Born in '58, I was a bit young for Vietnam. I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on about the epic battles of WWII - Midway, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Okinawa, D- Day, Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, etc. You couldn't tear me away from "Combat", "Rat Patrol", "12 O'Clock High", etc.

Thanks to a modern TV show "Against All Odds" on the American Heroes channel, I have been enlightened. While as a kid I was devouring books, watching TV, and drawing silly pictures of battles past, the real thing was playing out live yet somehow almost unknown to me.

Thanks to this show (which mixes actual combat footage with people's first hand accounts) I sat enthralled for several hours, finally learning the details of such places as Khe Sanh, Hue City, Dak To, etc.

May I humbly request that those members of the "Greatest Generation" step aside just a bit on the podium and make way for the next generation of heroes in my mind. The grit, courage, and determination shown by those soldiers depicted defies belief. I have never felt so proud to be an American.

I fully realize that what I think and believe as an individual makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things, but to those that fought in Vietnam, I would just like to offer a heartfelt "thanks".....and Merry Christmas, heroes.

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Do or do not. There is no try.

Thank you, I got there the week before Christmas in 69.

Jingle bells
Motor shells
VC in the grass
Take your jolly Christmas tree and stick it up your ....

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It's Alive !!

Thanks for the warm thoughts! I spent my 20th year there. Thanksgiving and Christmas 1970.

11B, combat Infantry rifleman. A 20 year old drafted out of College and a year in the jungle.

I survived and was very good at my job. We were not welcomed home, no parades, spit-on, villafied.

To you and all my Brothers in Arms, Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to you guys and thank you for your sacrifices...

On the first day of Christmas Truce, the Viet Cong brought to me... a sniper in a palm tree (and it went on through all 12 days which I can't remember). Spent Christmas 1970 and 1971 in country. Those were the toughest 2 days(mentally) of both tours. But thanks for the thoughts, we certainly didn't get them then.

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Minimize the variables

Thank you very much.

I never thought we were anything special, I just thought we were not the conscienceless brutes we were often thought to be.

Bob

I arrived in country January 3, 1968. Departed country June 6, 1969. Spent 6 weeks in the hospital in Okinawa then rotated back to US. Discharged from the USMC in December of 1969.

Bob


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Very Nice. Merry Christmas.......Thank You.

Thanks for the good wishes, it's been 45 years since I last swam in the South China Sea at Nha Trang. I was TDY'd in with C130's during TET of '68. I spent less than a month in country, but was support in Japan for another 5 months.

Merry Christmas to all.

LTC

Thank you, that's kind of you to say. Peace and joy to all my fellow vets.

On Christmas eve, please join me in raising a glass to those on the wall.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Thanks & a Merry Christmas to you . Old Seabee

I survived and was very good at my job. We were not welcomed home, no parades, spit-on, villafied.
That quote was from rimfimed. Just messed up my editing on my iPad.

I remember that quite well. Now after 40+ years when someone says "thank you for your service" I just don't know how to respond.

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It's Alive !!

"when someone says "thank you for your service" I just don't know how to respond. "

Same here & I'm no hero.......
Just did my job.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Same here. Al I wanted to do was do my job, survive, all my guys survive and go home. Hero? I'm not even sure what that is.

Bob

14Dec1967-14Dec1968. Like others I don't know what to say.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Thanks and same to all my shipmates who sailed in the Gulf of Tokin aboard the USS Oriskany 1964/65/66

Merry Christmas to all of you Viet Namn vets. I joined in 1976 so I wasn't there. But many of my ranking NCOs and Officers were. Some wished they were still there, many were happy to be in Germany but no one really talked about what went on there.
I recently watched "Hamburger Hill". It was real to me as the lingo and uniforms were the same. But that's where the sameness ended. You guys that served in Vietnam really went through Hell. Merry Christmas and thanks for your service.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Ha, got there a week after Christmas 69, hung around till 71 spent a lot of time at fire base Mace.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas right back at ya.

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Vietnam 1969-1971

Well, thanks for the thoughts!

I am a "Vietnam (era) Veteran" who only spent 30 minutes in country!!

My plane landed there on my way to Thailand...................then a short C-130 ride from Bangkok down to U-Tapao where I spent my year supporting - - - - ARC LIGHT. I guessing some of you heard us coming - and going!!!

Dang, you guys used to come over to Pattaya Beach for R&R.

Thanks to all you In Country Vets!!

Thank you for your kind thoughts. My best wishes for a healthy, happy holiday season to all my brother veterans of every war.
De oppresso liber

Thanks for your consideration, I too am often caught with nothing much to say when I'm thanked for my service. I don't know if its about the way many of us were treated when we came home and how unpopular it was, I remember being glad that after my month of leave I got sent to Germany for my last eighteen months. When I finally did get home in April 1973 I had only been stateside one month from July 1970 to April 1973 and really felt like an alien, it was very wierd.

I was born in '55. One thing I remember doing while the war was going on was waking up on a pleasant morning and thinking of the guys spending part (or all) of their young lives in the jungle, mud and rice paddies. Hats off to all those guys. And though this thread is dedicated to Vietnam vets, I'd like to thank anyone that served in an overseas hell hole.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Thanks to all veterans for their service. My godfather (now deceased), a burly, cantankerous CPO in World War II with some lengthy swimming time courtesy of the IJN told me there was no way that I was serving in the military, and threatened me with bodily harm if I enlisted. I think that I missed something.

I saw Raquel Welch in 1967 at Bearcat and Ann Margaret in 1968 at Long Bien. They were there with the Bob Hope shows. It wasn't all bad!

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... a little behind in my work

A very Merry Christmas to all.
I have very mixed feelings about this Viet Nam thing - I enlisted in the Army at age 17 in 1969, volunteered for Doorgunner school and to fly and volunteered for RVN after I turned 18.
All volunteered -
I knew about the protests vaguely, didn't much care as I wasn't affected personally, until I came back in Dec. 1970. Then I saw the airports, the news, and was accosted at the SeaTac airport on my way home.
Now I get the war was unjust, a civil war we had no business being involved in. But, I'll never get over the fact that as individual soldiers we were taking the blame for policy the government and big business was setting. To many of the protesters it was flavor of the day (as now) and just a convenient reason to throw a party/protest.
Nope - I'll never forgive the government for putting me in that position and I'll never forget the protesting pukes who now apologize for not supporting the troops back then.

Merry Christmas and Welcome Home.

Bruce

On Christmas eve 1970, the platoon leader of 2nd platoon, A company, 1st/327 Inf was lost or misreported his location. When my battery fired on a "safety cleared" target, we dropped two rounds HE on them. Nine men killed, three more died of wounds. It still hurts so much! Christmas & Vietnam are not good memories for me.

Thank you for the greeting. I did my year 1970 - 71. I was AF but was stationed with the Army. At the time I was just getting it done, looking back was glad I was there.

Had three tours in support, one in Thailand 1974-1975, and one in 1968-69 on Guam supporting Arc Light.

When people say "thanks for your service". I just say "thanks".

Even the people that were drafted unless they accepted severe penalties were made to feel and were treated like criminals for their service.

And to all a good night.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Thanks for the wishes. Two Christmas Days in the S.E. Asia Games. Each unique in themselves. Hand-salute to all that served.

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GA Carry member
Vietnam Vet

To all who slept in the jungle, the sand or the snow to make our lives safe. Thank You!

Quoting from the last line of a poem in the back of an old AMU manual:

"The Man with the Rifle Knows"

I was in the era, I went in 1972 which they was sending some over there then but not too many went then. I had a friend that went to boot camp he went but I didn't. Thank you but I did do twenty-eight years and came out as a MSG.

I saw Ann Margaret in 1966 at Chu Lai. Bob Hope wasn't there though. Stood about two feet from her. Pant Pant.

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It's Alive !!

I was lucky I only spent 1 Christmas in country.I did extended
tour for early out. Started out MR-1/ XXIV Corps/ 1/44th ADA,
Chi Lai then MR-2/ 4/60th ADA/ Pleiku, then ended up in 54th
Security Detail out of Da Nang. I remember Christmas Eve 1971.
They had us on a ammo dump outside of DaNang,lumes dropped
all night. You could hear cases dropping into paddies. When sun
came up there was a 122 sticking in paddy outside of wire. Dud,
EOD had to deal with it. Two weeks later I was sucking down a
draft in Seattle.
Merry Christmas to all !

No Bic! No Bic! No Bic! GI number 10: call of Hooch Maid bird

Anyone get this close?

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... a little behind in my work

I arrived in country at Cam Rahn Bay December 15, 1968, turned 20 9days later. I spent Christmas recovering from being beat my VC that captured me and two of my team members. Christmas is not my favorite time of year. I was in the air force at Detachment 8 14th Aerial Port SQ. Cam Ly air field outside Dalat City in ll corp. Like many others I was disrespected when I returned home in December 13, 68.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year to all my Brother at Arms and all other forum members.

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Carpriver.

And many thanks to my fellow Vietnam vets. (10-67 through 10/68). That includes Tet.

Everybody that went over there I want to give you a big thank you, I came close but miss going over there.