Vietnam Veteran News with Mack Payne

It appears the "Dirty Rotten Vietnamese Government" has a little bit of a heart after all. In the previous episode titled Dirty Rotten Vietnamese Kick Aussie Vets in the Gut the sorry story was featured. It seems a group of 3000 Australian Vietnam Veterans and family traveled to Vietnam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. In that battle a company of 120 Australians and New Zealanders engaged a force of 2500 NVA and they prevailed in the battle. The ANZAC forces suffered 18 KIA and numerous wounded. The purpose of the commemoration was to honor the fallen soldiers.

At the eleventh hour the night before the event was to take place the Vietnamese government cancelled the event claiming the large number of foreign participants would insult and hurt the feelings of Vietnamese veterans and people. The opinion of the writer of this piece was that the Vietnamese move to cancel the event was deplorable. The Australians had traveled all the way to Vietnam to pay their respects to the dead.

Being open minded the writer of this show note in this episode is featuring a story from The Daily Mail titled: 'What if the Japanese turned up to commemorate the bombing of Darwin?' Mike Carlton DEFENDS Vietnam for banning Australia's Long Tan by Leith Huffadine For Daily Mail Australia and Australian Associated Press. It seems former war journalist Mike Carlton defended Vietnam's position. He said it'd be like Japanese visiting Darwin to commemorate their bombing of the city in World War II.

Sorry but the writer of this show note disagrees with Mike Carlton's opinion. The Australian veterans and family did not go to Vietnam to participate in victory parades and celebrations. They went to pay their respects to their brave veterans who died in a war.

Thank goodness the Vietnamese relented slightly after the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had a conversation with his Vietnamese counterpart. Allowances were made so the visitors could visit the site of the battle. Also the dinner in Vung Tau was allowed to proceed. It looks like there is still a ways to go for all the wounds of war to heal up completely.

Back in Episode 683 of this podcast an event that was to be held in the country of Vietnam to commemorate the Battle of Long Tan was featured. It sounded a little iffy to the writer of this piece when it was reported that the Vietnamese government would not permit the mention of the battle or the showing of any military remembrances by the Australian Vietnam Veterans in attendance.

Now it appears the other shoe has fallen and the Vietnamese government has kicked the Australian government and the veterans in attendance in the gut. The sorry state of affairs is featured in a story from The Advertiser of Adelaide, Australia titled: Vietnam cancels Long Tan service submitted by Kara Vickery of the News Corp Australia Network.

It seems that after 1,000 Australian Vietnam Veterans and their families traveled all the way to Vietnam to attend the ceremonies, the Vietnamese government cancelled the event at the last minute. All the Australians wanted to do was pay their respects to them men, on both sides, who died in that battle fought in a rubber plantation not for from Vung Tau on August 18, 1966.

Unfortunately the Vietnamese at the last minute realized concerns about “deep sensitivities” over the battle and the impact the commemorations could have on the local community. I think they did not want to publicize they got their butts kicked by some Australians and New Zealanders.

The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull said “This decision and especially its timing shows a disregard for those Australians who have in good faith travelled to Vietnam to participate in this week’s events.”

I believe this shows the value of freedom and liberty that all men hold dear and how it is so lacking in the communist country of Vietnam. The contrast is overwhelming between the freedom found in Australia and its lack in Vietnam.

Every once in a while something unusual and special happens to a Vietnam Veteran or their family. That recently happened to the son of a Vietnam Veteran in Victor, New York according to a story in The Daily Messenger titled: What's Up With that?: Rightful owner of Purple Heart found by Mike Murphy ([email protected]).

The story tells about a very caring lady, Anna Alger, executive director of the Legacy at Fairways in Victor. Not long ago a Purple Heart and a service medal ribbon appeared on the front desk of the senior-living community in a sealed envelope, with a note to find a home. She was probably chosen for the special mission because her husband served in Vietnam, and she’s done a lot of work with Honor Flight and the effort in Farmington to get a memorial built in recognition of those who served in the Vietnam War.

Alger felt a little pressure from the task she was asked to undertake “I was blown away,” she said. Despite that she began the search to find the rightful place for the medals with the indefatigable determination of a modern day Sherlock Holmes. The Purple Heart had Kenneth Wayne Lampman, a U.S. Army specialist engraved on it.

After a good deal of detective work she found it was awarded to Lampman, who was an aircraft maintenance mechanic with the 1st Cavalry Division. He had lost his life in a helicopter crash on March 5, 1967. Soon afterward she discovered Lampman had a son, Kenneth Lampman Jr., who was only seven months old when his father died. Lampman Jr. lives in Oakland, Pennsylvania.

Alger invited Lampman and his family to the Farmington Vietnam Veterans memorial benefit concert last Saturday, so he could receive the medals. It was a very emotional event. Here the whole story on this podcast.

This podcast encourages Vietnam Veterans to write their memoirs of their experiences in that war. In a previous episode Dr. Michael Lund of Longwood University at Farmville, Virginia was featured. He has retired from fulltime English teaching at the school and is now devoting time to his Home and Abroad Writing Program for Military Veterans. He offers professional writing coaching to Vietnam Veterans at no cost. This is a wonderful opportunity for the veterans to receive top notch assistance in writing. All are encouraged to take Dr. Lund up on his generous offer of writing assistance. CLICK HERE  for more information his program.

In this episode another wonderful opportunity for Vietnam Veterans who have interests in writing is featured. This one is in Arkansas and is sponsored by Arkansas State University. It is described in a story from Arkansas Online titled:  Written lines lead vets back to battle lines by Hunter Field. Nine veterans took part in an all-expenses-paid retreat hosted by the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum & Educational Center. The vets were offered writing assistance under the mentorship of Rob Lamm, director of English education at Arkansas State University. The weekend meeting took place in a former estate owned by Ernest Hemingway. It was where he wrote a good part of his novel A Farewell to Arms.

All the vets in the retreat felt it was highly beneficial and recommended more of their comrades in combat do the same for its therapeutic value.

After veterans get their books written the next step is to publish their works. That's where the writer of this piece steps in. I will gladly show how anyone can publish a book for only $5. Discover this little known secret by watching a replay of the webinar where I spilled the beans on how it can be easily done. CLICK HERE for more details.

Ask any American Vietnam Veteran to name some of the biggest battles of the war and most would mention such names as the Ia Drang Valley, Dak To, Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive. Ask an ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand) Vietnam Veteran that question and they will most likely say it was the Battle of Long Tan. That battle took place in a rubber plantation in August of 1966 not far from Vung Tau. A company of about 100 Australians and New Zealanders under the command of now retired LTC Harry Smith took on a force of 2500 VC and NVA troops. After a four hour fierce battle Smith and his brave soldiers prevailed and defeated the enemy. His command suffered 18 dead and 24 wounded. The enemy force was repelled. The battlefield was littered with 250 enemy bodies and numerous body parts too numerous to count and indications many more dead were removed during or immediately after the battle.

A special ceremony is being held in Vietnam to commemorate the battle. Smith and thirteen of his fellow veterans will attend the event. Along with them will be Keith Payne, the last surviving Victoria Cross recipient from the Vietnam War. He has been chosen to deliver the Ode of Remembrance at the Long Tan Cross on the 50th anniv­ersary of the notorious battle.

The is something interesting about this remembrance event for the Battle of Long Tan. The Vietnamese government has approved the Australians having a muted commemoration for Vietnam Veterans Day and a “friendship dinner”, but there is to be no official mention of the Battle of Long Tan. The only official events to mark its 50th anniv­ersary will be in Australia.

The veterans are not allowed to wear medals or any military items or to even mention the battle. So much for free speech.

In this episode two articles are featured that discuss the ceremony in Vietnam and the battle itself and what Harry Smith has done to get more recognition of his soldiers for their brave actions in the battle. The first is from The Australian titled: Vets remember Long Tan, but don’t talk about the war Mark Schliebs a Reporter in Brisbane. The other is from The Courier Mail titled: Harry Smith led his men from massacre as the Vietnam War changed their lives forever submitted by Grantlee Kieza. Hope you enjoy the story of these brave Australian and New Zealand Vietnam Veterans.

Get the real story of the Battle at Long Tan from Harry Smith himself. Get a copy of his book by just clicking on the image.

Recently we have been talking about replicas of the Vietnam Memorial Wall making appearances across the nation. Several different groups are providing displays of these "Moving Walls" to help show appreciation for the tremendous service and sacrifice made by the two and a half Americans who participated in that war. These moving tributes include the "Wall That Heals" that was created by the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund. It has been displayed in 400 cities across the nation. The "Moving Wall" organization has three walls making appearances coast to coast. Another is the "Traveling Wall" which is a 3/5 size replica while the American Veterans Traveling Tribute is a massive 80% replica.

The Wall That Heals from the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund will arrive in West Springfield, New Hampshire for a week's visit. The event was featured in an opinion article in The Daily Hampshire Gazette titled: What coming of Vietnam wall replica means submitted by John Paradis. He is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, lives in Florence and writes a monthly column that appears on the second Friday. He is a veterans' outreach coordinator for VA New England Healthcare System.

In his opinion piece he laid out in a very understandable manner exactly what the presence of the Wall meant. Six months ago when visit was being discussed the question was raised about the possibility of war protestors making an appearance at the Wall. That question set off a lively debate. Many of the Vietnam Veterans were adamant in their belief that they should not be allowed to attend and if they did what they would do to them. A good number of Vietnam Veterans still to this day harbor bad feelings from how they were treated upon their return home from the war.

Richard J. Tyrell, a Marine Corps veteran from Springfield, NH calmed down the gathering when he said it is time to get over the politics and honor the veterans for their service. All in the area are encouraged to visit the "Wall that Heals" when it comes to West Springfield.

In this episode we will be featuring an update on the quest by the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund to find a picture of every fallen veteran whose name is on the Wall Memorial in Washington, DC. They are seeking to find 25 more photos in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. An article in The Trib Live of Westmoreland County titled: Photos of 25 Vietnam veterans from Westmoreland sought for 'Wall of Faces' project by Patrick Varine describes the overall program and its status locally.

Recently two missing photos have been located. They are Richard S. Graham of Latrobe, a Marine killed in 1967, and James W. Powers Jr. of Loyalhanna, an Army member killed in 1968. There doesn't seem to be any concerted efforts afoot in the area to find missing pictures. According to the article the only thing being done is when a clerk at the Westmoreland Veterans Affairs office has a little down time calls will be made to inquire about missing pictures.

What they need there is a firebrand volunteer like the incomparable Janna Hoehn of South Maui, Hawaii. She is currently finding missing photos west of the Mississippi. She started out in her home state of Hawaii and upon finding all the photos there she became so inspired she decided to tackle all the states in the West. So far she has completed ten states and now is working on the State of Missouri.

She has an effect method of finding mission images and is willing to share it with anyone, anywhere who would assist in this wonderful and patriotic project. Contact her at [email protected]. She will be glad to share her easy step by step guide to finding missing photos.

Listed below are the twenty five names from Westmoreland County on the Wall who do not have pictures in the collection. Please check the list to see if you just might either have a picture or know of someone who may have a connection to the person that might be able to produce a photo.

Patrick Varine is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at 724-850-2862 or [email protected].

If you have a photo of any of the veterans listed below, visit VVMF.org and click on the “Wall of Faces” link for information on submitting it.

Ronald E. Alincic of Mt. Pleasant, Army, killed Oct. 12, 1968.

John M. Beyrand of Wyano, Army, killed Aug. 9, 1967.

Charles K. Burkart Jr. of Greensburg, Marine Corps, killed June 22, 1968.

Lawrence G. Donaldson of Ligonier, Marine Corps, killed Feb. 25, 1969.

Charles S. Duddy of New Kensington, Air Force, killed Jan. 1, 1969.

Raymond G. Feld of Grapeville, Army, killed Feb. 2, 1969.

William H. Gamble of New Kensington, Army, killed June 13, 1966.

George R. Garris of Greensburg, Marine Corps, killed March 15, 1969.

Lawrence Geiger of Irwin, Army, killed Aug. 22, 1970.

Clifford M. Gibson of Irwin, Marine Corps, killed Aug. 16, 1969.

David S. Hackett of Ligonier, Marine Corps, killed April 30, 1967.

Frank R. Hiteshue of Penn, Army, killed Nov. 14, 1970.

Joseph F. Kardos of Vandergrift, Marine Corps, killed Feb. 3, 1968.

Thomas B. Kemerer of Mt. Pleasant, Marine Corps, killed July 19, 1966.

William J. Kolenc of Smithton, Army, killed March 7, 1969.

James R. McClelland of Irwin, Marine Corps, killed April 11, 1968.

James H. Moore of Latrobe, Army, killed March 19, 1969.

James A. Morrison of Irwin, Army, killed Jan. 18, 1968.

Robert Nadolski of New Florence, Army, killed Jan. 1, 1967.

Bruce J. Nichols of Lower Burrell, Army, killed May 21, 1970.

Pietro Piconi of Hannastown, Marine Corps, killed Nov. 26, 1968.

Delbert L. Singler of Irwin, Navy, killed March 3, 1969.

Donald E. Stahl of Southwest, Marine Corps, killed June 27, 1966.

Terry L. Weller of Ligonier, Army, killed Jan. 31, 1966.

Edward E. Whalen of Arnold, Marine Corps, killed April 22, 1968.

In two recent episodes of this podcast we have taken a look at Vietnam Veteran interviews conducted by Michael Roknick of The Herald of Sharon, Pennsylvania. The interviews were published as part of the celebration of a visit to Hermitage by the Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial. The Moving Wall exhibit ended at 8:00 am Monday morning and now it is moving on to its next engagement.

A closing article about the Moving Wall Memorial was in The Herald today. It was titled: Facts about The Vietnam Moving Wall with the information in the article being provided by the Mercer County Veterans Affairs office. They came up with some very interesting information about the wall.

Most are aware more than 58,000 names are on the Wall. The enormity of the overwhelming grief and sorrow those deaths have caused to more than 58,000 families is obvious. There are some fascinating details about the names on the Wall that will cause amazement.

For instance do you know who the first person was to have their name on the Wall and what date it was added. And the sad thing that happened to his son years later? Do you know how many sets of fathers and sons are on the Wall? What about this, who is the youngest person on the Wall and what age did he die? Can you guess how many were killed on their first and last days in country? How many sets of brothers are on the Wall and how many women's names are on it? Which State had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation during the Vietnam War?

All these interesting questions will be answered in the podcast.

Don't miss my webinar tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm EDT. I will be talking about how to publish a book for only $5.00.          CLICK HERE to sign up - its free!

In this episode we will be looking at two of the most odious legacies of the Vietnam War. They are unexploded ordnance and Agent Orange. We need to do this for a little Monday morning quarterbacking so we can better handle future difficult situations the country encounters as in moves down the road of history.

There were two stories in the Thanh Nien News, one titled 7 Vietnamese caught with 3 large Vietnam War bombs and the other Vietnam calls for justice for Agent Orange victims that illustrate the terrible hangovers engendered by these two terrible legacies.

The article about the war bombs was about seven men in Quang Tri who discovered three 500 lb bombs buried fifteen feet. They had the wherewithal to not only locate the bombs but also to dig them up with a bulldozer and load them up on a car and then attempt to sell them. Unfortunately the police discovered their operation, arrested the miscreants and seized their bombs.

The news story illustrates the tremendous problem faced by the Vietnamese with unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War. Uncounted tons of bombs and other explosives were used in the war and a significant amount of those munitions did not detonate at the point of application in battle. Ever since the end of hostilities innocent Vietnamese civilians are being killed, wounded and maimed by exploding munitions.

Probably the direst rotten legacy of the Vietnam War is that left by the use of Agent Orange. The second article noted about describes a conference held in Hanoi designed to garner support for the victims of exposure to the dreaded herbicides used in the war. There was 22 million gallons of Agent Orange applied to South Vietnam and parts of Laos and Cambodia. Not only did exposure to Agent Orange cause significant problems for Allied Vietnam Veterans it's use created havoc for the country of Vietnam.

We must keep in mind the results of our actions in the Vietnam War so that we can determine better ways to settle our differences with other nations.

Tim Page is an Australian War Photographer who started out in 1964 taking pictures of war in Laos. His story is told in an article found on the 101.5 FM website. The station is known as Moreton Bay's Own of Caboolture, Australia which is just north of Brisbane. The Article was titled: Vietnam War through lens of veteran Australian correspondent. Tim Page is an exceptional person primarily due to his chosen profession and the fact that he has survived so long in the pursuit of pictures in war.

A defining moment occurred in his life was when he was on sixteen. He was killed in a motorcycle accident. Luckily for Tim he was quickly revived by medical technicians. After recovery from the accident he realized life was too short to spend it on a 9 to 5 job so he decided to seek out adventure where ever he could find it.

While seeking adventure in Laos in 1964 while working for US Aid as a teenage agronomist he was asked to stand in for a friend who was sent to Japan for six weeks to train as a UPI correspondent. Page was handed a camera and paid $110 to be a UPI (United Press International's) stringer in Laos. As luck would have it, only two weeks after his appointment as a temporary UPI stringer there was an attempted coup.

Not knowing what to do Page took the initiative and rode around on a motorbike through the areas where the government and coup forces were battling and took pictures. He made his way across the Thailand border and was able to send in his fresh photos of the combat scenes to UPI. This gave UPI a scoop on the uprising and it earned Page a permanent job as a combat photographer with UPI which he never gave up. Listen to his story in this episode and see what fifty years of taking pictures of war and dead bodies will do to a person's attitude.