicemen and women.

for your service and sacrifices.

:patriot:

[hootinholler]

68. Cold war boomer bubblehead '78-'83

NavET

For the military impaired:
US Navy Submarine service on a missile boat (SSBN 620)
Navigation systems electronics technician.

Oh, yeah, I did time on a deep ocean survey ship, USNS H H Hess.

-Hoot

[Ezlivin]

98. Cold war attack sub bubblehead '77-'80

USS Skate, the first boat to surface through the ice at the North Pole. Of course in a few more years there won't be any ice to surface through.

[Patchuli]

69. Thank you all for your service!

I honor you and my late father for his brave service in the Pacific during WW2! :loveya:

[blondeatlast]

70. To honor my father, Lt., Us Army Air Corps, WWII.

I miss you so much--and thank you. :patriot:

[bluriley]

76. Marine Green and Navy Blue

USMCR 1959-1963 PFC 0311
USN 1962-1975 PO1 NECC 9515

Never ordered into combat.

[kentuck]

78. I turned 21 in Nam..

I went over in September '67 on first tour and returned stateside from second tour in April '69. I was in support and transportation units in Cam Ranh, Phan Rang, and Nha Trang and a couple of villages in between. My last unit was the 59th Field Service - we did convoys and delivered mail and food to the GIs in the field and "cleaned up" after firefights. We were the "body bag" department.

That experience impacted much of my life and still does. My friend across the street from me was killed over there, Bobby Hatfield - when he laughed, his belly would shake like Jello - and he laughed all the time... And another childhood friend two blocks up - whom we nicknamed "Beaneye" was killed over there - afer a very short stint. He is frozen in my mind as a kid playing touch football with the rest of us.

I see myself and many of my friends in the eyes of many of the GIs now returning from Iraq... I must go now..

[Elwood P Dowd]

82. U.S. Army draftee - 1970-1972

FTA

[Lasher]

84. Me too, 1969 - 1970

Seoul, South Korea for 13 months. No combat.

[BrotherBuzz]

96. AUS '72-'74

Just another dumb draftee that added no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services.

[Skittles]

83. Airgal Skittles checking in

yes INDEED

[symbolman]

85. Sure

US Air Force 1971 - 74, 81st Combat Support Group SAC .. As we used to say "A Suck for SAC is a Blow for Freedom" :)

Thanks to all for serving, I wish the country I swore an Oath to Defend Still Existed..

[laylah]

87. Thanks to all

of you brave wo/men for your service to our country. :patriot:

[w8liftinglady]

88. mom and daughter of vets...my letter printed earlier this week

One of the Bushbots I work with asked me sarcastically "Where's your Veterans Day letter"...to imply we spit on veterans.I showed her.

http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2007/11/09/midlothianmirror/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/let06%20110707%20dawson.txt
Dear Editor,

The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking treatment for PTSD from the Veterans Administration has risen 70 percent. That is 20,000 in the 12 months ending June 30. More than 100,000 veterans - about one out of seven of those who have served and left active duty - have sought help for psychological disorders since late 2001 - which was the start of the war in Afghanistan. This does not count active duty troops, or those who have sought treatment from other sources.

The overall number of mental health cases among war veterans grew by nearly 60 percent from 63,767 on June 30, 2006, to 100,580 on June 30, 2007, VA records show. The mental health issues include PTSD, drug and alcohol dependency and depression.

This is indicative of a larger problem - one caused by fatigue, long, repeated periods of separation from families, and lies told to justify this war. Our servicemen feel betrayed by the government that they swore to protect and defend. Our representatives have not done a good job of "Supporting Our Troops" by allowing infinite deployments and stop-loss to exist and by failing to fund the Veterans Administration adequately in anticipation of 1.5 million new veterans.

And we, America, have failed them.

We have failed to hold our elected officials responsible for this fiasco. We have turned our heads to the ugliness that is death and war. We wave a flag and consider our job done. There are two organizations I belong to and would invite you to explore: the Veterans for America (www.veteransforamerica.org) and National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (www.nchv.org). Both address the wounds of war, both visible and invisible.


Remember, "Support Our Troops" doesn't stop when the troops come home.

[panzerfaust]

90. Least THEY Forget

Odd how few are the veterans in B*shit's team.

4 years active duty USN, 8 years reserve, recently spent several years at a USA hospital (at start up of the current war) and now mostly work at a VA - where we are finally starting to see some OIF/OEF vets as they surface from years of struggling up through the tangled piles of red-tape.

For the most part they are more F*d up than VietVets.

F* Civilians and their f*ing wars.

[sendero]

91. I just missed having..

... to serve in Vietnam. Those who have served have my respect and appreciation.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

92. 'nother draftee here, '66-'68

In the rear (Germany), with the gear.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

93. Saluting all the DU Vets and their families

My dad was at the crossing of the Rhine, my grandfather was a Doughboy in WWI, and I am named for an uncle who ded on the Bunker Hill frm a kamikaze attack.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice to this country.

:patriot: :applause: :patriot:

[flashl]

94. To all vets. n /t

[rdmtimp]

95. Checking in for my late father (USAF 1951-1972)

Did tours of both Korea and Vietnam.

A proud Democrat to boot.

Passed on on October 14, 2007

[slater71]

97. USAF 406 Tac. Fighter Wing. 1971 - 1975

Welcome to all my brothers and sisters.

[liberalsoldier5]

99. God bless each and every one of you!

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our nation's mightiest heroes, past and present.

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: