STAN DEANO USMC IN NAM 1966/1967 3/4 I WAS IN OPERATION HASTING , SEMPER FI
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STAN DEANO USMC IN NAM 1966/1967 3/4 I WAS IN OPERATION HASTING , SEMPER FI
I'm a Viet-Nam veteran, 6/23/69 - 8/13/70 w/ 1st air cavalry division's 229th Aviation battalion. 67n10/ Helicopter flight engineer primary MOS. 67n20 2cndary MOS Rotory wing turbine engine helicopter Repairman.
I served in Tahh Ninh, Song Be, Bu Dop, Cu Chi, Dau Tieng, Bein Hoa n 2 months TDY at Tahn Se Neuit AFB in Saigon as a medi vac FE. POE: Cam Rahn Bay..POExit Bien Hoa AFB.
I am a disabled veteran as a result of my tour in Nam.
I'm a Viet Nam US Army vet. I was a Pathfinder stationed in Phu Loi, attached to the 11th Aviation Battalion 1965-1966.
Ken
welcome home from a fellow vet who followed u Ken...
I see this is an old thread re-started. Thanks all of you vets for your service. My grandfather was WW1, father was WW2 and my late brother was in VN 68/69. Like the rest of you guys my brother didn't talk much about VN with others but what little he told me made me shake. Again, thanks all of you guys and gals.
Jack.
Welcome back to the "World" !
Do you miss the taste of "33 BA Muoi BA "?, Ham and Lima Beans?, how about "wait a minute vines" ? ,..... To the men of the 3rd Mar. Div. 3rd Force Recon Co. Quang Tri / Phu Bia, 69-71, You are thought of often.
You are more than welcome Jack, and thanx to ur father, grandfather and condolences on your late brother, may he rest in eternal piece...when next u speak to him as im sure u often do, tell him THANKS from a fellow VN vet
I am a VietNam vet also. In country from July 70-July 71. B-Btry (battling bastards) 5/42 FA. 2nd Field Forces.
I am also a GWVet, and I want to thank all the Vietnam Vets for their service and say welcome home. My dad (passed away in 2006-Agent Orange) was there twice and I remember when he came home the last time. I think all of the GWVets should give honor to those before use, they fought real wars and paid a much different price than we did.
WELCOME HOME BOYS
There's some sweet coincidence in this thread resurfacing after being asleep for a few years. Early last August four of my buds from the 553rd and I met in Las Vegas after not seeing each other in over 40 years. We had a ball, and it seemed like we'd only been apart a couple weeks. Grown, old men acting like kids again. We made it a mission to try to locate as many of the ol' guys as we could and see what happens. We thought it would be great to have a reunion later this year. Well, I just got back from having a planning meeting in LV with 17 of them and we're on for October. Same thing happened again with the dozen "new" members of the group.......war stories, and good fun. We've located 142 so far, 29 of which are in the big hangar in the sky. Each of them has stories about the other, some of which long forgotten, some even have pictures to back them up.................I would guess some folks wish there weren't that much evidence!:LOL: Anyway, it's just been great seeing those guys again.
PS; are you still out there John?
I served,my brother and five cousins Vietnam ranging from 1966 to 1973 all in country one in Korea. Father and 6 uncles served in WWII. My youngest son now serving in the US Marines. All that have or are serving deserve all the respect that should be given them in country or out. With out each and everyone of them and you that served we would not have the freedoms we now have. thats all I got to say, I find most vets don't talk about it much.:cool:
Bob,
Do you think the coincidence has anything to do with this numerology thing.:rolleyes:
Jack.
I too am a Viet-Nam Vet who suffers from the effects of herbicide exposure(Agent Orange). I however am more fortunate than most who suffer and have suffered and died from this. After 31 years of fighting with the VA, in and out of hospitals sick as a dog I was able to win 100 per cent compensation for my suffering, tho they WOULD NOT pay me for the Agent Orange contamination. What they did was to cover themselves by giving me 100 per cent and labeled it as POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, in spite of the fact that i have NEVER been institutionalized or even recommended for so much as an in-house evaluation, nor have i ever been treated for same by AMY VA Dr. or therapist.
This indicates the lenth to which the VA will go to avoid responsibility for this poisoning of SO MANY Viet-Nam Vets, all my meds, some 600+ per month issued are just that MEDS to control the physical symptoms of the poisoning which was affecting me and causeing illness even before i left Nam.
Its said that only the AIR FORCE applied the chemical, this is a blatant lie. so did the Army, the marines and the navy. Let me run down to u how this worked, After the 1968 TET OFFENSIVE it was decided that there was an imminent need to get rid of the dense foilage around base camps, as well as to clear same in order to set up base camps. The proposed areas for NEW camps would b sprayed dailey for 2 weeks. once the vegatation was dead, the area would b cleaned off of the dead vegatation and the cleared grounds would b then sprayed to prevent the vegatation growing back, THEN the perimeter for the next 500 yards would b sprayed so as to prevent cover close to the camp where the enemy could approach unseen. In addition, not knowing the effects on them by the chemical, there was abundant misuse and misapplication of the chemical. In one company in which i served, it was used inside the compound to keep vegatation from growing in the boundaries between the nato units stationed there, Not only were there American combat troops but also French, Phillipino and Australian. as a Helicopter flight engineer i was one of those who actually transported the chemical, in fact aviation personel such as myself actually gave the name AGENT ORANGE since it was delivered in either Olive drab or navy gray 55 gallon drum with a BIG ORANGE Stripe around them. The Popularity of the GET SMART TV series at the time led to the moniker AGENT ORANGE since the mil spec name on the barrels read defoiliation agent. Essentually after the TET Offensive in 68 there was NO CAPACITY in which a soldier could serve in Nam without being exposed in some manner. With so many surviveing vets yet living its easy to understand why the VA and the goverment would want to cover up and deny this. Its a can of worms that could cost BILLIONS in compensation.
AS Viet-Nam Veterans we filed a class action law suit against the manufacturers and marketers of the chemical, Dow, Monsanto, Allied and Union Carbide Chemical companies, DOW was the original contractor who sub contracted production to the other companies, while Georgia Pacific Forestry were the testers. Since these were goverment contracts, there was obstensively NO way for us to win, the hope was that they would put enough pressure on the gov such that THEY would b forthcoming. They weren't, and to avoid and end the publicity that was hurting their business, especially after the BO-Paul incident that the 5 companies set up a trust fund for the contaminees and based on their evaluation of how much responsibility rested with each company each contributed amounts that totaled 10 million and placed same in a National bank in Smithtown, NY where it sat for over a decade collecting interest since the VA was left to decide who could get funds from the fund. The requirement that any complainee would have to submit to a 5 part biopsy which they would have to pay for out of pocket, and the results of the biopsies were required to show " the significant presence of Dioxin(the active ingrediant in Agent Orange) in at least 3 of the biopsy results, Stomach, liver, spleen, heart, and lungs. To top this all off, results from but 3 sources were acceptable, Stanford University Hospital in California, Humana Medical Center in KY and Bathesda Naval Hospital. The closest acceptable testing site for me living in Michigan was Humana. i researched the cost, best i could hope for with discounts was 17k, JUST for the surgeries plus the cost of hospitalization, travel etc. In short, unless u were of a wealth where u didn't actually NEED compensation u would b unable to afford this, besides an extensive biopsy such as this was best done POST MORTEM, since it involved surgeries whereby tissue samples were taken from the 5 parts thru open surgery. Besides, unless u met the 3 with " significant dioxin pressence rule" u would have spent a chitload of loot and did a whole lot of suffering for NOTHING.
After another decade of pressure by the VFW, Viet-Nam Vets of America, DAV and other vets and vet organizations, the VA decided to disperse the trust fund among ONLY those Viet-Nam veterans already recievin compensation from either the VA or SS who had complaints of Agent Orange poisoning within their VA File. Not having recieved a disability rating from either at the time, i was not allowed to collect any money from the fund.
From what i can tell, the gov is engaged in much the same sweep under the rug tactics with the current Gulf War syndrome sufferers, so let us not forget to honor and praise those brave young soldiers who may well go thru as many years of fighting and suffering and death from this as i and so many Nam vets did.
As has been noted by some of u, Viet-Nam vets are in general not prone to talk much about their experience but to other Viet-Nam vets since few if any others can begin to comprehend what a tour in Nam did to one. After 10 years of treatment and counsoling at my and my families own expense I learned that the experience is NOT something one can get over, but one that u must learn to get past, the best way to do that is to talk about it, get it off your chest.
Thanx fellow vets of ALL our wars, and thanx to the families of same who suffered right along with the returning veterans. You can't imagine how many families that have been broken up and devastated by what war veterans suffered AFTER they returned home, and until very recently, after the 911 incident, the VA Hospital system was among the last places u wanted to go for treatment of Agent Orange poisoning. Your only hope of compensation was to so suffer from post traumatic strees in addition to ur physical ailments fom exposure such that they could write u off in compensation for THAT, not the poisoning, JUST LIKE they finally did me, after 31 years. As I expect would so many vets say, in spite of all this, i would gladly go to serve all over again were i called upon, and just as i did, do so honorably. Let the fact that i dislike many of the things that i went thru not give u the impression that i do not yet LOVE AMERICA and still think its the greatest country on Earth. BTW I am Black, born in 1949 u may well have clue what all ELSE i have suffered in this country during the racially turbulent 50's and 60's. Still this is MY country as much as anyone else's and thus it is my obligation to serve when called upon.
You've STILL got that Twilight Zone theme playing in your head don't you Jack?:LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack F
Ok lets see some of those young guns :LOL: Here's mine, that's me on the right. 1965
Ken
I was lucky - I'm a Viet Nam era vet that never made it there though my battalion deployed several months after I got out - and if you were army then you know what happens to combat engineers in war zones.
I too am a Viet Nam era vet that didn't serve in country. The closest made it was Utapao, Thailand. Just a young P3 ground pounding sailor deployed to an Air Force base.
So, THAT'S what you look like without a beard! Otherwise, nothing else has changed!;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
Well okay, since you started it, here's a crew pic from some time in '68, I'm standing to the (your) right of the nose gear.
yes i do know what happens to combat engineers deployed in war zone for the US Army, even so, tho u didn't actually serve in country u served in suport of those of us who DID serve in country and i for one would like to thank u for THAT....Thanx...
I was never in country, but was in the Navy from '68 to '72 at the pilot training base in Corpus Christi working on radial recip engines. There was a big civilian ARADMAC operaton on post where they rebuilt Huey's and Cobras, and things became more focused for me in '71 when I saw a Huey go by on a truck, just the burned out shell, and a 'What? Me Worry' Wiley Coyote nose art. I had seen that Huey in a magazine a just few months earlier with the crew posing beside their plane.
The UH-1D ( I think it was a "D") used to fold up like a book when hit in the boom with a RPG,...... Some of those egg beaters would burn down to nothing the fire was so hot,.. I was told they had magnesium air frames ?Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
Uncle Bob, your lookin' good !! great photo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter
I was a UH-1, AH1, OH56, OH6 and CH47 Chinook Helicopter flight engineer tho i never actually crewed anything but the OH6 LOCH the AH1 Cobra and the UH-1 series including a M model gunship. AND yes, they were very flamable, much of the air frame was magnesium which DOES burn and quite hot too. during my tour i had 5 FORCED LANDINGS(read that crashes) of helicopters i crewed, 4 of which i was on board. The 5th i was not, at that point i was an AH1 Cobra chief and chiefs do not fly on Cobra's, sometimes, depending the mission, not on the OH6 or the OH58 either, and never on the MASH famous OH13.
In Nam i was assigned every mission a Helicopter was used for, including a 2 month stint as a med evac crew chief out of Tahn Se Neiut air base/Saigon/Cholon
and the last 3 moinths of my tour as a cheif on a UH1 Mike Model Gun ship in the 1st Air Cav's 229th Aviation Battalion. Our Charge was cavalry air support for the 1st air cav's 1/9 Artillery, 25th Infantry and the BIG RED 1 infantry in 3 corps( central South Viet-Nam).
I was 16 when my parents signed the papers . Turned 17 in September of 1973 and was active duty by October 10th 1973 . I never left the USA since Nam was winding down . I did use all the benefits that came with it though made me better .
Bluestang67, tho the war was winding down when u became active duty and u never left the states you did serve during the Viet-Nam era and as such supported those of us who DID serve in Nam.
I was home a few years by 73,(came home in July of 70) there were still service men and women serving in harms way, believe me when i say, whatever capacity u served in or where u served ur support was im sure much appreciated. I am one who does appreciate that, as i do ALL military service personel past present and future.
bluestang67Quote:
Originally Posted by bluestang67
Sounds familiar likewise I just turned 17 when I signed up, I took an oath to protect my Country. I stayed Stateside also but my older brother was there. He was in his second term when I joined, he had been in Germany and volunteered for Viet Nam. My brother died from cancer three years ago he just turned 62 got his first S.S Check it had to be sent back because he died before the end of the Month. Like the others had mentioned my brother didn’t talk about his time in Viet Nam.
I wonder how many brothers were in at the same time during Viet Nam.
If I had it to do all over again I would do it in a Heart Beat. I was in from Jan. 64 to Jan 67.
Richard
My brother went to nam before i did, he was back by the time i got in country, but i had an uncle there, my father's youngest brother when i went, he DEROS'd before i did tho.
As for Nam Vet's talking about it, few do unless its to another vet who also served there, reason seems to b that other than that, no opne quite grasps what it was like....
That and the fact that returnin Nam Vets didn't get the best of treatment, even from the general public...
I came back to the world thru Oakland, when we debarked there were a crown of protesters marchin about, most of em grungy hippie types who obviously never served in any capacity protestin US as if we were murderers and such.
Almost went to the stockade bout that, i went off n charged em...
I understand what you are saying. I was spit on, called baby killer...etc when I returned home. As far as the public was concerned we were lower than snakes bellies for being over there doing what we were sent there to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWizard455
This pass Friday I was at the largest Army/Navy surplus store in this area looking for a box to make my tool box from and I felt like screaming at the clecks in the store for the lack of Vietnam era items to buy. It was like the whole Nam era has been pushed back in some dark corner to cover its shame. Oh there were a few bumper stickers and a couple of old unit patches for sale but when I ask if they had anything from the 2nd Field Forces, Vietnam era, I was told no. One older man said, "We havent had any of that stuff in years, alot of new wars have come and gone since then so are only carry whats resent now". Talk about a hit in the gut, that was one. As I walked out I thought to myself,"Its been 39 years since I was there and we have been forgotten".
Thats why we dont talk about it. Only those who were there understand.
Larry
Crazyrat, i was fortunate that after AIT, and Jump sch, i was in the 1st Air Cav, when i came home i was stationed at Ft. Hood, the remainder of my 6 years service.
The hell of it was, it was my intention to make a career of the military, but i was starting to have bouts of illness b4 i left country. by the time i was home a couple years it was worse. the military response turned from minor medical treatment, to corporal punishment because THEY couldn't figure out what happened to me between the time i went and the time i came home. Of course they decided it was nothing........
once it was clear that not only was i NOT going to get any medical assistance, i was going to suffer corporal punishment for being sick, it was time to go. I managed to recover my hghest rank by the end of my last enlistment and got out; 12/4/68-12/3/74 Company A, B, D,HHQ 229th aviation battalion, 1st air cavalry division..6/23/69-7/13/70......RPSV
Still, im able to get my unit patches, my unit still exists...silver lining to every cloud huh ?
Hey Guys, vets to vets, those of us who SAW combat in any service, any time...
despite it all, wasn't it the most alive time u had in ur life ? the time u were most alert, most supportive, most dependable in ur whole life ?
that time when u could honestly feel u had the whole weight of country on ur shoulders...and tho u mourn u brothers, AND sisters in war lost, ur proud of them AND urself...FOR them and urself ?....Amen ?
amen!!!!!!!!:d
Wow....Im glad this thread was revived....I didnt realize how many of my Viet Nam brothers were here!....I was in country stationed in Long Than North with the 2nd Signal group, Aviation Det. 68-69.......Fun times, is all Im gonna say....Welcome home brothers!!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...8-69/Nam13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...68-69/Nam1.jpg
My brother who is 6 years older was in at the same time . He served 1971 to 1975 stationed at Ft Meyers , He was into computer stuff then like now . He mentioned White House guest lists but also stayed stateside his term . He wears tie's to work and I try getting the grease of my hands works out great .Quote:
Originally Posted by ford2custom
Headquarters SAC DOCDC/55th Strat Recon Wing .......... EC-135A "Looking Glass" Airborne Command Post computer operations ............. four TDY trips to beautiful Southeast Asia 1968-1971 ............ MACV, Da Nang, Takhli, Nakom Phanom ............ belonging to SAC DO, we were responsible for the creation and delivery of the SIOP (Single Integrated Operational Plan) ............. our bird, tail number 23583, the ADA bird (Airborne Data Automation) .......... we were testing the new SAC real time system
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ADA-Bird-2.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ss/ADABird.jpg
I was an instant winner in the '69 draft lottery. I was assigned to the 1/46th Inf, 196th LIB, in VN from 07/70 to 07/71. I was a regular infantry soldier. I retired from the Army in 2001.
I went to Viet Nam in October of 1972. The Paris Peace Talks had just broken down, so President Nixon started a huge bombing campaign on Hanoi. We started getting increasing rocket attacks. By then, we were staying in our "secure" area, but we did have to provide our own area defense of course. I was made a M-60 gunner on M-113 APC and had no idea of what I was doing! Fortunately, we never got the expected attack, only rocket fire. Perhaps the other side was just waiting for the end also.
The Vietnamese came back to the table and a plan was resolved. I think the date for cease fire was Feb 11, 1973? Anyway, we were on perimeter defense that night, into the morning. In the early morning darkness, we began to get some rockets fired into our area. At the predetermined time of cease-fire, the rockets stopped. Eight AM if I remember correctly. I recall this as being a very strange and surreal moment. We were told that we had been in the last combat action of the war. But this is embarrassing to me as I had not experienced anything like others had endured.
Anyway, the war was over. I sure wish it had been the last one.
Hey we was in country the same time. 5/42 FA B-Btry, 2nd Field Force.Quote:
Originally Posted by 36tudoor
i seem to have been a bit older than MOST when i went into the military as well as when i ended up IN-Country...had my 20th Bday IN-COUNTRY less than halfway thru my tour.
I was a bit over a year out of hgh school, graduated June 14, 1967, and jus shy of 3 months past my 19th Bday, Sept. 11, 1968, on Dec 4 1968 when i enlisted into the military RA67165179, Basic at Ft. Campbell, KY; AIT at Ft. Eustis , VA; Jump at Ft. Bragg N.C..67n10 Primary, Helicopter Flight Engineer; 67n20 secondary Rotory Wing Turbine engine Acraft Repairman. Trained on ALL the UH1 series, The AH1, The OH13, OH6, OH57, and the CH47 Chinook... I worked on all at one point or another during my 6 years in the military, I actually crewed all the UH1 series, includin a Mike Model Gunship which was a gun laden A or B model UH1, the AH1, the OH6 LOCH, and before the end of my time in the military at Ft. Hood, the CH47. A Co 15 S&T BN 1st Air cav.
In-Country 6/23/69@ CamRahn Bay;to Bien Hoa for orientation; to A CO. 229th AVN BN 1st Air Cav, Tahn Ninh RSVN, crewed H and 1 B model UH1; HHQ. CO. 229th AVN BN 1st Air Cav Tahn Ninh RSVN crewed OH6; D. CO. 229th AVN BN 1st Air Cav Dau Tieng RSVN crewed AH1's; TDY 1/9 HHQ CO 1st Air Cav Bu Dopp Forward Fire support Base, Bu Dopp RSVN crewed OH6 FAC Support and Spotter w/ AF OV10 Squaudron from Tayh Ninh; B CO. 229th AVN BN 1st Air Cav Dau Tieng RSVN crewed UH1D; TDY B CO. 229th AVN BN DET 1st Air Cav Cu Chi RSVN crewed UH1H;HHQ CO 229th AVN BN DET Tahn SE Neiut AFB RSVN crewed UH1H; TDY B CO. 229th AVN BN DET 1st Air Cav crewed OH6 Song Be Forward Fire Support Base 1/9 D CO. ART 1st Air Cav crewed OH6 FAC support/spotter; B CO. 229th AVN BN 1st Air Cav Dau Tieng RSVN crewed UH1M Nitehawk Gunship..6brrl 7.62mm minigun, 2 x 17ea 2.5" rocket pods, 20mm Cannon, 40mm nose mount grenade launcher. a distinction, the A,B,C and M model Huey is essentually the 2dr version, 7 full pacs/troops max, D and H models are essentually the 4dr UH1's 11 full pac/troop capacity.
Most would have considered much of what i did as a FE in Nam, Crazy or brave or both, I felt niether, actually scared chitless from day one to day last. IM told that is bravery, since bravery isn't action in the absence of fear but in the face of it, for me, when the action was hot as it often was, i was busy as a cat covering do do, too much so to feel brave or fear till afterwards at which time im shakin like a leaf on a tree but can't wait to go do it again. as flight personel, Army personell generally got 4 of 24hrs or so to rest in a relatively safe base camp, with showers, clean hooches, fresh cooked chow etc, all of which was great, and points of great envy by most other service personell, in fact, DOOR GUNNERS flew right door and were ALL volenteers, usually beginin with ZERO flight experience who the chief was charged to train who THOUGHT that job was so much better than whatever they were doin b4, most didn't THINK that very long after they got into it tho. Like most any JOB; from the outside lookin in, someone good at the JOB makes it LOOK easy and ALL GOOD, its always a lot more to it than u know tho and a lot less glamorous than u usually think. For me, the best thing about my Job was the diversity of action in my field of service 2cnd to the unbelievable gratitude from those troops in ground pounder and or ground positions i flew in support of, even whether i was medi vac crew, or mail drop, didn't seem to matter to those guys,gratitude and appreciation seemed to b bout tit for tat.
For those of u folk in support of whom i may have flown during my time in Nam, thanx guys, AND gals, trust me when i say, whatever i may have done for YOU, the gratitude u showed me for it was 10 times that to ME...and welcome home from a vet who is JUST AS proud of YOU as u may have been of HIM, just as proud FOR you....
As i have said elsewhere, there was and has since been no time in my life that i felt more responsible, more dependable, more alert and alive, more appreciated than when i served in Nam...
I also was a Viet Nam Era vet, althuogh it is now refereed to as Viet Nam War. I was a Navy FT and was trained to operste a range finder for 5" guns. The destroyer I was on did shore bombardment in Viet Nam.I ,however was taken off the ship in the Phippines suffering from colitis(Navy food or nerves?). I was medevacted home with causlties that were in a lot worse shape then me and was very moved by that. Those that fought for our great country have my deepest resect.
I was later retired out . I also lost some hearing from so much gun fire and absolutly not prvided with protection. To top that off I had my head broke by a wayward heaveing line while tying up a can in Boston. 3 strikes and your out.
I have met many vets and every one of them whether they have seen combat or not u still served and u are a vet . U signed your life away for your country and u deserve what ever is allowed if wounded or hurt.
There are a lot of non combat causlties.
I was recently a poll bearer for my father in law. who served WWII and was with the 4th mnmarine div and made 3 landings including Iwo Jima and saw a lot of combat and he felt the same way.Don't matter if u were a desk clerk or SEAL u served was all that mattered.
As we were laying him to rest it was very moving the way the honer guard saluted the last salute and I felt the reverence that was eminating from those young marines and I felt very proud to be an American and to have had the honer to serve my country. No BS. Bob
AMEN!!! Cape Cod...Amen...
My sister’s husband died the last week in November 09, 62 years old got his first SS check also like my brother and he had a military funeral the first week in Dec. He was a Viet Nam Vet serving in the Air Force. It’s hard for anyone to sit through a Military Funeral but being a Military person from that era seeing the old Solders dressed and paying honor to a fallen comrade is really touching. Watching the Flag being folded with such precision, the tears really fall. When you hear the 21-gun salute it gives a feeling that’s hard to describe. When the hugs and tears stop one is proud to be a part of doing what was asked of him/her during a time of War. My brother also had a Military Funeral being a Viet Nam Vet. He had cancer all through his body and they were testing for Agent Orange but when he died they said the file died with him so it was not confirmed. He was not bitter knowing he had a short time to live and he was still proud that he served his Country. My Mother in-law also had a Military Funeral she was in the Army during WWII.
Richard