Viet Nam Veterans (VNAM)

[EZ2]

Hey bro' --- just checking in here!

Have a great Saint Paddy's Day ---- if raising a pint or two ----- no driving!!


Semper fi!
EZ

[EZ2]

NEVER forget!

[HoosierHoagie]

[Seminole Red]

Sign up for the 2013 NASCAR Challenge is now open. Please sign up ASAP if interested .....WIN PRIZES....

http://investorshub.advfn.com/A-Sprint-Cup-Challenge-3206/

[EZ2]

Hey bro' ~~~ a belated Happy New Year to you!


And, a big AMEN!!!


Semper fi.

[eaglesurvivor]

Have a hopeful, fun, healthy, and courageous new year, EZ and everyone. I grieve that sacrifices that we made have not made an impact upon two generations to withstand tyranny. I have never owned a firearm, but I am vigilant to protect my right to own one or more as well as for everyone else. Those who know my real name will recognize my posts, on other sites, denouncing the anti-gun mentality. These people ignore far more serious issues, but groupthink has a hold.

Peace, my brothers, and again: welcome home.

[Seminole Red]

merry christmas

[EZ2]

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Anniversary


Visit the Memorial with us on its 30th anniversary, and then submit your own video response

http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-11-2012/vietnam-vets-memorial-anniversary.html?cmp=RDRCT-VTNM_NOV07_012

http://www.aarp.org/online-community/forums.action/politics-society_history_vietnam-still-remember

[EZ2]

Subject: Check out Legend of the, Ho Chi Minh trail | Laos GPS Map


This one has some interesting pictures. I think you’ll remember the notorious Ho-Chi-Minh Trail, so I won’t spend a lot of time on the explanation. These photos are what the region looks like today, documented by a motorcycle rider, of all things.




http://www.laosgpsmap.com/ho-chi-minh-trail-laos/

[softballdaddy]

The 1st Code of Conduct

1. I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

[EZ2]

`

[EZ2]

<<~~~ That is a MUST READ!!

[Bull_Dolphin]

My best friend recently shared an e-mail with me containing an account of an interview with the NVA officer they were up against at the battle of Illingsworth. (This battle was writtten up in the November 2008 issue of VFW magazine.) I received his permission to post the text of the e-mail for all the good people here.



Date: September 19, 2012 3:02:34 PM CDT

To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Subject: Interview with Colonel Nguyen Tuong Lai, North Vietnamese Commander Opposing Alpha Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, during the Anonymous Battle, March, 1970



Veterans of Alpha Troop, 1970:

This note briefly summarizes a genuinely extraordinary interview with the senior North Vietnamese officer opposing Alpha Troop, 1/11 ACR, and other American combat units during the Anonymous Battle. Reading it will produce both exhilaratingly favorable and paralyzingly negative reactions among the old veterans of that battle. The addressees are the men who participated in it and a number of our friends who have shown some interest in Alpha Troop over the years.

On September 15, I met with Phil Keith, the author of Blackhorse Riders, the story of Alpha Troop (plus others) and the rescue of Charlie Company (2/8, 1st Cav. Div.) from the clutches of the 272nd NVA Regiment. (This is the 1970 combat action for which Alpha Troop received the Presidential Unit Citation at the White House in 2009.) Phil reports thatBlackhorse Riders has nearly sold out its first printing, the paperback edition will be released on February 1 and that he is beginning to work on a movie screenplay. He is scheduled to speak at West Point soon.

Phil is completing a second book describing closely related Vietnam combat events, and in the process of researching it he located and interviewed Colonel Nguyen Tuong Lai, the NVA commander who opposed us during the Anonymous Battle in War Zone C. This officer commanded the 272nd NVA Regiment in 1970, fled Vietnam in 1977 (anticipating incarceration in a ‘re-education camp’) and eventually found seclusion and asylum in Switzerland. Phil describes the colonel as a psychopath who, by his own admission, tortured American prisoners and who murdered two POWs with a pistol shot to the head. He is intensely bitter after suffering demotion following the war in favor of better connected North Vietnamese Army rivals. The carefully staged interview with an intermediary yielded a fascinating and frightful array of facts about our desperate 1970 battle.

The broad picture narrated by Colonel Nguyen is that the First Cavalry Division had blundered badly in leaving two remote base camps, Illingworth and Jay, exposed and vulnerable amidst a large concentration of NVA forces. The enemy high command’s goal was to overrun both base camps and use the surviving Americans as “pawns in the Paris Peace Talks”. A large NVA force of hard-core, long-serving regulars was assembled to assault the Americans under the command of Col. Nguyen. At his disposal was his own 272nd NVA Regiment and some or all of the 93rd NVA Regiment.

The NVA bunker complex which Charlie Troop penetrated on March 26, 1970 was the headquarters of the 272nd Regiment and it contained the startling total of 700 regulars who were massed for the attack on the 220 Americans at Illingworth. The headquarters complex also was a major supply and support base for infiltration of the Saigon region. (700 hard core opponents is a greater number than ever I had believed present on that exceptional day.)

Charlie Company was lured into the NVA complex by the artful salting of trails with sections of communications wire, footprints and other clues. The NVA knew exactly where Charlie Company was because they could “smell Americans” (due mainly to our different diet) and our tobacco smoke, as well as hear us. The tactic that day was to “lead them (Charlie Company) down the throat of the bottle and stick in the cork.” Charlie Company’s 80 + men were to be annihilated with any survivors taken across the border that night as POWs.

Colonel Nguyen recalls that the NVA hated the armored cavalry in general and our Sheridan tanks in particular. The large bore tank guns and the anti-personnel fleshette rounds were lethal and the Sheridans were more agile in the jungle than the M-48 Patton tanks used elsewhere. Our M-113 ACAV’s were called “Green Dragons”, but the NVA “lived in fear” of the Sheridans.

During the battle, we killed a stunning 200 of the 700 regulars in the 272nd Regiment (the First Cavalry Division reported 88 bodies abandoned on the ground, presumably left behind in haste). The NVA, he said, had to stand and fight us because they knew we and the tactical air and artillery would destroy them if they fled their bunkers. (I suppose that I now feel better about leaving the field as darkness descended rather than continuing the assault. I don’t think we had enough bullets or time for the other 500!) The NVA decamped across the nearby border during the night rather than pursue us.

But, here is the most gratifying revelation: Colonel Nguyen reports that, after our battle, he could only commit 400 effectives to the attack on Illingworth a few days later. The Colonel blames his devastating losses during the Anonymous Battle for his failure to overrun the Illingworth garrison of 220 men, killing or capturing all of them. Adding those 220 to Charlie Company’s 80 means that Alpha Troop had a pivotal role, together with the contributions of many other units, in saving 300 American lives.

Unwittingly, Alpha Troop rendered one other lifesaving service. After our battle, three of our damaged vehicles were towed or limped into Illingworth for repair. LTC Conrad (the battalion commander to whom Alpha Troop reported) placed them on the perimeter – by chance or by design – just at the weakest point and where Colonel Nguyen planned to attack. Fearing to charge headlong into the cavalry vehicles, Colonel Nguyen shifted his point of attack to a less advantageous site elsewhere on the perimeter. In addition to his losses to us on March 26, he attributes his failure to overrun Illingworth to the menacing presence on line of our Sheridans and ACAVs. The derelict vehicles were, of course, nearly useless (although their crews were not).

At the battle site on March 26, 1970, Alpha Troop mustered about 100 men after giving effect to our recent casualties, administrative personal assigned to the rear and those left at our night defensive position. Alpha Troop was the principal assault element during the Anonymous Battle, with Charlie Company helpfully securing the rear of the battle site and the valiant Alpha Company (2/8, 1st Cav. Div.) following our cavalry tracks toward the withering incoming. With 700 enemy regulars sheltered in bunkers in front and maneuvering on our flanks as we advanced, our odds of victory, indeed of survival, were far less promising than I then imagined.

All in all, an astonishing interview 42 years after the fact. You, the men of Alpha Troop, seem to have accomplished considerably more than you were praised for at the White House and at the Pentagon in 2009. You and your families now have much that is new to reflect upon regarding the heroic achievements of your youth.

[excel]

There are still great people left in this world who understand unlike lot of politicians and the people whom think they are Entitled to Freedom with no sacrifice......................





Go Salmon fishing (War Vets. only) (Seattle)

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Date: 2012-09-13, 4:27PM PDT
Reply to this post Reply to: [e-mail] [Errors when replying to ads?]

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Thank you for your service! I have a small Classic "Poulsbo Fishing Skiff" and would like to share the experience of salmon fishing with War Veterans. I can take only one person at a time. There are some salmon in now. I have all the gear, you will need a saltwater Salmon/only permit. Cost is about $9-17 for a 1 or 3 day.(if you need help with the cost of license, we can help). We will fish out of Ballard in Shilshole Bay (weather permitting) Please provide proof of your service. The 7 and 8lb. salmon were caught this morning(9-11) Guys or Gals welcome. Jim











http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/zip/3263927192.html

[EZ2]

Quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since World War II, despite the costly flare-ups in Korea and Vietnam, the United States has proved to be the essential guarantor of stability in the Asian-Pacific region, even as the power cycle shifted from Japan to the Soviet Union and most recently to China. The benefits of our involvement are one of the great success stories of American and Asian history, providing the so-called second tier countries in the region the opportunity to grow economically and to mature politically.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444184704577587483914661256.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

[EZ2]

Subject: US starts landmark cleanup of Agent Orange nearly 4 decades after Vietnam War's end

<< from an old buddy >>

Agent Orange cleanup at DaNang.


Personal Note: I am now on the Agent Orange Registry at the VA. So far so good. No symptoms yet.


http://mobile.washingtonpost.com/rss.jsp?rssid=4220853&item=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-starts-landmark-cleanup-of-agent-orange-nearly-4-decades-after-vietnam-wars-end/2012/08/09/3bfc819a-e1d7-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_mobile.mobile&cid=-1&fullSiteUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2Fasia_pacific%2Fus-starts-landmark-cleanup-of-agent-orange-nearly-4-decades-after-vietnam-wars-end%2F2012%2F08%2F09%2F3bfc819a-e1d7-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html

[EZ2]

This is the truth.

In 1973-75 Congress hated President Nixon so much that they sold out Vietnam and the so many American Soldiers that went there and won liberty for that little country.


We have a very selfish, selfserving congress.

Sad.


http://www.prageruniversity.com/History/How-the-Vietnam-War-Was-Won-and-Lost.html

[chunga1]

Treasures Of The Vietnam War
Next Article ? NIGERIA: War On Christians Escalates

July 15, 2012: Military equipment has long been popular among antique collectors. World War II stuff is particularly popular, especially original aircraft that can still fly. Now this phenomenon is catching up with the more recent Vietnam War (1965-72). Thus it should have been no surprise to see a 1965 vintage U.S. Marine Corps UH-1E "Huey" helicopter for sale on Craigslist. The asking price is $175,000. Only 192 UH-1Es were built, to serve as transports and gunships. Two-thirds of these aircraft survived the war and the one being sold ended up working for the USDA (Department of Agriculture) forestry service in Florida. The current owner bought it when the USDA retired the elderly chopper and restored the aircraft to its UH-1E appearance, but with inoperable weapons, and used it in fundraising events for veterans.
While several thousand UH-1s are still operational, they are fading away fast. Over 16,000 UH-1s were built, and over 4,000 were lost during the Vietnam war. The 4.3 ton, single engine, UH-1 could carry two crew and eleven troops and was the first mass produced military helicopter to use gas turbine (jet) engines. This allowed a lighter helicopter to carry more weight. The UH-1 served the U.S. Army for fifty years, although since the 1990s, most served in reserve units. Twin engine UH-1s were originally developed for the Canadian military and later adopted by the U.S. Navy, Marines, and many foreign countries who were willing to pay a premium for the twin engines.

Most of the American UH-1s were replaced by the UH-60 in the 1980s. This 10.6 ton helicopter could carry more weight and was safer to operate. Recently, the 3.6 ton UH-145 was introduced, and this replaces the remaining UH-1s in army service. The UH-1 was actually a military version of a civilian helicopter (Bell 204) design. Both remained in production through the 1980s, with over 12,000 204/205s being produced.

The U.S. Marine Corps still uses the UH-1N and have a remanufacturing program for them, which converts UH-1Ns to UH-1Ys. A hundred UH-1Ns are being rebuilt at a cost of about $4 million each. New rotors, rebuilt airframes, and new electronics will make the aircraft more capable and eventually bring maintenance cost savings of about $14 million per aircraft. Part of this is achieved by installing sturdier and more reliable components. The marines expect the refurbished aircraft to be as effective as the successors to these designs (the UH-60). For the marines this is probably true. Marines don't have to move their helicopters as far, or carrying as much, as the army does. So for most jobs the older helicopters, with new engines and electronics, can do the job just as well, without the longer range and greater carrying capacity of the UH-60.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20120715.aspx

[EZ2]

U da' man Mr. Shovel ---- THANKS for helping to bring that to the board.

Semper fi!

[68_shovel]

I was on one of the ships out there. we were supposed to act as riot control around the airport. We spent 2 weeks in Okinawa practicing riot control then headed over there from White Beach.
Got on a LST USS Fredrick.

[HoosierHoagie]

Opening now----thanks

[EZ2]

Subject: Operation Frequent Wind

This a great watch


Semper-Fi

http://www.fallofsaigon.org/LastToLeave_PatClark.php

[EZ2]

Happy Father's Day to all of you!!!


Your family and friends will never forget!

[EZ2]

Hanoi opens 3 new areas in search for MIAs


Jun 4, 5:56 AM (ET)

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

(AP) U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, left, participates in an arrival ceremony with Vietnam...
Full Image

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The Vietnamese government on Monday agreed to open three new sites in the country for excavation by the United States to search for troop remains from the war, the minister of defense told U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during a meeting here.

The announcement came as Panetta and Vietnam Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh exchanged long-held artifacts collected during the war - including letters written by a U.S. soldier who was killed that had been kept and used as propaganda, and a small maroon diary belonging to a Vietnamese soldier. A U.S. service member took the journal back to the U.S.

During a press briefing, where the two defense chiefs formally handed over the papers, both said their countries want to work together, whether or not the expanded relationship bothers China.

Beijing has expressed concern over America's new defense strategy that puts more focus on the Asia-Pacific region, including plans to increase the number of troops, ships and other military assets in the region.


(AP) U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, center right, participates in an arrival ceremony with...
Full Image


Speaking through an interpreter, Thanh said Vietnam wants to continue defense cooperation with all countries, including stable and longstanding relationships with China and the United States. Hanoi, he said, would not sacrifice relations with one country for another.

Panetta said the U.S. goal is to help strengthen the capabilities of countries across the region.

"Frankly the most destabilizing situation would be if we had a group of weak nations and only the United States and China were major powers in this region," said Panetta.

Defense officials reviewing the packet of papers given to Panetta said it appears there are three sets of letters, including a set from the soldier, U.S. Army Sgt. Steve Flaherty, who was from Columbia, S.C. It was not clear how many other service members' letters were there, but officials were going through them Monday.

Officials said this is the first time such a joint exchange of war artifacts has occurred. The two defense leaders agreed to return the papers to the families of the deceased soldiers.


(AP) U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, second left, participates in an arrival ceremony with...
Full Image


During the meeting with Panetta, Vietnamese officials said they would open the three previously restricted sites that the Pentagon believes are critical to locating troops missing in action.

Ron Ward, U.S. casualty resolution specialist at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hanoi, said there are at least four U.S. troops believed to be lost in the three areas that were opened by the Vietnamese Monday. With those three areas now open, Ward said there are now just eight sites left that are still restricted by the Vietnamese.

Military officers briefing Panetta at the command's office said they had five to seven years to complete their excavation work. The acidic soil in Vietnam erodes bones quickly, leaving in many cases only teeth for the military teams to use to try and identify service members, one of the team members said.

In addition, many of the potential witnesses with information about remains are getting older and their memories are fading.

There are about nearly 1,300 cases that are still unaccounted for, and officers briefing Panetta said about 600 of those remains could be recoverable.


(AP) U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, left, stands near USNS Richard E. Byrd Ship Master Captain...
Full Image


Ward said that opening the three new sites will enable the U.S. to try and find:

-- Two Air Force members who were lost when their plane was shot down in Quang Binh Province in central Vietnam in 1967.

-- An Army private first class who went missing when he was out with his unit on a search-and-destroy mission in 1968 in the tri-border area of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

-- A Marine who was on a surface-to-air combat mission and was lost when his plane went down in Quang Tri Province. Another Marine on the plane ejected and was rescued.

Flaherty, who was with the 101st Airborne, was killed in the northern section of South Vietnam in March 1969. According to defense officials, Vietnamese forces took his letters and used them in broadcasts during the war.

Vietnamese Col. Nguyen Phu Dat kept the letters, but it was not until last August, when he mentioned them in an online publication, that they started to come to light.

Early this year, Robert Destatte, a retired Defense Department employee who had worked for the POW/MIA office, noticed the online publication, and the Pentagon began to work to get the letters back to Flaherty's family.

The small diary belonged to Vu Dinh Doan, a Vietnamese soldier who was found killed in a machine gun fight, according to defense officials. Officials said that a Marine, Robert "Ira" Frazure of Walla Walla, Wash., saw the diary - with a photo and some money inside - on the chest of the dead soldier and took it back to the U.S.

The diary came to light earlier this year when the sister of a friend of Frazure's was doing research for a book and Frazure asked her help in returning the diary. The sister, Marge Scooter, brought the diary to the PBS television program History Detectives.

The show then asked the Defense and State departments to help return the diary.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20120604/D9V68CCG0.html

[EZ2]

The below was sent to me from a good friend (wife of deceased Nam' vet) ~~~ you will need to use link for full story.........


I realize people will continue to vote for this piece of garbage but I don't understand why!


In 2000 I rode `Ol Stormy (my Harley) the 3000 miles round trip to ride in the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder event. If you know anything about Vietnam, Operation Rolling Thunder was a three and a half year bombardment campaign led by the United States against North Vietnam. The rolling thunder motorcycle parade begins at the Pentagon and ends in the general vicinity of the Vietnam Wall. EVERYONE in the parade visits the wall. That's why we're there!!!! I'll say no more...Click the link and then tell me why in the world any Veteran, not just Vietnam, but ANY Veteran would ever vote for Obama.

http://tiny.cc/The_Wall

[EZ2]

[EZ2]

"Today, I'm so happy I helped Kim," said Ut, who still works for AP and recently returned to Trang Bang village. "I call her my daughter."

After four decades, Phuc, now a mother of two sons, can finally look at the picture of herself running naked and understand why it remains so powerful. It had saved her, tested her and ultimately freed her.

"Most of the people, they know my picture but there's very few that know about my life," she said. "I'm so thankful that ... I can accept the picture as a powerful gift. Then it is my choice. Then I can work with it for peace."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120601/D9V432S00.html

[EZ2]

We will never forget you!

`

[softballdaddy]

[EZ2]

A tear jerker, not for the weak... (no blood n guts just sad)

Subject: Vietnam Veteran

Michigan pays homage to its Vietnam Vets but it could be any state as the story is the same. This will cause you to stop and ponder on your service to our country.

Life is short. Drink the good wine first

That helicopter 2 blade noise seems to resonate the bones.

This was made by Michigan Vietnam Vets, but it says it all for every Vietnam Vet. Share it with a Vietnam Vet or a family that may have lost a Dad, Brother, Uncle or Son...I thought they did an excellent job on this. Touching, I suspect in the future this theme will be shown over and over again for each conflict. This is one of the better Vietnam videos made by and for Michigan Vietnam Veterans, but I believe all of you will appreciate this. This story could and is retold by 49 other states and territories as well.

If you know a Vietnam Veteran consider sending this link to them.

http://www.v-prod.com/trailer_vietnam.html

[EZ2]

History.....it's said.........often repeats itself!!

[EZ2]

From a friend of a friend:

http://www.militaryconnection.com/veterans/veteran-government-resource-sites.asp

[EZ2]

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm!?!?!?!?

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=74118359

[softballdaddy]

Hollywood has picked Hanoi Jane to play Nancy Reagan in a movie about the Reagan Presidency...that is a sick joke...portray a beloved conservative president and than make it impossible for many to watch.

[DeeDog]

Thanks EZ, interesting read about Sutter County. I just barely missed seeing her in Subic Bay. We sailed south from Subic right after the Tet offensive broke out abut 1/30/68 IIRC (?). Hong Kong was a "trip", we were there for Christmas '67.

God bless you back brother, and all those good men we lost over there.

Dee

[EZ2]

Welcome to the board Dee ---- always good to see a new face from all of us oldtimers!

God Bless ya' brother --- from an old Marine who spent a lot of time with a great group of guys "floating us" over to Iwakuni, Japap on the LST 1150 Sutter County.

http://www.mrfa.org/lst1150.htm



And, we also have a 'fairly' close linkage too ---- my first Commanding Officer in official Group Unit (El Toro) Ca. was Major KOONTZ !

Semper fi!
EZ

[DeeDog]

Great post EZ2, I'm keeping this one for future reference. I just stumbled across this board, nice! I enjoyed reading the stats in the I-Box. It's surprising and disheartening to see that such a large percentage of those who claim to be Vietnam vets are fakes - unbelievable!

Everybody wants to be a Rambo huh? Closest I saw to that were the SAR Marines I worked with, those on the chopper who went in to rescue our downed pilots around Haiphong Harbor at Hanoi - '67-'68. I salute "Budha's Bastards" (don't remember the unit number but that's the nickname they went by).

Semper Fi to them from a squid who (sort of) watched their backs (radar and radio)...also remembering those who flew strikes there and those who went thru the fire on the carrier, also those on the Pueblo.

Dee
COMDESRON17
Flagship - USS Coontz DLG9

I hope I haven't broken any TOS rules by posting personal info about my duty. I guess I'm fishing for anyone I may have known there.

[toddao]

Tragedy in the air: Stunning black and white pictures on board Yankee Papa 13 that capture ill-fated mission during the violent throes of the Vietnam War

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096328/Tragedy-air-Stunning-black-white-pictures-board-Yankee-Papa-13-capture-ill-fated-mission-violent-throws-Vietnam-War.html

[EZ2]

Subject: Fw: Agent Orange at Da Nang, et al.

(below recd. via email from buddy I was with @ DaNang AB)


Can't remember if I sent this out before. But it can't hurt to send it again.



If there was ever any doubt about Agent Orange at Da Nang and other air bases this article should remove all of it. This article came in a Veterans Newsletter I reveive via email twice a month. The shit they were spraying around Da Nang was not "mosquito spray", contrary to some claims. That's why veterans from Da Nang have the cancer rates they have and other AO related diseases. Anyone who has not filed a claim with VA for AO exposure and has any of the AO related diseases or have had an AO claim denied for exposure to AO might be interested in filing claims based on this evidence.


AO Cleanup Vietnam: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has told the Da Nang People’s Committee that it plans to spend US$34 million to rid the city’s airport of Agent Orange. The two-year project is intended to ensure that plants can again grow in contaminated earth. Former military airports in central Binh Dinh Province’s Phu Cat District and southern Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa District will be next on the list for detoxification, says USAID. During the past three years, with funding provided by various American non-governmental organizations, the agency has approved spending of US$21 million to deal with dioxin contamination in the country, according to Da Nang City’s Department of Foreign Affairs. The $21 million total includes $16 million to be spent on dioxin clean-up of the area and $2 million to be spent on assessing environmental impacts as well as exploring technical solutions to the problem. The remaining $3 million have been earmarked to help improve the lives of the city’s Agent Orange victims and disadvantaged people.
Dioxin-contaminated earth will be scooped up and burned in tubes at temperatures of more than 350 Celsius degrees, according to the agency. From 72 to 80 million litres or defoliants were sprayed over Vietnamese forests during the war, including the highly toxic Agent Orange, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat airports are home to some of the highest dioxin concentrations in the contamination of the environment. Today, dioxin levels at the airport are up to 400 times higher than internationally accepted levels. The affected zone has been sealed off from the public. [Source: Vietnam Net Bridge english.vietnamnet.vn/en/society/1740/society-in-brief-19-11.html
article 19 Nov 2010 ++]

[EZ2]

Subject: ALL VETS SHOULD COPY THIS ONE (UNCLASSIFIED)


IF THIS INFO HELPS ONLY ONE PERSON IT IS WORTH FORWARDING

ALL VETS SHOULD SAVE THIS AND SHARE WITH OTHERS

Comment: Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to assemble this. Please pass this on to all Veterans on your e-mail list.



Below are web-sites that provide information on Veterans benefits and how to file/ask for them. Accordingly, there are many sites that explain how to obtain books, military/medical records, information and how to appeal a denied claim with the VA. Please pass this information on to every Veteran you know.

Nearly 100% of this information is free and available for all veterans, the only catch is: you have to ask for it, because they won't tell you about a specific benefit unless you ask for it.

You need to know what questions to ask so the right doors open for you and then be ready to have an advocate who is willing to work with and for you, stay in the process, and press for your rights and your best interests.

Appeals http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch05.doc <http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch05.doc>;


Board of Veteran's Appeals http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/ <http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/>;


CARES Commission http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/ <http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/>;


CARES Draft National Plan http://www1.va.gov/cares/page.cfm?pg=105 <http://www1.va.gov/cares/page.cfm?pg=105>;


Center for Minority Veterans http://www1.va.gov/centerforminorityveterans/ <http://www1.va.gov/centerforminorityveterans/>;

Center for Veterans Enterprise http://www.vetbiz.gov/default2.htm <http://www.vetbiz.gov/default2.htm>;


Center for Women Veterans http://www1.va.gov/womenvet/ <http://www1.va.gov/womenvet/>;


Clarification on the changes in VA healthcare for Gulf War Veterans http://www.gulfwarvets.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000016.html


Classified Records - American Gulf War Veterans Assoc http://www.gulfwarvets.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000011.html



Compensation for Disabilities Associated with the Gulf War Service http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/part6%20/ch07.doc

Compensation Rate Tables, 12-1-03 http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/comp01.htm


Department of Veterans Affairs Home Page http://www.va.gov/ <http://www.va.gov/>;


Directory of Veterans Service Organizations http://www1.va.gov/vso/index.cfm?template=view <http://www1.va.gov/vso/index.cfm?template=view>;


Disability Examination Worksheets Index, Comp http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/exams/index.htm


Due Process http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch02.doc


Duty to Assist http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch01.doc


Electronic Code of Federal Regulations http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr/


Emergency, Non-emergency, and Fee Basis Care http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/fedben.pdf

Environmental Agents http://www1.va.gov/environagents/ <http://www1.va.gov/environagents/>;


Environmental Agents M10 http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1002

Establishing Combat Veteran Eligibility http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=315


EVALUATION PROTOCOL FOR GULF WAR AND IRAQI FREEDOM VETERANS WITH POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/DUHandbook1303122304.DOC

and
http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1158


See also, Depleted Uranium Fact Sheet http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/DepletedUraniumFAQSheet.doc

EVALUATION PROTOCOL FOR NON-GULF WAR VETERANS WITH POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/DUHANDBOOKNONGW130340304.DOC

Fee Basis, PRIORITY FOR OUTPATIENT MEDICAL SERVICES AND INPATIENT HOSPITAL CARE http://www1.va..gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=206

Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependants 2005 http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/fedben.pdf <http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/fedben.pdf>; OR, http://www1.va..gov/opa/vadocs/current_benefits.htm

Forms and Records Request http://www.va.gov/vaforms/ <http://www.va.gov/vaforms/>;

General Compensation Provisions http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter11_subchaptervi_.html

Geriatrics and Extended Care http://www1.va.gov/geriatricsshg/

Guideline for Chronic Pain and Fatigue MUS-CPG http://www.oqp.med.va.gov/cpg/cpgn/mus/mus_base.htm


Guide to Gulf War Veteran's Health http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/VHIgulfwar.pdf

Gulf War Subject Index http://www1.va.gov/GulfWar/page.cfm?pg=7&template=main&letter=A


Gulf War Veteran's Illnesses Q&As http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/GWIllnessesQandAsIB1041.pdf


Hearings
http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch04.doc

Homeless Veterans http://www1.va.gov/homeless/ <http://www1.va.gov/homeless/

HSR&D Home http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/ <http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/>;

Index to Disability Examination Worksheets C&P exams http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/exams/index.htm

Ionizing Radiation http://www1.va.gov/irad/ <http://www1.va.gov/irad/>;

Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom Veterans VBA http://www.vba.va.gov/EFIF/

M 10 for spouses and children < http://www1..va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1007

Part III Change 1 http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1008


M21-1 Table of Contents http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/M21_1.html


Mental Disorders, Schedule of Ratings http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_130.DOC

Mental Health Program Guidelines http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1094

Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers http://www.mirecc.med.va.gov/


MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Centers of Excellence http://www.va.gov/ms/about.asp

My Health e Vet http://www.myhealth.va.gov/

NASDVA.COM <http://nasdva.com/>; http://nasdva.com/


National Association of State Directors http://www.nasdva.com/


National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention http://www.nchpdp.med.va.gov/postdeploymentlinks.asp

Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders, Schedule of Ratings http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38cfr/bookc/part4/s4%5F124a.doc

OMI (Office of Medical Inspector) http://www.omi.cio.med.va.gov/

Online VA Form 10-10EZ https://www.1010ez..med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/

Parkinson's Disease and Related Neurodegenerative Disorders http://www1.va.gov/resdev/funding/solicitations/docs/parkinsons.pdf

and, http://www1.va.gov/padrecc/

Peacetime Disability Compensation http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+38USC1131

Pension for Non-Service-Connected Disability or Death http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter15_subchapteri_.html

and, http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter15_subchapterii_.html

and, http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter15_subchapteriii_.html

Persian Gulf Registry http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1003

This program is now referred to as Gulf War Registry Program (to include Operation Iraqi Freedom) as of March 7, 2005: http://www1..va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1232

Persian Gulf Registry Referral Centers http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1006


Persian Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Research 1999, Annual Report To Congress http://www1.va.gov/resdev/1999_Gulf_War_Veterans'_Illnesses_Appendices.doc

Persian Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Research 2002, Annual Report To Congress http://www1.va.gov/resdev/prt/gulf_war_2002/GulfWarRpt02.pdf

Phase I PGR http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1004

Phase II PGR http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1005

Policy Manual Index http://www.va.gov/publ/direc/eds/edsmps.htm

Power of Attorney http://www.warms.vba..va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch03.doc

Project 112 (Including Project SHAD) http://www1.va.gov/shad/

Prosthetics Eligibility http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=337

Public Health and Environmental Hazards Home Page http://www.vethealth.cio.med.va.gov/

Public Health/SARS http://www..publichealth.va.gov/SARS/

Publications Manuals http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/publications.cfm?Pub=4

Publications and Reports http://www1.va.gov/resdev/prt/pubs_individual.cfm

Records Center and Vault Homepage http://www.aac.va.gov/vault/default.html

Records Center and Vault Site Map http://www.aac.va.gov/vault/sitemap.html

REQUEST FOR AND CONSENT TO RELEASE OF INFORMATION FROM CLAIMANT'S RECORDS http://www.forms.va.gov/va/Internet/VARF/getformharness.asp?formName=3288-form.xft

Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses April 11, 2002 http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/Minutes_April112002.doc

Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses
http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/ReportandRecommendations_2004.pdf

Research and Development http://www.appc1.va.gov/resdev/programs/all_programs.cfm

Survivor's and Dependents' Educational Assistance http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partiii_chapter35_.html

Title 38 Index Parts 0-17
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx

Part 18
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx

Title 38 Part 3 Adjudication Subpart A "Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx

Title 38 Pensions, Bonuses & Veterans Relief (also § 3.317 Compensation for certain disabilities due to undiagnosed illnesses found here) http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=1b0c269b510d3157fbf8f8801bc9b3dc&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title38/38cfr3_main_02.tpl

Title 38 PART 4--SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES Subpart B--DISABILITY RATINGS
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx

Title 38§ 4.16 Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability of the individual. PART A "SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES Subpart à "General Policy in Rating http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx

U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims http://www.vetapp.gov/

VA Best Practice Manual for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) http://www.avapl.org/pub/PTSD%20Manual%20final%206.pdf

VA Fact Sheet http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/gwfs.html

VA Health Care Eligibility http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/home/hecmain.asp

VA INSTITUTING GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTION (GAF) http://www.avapl.org/gaf/gaf.html

VA Life Insurance Handbook Chapter 3 http://www.insurance.va.gov/inForceGliSite/GLIhandbook/glibookletch3.htm#310

VA Loan Lending Limits and Jumbo Loans http://valoans.com/va_facts_limits.cfm

VA MS Research http://www.va.gov/ms/about.asp

VA National Hepatitis C Program http://www.hepatitis.va.gov/

VA Office of Research and Development http://www1.va.gov/resdev/

VA Trainee Pocket Card on Gulf War http://www.va.gov/OAA/pocketcard/gulfwar.asp

VA WMD EMSHG http://www1.va.gov/emshg/

VA WRIISC-DC http://www.va.gov/WRIISC-DC/

VAOIG Hotline Telephone Number and Address http://www.va.gov/oig/hotline/hotline3.htm

Vet Center Eligibility - Readjustment Counseling Service http://www.va.gov/rcs/Eligibility.htm

Veterans Benefits Administration Main Web Page http://www.vba.va.gov/

Veterans Legal and Benefits Information http://valaw.org/

VHA Forms, Publications, Manuals http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/

VHA Programs - Clinical Programs & Initiatives http://www1.va.gov/health_benefits/page.cfm?pg=13

VHA Public Health Strategic Health Care Group Home Page http: // www.publichealth.va.gov/

VHI Guide to Gulf War Veterans ¬(tm) Health http://www1.va.gov/vhi_ind_study/gulfwar/istudy/index.asp

Vocational Rehabilitation http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/


Vocational Rehabilitation Subsistence http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/InterSubsistencefy04.doc

VONAPP online http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp

WARMS - 38 CFR Book C http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/bookc.html

Wartime Disability Compensation http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi

War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center - New Jersey http://www.wri.med.va.gov/

Welcome to the GI Bill Web Site http://www.gibill.va.gov/

What VA Social Workers Do http://www1.va.gov/socialwork/page.cfm?pg=3

WRIISC Patient Eligibility http://www.illegion.org/va1.html

[EZ2]

Yup, I got a similar link/message via email several days ago from an old USMC buddy ---- good stuff!!

[mick]

they did show one vet receiving keys to their new home.

[EZ2]

Thx. Mick ~~~ and, that is great news too !!

[mick]

e-z on huckbee show... here is a link for military homeownership.

http://www.militarywarriors.org

there is a form to fill out.

mick,

my test still negative for cancer.

[EZ2]

R.I.P. Marine

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fortwayne/obituary.aspx?n=stanley-j-dilley-stan&pid=154713952

[EZ2]

FYI ~~ agent orange / benefits related.....

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=69269004

[EZ2]

[chunga1]

wow....

[EZ2]

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

[EZ2]

Subject: Viet Nam Veteran Statistics for Veterans Day, (November 11, 2011)


A little history most people will never know.



Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

"Carved on these walls is the story of America , of a continuing quest
to preserve both Democracy and decency, and to protect a national
treasure that we call the American dream." ~President George Bush

SOMETHING to think about - Most of the surviving Parents are now Deceased.


There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including
those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by
date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to
believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East
wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E - May 25, 1968),
then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the
earth (numbered 70W - continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in
1975. Thus the war's beginning and end meet. The war is complete, coming
full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle's open side
and contained within the earth itself.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth ,
Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on
June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son,
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on
Sept. 7, 1965.


. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

. 8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .

. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam .

. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

. 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in
Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.

. 8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War;
153 of them are on the Wall.

. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation.
There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

. The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school
football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of
Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring
beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado
Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic
camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of
Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service
began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

. The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales
were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in
Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few
yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And
they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all
three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the
fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less
than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting
the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~
245 deaths.

. The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415
casualties were incurred.


For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the
Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the
families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that
these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with
these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives,
sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.


Please pass this on to those who served during this time, and those who DO Care.