For 38 years I have spoken very little to anyone about details of my time in Vietnam.

So this Memorial Day I would like to share with you a personal side of what this day means to me.

The following is a brief story of a group of young men, circa 1970 -1971.
Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron THREE, was a rapid reaction armed helicopter squadron commissioned in the US Navy, to provide close air support for the Navy's forces in operations in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam.
In addition, HAL 3 gave air support for landing craft, provided armed reconnaissance and support to special mission groups such as the US Navy's Sea, Air, Land Forces (SEAL Teams).
HAL 3 has the distinction of being the most highly decorated squadron in US Naval history.

 

We were very young, gung-ho, brave....and yes, sometimes scared shitless.
I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes after returning from a fire support mission, when the adrenaline wore off, that my hands would shake uncontrollably.

I would like to share with you a personal part of my life and some of the men that I flew with, drank with, laughed with, and went into combat with.

The following is a list of my brothers-in-arms that I knew , that went to Vietnam, but never returned home.

William A Pedersen LTJG - Killed in Action, September 15th , 1970
Jose Pablo Ramos ADJ3 - Killed in Action, September 15th , 1970
Lawrence Leroy Cover LCDR - Killed in Action, September 20th, 1970
Walter Ray Winters ATR2 - Killed in Action, October 3rd 1970
Richard Howard Buzzell LTJG - Killed in Action, December 17th, 1970
Harold Edward Cowen AMS1 - Killed in Action, December 17th, 1970
Antonio Olivarez Ortiz LTJG - Killed in Action, December 19th , 1970
Johnny Ratliff AEC - Killed in Action, December 19th , 1970
Robert Earl Worth ADJ2 - Killed in Action, December 19th 1970
James Arthur Wall AO3 - Killed in Action, April 19th 1971
Arnold Winfield Barden LTJG - Killed in Action, September 20th, 1971
Charles Henry Goldbin ADJ2 - Killed in Action, September 20th, 1971

These are some of the men that Memorial Day is all about.

Whenever I am in Washington DC, I go the Wall and touch their names. It may sound strange, but for a brief moment it is if they are there with me.

I was especially close to Jim wall, a true friend. There is not a Memorial Day that goes by that I do not think of him a great deal.
He was 2 months shy of his 21st birthday when he was killed on a night time fire support / insertion mission.
He left behind an 18 month old daughter.

Below is a picture of some of us.
Jim Wall is on the right side (with his arm resting on the machine gun)
Three of the young men in this picture were Killed in Action.
I am the one kneeling in the lower left (with the dog tag).

 

Even after almost 40 years I have not, nor will I ever, forget you.


I ask all of you, regardless of your political beliefs, to join me today and take a moment to remember and honor these young men and the thousands of other young men and women that gave their all for our country.

No words I can ever muster that would properly express my gratitude. To say it's one of the highests honor to be able to salute and thank men like you guys, would be a gross understatement.

Thank you, as well as everyone that is currently, and has in the past, served for our country.

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Wow, Nick, that is quite a way to show your respect for these men. It must've been very hard to keep going back into that war. I'm glad you shared this, as it is a good way to see what these people (Who you, Foster-Dave and, more recently, Nonstop are among) have given up for us.

Memorial Day has already been here (4th of May), but this makes it more, real, although I'll never know what they, or you, have been through.

I also admire you for going back and fishing this up, to keep their memory alive.

I found this today, on Facebook... It is way better than I could have put it.

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Thank you for this thread. Sometimes fear we take our freedom for granted and it takes things like this to remind us that freedom is not free.

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3 pm local time is the time you should have a moment of silence.

THANKS TO EVERYONE HERE THAT DEFENDED OUR COUNTRY

My dad served in WW2, but did not talk to much about it..Not sure but he is not the type to go on about it..I probably only heard him talk about it for 30 minutes oat the most in my 41 years


My ex-g/f grandfather was a different story..

He told stories all the time, he was in the 1st or 2nd wave on Normandy ( I never can recall) and just the descriptions he gave of that day still haunts him. He said the movie saving private Ryan hit the nail on the head for their opening scene at Normandy

He told a story of how he was directing traffic(?? not sure of thats correct but I recall that for some reason) one time after Normandy.....After a while of doing this, there appeared a sniper in a church tower..

He tried to get cover and alert everyone around what was happening, when he saw a tank coming, he got the attention of the tank pointed to the tower and next thing he knew the church tower was blown away..nothing left of it..

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2542608.html 

a good friend of mine that I served with in the Marines that was killed in Iraq.

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I am spending my day truly respecting all of you on this board that served, and all of you that have children in uniform today.

I will also pay my respects for the 58,151 lost in "The Nam" and S.E. Asia.

The 4,300 and counting who gave their lives in Iraq.

The 405,399 who lost their lives in WWII

The 625,000 boys who died in The Civil War.

The 116,516 in WWI

The 36,516 KIA in Korea.

The 25,000 that died in the Revolutionary War, and the 20,000 who perished in The War of 1812.

It will be difficult for me... But I will pray for the 918 U.S. Soldiers killed in the Indian Wars of 1865 to 1898. I will have no difficulty praying for the Thousands upon thousands of TRUE AMERICAN NATIVES who were killed in that same war but get no respect or even a death count in most American War Stats.

I will pay my respect for Davy Crocket and the 13,282 other Americans who died in the Mexican American War.

I guess it is true.

"You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. "

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Certainly doesn't look like the movies; drugged-up losers who didn't care about themselves and everyone around them.

The ironic thing now, I know someone who has been going to Vietnam to do photography. The war is long forgotten there and they are very capitalistic; they would embrace America to invest in business ventures.

Thanks to all vets.

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