A Better, Safer Option For Our Troops?

I don't know but, man it would be cool.

In Honor Of Veterans Day: A Favorite Picture Or, I Salute Me

Never before published picture of a soldier alone against the enemy and the elements- TA DA, it's me. What happened to that stud? Click for maximum studliness.

More Wall Thoughts

The youngest Vietnam KIA is believed to be Dan Bullock at 15 years old.
The oldest person on the Wall is believed to be Dwaine McGriff at 63 years old.
At least 5 men killed in Vietnam were 16 years old.
At least 12 men killed in Vietnam were 17 years old.
There are 120 persons who listed foreign countries as their home of record.
At least 25,000 of those killed were 20 years old or younger.
More than 17,000 of those killed were married.
Veterans killed on their first day in Vietnam 997 (unconfirmed)
Veterans killed on their last day in Vietnam 1,448 (unconfirmed)
Number of Chaplains on the Wall -- 16
(2 Medal Of Honor)
Number of Women on the Wall -- 8 (7 Army, 1 USAF - 7,484 served)
There are 226 Native Americans on the Memorial.
There are 22 countries represented on the Memorial.
Most common name on the Memorial "Smith" with 667 veterans.
The most casualties for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 casualties.
The most casualties for a single month was May 1968, 2,415 casualties were incurred.
From thewall-usa.com

Vietnam War Memorial Wall Birthdays

At http://thewall-usa.com/index.asp you can search for names on the Wall and one of the options is to search for troops whose birthdays were on the day you are looking at the site. Dear God, if I read it right there are 18 pages of them for Veterans Day and 17 pages of troops who were killed on Veterans Day. Here's the first and one that jumped out at me when I clicked next page.

"ARTHUR LLOYD ADAMS JR

BUH3 - E4 - Navy - Regular Born on Monday, November 11, 1946 From LOVELAND, CO
-->Length of service 2 years His tour began on Feb 15, 1968 Casualty was on Aug 23, 1968In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY ARTILLERY, ROCKET, or MORTAR Body was recovered Panel 47W - Line 36"

I sit here wearing hearing aids from "artillery,rocket, or mortar" fire. My ears still ring and my head hurts. What if it were me who was reduced to such a cold assessment of my death and a point of curiosity in a web search?

"RICHARD DENNIS BREWER

1LT - O2 - Army - Reserve 1st Cav Division (AMBL) Born on Saturday, November 11, 1944 From BIG SPRING, TX
-->Length of service 6 years His tour began on Feb 21, 1970 Casualty was on May 2, 1970 In , CAMBODIA HOSTILE, HELICOPTER - PILOT AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND Body was recovered"

This entry caught my attention for several reasons. I served with 1 Cav just 10 years after the war ended and in fact had several leaders who fought with her in Nam and and Cambodia where his loss occurred. He was from Texas and his bio said he was married and a Baptist. I was raised a Baptist. I was married and had two children when I left for my war.

I guess it's easy to say, why them? Why me? Why did I survive What did his loss do to his wife Where is she? Did he have children? Were they destroyed over their loss of him?

Have I earned the chance he never had?

Missives

What did he have to lose?

What did they?

• It's November 11 Veterans Day and my yard just got mowed. I don't know which is crazier thinking about my wartime service or mowing the yard in what is for all intents- winter.



• Once when I was a kid in the Texas National Guard in Decatur Texas there was a Veterans Day celebration and I was the Soldier, a classmate was the Marine, a friend was the Airman and a co-worker was the Sailor for the start of the parade, music, political bluster etc.



• God, I was 17 when I enlisted- what a kid.


• Lord, I was 40 when I finally fought in a war- what an old man.



• Someone called earlier who I didn't know even knew I had served and wished me well for Veterans Day- nice. Man, that was real nice actually.



• I went because it was my time to go and my country needed me- does anyone think like that anymore?



• I've heard people say,"I'm not going to get myself killed for..." If you wouldn't die for your country, what are you living for ? Really, WHAT WOULD YOU GET KILLED FOR? In the end, it's the man to your left and right anyway and if a person can pass up the opportunity to understand that, I pity you.



• Wonder what the 300,000 plus American men who died in WWII had to live for?



• Warfighting is one of the few timeless things in our history that there is no way to get a grasp on without having been.



• I've seen men vomit from fear before going on a mission to a bad area but, they went and I know who they are and honor them nearly every day in various ways and thoughts. I'm thankful that there are men in this world who know a little of what I'm made of and probably have the same warm thoughts about me from time to time.



• There are people alive in this world because of my service who would have died and I'm proud of that.



• There are people over there whose lives were made better by some personal efforts of myself and others and that will always warm my heart.



• There are also things I think I will take to the grave with me and I doubt that feeling will change.



• You wouldn't understand if I tried.

Mondays Missives

• There was a story years ago that still crosses my mind and fascinates me about a guy who got dropped off by a bush plane in Alaska with tons of supplies but, didn't schedule a pickup. When a plane did circle around him a long time later he just waved at the plane. He later wrote a note to the effect,"I think I just made a big mistake." after seeing on the back of his hunting license? that was the signal for I'm OK. The distress signal was to wave your arms back and forth crossing each other. He shot himself instead of dying from the elements.



• What was he thinking?



• When I want to get a laugh at my own expense I've been known to finish a sentence with,"Or so it has been said- according to the prophecy." Or if offered a food I really don't like I'll refer to it as comida del Diablo- food of the Devil in Spanish. The people who don't matter think this proves all kinds of bad things about me. The people who do matter know I'm just being my goofy self and laugh at and with me- and we don't care in which order.



• Here's my recent scary hospice nurse story: a patient in terminal distress demonstrating extreme agitation was babbling on nonsensically for at least 15 minutes while I was getting orders and meds on board etc. to help him. Fifteen minutes is a long time to have someone haranguing you basically in a language you don't understand but, the perpertrator seems to think you should. (Think getting arrested by the Federales in Cabo during a spring break in the misspent days of your youth.) During this tirade suddenly in a clear, strong voice after a brief pause he said,"What happened to you man? You lost yourself somewhere, somehow."



• Yes, just relating that to you sent the hairs up on the back of my neck- again.

Kinda Funny Kinda Scary