Smith & Wesson Forum

Advertise With Us Search
Go Back   Smith & Wesson Forum > General Topics > The Lounge

Notices

The Lounge A Catch-All Area for NON-GUN topics.
PUT GUN TOPICS in the GUN FORUMS.
Keep it Family Friendly. See The Rules for Banned Topics!


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-17-2015, 12:19 AM
carpriver's Avatar
carpriver carpriver is offline
US Veteran
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Upper peninsula of Michig
Posts: 4,469
Likes: 31,326
Liked 7,151 Times in 2,395 Posts
Default Feb 16 1968

47 years ago tonight my teammates and I were relived and told to stand down. The area around Da lat was declared secure. The team had been at Cam Ly airfield since Jan, 30th when the NVA attacked the city. Like so many other men we did what we needed to do to get the mission completed. the team got to go the Cam Rahn Bay to get checked out by the medics, get something to eat besides c-rats & l.r.p. rations, a new issue of uniforms and boots hot showers and to get some sleep. From Jan.30th until Feb.16 I lost 40 pounds. Went from 180lbs. to 140lbs

The effort of the men and women of the US forces in Vietnam broke the back of the North Vietnamese. they were never able to mount another offensive of the size and scale. I am a Proud Viet Nam Veteran
__________________
Carpriver.
Reply With Quote
The Following 76 Users Like Post:
  #2  
Old 02-17-2015, 12:21 AM
Mike McLellan's Avatar
Mike McLellan Mike McLellan is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 2,992
Likes: 1,026
Liked 2,937 Times in 1,078 Posts
Default

Nice job, brother.
__________________
Why, I aughta.....
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #3  
Old 02-17-2015, 12:22 AM
Big Stick Big Stick is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 339
Likes: 281
Liked 426 Times in 156 Posts
Default

Welcome Home, and thank you for your service.
Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Like Post:
  #4  
Old 02-17-2015, 01:57 AM
Texas Star Texas Star is offline
US Veteran
Absent Comrade
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 20,361
Likes: 24,260
Liked 16,154 Times in 7,408 Posts
Default

Please describe your operations at that time. Were you Air Police, my own career field? (I was not in Vietnam.) I see your AF icon...

I know about the AP units at Ton Son Nhut saving that base during the Tet offensive. Nothing else about USAF ground combat seems to have made the news.

Last edited by Texas Star; 02-17-2015 at 01:58 AM.
Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Like Post:
  #5  
Old 02-17-2015, 09:02 AM
MSgt G MSgt G is offline
US Veteran
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Northwest Georgia
Posts: 5,125
Likes: 8,526
Liked 1,231 Times in 429 Posts
Default

Great job! Thanks for your service!
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #6  
Old 02-17-2015, 09:07 AM
Dueeast's Avatar
Dueeast Dueeast is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Jersey shore
Posts: 807
Likes: 77
Liked 203 Times in 83 Posts
Default

Thank You for your service!
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Like Post:
  #7  
Old 02-17-2015, 09:35 AM
mstem's Avatar
mstem mstem is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Clarksville, VA
Posts: 962
Likes: 4,374
Liked 1,068 Times in 478 Posts
Default

Thank you for your service to our great country.
__________________
I'm 67. I don't do timeouts.
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #8  
Old 02-17-2015, 10:13 AM
Geronimo Jim's Avatar
Geronimo Jim Geronimo Jim is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 1,783
Likes: 3,808
Liked 3,148 Times in 899 Posts
Default

Thank you and God bless you.
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #9  
Old 02-17-2015, 12:17 PM
sheepdawg's Avatar
sheepdawg sheepdawg is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Hills of North Georgia
Posts: 5,131
Likes: 1,854
Liked 12,481 Times in 3,413 Posts
Default

Thank you for your service, too bad the politicians ran that war.
__________________
LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE
Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Like Post:
  #10  
Old 02-17-2015, 01:46 PM
rwsmith's Avatar
rwsmith rwsmith is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: (outside) Charleston, SC
Posts: 31,000
Likes: 41,665
Liked 29,250 Times in 13,830 Posts
Default What happened over there....

What happened over there wasn't due to the people that were doing the fighting. And I think one of the darkest days in this country were when people started blaming service men for the war. Now when Hanoi Jane says her intentions were misunderstood and that the NV used her as propaganda people should listen to her rhetoric at rallies before she went.
__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Last edited by rwsmith; 02-17-2015 at 01:47 PM.
Reply With Quote
The Following 5 Users Like Post:
  #11  
Old 02-17-2015, 02:26 PM
labworm's Avatar
labworm labworm is offline
US Veteran
Absent Comrade
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 11,738
Likes: 17,756
Liked 22,460 Times in 8,391 Posts
Default

carpriver, familiar with your ordeal, and nothing has to be explained to anyone.

I know some well decorated vets, that just don't care to talk about their experiences.

To this day, once a year, 3 of us meet up for dinner, have a few laughs, then we all return to our own little circle of life.

My friend Arthur, 1st Lt. Army Ranger, Wolfhounds, Cu Chi, 68 Tet, almost killed, caught in a L shaped ambush in his command APC, two rounds to the chess, thumb blown off. Only outside the gate for 4 trips, was on his way home for good.

If you met him, you wouldn't even think that he served his country. Great man that I have the privilege to call friend.
__________________
Doesn't hasta call me Johnson
Reply With Quote
The Following 7 Users Like Post:
  #12  
Old 02-17-2015, 02:42 PM
shouldazagged shouldazagged is offline
Absent Comrade
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Louisville, KY, USA
Posts: 19,336
Likes: 53,737
Liked 38,387 Times in 11,802 Posts
Default

A hellish time, and those who opposed the coordinated offensive fought magnificently.

It was a war that shouldn't have been fought, but the military personnel ordered to fight it didn't deserve the abuse they received on returning home.
__________________
Oh well, what the hell.
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Like Post:
  #13  
Old 02-17-2015, 02:51 PM
the ringo kid the ringo kid is offline
Banned
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 20,895
Likes: 85,108
Liked 22,838 Times in 10,553 Posts
Default

Thank you for your service sir. One ofmy Cousins was there from seventy to seventy-one.He was in the Army--not sre eactly what he did.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #14  
Old 02-17-2015, 07:05 PM
charlie sherrill charlie sherrill is offline
SWCA Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Brooklyn,Ms. 39425
Posts: 4,824
Likes: 2,449
Liked 9,501 Times in 2,071 Posts
Default

We won all the battles and then the politicians, with a lot of help from the media, gave the victory to North Vietnam. Treason doesn't mean anything anymore. I hate the way our troops were treated and haven't forgotten who was responsible for that.
Reply With Quote
The Following 6 Users Like Post:
  #15  
Old 02-17-2015, 07:26 PM
Donn's Avatar
Donn Donn is offline
US Veteran
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,421
Likes: 6
Liked 5,315 Times in 1,937 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by carpriver View Post
47 years ago tonight my teammates and I were relived and told to stand down. The area around Da lat was declared secure.
Murphy's Laws of War #25,"Once you've secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy." Another forum member who found his way to sunny South Vietnam. Me too, Army 1969-70. Welcome home.
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #16  
Old 02-17-2015, 07:50 PM
Bajadoc Bajadoc is offline
US Veteran
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,185
Likes: 7,029
Liked 2,749 Times in 861 Posts
Default

Thank you. We are blessed to be living in the greatest country in the world because of people like you.
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #17  
Old 02-17-2015, 07:52 PM
Texas Star Texas Star is offline
US Veteran
Absent Comrade
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 20,361
Likes: 24,260
Liked 16,154 Times in 7,408 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by labworm View Post
carpriver, familiar with your ordeal, and nothing has to be explained to anyone.

I know some well decorated vets, that just don't care to talk about their experiences.

To this day, once a year, 3 of us meet up for dinner, have a few laughs, then we all return to our own little circle of life.

My friend Arthur, 1st Lt. Army Ranger, Wolfhounds, Cu Chi, 68 Tet, almost killed, caught in a L shaped ambush in his command APC, two rounds to the chess, thumb blown off. Only outside the gate for 4 trips, was on his way home for good.

If you met him, you wouldn't even think that he served his country. Great man that I have the privilege to call friend.

You may have misunderstood my request. I wasn't challenging him; just asking if he'd share what he encountered. It might interest a lot of us here. Some vets write about their combat experiences; some suppress them.

I'd be quite interested in what USAF ground forces achieved in withstanding those heavy assaults. I did apply for duty in Vietnam, but was sent instead to Newfoundland. I should be grateful, I guess, but feel a little guilty when I meet those who did serve there and who saw battle.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #18  
Old 02-17-2015, 10:33 PM
max's Avatar
max max is offline
US Veteran
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: illinois
Posts: 6,299
Likes: 1,850
Liked 6,696 Times in 2,119 Posts
Default

I thank you for your service. I also remember that date but for more pleasant reasons. It would be almost 2 years before I got to Vietnam.
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Like Post:
  #19  
Old 02-17-2015, 11:12 PM
Viss Viss is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 362
Likes: 261
Liked 137 Times in 88 Posts
Default

I was 8 yrs old and safely at home when you and many others were giving your all over there. Thank you. Well done!
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #20  
Old 02-18-2015, 01:02 AM
bigride's Avatar
bigride bigride is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Missouri
Posts: 5,211
Likes: 9,419
Liked 30,239 Times in 4,786 Posts
Default

God bless you all. Thank you.

Just pretend this is witty.
__________________
Just pretend this is witty.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #21  
Old 02-18-2015, 01:28 AM
pawncop pawncop is offline
Member
Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968 Feb 16 1968  
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: TEXAS
Posts: 18,248
Likes: 7,989
Liked 5,675 Times in 2,190 Posts
Default

While you probably did not receive the honor you so richly deserved at the time, our nation has slowly come around to correcting that terrible disservice to you and others that served so well over there.

May all who were treated so poorly back then find peace and honor now.
__________________
I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
Reply


Posting Rules
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
1968 Model 19-2 Road Rat S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 29 11-05-2012 11:42 AM
WTS Pre-1968 PPK .380 Mike in Reedley GUNS - For Sale or Trade 2 05-30-2012 12:53 AM
S&W Catalog 1968 Hondo44 S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 9 06-26-2011 11:29 PM
Bought in 1968 vrichard The Lounge 4 11-21-2009 09:30 PM
1968 M19-2 ?? snw19_357 S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 15 02-06-2009 03:15 PM

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
smith-wessonforum.com tested by Norton Internet Security smith-wessonforum.com tested by McAfee Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:18 AM.


Smith-WessonForum.com is not affiliated with Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC)