The operation ran like a legless racehorse. Every commando that entered North Vietnam got captured or killed. Nixon beefed up the bombardment over a four-year period during which fighter jets dropped 540,000 tons of bombs. To force a false confession, guards beat him "every two or three hours" for four days. However, hundreds had actually survived. Although he swept the carpet-bombing under the rug, in 1970 Nixon invaded Cambodia in broad daylight. That soil also assailed solders' children and their children's children and millions of Vietnamese children and adults. It wasn't America's first Cambodian rodeo. ? The country's ousted ex-leader threw his support behind the Khmer Rouge. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs lists 14 different diseases, including Parkinson's and seven kinds of cancer, linked to Agent Orange exposure. They shrewdly used the bombings as a political weapon, amassing enough new members and momentum to overwhelm Cambodia's pro-U.S. forces. Russia sends tsunami your way. A alot of White People like to treat Asians like slaves in America. If you researched before posting I would not be forced to respond to stupid questions. Newer units provided by the United States contained a single inmate. … The My Lai Massacre and subsequent deception fomented anti-war fervor in America and demoralized already war-weary troops, who increasingly coped through drug use. Some vets expressed episodes of severe personality changes and suicidal behavior. In 1969, the same year the public learned about My Lai, more lies were told about a separate massacre. Tingling, numbness, headaches, twitching and loss of sensation are also symptoms related to the neurological impact of Agent Orange exposure. In reality, commandos had raided nearby North Vietnamese targets as part of an operation originated by the CIA. It's hard to quantify the harm caused by combat exposure and torture because, as the Lancet noted, soldiers tend to be healthier than the average person. The Fall of Saigon had signified the official end of the Vietnam War on April 30. The U.S., however, continued counting them as "unaccounted for.". Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 Last. Not everyone found it acceptable, though. I was in the homecoming parade with the 1STMARDIV on base. They became vagabonds and beggars. No wonder so many were messed up. Song further alleged that his men beat Hall and Marshall to death. Seemingly out of nowhere, American soldiers swarmed the country. One hundred Marine reinforcements were sent to the Cambodian island of Koh Tang after the ship and its crew had already been recovered. Other POWs endured having all four limbs bound together (sometimes behind their backs), whereupon they were hung from meat hooks for hours or days. Caring for and compensating veterans … Three Marines — Gary Hall, Joseph Hargrove, and Danny Marshall — went missing. 1,326 520. What kills people is not COVID. It's estimated that South Vietnam kept 20,000 to 200,000 prisoners in tiger cages, sometimes for years without trial. In the process it doomed up to 4.8 million Vietnamese residents. A temporary peace ensued but was shattered on May 4. Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge were ruthless Cambodian Communists who employed guerrilla tactics. It was dragged into battle by U.S. bombs. Eventually, being hard-headed and 20, I decided to piss on the fire and call in the dogs. But, in my mind's eye, I didn't perform all that well; and I can't forgive people until I figure out some way to forgive myself. In 1968 the bloodiest phase of the war began, and Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were killed. The military maintained that the men "disobeyed orders" by failing to reach rescue choppers on time and had likely died. Protesters hurled rocks at wary guardsmen who responded with tear gas and gunfire. Congressmen visited South Vietnam in 1970 and reported the horrors they witnessed. We know they experienced more combat though, than anyone else. However, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (above) discovered the cover-up. The reinforcements were informed they would face up to "40 old men and farmers." The US Government does not recognize “in-country” identifiers (Just like … So, the beat goes on, and the left-wing liberals of today still disrespect us with backhanded insults while pretending to be "sympathetic." Jump to page: Results 1 to 30 of 76 ... so to speak, while Vietnam was a completely unnecessary ****fest with tons of grey area. I served with the 3BN11thREG1stMARDIV from 1970 to 1971. As a former member recounted, "We weren't even keeping count. And there is no time to hear who he is.” Well, here’s who he is: Neighbors served three tours in Vietnam during … According to one estimate, the number of veterans without stable accommodation was … As Smithsonian Magazine described, many of their mothers didn't view them as tiny humans but humongous burdens. The last GI to die on Vietnamese soil during combat perished in 1973, according to History. Meadlo wasn't alone. Who knows what recruiters are promising these days, but there was a time when a stint in the military looked quite attractive to an awful lot of people, for a multitude of reasons. . Cambodia placed a crimson exclamation point on the war in 1975. I don't feel we are any more messed up than any other group of people. However, the ceasefire soon ceased, and Vietnam's soil continued ending GI lives for decades. Post Oct 25, 2017 #1 2017-10-25T16:36. Even then he managed to keep everyone in the dark for as long as possible. As Americans were rocked by tectonic social shifts, the war's many faults shook their collective conscience. do this for 13 months strait then when you come out you get back here and tell us if your not messed up in the head to. One of the reasons there are so many vets now is that vets have created their own market. Some struggled with PTSD and substance abuse 40 years after coming home, not to mention increased the back, joint, and neurological problems. How do you think about the answers? This is America. That’s why I went to Vietnam. In 1945 a French-backed Vietnamese emperor gained power, and Communist honcho Ho Chi Minh mounted an uprising that gave rise to North Vietnam via the First Indochina War. Are high school sports in need of radical reform? Eleven hours later a ceasefire officially commenced in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords. **** all you guys i was just asking a question holy **** your all bitter, not all of them are messed up in the head, but yea there are a lot that are.how about you go sit in a jungle in the dark, so dark you can barley see your hand in front of your face, with no sleep, or better yet go to sleep,and have some one come through there and try to kill you, then the next day go out and look for the ones that were shooting at you, and hope they don't have the area booby trapped some how, or have a sniper waiting for you to walk in to his sights. Per ABC, in 1967 McCain's plane was struck by a missile, forcing him to eject. Cottingham served as part of the Tiger Force, a unit assembled in 1966 to "out-guerrilla" the Vietcong, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982 began the process, but many identify the Gulf War of 1990-91—with its national flag-waving, yellow … Many GIs in Vietnam made love and rape and war, creating embattled children. So basically, they laid down their lives for a cause just to push communism back, over 50,000 of them died for that caused, some of them were forced to basically commit war crimes, they saw some really messed up shit. They protested for days and set an ROTC building ablaze. Why Vietnam Vets Are America’s Greatest Heroes January 22, 2012 by Raymond Bechard 46 Comments Raymond Bechard pays tribute to the men who … Why is ebenefits so messed up? And then when they got back home, they were treated like the scum of … Vietnam vets and their advocates believe a brutal calculation may lie at the heart of why their claims have gone unexamined. I feel obligated to bitch to make it better. Nonetheless, with the CIA's blessing, three Berets shot Chuyen in the head for supposedly stabbing them in the back. Vietnam's soil contained one of the war's dirtiest secrets. It saddends me that the Vets in Vietnam have been put through so much bullshit. It didn't tell the public at all. Their blue eyes made numerous Vietnamese see red, and their curly hair became a curse. I knew it was wrong, but it was an acceptable practice." Curt J. I was eighteen and stupid when I finally got to Vietnam. the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found, the back, joint, and neurological problems. By 1965 the U.S. military had taken charge and started telling the relatives of captive commandos that their loved ones died in the line of duty. Often the offspring of white or black men and Vietnamese women, these babies resembled blended enemies. Edwin Starr would say "absolutely nothing." I was born in 81 so … The exception might be John(I want to be president ) Kerry and Al(I invented everything) Gore. By the early 1960s, South Vietnam’s conventionally trained … Defense officials knew about the fighters, but nobody told the Marines. To the Editor: Although Joseph Kurtz Jr. attempts to make an important point about Vietnam veterans, his obvious anger confirms for me why he left so much unsaid. Thousands of Vietnam vets who returned home unaware that they had been exposed to the same toxic dioxin that was meant to combat their enemies. A second dissenter was also silenced. Newsweek related that Chuyen underwent three days of questioning which failed to yield a confession. PBS explained he didn't even warn Cambodia's head of state, who was a U.S. ally at the time. Reflecting on what he witnessed in Vietnam, platoon medic Larry Cottingham remarked, "There was a period when just about everyone had a necklace of ears." This meant poisoning everyone in the vicinity, but Uncle Sam assured everyone that Agent Orange wouldn't hurt anyone. I find it outrageous that, given their role, any vet criticises Cruft's for exhibiting these dog breeds. So even if you were stationed in South Africa passing out basketballs at a gym, you qualify to call yourself a Vietnam Vet, because that term has no legal standing and is a colloquialism. Even those who were adopted were sometimes given away by their new parents. After months of media coverage, in 1996 the government begrudgingly confirmed the cover-up. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson seemingly agreed, telling his national security adviser that the Vietnam War wasn't "worth fighting for." It was a disgrace how our vets were treated, but that how it was back then. I know it sounds very ignorant, but here's my question. Nice lumping and steretyping. It gets more depressing. Some soldiers later grappled with guilt and needed psychological counseling, but others remained remorseless. Some soldiers raped women and girls before gunning them down. Nevertheless, he immersed America in the "biggest damn mess" he ever saw. For America, the Vietnam War ended with a bang that made men whimper. Called the BVA and they said it is waiting to be seen by the judge. New research looks at why so many veterans end up on the street. Also, treatment was not available like it is now. Commanding officer Lieutenant William Calley wanted them dead anyway. Per the Associated Press, in 1959 the CIA began recruiting South Vietnamese men for espionage and sabotage efforts. I had a black friend who was the easiest going person I have ever met. Initially hailed as heroes, the Tiger Force soon saw killing as "the way to live," according to one Tiger. Official: COVID-19 prompts Rose Bowl move out of Calif. As end nears, Trump gets doses of flattery, finality. They fought for us to be where we are now. Will Asthma Joe get as much guff as Bonespurs Don for being disqualified from military service? Peers picked on them for being poor and parentless. Charley Company savagely murdered 504 villagers. In January 1968, fighting intensified with the Tet Offensive, which saw North Vietnam land a series of sucker punches on the U.S. and South Vietnam. A pair of sisters arrested for attempting to aid Communists spent seven years in tiger cages, where they were burned with quicklime. Relevance. Why are Vietnam veterans honored? McCain became incapable of lifting his arms above his shoulders. Two days after launching the invasion, Nixon announced it on television, conveniently leaving out the lethal aerial assaults that accompanied it. Five years prior, exclamations about a bloody incursion into Cambodia marked the beginning of the end of Nixon's presidency. Why is the vets game so messed up. That is not true! Many wished to walk away from Vietnam altogether and find their American fathers. Even so, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that Vietnam veterans "with high exposure to warzone stress were nearly twice as likely to have died" between 1987 and 2013 than those who experienced less stress. This question is mainly for someone on my contacts who asks similar questions. And as the Vietnam War's countless cruelties came to light, many came to see it as a tragic travesty. The guardsmen defended the shooting as self-defense, while others saw unnecessary force amid an unnecessary war. It was literally overkill, just like the war itself. They are not, the news just liked to focus on the 1 or 2 % that were messed up. Even so, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that Vietnam veterans "with high exposure to warzone stress were nearly twice as likely to have died" between 1987 and 2013 than those who experienced less stress. 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