Vietnam Veteran News with Mack Payne

Most Vietnam Veterans are familiar with the term coined by Union general William T. Sherman during the Civil War - "War is Hell." It is not an experience most of us would want to repeat nor would we wish it on our sons and grandsons. Today was can add daughter and granddaughters to that inclination. One would think the leaders of our nation would have learned enough about the slippery path that led us into the Vietnam quagmire to prevent it from happening again.

Unfortunately, that might not be the case according to an opinion piece from Paris, France. A discussion of the distinct possibility of our country being drawn into another Vietnam type war is found in The Tribune Content Agency titled: Why America should recall the Vietnam War when choosing its next president submitted by Rachel Marsden.

Marsden points out that former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara stated in his memoir, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam," Kennedy had decided on Oct. 2, 1963, the month before he was assassinated, to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. Kennedy’s exit strategy was effectively buried with him. His successor Lyndon B. Johnson not only stayed in the war but ramped it up many times over.

Marsden makes a very profound observation: "The Persian Gulf regimes — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait — that funded the rebels who ultimately formed the Islamic State have also managed to spare millions of dollars for the Clinton Foundation. These generous donors want Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime to fall.

Would Kennedy have been so keen to get troops out of Vietnam if he had a family foundation that was receiving donations from South Korea, Laos, Thailand and other Asian countries that were supporting South Vietnam?"

In the upcoming presidential election the country will have to decide if it wants a person with dubious back office connections that could force less than beneficial decisions for the nation or a deal maker with a slim world diplomacy resume. The outcome could cost more American blood. All citizens are urged to carefully consider who they want to be our next president.

Rachel Marsden show website: http://www.unredactedshow.com

This podcast episode is filled with medical news pertinent to Vietnam Veterans. Two stories are highlighted that illustrate the news. One is from Fox2Now in St Louis, Missouri titled: West County dentist offering free dental care for veterans Friday and was submitted by Roche Madden. The other is from The Savannah Morning News titled: 'It is truly a pleasure to serve you': Savannah celebrates new VA clinic submitted by Mary Carr Mayle.

Dr. Allan Link, a practicing dentist in Ballwin, Missouri, is providing free dental services to veterans this coming Friday, October 28, 2016. He is making his office along with all its staff from officer manager to dental hygienist available at no cost to veterans on that Friday. In addition, if a vet needs more extensive care, oral surgeons are standing by ready to donate their services. Dental labs also do work free of charge.

This is the seventh year in a row Dr. Link is providing this wonderful service for veterans. He does this because he's inspired by the many veterans in his family including his father-in law.  Dr. Link feels the veterans are the reason why I get the wonderful life we all have.”

If you are a veteran in the area contact Dr. Links office to get your name on the list for free dental services on Friday. Here is his contact information:

The DentaLink

14335 Manchester Road

Ballwin, MO 63044

(636) 219-4393

First Session: 8 an-12 noon

Second Session: 12 noon-4 pm

Call to reserve spot

The Savannah Morning New story is about the opening of a new VA clinic in Savannah. It is a part of the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston. The new 56,000 square foot facility located at 1170 Shawnee Street in Savannah will be replacing the 34,000-square-foot clinic on West Montgomery Crossroad that has served the city’s veterans for the last quarter-century.

The new clinic will have 12 primary care teams, with the flexibility to grow to 15 teams offering newly available much-needed additional services, such as audiology, cardiology and additional women’s services. These services will be available along with the clinic's regular offering of mental health, telehealth, general radiology, compensation and pension exams, prosthetics, physical therapy, optometry and podiatry specialty services. All veterans are encouraged to take advantage of the services offered by the new Savannah VA Outpatient Clinic.

As a Vietnam Veteran you will always have an interest in the country where your innocence of youth was taken away. We went there as the regular young person from down the street and encountered a world full of terror, adventure, sorrow and excitement. We came home and were called baby killers and for good measure pummeled with eggs and other egregious materials thrown at us by anti-war protestors.

Such a bizarre paradigm of eye opening experiences causes one to retain an interest in the place it happened. In this podcast episode we will take a look at current events in Vietnam specifically the potential war clouds forming on the horizon. A story from The Vietnam Express titled: Vietnam walks a thin line as American, Chinese warships make landmark port calls that was submitted by Dien Luong lays out the situation with how Vietnam is dealing with the situation where China is claiming strategically important islands in the South China Sea, namely the Spratley and Paracel Islands.

Several nations in the area are claiming title to the islands for several good reasons. Number one is that they sit right in the path most of the commercial shipping lanes to the Far East. Controlling those sea lanes would give the controlling authority many advantages over its competitors. Also it is reported the area contains large underwater petroleum reserves which belong to the owners of the islands. Another enticing factor is that the waters off those islands are loaded with seafood which is highly important to those nations in the area who have large population that must be fed.

Vietnam is right in the middle of all this international turbulence. Dien Luong points out that the Vietnamese have to be adept in its relations with other countries. This is one of the reasons they have opened up the big port of Cam Ranh Bay and declared it to be an international port, open to all on a commercial basis.

The Vietnamese are cagy enough in the opinion of this writer to hold their own against the big boys in their neighborhood.

In this episode we will be looking at a wonderful event that will honor Vietnam Veterans in Michigan City, Indiana. It is being conducted by the Remembering Our Veterans Inc. organization that is headquartered in Michigan City. They will hold the third annual La Porte County Veterans Breakfast & Parade on Nov. 5 and later have a wreath presentation ceremony at veterans' graves on Dec. 17, which is National Wreaths Across America Day. The event was described in a story from The Michigan City News-Dispatch titled: Honoring those who served that was submitted by RICHARD CHAMBERS - Staff Writer.

They chose a specific war or battle each year to be given special honors. Vietnam Veterans will be honored this year. On November 5, there will be a breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. at Veterans of Foreign Wars Dunes Relief Post 2536, 800 Earl Rd. A parade will follow at noon at Franklin and 10th streets. The parade will march north to Fourth Street. There will be a float in the parade for Vietnam veterans to ride upon.

Family members of the military members who were killed in action will be allowed to walk in the parade with the float for the memory of those who died. It was also decided to invite family members of those Vietnam Veterans who died from Agent Orange related illnesses to walk in the parade.

The Remembering Our Veterans Inc. event in Michigan City is being held in conjunction with the National Wreaths Across America Day wreath laying ceremonies on December 17th. The mission of the National Wreaths Across America Day is to Remember, Honor and Teach by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as over 1,100 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea, and abroad.

Wreaths for the Michigan City event can be ordered until Nov. 20 and they will be laid on veterans' graves at Greenwood Cemetery and Swan Lake Cemetery on Dec. 17. One wreath can be acquired for a $15 sponsorship. People can also sponsor two wreaths and receive a third one for free. All in the Michigan City area are encouraged to come out and support this event sponsoring Vietnam Veterans.

CLICK HERE for more information about the Michigan City event.

CLICK HERE for more information about Wreaths Across America

One of the primary purposes of this podcast is to extol the virtues of the Vietnam Veteran Generation - a generation as great as any that ever heeded the call of duty from its country. A generation that gave much service to its country and received so little gratitude and recognition from the country served when the veterans came home. Coming home they expected a modicum of gratitude and recognition but instead were abused verbally and physically. The Vietnam Veteran Generation not only served its country during the war under very trying circumstances but by and large they continued to serve their country as civilians and in the process making it better.

In this podcast episode a member of that great generation will be featured. His story comes from a story in the rtohq.org website title: John Blair Inducted Into the Georgia Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame that was submitted by Valerie Villarreal. The story by Villarreal tells about John Blair being inducted into the Georgia Military Veterans' Hall of Fame.

Blair served in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. During the Tet Offensive he was serving as a squad leader in Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, India Co. During the war’s dramatic Tet Offensive, Blair’s platoon came under heavy fire from a large North Vietnamese force. Blair, serving as squad leader, and his men were pinned down, but he didn’t hesitate to maneuver his squad forward and launch an assault on the enemy. He was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership and for disregarding his own safety that day.

After his time in the Marine Corps, he put in a career in the rent-to-own industry. Currently hi is the vice president of sales for PTS Direct Benefits & Tax Service. He was one of only 17—out of 106 nominees—to be selected for the honor of being inducted into the Georgia Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame this year.

CLICK HERE to see Blair's profile in the RTOHQ website.

It this episode two news items will be highlighted. One will be about an event where Vietnam Vet and NFL star, Rock Bleier will address an event in Wheeling, West Virginia. The event was described in a story in The Weirton Daily Times titled: Pro, veteran Rocky Bleier to address veterans and was submitted by Heather Ziegler. Ziegler told in her story about Bleier speaking to group of Vietnam combat veterans. He will be on hand when the Wheeling Vet Center honors 200 of its Vietnam veterans during a ceremony set for Oct. 27. The event is invitation only and all the available slots are filled. No other requests to attend this particular event will be accepted.

Bleier has the exceptional background of being a football player on both a national college championship team at the University of Notre Dame, the four time NFL champion Pittsburg Steelers and being a decorated Vietnam combat veteran. He is a member of the 50th Commemorative Advisory Committee and will speak during the event. Bleier, who was wounded in Vietnam, will be helping to present the veterans lapel pins commemorating their service during the war during .

For more information about the event contact Heather Ziegler at: [email protected]

Do not call (304) 232-0587 about this event.

The other story featured in this episode is about the Agent Orange cleanup program being conducted in Vietnam. It comes from an article in the VN Express, the most read Vietnamese newspaper, titled: US, Vietnam start new phase of dioxin cleanup project that was submitted by Dam Tuan. Tuan tells about the US helping to finance the second phase of a dioxin cleanup project in the central city of Da Nang, aiming to treat 45,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated with the toxic chemical. The task is expected to complete by mid-2017, following the first phase which treated a similar amount of soil and was finished in May.

Speaking as a Vietnam Veteran, it is only right that this country assist in the dioxin clean up in Vietnam.

Frequently on this podcast the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund Wall of Faces project has been discussed. That organization has the ambitious goal of finding a photograph of every person whose name is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial better known as simply "The Wall." That is a formidable task. There are 58,286 names on the Wall. To date, according to Janna Hoehn, 47804 photos have been found. That means they only have 10,482 to go. There is still a lot of work to be done to locate all the photos.

The aforementioned Janna Hoehn has been a leader in collecting missing photos. She got started a few years ago after she visited the Wall recorded a name from it and later found a photo of the individual and she got hooked on the project. She found all the missing photos  of fallen Vietnam Vets from Hawaii and then moved on to the West Coast and moved east. Today she is working in Missouri searching for pictures.

Some of her enthusiasm and drive has rubbed off on others. In this episode the story of two ladies in Corsicana, Texas is featured. It comes from the Corsicana Daily Sun and is titled: Searching for faces, local effort to find photos of Vietnam Veterans. It was submitted by Jennifer Miller of the Corsicana Daily Sun.

Miller's article tells about the work being done by Dana Stubbs, director of the Liz Gillispie Genealogy Department at the Corsicana Public Library, and Renee Brown to find photos of approximately 27 local Vietnam Veterans from the Corsicana area whose names are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The names of the fallen Vietnam Veterans who do not have photos for the Wall of Faces is listed below. If you might by chance know any of these individuals or their family members or associates please contact either of these two wonderful ladies. They desperately need your help in this noble project of finding all the pictures for the Wall of Faces Project.

Dana Stubbs at 903-645-4808

Renee Brown at 903-467-7111

Email contacts at the Corsicana Daily Sun:

CLICK HERE for more information about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

CLICK HERE for more information about the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund Wall of Faces.

Please help find photos of these fallen Vietnam Veterans:

Navarro County, Samuel Waymon McDaniel II, Oct. 1 1951- July 8, 1971

Ellis County, Charles David Gabriel, Dec. 1 or Jan. 12, 1946- Jan. 6, 1967

Henderson County, William Johnson, Dec. 11, 1945- March 4, 1966

Freestone County, Charles Allen Price, Sept. 18, 1948- Jan. 19, 1969

Limestone County, William Steve Calhoun, May 21, 1944- Jan. 20, 1968

McLennan County, Thomas Cotton III, July 31, 1944- Nov. 10, 1966

Leroy Garrett, Jr., May 31, 1937- Oct. 14, 1965

Anthony Wayne Gilmore, Jan. 28, 1946- June 23, 1966

Harlon Joe Gilmore, Jan. 12, 1937- Jan. 23, 1969

Charles Wesley Gober Jr., June 22, 1944- June 4, 1966

Monroe Greer, May 4, 1948- Nov. 14, 1968

Nathaniel Haliburton, Jr., April 4, 1945- May 26, 1968

Antonio Jimenez, Jan. 9, 1938- March 5, 1966

Kenneth Ray Jones, June 9, 1950- Aug. 2, 1968

Leslie A. Lewis, Dec. 7, 1949- Nov. 23, 1968

Ray Eugen McCune, May 16, 1932- Nov. 23, 1968

Carl Louis Meier, Oct. 20, 1932- Sept. 8, 1969

Henry Charles Ramsey, March 9, 1949- May 5, 1969

Robert Lewis West, March 16, 1948- June 2, 1968

David Williams, Sept. 7, 1945- Feb. 8, 1966

Smith County, Albert Butler Jr., Jan. 26, 1943- June 22, 1967

Ronald Raymond Conn, Sept. 25, 1943- Dec. 27, 1966

FG Gipson, Jr., Aug. 27, 1945- Oct. 14, 1966

AD Mosley, Aug. 21, 1942- April 19, 1966

Ronald Wayne Sebring, March 13, 1932- July 2, 1968

Joseph Michael Turk, April 18, 1948- Sept. 5, 1968

James Earl Wallace, May 15, 1946- Sept. 8, 1966

Recently the writer of this piece had the privilege of addressing the Vietnam Veteran Association, Chapter 1078 in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was an uplifting experience to be able to associate with so many outstanding representatives of the great Vietnam Veteran Generation. The chapter was celebrating the fact they had just signed up their 202nd member. They are providing a wonderful example for a members of the VVA.

The work they are doing in VVA Chapter 1078 is helping America come to the realization its owes the Vietnam Veterans a great deal of respect and gratitude. Upcoming events like the one in Florence, South Carolina typifies this changing attitude toward Vietnam Veterans.

On October 27 through the 29th, Francis Marion University will host the Moving Wall Memorial. The visit is described in an article found in The Patriot, Francis Marion University's award-winning student newspaper titled: The Moving Wall memorial to visit FMU submitted by: Rachel Droze, Editor-in-Chief.

The university will host an opening ceremony for the wall at 5 p.m. on Oct. 27 outside the Rogers Library followed by a reception at Wallace House. Gen. James Livingston, a Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient, will give the address for the ceremony. The color guard from Mullins High School and a local brass quintet will also be a part of the ceremony. Dr. Jon Tuttle, who is currently teaching a course on Vietnam and American culture, led the efforts to bring the wall to FMU.

According to Tuttle, the proposal for the event was well received by university officials including the president Dr. Fred Carter.

It is highly recommended that all in the area visit the Moving Wall event to show respect for the 58,000 plus individuals whose names are on the wall. The Moving Wall is half the size of the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and has been on tour across the U.S. for more than 30 years.

CLICK HERE for more information about Francis Marion University.

CLICK HERE for more information about The Moving Wall.

Ron Kirby, president of Chapter #1078 of the Vietnam Veterans of America located in Knoxville, Tennessee invites all Vietnam Veterans and those who care about the veterans to attend their meeting next Tuesday, October 11 at 6:00 pm. The speaker will be Mack Payne, author of the book Conversations with Vietnam Heroes. He will be speaking about why he believes the Vietnam War should be called the "Upside Down" war. CLICK HERE for more information about Chapter #1078 of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

In this episode the story of an amazing Vietnam War US Air Force pilot, Don Harten, will be featured. The story about his exploits in Vietnam is described in a story found in The Sacramento Bee titled: Mather Vietnam-era pilot recounts survival of midair B-52 collision submitted by: By Bill Lindelof - [email protected]. In the story Lindel tells about a book titled “Midair” by author Craig Collins, the nephew of Harten wrote about his uncle's experiences while flying in Vietnam. The book puts special emphasis on that fateful stormy night when the B-52 Harten was piloting had a midair head-on collision with another B-52.

Harten was one of four who survived the crash. Eight did not make it. He was not out of the frying pan when he successfully ejected from the bomber just before it exploded. He jumped into a category 5 storm – Super Typhoon Dinah. After landing in the stormy South China Sea he waited what seemed like a lifetime in a small life raft. The aircraft that finally picked him up promptly crashed in the ocean. Eventually the downed pilot was rescued by a Norwegian freighter and taken to who knows where (you will have to read the book to find the answer to that question).

If you want a good and exciting read about another fabulous member of the Great Vietnam Veteran Generation get a copy of Craig Collins book "Midair." You will not be able to put it down until you find out where the Norwegian freighter took Don Harten so he could return to his unit and continue the fight against the rise of Communism and it goal of a one world government.

RECOMMENDED READING:

One of the more unique features of the Vietnam War is how POWs and MIAs were treated and regarded by the country. Heretofore in wars this country has participated in POWs were tolerated as a necessary evil. When the wars were over the former POWs were thanked, checked out physically, given a pension, sent home and promptly forgotten about. The Vietnam War brought changes to that standard POW routine. Beginning with that war they were considered heroes.

There are several opinions as to how this situation developed. One popular idea is that because the Vietnam was so unpopular the POWs were more readily received as heroes. Another reason the attitudes toward POWs and MIAs is so different now is due to the efforts of people like Maureen Dunn. She helped spearhead the formation of the National League of Families of POWs/MIAs.

A story in the Randolph Wicked Local titled: Randolph chair remains empty in memory of Dunn's efforts for Vietnam POWs submitted by Kari Strouth tells about a ceremony in her home town of Randolph, Massachusetts where the memory of Maureen Dunn, who died May 10, 2013, will be honored by the placement of a single back chair with the POW/MIA Logo flanked by the American Flag and the POW Flag. It will remain in the vestibule of Randolph Town Hall as a tribute to Dunn's work and symbolically held empty, holding the seat open for those who have not returned.

Maureen Dunn had been married to Lt. Joseph P. Dunn less than three years when his plane was shot down over the South China Sea Feb. 14, 1968 during the Vietnam War. Alone and with their young son Joe II she began a relentless campaign that forever changed how the United States viewed its POWs and Soldiers Missing in Action. That campaign was a grassroots committee, begun in Randolph, called the Where is Lt. Joe Dunn Committee. Dunn was the co-founder of the National League of Families of POWs/MIAs and travelled across the country to raise awareness on behalf of American military personnel missing in action and their families.