Nov
6
Vietnam Special
Filed Under American Patriotism, Black Lions, Combat PTSD, Events, Family, Healing, History Channel, Return To Vietnam, Tears of a Warrior, Veteran's Day, Veterans, Vietnam Today | Comments Off
Veteran’s Day Week, the History Channel will present a special episode of the Vietnam War.
Mark your calendar to view this special presentation.
There is no better time to remember and thank those who served our country. Understanding what soldiers and familes went through during these times of conflict is important to all Americans.
Their story is in danger of being lost to history. The men who came home from the Vietnam War represent a second silent generation. These are the men who won every battle in a lost war. Using the same experiential approach to storytelling as WWII in HD, HISTORY gives these veterans a voice. Through a collection of color Vietnam footage never seen by the public from private collections, museums, the US government, veteran’s and news organizations as well as sources from Vietnam, they tell their stories and relive their struggles, courage and fears. This six-hour miniseries spans the massive initial troop build-up in 1965 to the fall of Saigon a decade later. Sound design, using popular music from that era, powerfully evokes the time period and experience.
Preview:
http://www.history.com/shows/vietnam-in-hd/videos/vietnam-in-hd-preview
Apr
14
WHEN STATISTICS ARE WRONG
Filed Under Tears of a Warrior, Vietnam Today | Comments Off
by Janet J. Seahorn, Ph.D
Ok, I’ve been duped and I am not too happy about it. Several of what I thought were reputable websites have been taunting for years that only about 1/3 (850,000) Vietnam veterans were still living. I must it admit it was an unbelievable number which is why I checked it out with other sites to confirm. Turns out all of these sites were wrong, DEAD WRONG!
This weekend Tony and I received his Vietnam Veteran’s of American magazine (March/April 2011). In an article, Not Dead Yet: Mortality Rates Among Vietnam Veterans, Patrick Brady explains where the misleading statistic originated and what the real numbers are… as far as anyone can estimate. It seems the polluted numbers came from a nine-minute video originally posted on YouTube by a group called Veterans Appreciation Alliance. What makes this even crappier is the group was “seeking sponsors and contributions for its Grateful Red, White, & Blue Appreciation Tour” (Brady, p. 29 March/April 2011). This is a pretty despicable way to prey on the hearts and minds of patriotic Americans and makes me even more annoyed. The group’s various websites (yep, they had more than one to capture audiences for their fund rising), even used the Naval Health Research Center as one of its resources. The Center was totally unaware of what was occurring. By the way this particular source was one reason I thought the data was accurate.
So where did this MYTH first originate; according to Brady it came from a phony website, The American War Museum, which seem to disseminate “much false information for reasons only its originator might know” (VVA, March/April 2011). A different site, The American War Library, appears to be run by another one man operation in California by the name of Phillip R.Coleman. Looks as if Mr. Coleman has over two dozen alias such as Otis Willie and Roger Simpson. Yikes!
Now, for the good news according to the Center for Disease Control: “In-country Vietnam veterans accounted for about a third of all Vietnam-era veterans, and if they were dying only slightly faster than the others (veterans serving in the military but not in Vietnam), then the 800,000 era veterans who died from 1960s through 2000 should have included fewer than 300,000 in-country veterans” (Brady, pp. 29-30, March/April 2011). What this really means is only around 325,000 to 350,000 out of 3,566,000 Vietnam veterans serving in-country have died, versus over 2.5 million. Quite a discrepancy in the number of deaths.
Appears many of us were duped by deceitful websites using fancy patriotic names. Thanks to the excellent article by Mr. Brady, I’ve learned my lesson. I am a little wiser, a bit less trusting, and a lot more aggravated at those who try to capitalize on the goodness of others.
Nov
29
Vietnam Today
Filed Under Return To Vietnam, Vietnam Today | 2 Comments
by Lawrence Fuller
This is a guest post by Larry Fuller who is presently in Vietnam on a road of rediscovery. Larry is a friend of a friend (Charlie Dana). Following is a shortened version of his letter home:
Recent storm knocked out power and computer at my hotel, so I have wandered over here to the post office to see about sending some stuff home. Low and behold…I have found some good computers to use. I wonder how much it’s going to cost?!
Since the storm knocked out power, most of us sat in the lobby and talked by candlelight. After everyone decided to go to bed, I decided to go out in the storm (it was just a little storm). I wanted to find this Indian restaurant, strangely named “Omar Khyam’s Restaurant.” I knew the guy. He struck me as an excellent businessman and very organized.
Wearing my Wal-Mart special bright yellow poncho, I wandered the deserted streets and BINGO! There it was…a beacon of Indian de-light! He had the generator running always hopeful for another customer…and I was it!
I pulled off the poncho, hung it on the coat rack in the corner, and found a table facing the street. Outside, the wind was whipping the branches of the trees and the rain was beating against the windows, Inside, it was as cozy as could be with gentle classical Spanish guitar music playing over the speakers. Yes…it was one of THOSE moments!
I decided to order the Lamb Curry with hot masala tea and relax. He and I talked. He was Indian and was one of these guys who just got up from where he was, got out of a bad situation, and had built 8 restaurants throughout Vietnam.
I took my time and enjoyed the meal. The storm lashed the streets and his restaurant’s background music couldn’t have been more appropriate. I had selected one of the more expensive dishes on the menu. After all, it was Australian lamb! I thought, “Dog gone it…I deserve it and am worth every penny.” Filled with the delicious meal, I finally got up, paid the $3.50 bill, donned my trusty poncho and stepped back out into the night.
The street was filled with the bustle of motor-bikes, trucks, bicycles, cars, peddle rickshaws, and other indescribable forms of transportation.
Suddenly, I heard an American voice behind me, “Can you tell me how to get to a park.” I twisted around and noted a gentleman about my age standing there. His name was Lloyd, and he was 60 years of age. He wanted a place where he could just sit and think. He had been an American Army draftee, who had served multiple tours in Vietnam way back when.
I could sense some sort of identity with him and could see on his face that he had struggled mightily with life. He was from Indiana. He needed someone to talk to and I didn’t mind. As a matter of fact I wanted to…talking with someone who cares and could use some help.
He had struggled with the demons that had crept inside him from that War. He had lived a life of alcoholism crashing from one disaster to the next. His latest setback was a home and a bank that had foreclosed on him. No one had helped him with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder until just lately.
He had been angry with the Army and angry with every thing. He had finally quit drinking 6 years ago and now…every day was a challenge. He said he had returned to where his Vietnamese Army camp was located and found the Buddhist temple where he once entered with a gun.
I didn’t push for details. He said he had just broken down in tears when he left the temple and I think this had been a good turning point for him.
We talked about Heaven and Hell, good and bad, the reason for our existence, and America. We both knew we had an appointment up the road. I said, “Let’s get up and find that park.” He was going to head for Laos the next day.
We found the park and he thanked me. We were both on the road and I am grateful for having met him.
May God bless him.