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This page is updated daily please refresh your browser Vipers Vietnam Veterans Page, A Vietnam Veteran & Proud Web Site is dedicated to those who served in Vietnam and returned home, and to those who are still waiting to return, and to those who will never return. God bless, and thank you for your service and sacrifice. About Vietnam The Vietnam war was the longest in our nation's history. Two American advisors were killed on July 8, 1959. Although 1959 is marked as the beginning of the war on Panel 1, East wall, The first American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Air Force T-Sgt. Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. He is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956. His name was added to the Wall on Memorial Day 1999. The last casualties in connection with the war occurred on May 15, 1975, during the Mayaquez incident. With the addition of four names added on May 5 ,2009 the total is now 58,261 names listed on the Memorial Wall. Approximately 2.7 million Americans served in the war zone; 300,000 were wounded and approximately 75,000 permanently disabled. Officially there are still 1,870 Americans unaccounted for from SE Asia. Approximately 1200 of these are listed as missing (MIA's, POW's, and others). Vietnam was a savage, in your face war where death could and did strike from anywhere with absolutely no warning. The brave young men and women who fought that war paid an awful price of blood, pain and suffering. As it is said: "ALL GAVE SOME ... SOME GAVE ALL" Click on arrow to start after page loads "Welcome Home" Written & performed by Eric Horner with guest appearance by Lee Greenwood (God Bless The USA) courtesy of Curb Records. CD: Welcome Home CD single Label: American Son Records . Do not copy , not to be used on another web site. Used With Permission from Eric Horner. Thanks Eric & Lee Peace Be With You Always!! "I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades gather because they long to be with the men who once acted at their best; men who suffered and sacrificed, who were stripped of their humanity. I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate and the military. But I know them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades... Such good men." From "These Good Men" by Michael Norman How can we repay these great warriors? By not wasting the gift, they gave us. No gift is greater than sacrifice for another, and those war dead made that sacrifice and, if asked to repeat their lives, would do it once more. Yet it is up to us, in how we live, to make sure those sacrifices were not made in vain. They died to give us liberty, we must honor and repay them by never surrendering that dearly won gift. If you are a draft dodger or a Flag burner, or an antiwar VVAW coward, you are not welcome here, this web site is way beyond what your small brain can grasp. Get lost! Di Di Mau!!!!!! The Vietnam war was not lost on the battlefield. No American force in ANY other conflict fought with more determination or sheer courage than the Vietnam Veteran. For the first time in our history America sent it's young men and women into a war run by inept politicians who had no grasp of military strategies and no moral will to win. These young soldiers were led by "top brass" who were concerned mainly with furthering their own careers, "getting their tickets punched" just close enough to combat, to become a medal wearing hero. As the Late Col David Hackworth called them, "the perfumed Princes." Most of these officers neither understood the nature of the war nor had a clue about the impossible mission with which they had tasked their soldiers. Even more importantly than our Government's mishandling of the war was the misreporting by the press. A self serving Media that penned stories filled with inaccuracies, deliberate omissions, biased presentations and blatant distorted interpretations. ( Television's Vietnam, The Impact of Media ) The Vietnam War became more about journalists (Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite) than about a war for the survival of liberal democracy in Southeast Asia. If only they loved their country's young and willing warriors as much as they loved their own children. The welfare of the troops and the TRUTH took a back seat to the press' sense of its own importance. Walter Cronkite and the other left wing journalists who were to swept up in their own danse macabre to even notice the murderous consequences of their own malfeasance -- or to hear the demands of simple decency. Even to this day some in the Western Media have disregarded their responsibility to truth that comes with freedom of press. We never lost a battle in Vietnam but we lost the war at home under color of the coward and liar. Thanks to John Kerry the "Opportunist" and Jane Fonda the "Communist" Thirty years ago we watched a spectacle of John Kerry and the Winter Soldier bunch - composed of largely fraudulent "veterans" and overt traitors financed by Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden -- indelibly stain the honor of every legitimate Vietnam vet. Kerry's Senate testimony paved the way for a parasitic political career constructed on the heroism, sacrifice, and dedication of men and women whose reputations are tarnished to this day by his reprehensible behavior. It was Kerry and Fonda and their fellow protestors who were directly responsible for creating the false image of Vietnam veterans as a "barbarian horde" which raped and murdered innocent civilians daily as a matter of policy. It's that mythology, first popularized in the testimony of Lt. Kerry and repeated for more than three decades by the media and the popular culture, that continues to haunt our young men and women serving in the military today, propaganda that threatens current U.S. foreign policy and our national security. "....Recent scholarship on the military aspects of the war argue persuasively that the military situation on the ground following the battles of 1968 made military victory in the south a possibility and this seems confirmed by the relatively peaceful years of 1970 and 1971. This poses the interesting question of whether it is possible to win a war, if no one believes it, do you really win the war?" It can be debated that we should never have fought that war. It can also be argued that the young Americans who fought so courageously, never losing a single major battle, helped in a huge way to WIN THE COLD WAR. This site is dedicated to those brave Vietnam Veterans, men and women, living and dead who did their duty to the fullest in war of attrition we were not ALLOWED to win. We never ran, never abandoned our wounded, never stopped loving America even when America abandoned us ... and still abandons our POW/MIA's. We, the Vietnam Veterans ... shall never forget! Welcome home Bro's and Sisters it's been a long time coming Welcome home weary soldiers welcome home! "Vietnam... remembered by those who should forget, forgotten by those who should remember" Col. George E. "Bud' Day A Special Message from Col George E. "Bud" Day about the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation Dear Fellow Patriot, When John Kerry decided to transform truth into fiction and honor into dishonor, we took action. We had no choice. It was our duty to protect and defend not just our honor, but the honor of every past, present and future member of the armed forces. Fellow prisoners-of-war and I came forward to SPEAK THE TRUTH about our imprisonment and to explain the detrimental consequences of electing John Kerry, a man who defamed both our country and our warriors, to be our president. That nationwide grassroots movement exposed the lies that John Kerry had been telling more than thirty years . Once John Kerry's true character was revealed, the American people rejected him, and on Election day, Kerry conceded the presidential election. That year, American Film Renaissance named Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal the "Documentary with the Greatest Impact". We told our story. And we changed history. However We have not yet completed our mission It is essential that we document and recount this courageous victory over years and years of misinformation about Vietnam. Our victory was one small step in support of our mission "... to set the record straight, factually, about Vietnam and those who fought there." By continuing the efforts of the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, we want to build on our momentum. It is up to us to put an end to the "Hollywood Version" of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam Veteran. Please help us write the final chapter of this historic effort and help fund the book and film that will document the honor and integrity of Vietnam Veterans. Help us reveal the truth about their service and sacrifices. Help us continue to protect and defend the honor of all those members of our armed forces who gave all, and all those who gave some. Help us to guarantee that a factual record is documented to salute the honor of those who lived and died believing in "Duty, Honor, Country" their children ,grandchildren and so on deserve, have earned the right, to be able to read about the stories of heroism exhibited by their fathers, uncles, brothers, sisters and others they never got to know. Our success resulted not only in swaying the Presidential election; it also resulted in numerous lawsuits. I consider the lawsuits to be overwhelmingly successful - because truth prevailed. The Stolen Honor campaign was completely truthful, and numerous lawsuits all ruled in our favor. The remaining debt, including legal fees totals just over $100,000, a small price to pay to defend our honor and the honor of our great nation. We need your help to bring closure to this chapter of Stolen Honor. I am asking proud Americans like you, for your finacial support We are committed to speaking the truth, a truth that is not being told. As the debate over our country's current wars continue to rage, it is time for us to rise up and be heard, I want our service members to hear us load and clear - that TRUTH will always prevail and that their sacrifices will never be forgotten. Please donate today to VVLF (Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation). Col George E. "Bud" Day Director and President, Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation To make a donation to VVLF, please visit https://secure.donationreport.com/donate.html?key=ECHZG3K7NFFR or Mailing Address VVLF PO Box 354 Newtown Square, PA 19073-0354 The Vietnam Veterans' Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible, Federal Tax Identification Number: 20-1985016. The official registration and financial information of the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1 (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. STOLEN HONOR WOUNDS THAT NEVER HEAL Click arrow to start, you may have to click several times or right click on the player and click play several times Go here to purchase the CD, show your Democratic friends the truth about John Kerry Stolen Honor ( former Vietnam POWs ) "The Vietnam veteran remains the object of fantasy, not an object of history. And this is not always a bad thing. With every accusation directed against the vet as "committing atrocities," comes the laudatory image of the vet as superhuman warrior. And with every attempt to portray the Vietnam veteran as being "just another soldier," comes the risk of marginalization from mainstream American interests. Today Americans are interested in Vietnam veterans, perhaps fancifully to be sure, but for reasons now increasingly obvious. The war, despite being on the other side of the globe, never left America, and despite South Vietnam's 1975 surrender, has never ceased to be fought in the combat zone always most important to Americans: the United States" Nathan Alexander Viper's is now the home of "Vietnam Veterans & Proud Site-Ring" The largest Vietnam Veteran Web Ring on the Internet Webmasters please consider joining our SiteRing, no pop up ads, no commercials, nothing to sell. Just honor our Vets click on the join button now. Go HERE for the choice of numerous different Ring Graphics, General Guidlines, Ring Code Instructions and Disclaimer We collect no personal information on this site Copyright © 2002-2009 Vietnam Veterans & Proud Site Ring SiteRing by Bravenet.com 333 Vietnam Veteran Websites and growing VIETNAM WAR FACTS VIETNAM WAR MYTHS The following link is the true history of the Vietnam War, great for students and those who want the truth. VIETNAM: LOOKING BACK - AT THE FACTS VIETNAM 365 days of complete boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror Run mouse over graphic The worst atrocity was committed when America abandoned us! Page updates by midnight CT Weather Forecast Weather Forecast Weather Forecast Weather Forecast News on this date during the Vietnam war March 16 1968: U.S. troops massacre South Vietnamese In what would become the most publicized war atrocity committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam, a platoon slaughters between 200 and 500 unarmed villagers at My Lai 4, a cluster of hamlets in the coastal lowlands of the northernmost region of South Vietnam. My Lai 4 was situated in a heavily mined region where Viet Cong guerrillas were firmly entrenched and numerous members of the participating platoon had been killed or maimed during the preceding month. Lt. William L. Calley, a platoon leader, was leading his men on a search-and-destroy mission; the unit entered the village only to find women, children, and old men. Frustrated by unanswered losses due to snipers and mines, the soldiers took out their anger on the villagers. During the ensuing massacre, several old men were bayoneted; some women and children praying outside the local temple were shot in the back of the head; and at least one girl was raped before being killed. Others were systematically rounded up and led to a nearby ditch where they were executed. Reportedly, the killing was only stopped when Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, an aero-scout helicopter pilot, landed his helicopter between the Americans and the fleeing South Vietnamese, confronting the soldiers and blocking them from further action against the villagers. The incident was subsequently covered up, but came to light a year later. An Army board of inquiry investigated the massacre and produced a list of 30 persons who knew of the atrocity. Only 14, including Calley and his company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, were charged with crimes. All eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted by courts-martial except Calley, who was found guilty of personally murdering 22 civilians and sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was reduced to 20 years by the Court of Military Appeals and further reduced later to 10 years by the Secretary of the Army. Proclaimed by much of the public as a "scapegoat," Calley was paroled in 1974 after having served about a third of his 10-year sentence. 1975: South Vietnamese flee Pleiku and Kontum The withdrawal from Pleiku and Kontum begins, as thousands of civilians join the soldiers streaming down Route 7B toward the sea. In late January 1975, just two years after the cease-fire established by the Paris Peace Accords, the North Vietnamese launched Campaign 275. The objective of this campaign was to capture the city of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The battle began on March 4 and the North Vietnamese quickly encircled the city with five main force divisions, cutting it off from outside support. The South Vietnamese 23rd Division, which had been sent to defend the city, was vastly outnumbered and quickly succumbed to the communists. As it became clear that the city--and probably the entire Darlac province-would fall to the communists, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu decided to withdraw his forces in order to protect the more critical populous areas to the south. Accordingly, he ordered his forces in the Central Highlands to pull back from their positions. Abandoning Pleiku and Kontum, the South Vietnamese forces began to move toward the sea. By March 17, civilians and soldiers came under heavy communist attack; the withdrawal, scheduled to take three days, was still underway on April 1. Only 20,000 of 60,000 soldiers ever reached the coast; of 400,000 refugees, only 100,000 arrived. The survivors of what one South Vietnamese general described as the "greatest disaster in the history of the ARVN [Army of the Republic of Vietnam]" escaped down the coastal highway toward Saigon. The North Vietnamese overran the South Vietnamese forces in both the Central Highlands and further north at Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang. The South Vietnamese collapsed as a cogent fighting force and the North Vietnamese continued the attack all the way to Saigon. South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally to North Vietnam on April 30 and the war was over. POW/MIA's Reported missing on this date during the Vietnam war. Since the end of American involvement in Southeast Asia, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans have been received. Nearly 1000 of these reports are first-hand, eyewitness reports. Many concern American prisoners who were not released at the end of the war. Collectively, they present a compelling case that Americans are still held against their will by an enemy many of us have forgotten. March 16 Click on name for Bio 1 03/16/66 UNDERWOOD PAUL GERARD USAF HORNELL NY 2 03/16/68 ERICKSON DAVID WAYNE USMC MINNEAPOLIS MN 3 03/16/68 KRAUSMAN EDWARD L. USMC BURBANK CA 4 03/16/69 BARNES CHARLES R. ARMY FULLERTON PA 5 03/16/69 BATT MICHAEL L. ARMY DEFIANCE OH 6 03/16/69 BOBE RAYMOND E. ARMY TARRANT AL 7 03/16/69 FOSTER MARVIN L. ARMY HUBBARD TX 8 03/16/69 SMITH DAVID R. ARMY DAYTON OH 9 03/16/71 SCRIVENER STEPHEN RUSSELL USAF TAMPA FL 10 03/16/71 SEELEY DOUGLAS MILTON USAF MARIETTA OH Click on the graphic to sign. To: Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien Vietnamese Ambassador to the US 1233 - 20th Street NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036 Casualties from the State of Illinois on this date during the Vietnam war. March 16 EDWARD JOSEPH ARIAZ PFC - E2 - Marine Corps - Regular 23 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, November 26, 1944 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 0 years His tour began on Feb 1, 1968 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE Body was recovered Panel 44E - Line 65 ROBERT LEE BODINE SSGT - E6 - Army - Regular 101st Airborne Division 24 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Wednesday, December 08, 1943 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 6 years His tour began on Jun 25, 1967 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In THUA THIEN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MISADVENTURE Body was recovered Panel 44E - Line 66 NORMAN RICHARD CATLIN PVT - E1 - Marine Corps - Regular 20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Friday, February 28, 1947 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 1 years Casualty was on Mar 16, 1967 In QUANG TRI, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY OTHER EXPLOSIVE DEVICE Body was recovered Panel 16E - Line 89 BRADLEY KENT GAUS CPL - E4 - Army - Selective Service 25th Inf Div 21 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, February 20, 1949 From QUINCY, IL Length of service 1 years His tour began on Aug 11, 1969 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1970 In , SOUTH VIETNAM Hostile, died of wounds, GROUND CASUALTY OTHER EXPLOSIVE DEVICE Body was recovered Panel 12W - Line 5 FREDERICK EUGENE GILMAN PFC - E3 - Army - Selective Service 9th Infantry Division 20 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, October 30, 1949 From WARRENSBURG, IL Length of service 0 years His tour began on Feb 1, 1970 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1970 In LONG AN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MULTIPLE FRAGMENTATION WOUNDS Body was recovered Panel 12W - Line 6 JAMES KENNETH HUGHES SP5 - E5 - Army - Regular 1st Inf Div 29 year old Married, Negro, Male Born on Monday, December 28, 1936 From LAWRENCEVILLE, IL Length of service 6 years His tour began on Oct 10, 1965 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1966 In , SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MULTIPLE FRAGMENTATION WOUNDS Body was recovered Panel 06E - Line 14 CHARLES B JEFFRIES JR SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular 1st Sig Bde 20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, April 22, 1945 From AURORA, IL Length of service 2 years His tour began on Aug 15, 1965 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1966 In , SOUTH VIETNAM NON-HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY ACCIDENTAL HOMICIDE Body was recovered Panel 06E - Line 15 HENRY L JOHNSON CPL - E4 - Army - Regular 173rd Airborne Brigade 20 year old Single, Negro, Male Born on Wednesday, March 10, 1948 From ROCKFORD, IL Length of service 0 years His tour began on Dec 7, 1967 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MULTIPLE FRAGMENTATION WOUNDS Body was recovered Panel 45E - Line 2 GLENN DAVID MC ELROY LTC - O5 - Army - Reserve MACV ADVISORS 36 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Monday, June 09, 1930 From SIDNEY, IL Length of service 16 years His tour began on Mar 15, 1966 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1967 In , LAOS Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING - NONCREW AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND Body was not recovered Panel 16E - Line 95 JOHN WALTER RAPEY HM2 - E5 - Navy - Regular 31 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, October 20, 1935 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 14 years Casualty was on Mar 16, 1967 In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM NON-HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY ILLNESS, DISEASE Body was recovered Panel 16E - Line 97 WILLIAM JOHN RISSE ADRC - E7 - Navy - Regular 43 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Friday, August 13, 1926 From MOLINE, IL Length of service 22 years Casualty was on Mar 16, 1970 In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM NON-HOSTILE, FIXED WING - CREW AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND Body was recovered Panel 12W - Line 10 THOMAS WILLIAM SCOTT CPL - E4 - Army - Regular 101st Airborne Division 18 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Wednesday, May 25, 1949 From CANTON, IL Length of service 1 years His tour began on Sep 26, 1967 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In THUA THIEN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MISADVENTURE Body was recovered Panel 45E - Line 5 CHARLES A ZIONTS SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular 173rd Airborne Brigade 20 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Thursday, September 13, 1945 From CICERO, IL Length of service 2 years His tour began on Dec 21, 1965 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1966 In , SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE Body was recovered Panel 06E - Line 17 "If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams The National Debt: Patriot Petitions John F. Kerry Must Resign John Kerry has a long and well-documented history of providing "aid and comfort" to the enemy in time of war -- particularly in the case of North Vietnam. By his own account, Kerry violated the UCMJ, the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. Code while serving as a Navy officer, and he further stands in violation of Article three, Section three of the U.S. Constitution which defines treason as "giving aid and comfort" to the enemy in time of warfare. Thus, in accordance with the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3, which states, "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President ... having previously taken an oath ... to support the Constitution of the United States, [who has] engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof," We, the People of the United States, demand that Kerry resign his seat in the Senate. Let your voice be heard! Join the 214,032 people who have already signed this petition: Sign Petition Here Permission was recieved to use the song "Welcome Home" granted by Eric Horner. Proceeds from this song "Welcome Home" will initally benefit the Wall and at some point in the future Homeless Vets This site nor the author will receive any benefit from this work that is donated from "the heart". Viper's in the news Source Watch 1.3 February 2007: The message spreads to Vietnam Veterans News Max Old Media Neither Credible, Trustworthy nor Relevant Important information for all Veterans and Americans Click on Eagle below go to the Gathering Of Eagles web site Please give Viper a vote here Please Vote for Viper's site! 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About Vietnam
The Vietnam war was the longest in our nation's history. Two American advisors were killed on July 8, 1959. Although 1959 is marked as the beginning of the war on Panel 1, East wall, The first American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Air Force T-Sgt. Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. He is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956. His name was added to the Wall on Memorial Day 1999. The last casualties in connection with the war occurred on May 15, 1975, during the Mayaquez incident. With the addition of four names added on May 5 ,2009 the total is now 58,261 names listed on the Memorial Wall.
Approximately 2.7 million Americans served in the war zone; 300,000 were wounded and approximately 75,000 permanently disabled.
Officially there are still 1,870 Americans unaccounted for from SE Asia. Approximately 1200 of these are listed as missing (MIA's, POW's, and others).
Vietnam was a savage, in your face war where death could and did strike from anywhere with absolutely no warning. The brave young men and women who fought that war paid an awful price of blood, pain and suffering. As it is said:
"ALL GAVE SOME ... SOME GAVE ALL"
"I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades gather because they long to be with the men who once acted at their best; men who suffered and sacrificed, who were stripped of their humanity. I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate and the military. But I know them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades... Such good men." From "These Good Men" by Michael Norman
How can we repay these great warriors?
By not wasting the gift, they gave us. No gift is greater than sacrifice for another, and those war dead made that sacrifice and, if asked to repeat their lives, would do it once more. Yet it is up to us, in how we live, to make sure those sacrifices were not made in vain. They died to give us liberty, we must honor and repay them by never surrendering that dearly won gift. If you are a draft dodger or a Flag burner, or an antiwar VVAW coward, you are not welcome here, this web site is way beyond what your small brain can grasp. Get lost!
Di Di Mau!!!!!!
These young soldiers were led by "top brass" who were concerned mainly with furthering their own careers, "getting their tickets punched" just close enough to combat, to become a medal wearing hero. As the Late Col David Hackworth called them, "the perfumed Princes." Most of these officers neither understood the nature of the war nor had a clue about the impossible mission with which they had tasked their soldiers.
Even more importantly than our Government's mishandling of the war was the misreporting by the press. A self serving Media that penned stories filled with inaccuracies, deliberate omissions, biased presentations and blatant distorted interpretations. ( Television's Vietnam, The Impact of Media ) The Vietnam War became more about journalists (Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite) than about a war for the survival of liberal democracy in Southeast Asia. If only they loved their country's young and willing warriors as much as they loved their own children. The welfare of the troops and the TRUTH took a back seat to the press' sense of its own importance. Walter Cronkite and the other left wing journalists who were to swept up in their own danse macabre to even notice the murderous consequences of their own malfeasance -- or to hear the demands of simple decency. Even to this day some in the Western Media have disregarded their responsibility to truth that comes with freedom of press.
We never lost a battle in Vietnam but we lost the war at home under color of the coward and liar. Thanks to John Kerry the "Opportunist" and Jane Fonda the "Communist"
Thirty years ago we watched a spectacle of John Kerry and the Winter Soldier bunch - composed of largely fraudulent "veterans" and overt traitors financed by Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden -- indelibly stain the honor of every legitimate Vietnam vet. Kerry's Senate testimony paved the way for a parasitic political career constructed on the heroism, sacrifice, and dedication of men and women whose reputations are tarnished to this day by his reprehensible behavior.
It was Kerry and Fonda and their fellow protestors who were directly responsible for creating the false image of Vietnam veterans as a "barbarian horde" which raped and murdered innocent civilians daily as a matter of policy.
It's that mythology, first popularized in the testimony of Lt. Kerry and repeated for more than three decades by the media and the popular culture, that continues to haunt our young men and women serving in the military today, propaganda that threatens current U.S. foreign policy and our national security.
"....Recent scholarship on the military aspects of the war argue persuasively that the military situation on the ground following the battles of 1968 made military victory in the south a possibility and this seems confirmed by the relatively peaceful years of 1970 and 1971. This poses the interesting question of whether it is possible to win a war, if no one believes it, do you really win the war?"
It can be debated that we should never have fought that war. It can also be argued that the young Americans who fought so courageously, never losing a single major battle, helped in a huge way to WIN THE COLD WAR.
This site is dedicated to those brave Vietnam Veterans, men and women, living and dead who did their duty to the fullest in war of attrition we were not ALLOWED to win. We never ran, never abandoned our wounded, never stopped loving America even when America abandoned us ... and still abandons our POW/MIA's. We, the Vietnam Veterans ... shall never forget!
Welcome home Bro's and Sisters it's been a long time coming Welcome home weary soldiers welcome home!
"Vietnam... remembered by those who should forget, forgotten by those who should remember"
Col. George E. "Bud' Day
A Special Message from Col George E. "Bud" Day about the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation
Dear Fellow Patriot,
When John Kerry decided to transform truth into fiction and honor into dishonor, we took action. We had no choice. It was our duty to protect and defend not just our honor, but the honor of every past, present and future member of the armed forces.
Fellow prisoners-of-war and I came forward to SPEAK THE TRUTH about our imprisonment and to explain the detrimental consequences of electing John Kerry, a man who defamed both our country and our warriors, to be our president.
However We have not yet completed our mission
It is essential that we document and recount this courageous victory over years and years of misinformation about Vietnam. Our victory was one small step in support of our mission "... to set the record straight, factually, about Vietnam and those who fought there." By continuing the efforts of the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, we want to build on our momentum. It is up to us to put an end to the "Hollywood Version" of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam Veteran. Please help us write the final chapter of this historic effort and help fund the book and film that will document the honor and integrity of Vietnam Veterans. Help us reveal the truth about their service and sacrifices. Help us continue to protect and defend the honor of all those members of our armed forces who gave all, and all those who gave some.
Help us to guarantee that a factual record is documented to salute the honor of those who lived and died believing in "Duty, Honor, Country" their children ,grandchildren and so on deserve, have earned the right, to be able to read about the stories of heroism exhibited by their fathers, uncles, brothers, sisters and others they never got to know.
Our success resulted not only in swaying the Presidential election; it also resulted in numerous lawsuits. I consider the lawsuits to be overwhelmingly successful - because truth prevailed. The Stolen Honor campaign was completely truthful, and numerous lawsuits all ruled in our favor. The remaining debt, including legal fees totals just over $100,000, a small price to pay to defend our honor and the honor of our great nation.
We need your help to bring closure to this chapter of Stolen Honor.
I am asking proud Americans like you, for your finacial support
We are committed to speaking the truth, a truth that is not being told. As the debate over our country's current wars continue to rage, it is time for us to rise up and be heard, I want our service members to hear us load and clear - that TRUTH will always prevail and that their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
Please donate today to VVLF (Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation).
Col George E. "Bud" Day Director and President, Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation
To make a donation to VVLF, please visit https://secure.donationreport.com/donate.html?key=ECHZG3K7NFFR
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STOLEN HONOR WOUNDS THAT NEVER HEAL
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Nathan Alexander
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VIETNAM WAR FACTS
VIETNAM WAR MYTHS
The following link is the true history of the Vietnam War, great for students and those who want the truth.
VIETNAM: LOOKING BACK - AT THE FACTS
VIETNAM 365 days of complete boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror Run mouse over graphic The worst atrocity was committed when America abandoned us!
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News on this date during the Vietnam war
March 16
1968: U.S. troops massacre South Vietnamese
In what would become the most publicized war atrocity committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam, a platoon slaughters between 200 and 500 unarmed villagers at My Lai 4, a cluster of hamlets in the coastal lowlands of the northernmost region of South Vietnam.
My Lai 4 was situated in a heavily mined region where Viet Cong guerrillas were firmly entrenched and numerous members of the participating platoon had been killed or maimed during the preceding month. Lt. William L. Calley, a platoon leader, was leading his men on a search-and-destroy mission; the unit entered the village only to find women, children, and old men. Frustrated by unanswered losses due to snipers and mines, the soldiers took out their anger on the villagers. During the ensuing massacre, several old men were bayoneted; some women and children praying outside the local temple were shot in the back of the head; and at least one girl was raped before being killed. Others were systematically rounded up and led to a nearby ditch where they were executed.
Reportedly, the killing was only stopped when Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, an aero-scout helicopter pilot, landed his helicopter between the Americans and the fleeing South Vietnamese, confronting the soldiers and blocking them from further action against the villagers. The incident was subsequently covered up, but came to light a year later. An Army board of inquiry investigated the massacre and produced a list of 30 persons who knew of the atrocity. Only 14, including Calley and his company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, were charged with crimes. All eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted by courts-martial except Calley, who was found guilty of personally murdering 22 civilians and sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was reduced to 20 years by the Court of Military Appeals and further reduced later to 10 years by the Secretary of the Army. Proclaimed by much of the public as a "scapegoat," Calley was paroled in 1974 after having served about a third of his 10-year sentence.
1975: South Vietnamese flee Pleiku and Kontum
The withdrawal from Pleiku and Kontum begins, as thousands of civilians join the soldiers streaming down Route 7B toward the sea. In late January 1975, just two years after the cease-fire established by the Paris Peace Accords, the North Vietnamese launched Campaign 275. The objective of this campaign was to capture the city of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The battle began on March 4 and the North Vietnamese quickly encircled the city with five main force divisions, cutting it off from outside support. The South Vietnamese 23rd Division, which had been sent to defend the city, was vastly outnumbered and quickly succumbed to the communists.
As it became clear that the city--and probably the entire Darlac province-would fall to the communists, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu decided to withdraw his forces in order to protect the more critical populous areas to the south. Accordingly, he ordered his forces in the Central Highlands to pull back from their positions. Abandoning Pleiku and Kontum, the South Vietnamese forces began to move toward the sea. By March 17, civilians and soldiers came under heavy communist attack; the withdrawal, scheduled to take three days, was still underway on April 1. Only 20,000 of 60,000 soldiers ever reached the coast; of 400,000 refugees, only 100,000 arrived. The survivors of what one South Vietnamese general described as the "greatest disaster in the history of the ARVN [Army of the Republic of Vietnam]" escaped down the coastal highway toward Saigon.
The North Vietnamese overran the South Vietnamese forces in both the Central Highlands and further north at Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang. The South Vietnamese collapsed as a cogent fighting force and the North Vietnamese continued the attack all the way to Saigon. South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally to North Vietnam on April 30 and the war was over.
POW/MIA's Reported missing on this date during the Vietnam war.
Since the end of American involvement in Southeast Asia, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans have been received. Nearly 1000 of these reports are first-hand, eyewitness reports. Many concern American prisoners who were not released at the end of the war. Collectively, they present a compelling case that Americans are still held against their will by an enemy many of us have forgotten.
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EDWARD JOSEPH ARIAZ PFC - E2 - Marine Corps - Regular 23 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, November 26, 1944 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 0 years His tour began on Feb 1, 1968 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE Body was recovered Panel 44E - Line 65
ROBERT LEE BODINE SSGT - E6 - Army - Regular 101st Airborne Division 24 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Wednesday, December 08, 1943 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 6 years His tour began on Jun 25, 1967 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In THUA THIEN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MISADVENTURE Body was recovered Panel 44E - Line 66
NORMAN RICHARD CATLIN PVT - E1 - Marine Corps - Regular 20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Friday, February 28, 1947 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 1 years Casualty was on Mar 16, 1967 In QUANG TRI, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY OTHER EXPLOSIVE DEVICE Body was recovered Panel 16E - Line 89
BRADLEY KENT GAUS CPL - E4 - Army - Selective Service 25th Inf Div 21 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, February 20, 1949 From QUINCY, IL Length of service 1 years His tour began on Aug 11, 1969 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1970 In , SOUTH VIETNAM Hostile, died of wounds, GROUND CASUALTY OTHER EXPLOSIVE DEVICE Body was recovered Panel 12W - Line 5
FREDERICK EUGENE GILMAN PFC - E3 - Army - Selective Service 9th Infantry Division 20 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, October 30, 1949 From WARRENSBURG, IL Length of service 0 years His tour began on Feb 1, 1970 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1970 In LONG AN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MULTIPLE FRAGMENTATION WOUNDS Body was recovered Panel 12W - Line 6
JAMES KENNETH HUGHES SP5 - E5 - Army - Regular 1st Inf Div 29 year old Married, Negro, Male Born on Monday, December 28, 1936 From LAWRENCEVILLE, IL Length of service 6 years His tour began on Oct 10, 1965 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1966 In , SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MULTIPLE FRAGMENTATION WOUNDS Body was recovered Panel 06E - Line 14
CHARLES B JEFFRIES JR SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular 1st Sig Bde 20 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, April 22, 1945 From AURORA, IL Length of service 2 years His tour began on Aug 15, 1965 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1966 In , SOUTH VIETNAM NON-HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY ACCIDENTAL HOMICIDE Body was recovered Panel 06E - Line 15
HENRY L JOHNSON CPL - E4 - Army - Regular 173rd Airborne Brigade 20 year old Single, Negro, Male Born on Wednesday, March 10, 1948 From ROCKFORD, IL Length of service 0 years His tour began on Dec 7, 1967 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MULTIPLE FRAGMENTATION WOUNDS Body was recovered Panel 45E - Line 2
GLENN DAVID MC ELROY LTC - O5 - Army - Reserve MACV ADVISORS 36 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Monday, June 09, 1930 From SIDNEY, IL Length of service 16 years His tour began on Mar 15, 1966 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1967 In , LAOS Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING - NONCREW AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND Body was not recovered Panel 16E - Line 95
JOHN WALTER RAPEY HM2 - E5 - Navy - Regular 31 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Sunday, October 20, 1935 From CHICAGO, IL Length of service 14 years Casualty was on Mar 16, 1967 In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM NON-HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY ILLNESS, DISEASE Body was recovered Panel 16E - Line 97
WILLIAM JOHN RISSE ADRC - E7 - Navy - Regular 43 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Friday, August 13, 1926 From MOLINE, IL Length of service 22 years Casualty was on Mar 16, 1970 In QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM NON-HOSTILE, FIXED WING - CREW AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND Body was recovered Panel 12W - Line 10
THOMAS WILLIAM SCOTT CPL - E4 - Army - Regular 101st Airborne Division 18 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Born on Wednesday, May 25, 1949 From CANTON, IL Length of service 1 years His tour began on Sep 26, 1967 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1968 In THUA THIEN, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY MISADVENTURE Body was recovered Panel 45E - Line 5
CHARLES A ZIONTS SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular 173rd Airborne Brigade 20 year old Married, Caucasian, Male Born on Thursday, September 13, 1945 From CICERO, IL Length of service 2 years His tour began on Dec 21, 1965 Casualty was on Mar 16, 1966 In , SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE Body was recovered Panel 06E - Line 17
"If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams
The National Debt:
Patriot Petitions John F. Kerry Must Resign
John Kerry has a long and well-documented history of providing "aid and comfort" to the enemy in time of war -- particularly in the case of North Vietnam. By his own account, Kerry violated the UCMJ, the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. Code while serving as a Navy officer, and he further stands in violation of Article three, Section three of the U.S. Constitution which defines treason as "giving aid and comfort" to the enemy in time of warfare. Thus, in accordance with the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3, which states, "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President ... having previously taken an oath ... to support the Constitution of the United States, [who has] engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof," We, the People of the United States, demand that Kerry resign his seat in the Senate.
Let your voice be heard! Join the 214,032 people who have already signed this petition:
Sign Petition Here
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