Follow-up story for National Vietnam Veterans Day

This morning my Veterans Administration newsletter had a unique story I thought I'd share.

It truly exemplifies the meaning of the United States Flag, the Stars and Stripes, has for us Veterans.

The article is titled Guardians of the Flag: Veterans honor legacy of Vietnam War.

How many other stories like this are out there just waiting to be discovered like this one?

It is the main reason I started this blog - to assist in sharing fellow Veteran's stories.

Link on over and then share it with the group of Veterans you connect with. Let's show the nation what the flag means to all of us.

Tony Garcia (left) and his fellow Warriors United in Arms members move the ceremonial flag in Brownsville, Texas.

Thank you to VAntage Point, the official blog of the VA Administration, for allowing this link to their site.

National Vietnam Veterans Day

Of all the post I have seen today commemorating Vietnam Veterans Day, this one says it all for me.

I chose this one for it presents us as we are now. Most of us think of our time in service fondly because we do not remember the bad times, only the good. We remember our friends and fellow warriors.

Sometimes though, late at night when alone with our dreams, we remember the bad. God bless those of you that suffer still. May you gain peace in your life soon.

I caught the tail end of the Vietnam War and served on a Navy Guided Missile Frigate with the understanding that we may get orders to the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club at any time. Never did.

I did not serve in country but I enjoy these 'Toons from Phil. He has agreed to allow me to re-post his IN-COUNTRY cartoons as they fit the subject I am posting on in the future. Watch for them or visit his site and like his page.

Here is the link to the FB page where Phil post his IN-COUNTRY art. Please link on over and view his work. He is also a graphic artist with quite an array of experience from 'toons to professional advertising. Check out his other work on his main FB page here.

Cold War Headlines - 14MAR to 20MAR - Entertainment

19MAR49 - East Germany Approves Constitution - The first step to a divided country. The People's Council of the Soviet Zone of Occupation (Soviets) established a constitution that in effect, was the first step in dividing Germany after WW2. We all know that reunification finally happened in 1990 but this act started the ball rolling on furthering the start of the Cold War. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was formed in October 1949. It was a pre-cursor to us having millions of troops stationed there over 46 years of Cold War. Read more here.

17MAR59 - Here is one for you Bubbleheads - USS Skate SSN-578 surfaces at the North Pole
- after a previous attempt was thwarted in August 1958 (Skate surfaced but not at the North Pole), it was tried again. Successfully breaching the ice and surfacing at the North Pole, USS Skate became the first submarine to accomplish this feat. A newsreel film on the event is available on YouTube here.

16MAR68 - My Lai Massacre - history shows that war has had many instances of massacres of civilians, for Viet Nam Era Vets, it is My Lai that is the most notorious. Many enlisted and officer soldiers were charged but only one is still recognized for the crime, Lt. William Calley Jr. He was eventually tried, convicted, sentenced, imprisoned, and then paroled in September 1975. Those higher up in the chain of command were charged but not convicted. It is a sad day in the history of the US Army. Hopefully, current officers have learned from this tragedy. On a side note: I found a made for TV movie from 1975 on the court martial - Judgement: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley. The movie does not seem to be available for sale or rent.

Memorial to the Victims - Vietnamese Footprints and American Boot Prints

1975 Movie Poster

17MAR71 - Jane Leslie Holley commissioned into the USAF through the Auburn University ROTC program. I'm sorry to say that I could not find particulars on Ms. Holley's career or a photo to share here today. If anyone knew her then or knows her now, please share any info you can.

Kayla Bowers - USAF A-10 Warthog Pilot - 2016 photo

14MAR80 - How would you like to spend almost 2 days flying around the world, nonstop? - Well, this USAF B-52 crew did it in record time of 42 hours 30 minutes to win the Mackay award in 1980. Of course, it wasn't the first time an around the world flight happened, the first was 1924 (Army Air service) and took 175 days! The first non-stop was in 1949 (B-50 at 94 hours 1 minute) and I posted that achievement in an earlier post here. The first B-52 non-stop was 1957 with a little longer flight than 1980 at 45 hours 19 minutes. More information on the B-52 flights is here.

14MAR90 Gorbachev Elected President of USSR - This short lived success followed 5 years since his ascension to power in the USSR. I state short lived because by December 1991 Gorbachev would resign and the USSR would cease to exist. During his tenure from 1985 to 1991, he was responsible for instigating vast changes in a system that did not tolerate change well. Not all of the ideas worked, especially the economic ones, and he fell out of favor with the people, the reformers, and hardliners alike. Without him though, we'd probably still be in the Cold War.

Special Feature - Coast Guard on the North Pole - I found this while searching for North Pole photos. A little humor helps now and then. bet his butt got cold!

A Coast Guard Ice Breaker Sailor playing with trains at the North Pole

Entertainment -

Top of the song charts for this week 1959 - Venus by Bobby Darin - Listen here.

Movie release - 16MAR90 - Blind Fury - A blind Viet Nam Vet fights with a sword to save an fellow Veteran's son. Rutger Hauer plays the blindVet and his stare helps fool the bad guys and his sword work is excellent. If this type of action movie is for you, give it a try. Here is a scene from the movie. Amazon has it for rent and for sale - Blind Fury Rental.

Sports - 15MAR70 - Bobby Orr scores 100 points in a season - On March 15, 1970 Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins scored his 100th point in a single season becoming the first defenseman to do so. He racked up 20 more before the end of the season and won the Art Ross Trophy. The Bruins went on to win the Stanley Cup that season. Video of the 100th score is here.

If you were part of any of these operations I mention above, or events similar to these, please share your Cold War story with the readers. Email me at proudcoldwarrior@gmail.com and we can develop a post and add it to a future week.

Please consider joining The Proud Cold Warrior Society (lifetime membership includes a choice of t-shirt or coffee mug and a suitable for framing full color certificate). If you join the Society, please email me your contact info (we need it to send the certificate). Spreadshirt.com does not share your purchase information with us for security reasons. I only see which item is ordered. Thank you. JohnnyK

                      

Citations -

History.com

IMDB.com website

The Drive article on Yahoo News

AFGSC.AF.MIL website

Youtube.com website

Google Images for the photos

Cold War Headlines 7MAR to 13MAR - Special Report - Entertainment - Sports

12Mar47 - Truman Doctrine - In a speech to Congress concerning aid to Greece and Turkey, President Truman laid out his thoughts concerning peace through the United Nations and his commitment to aid countries in need after WW2 to foster Democracy in the world. The principles of containing Communism through "Political, Military and Economic" means in countries where the Communist had a foothold became known as the Truman Doctrine. The full text speech can be read here. An excellent Department of Sate document on the Doctrine is here.

10MAR59 - Tibet Rebellion - Tibet had been under occupation by the Chinese since 1951 and on this day 300,000 Tibetans surrounded the Dalai Lama's Palace because of fears that the Chinese military was going to take him into custody. Today, the Dalai Lama is in exile still. Read more about it here.

8MAR65 - U. S. Marines land in Vietnam - the Marines come ashore in an amphibious landing at Red Beach 2, just north of Da Nang. President Johnson agreed to provide the Marines to protect the air base. The History.com article provides details. It would be 10 years until the last Marine left. I have a previous post on the last Marines in Vietnam here.

8MAR75 - Thieu Orders Withdrawal - South Vietnam's President Thieu orders the military forces in the Central Highlands to withdraw from the NVA's campaign 275 which gained the upper hand in the battle by surrounding Ban Me Thuot. It is the beginning of the end for South Vietnam. I have a previous article posted on the Fall of Saigon here.

1980 11Mar85 - Gorbachev succeeds Chernenko - To use a statement from the above paragraph - It is the beginning of the end - 6 years later the USSR will no longer exist. Read the details of his ascension to power here.

11MAR90 - Lithuania declares independence from the USSR - This headline hits home - I am of Lithuanian decent. Kairis means left handed in Lithuanian according to a service I hired to research my last name. Gorbachev was not amused and declared the act unlawful. In January 1991 the USSR invaded Lithuania and took over. In September 1991 the USSR recognized Lithuania's independence after months of pressure by other world leaders recognizing the Lithuanian independence. Other previous Soviet block countries followed suit and declared their independence as the USSR disbanded. I don't use Wikipedia often as reference but they do have the most detail on this event. You can read more here.

Entertainment -

Top 100 music for this week - WOW! There were so many good ones each year of the Cold War for this week's top song! I chose this one because it is on the mind of so many military men when they get an overnight pass, a weekend of freedom off base, or home on leave! As a sailor, I think of my overseas port visits. If you don't get my drift, the song is about enjoying the pleasure of a "Woman of the Evening". In the singer's case, it was also his "First Time". The Four Season's "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" 13MAR76. I saw the play "The Jersey Boys" a few years ago and this song was a big hit with the audience. The play handled the topic quite well. Here is the Jersey Boys version from the play - Oh What A Night!  Enjoy the music!

Comic Book Covers - I have been encountering various comic books as I research stories to add here. Watch for a full article on them soon. Years ago, I did a review of the Team Yankee comic book series and you can see that previous post here.

                               

Special Feature - 8MAR17 - February Revolution in Russia - This week's Special Feature did not occur during the "Official" dates on the Cold War (1945-1991) but without this historical event, there would have been no Cold War at all. It is referenced as the February Revolution because Russia utilized the Julian calendar which showed the month as February.  It was the beginning of the end (there is that phrase again) of Czarist rule in Russia. Within a week, the government resigned and on March 15, Czar Nicholas II abdicated and his brother refused the crown. The Petrograd Soviet took over and Lenin returned from exile to oversee the revolution. Read more here.

Sports -

8MAR71 - Ali Battles Frazier for Heavyweight Championship - "The Fight of the Century" - This bout is germane to the Cold war in that it was the first fight for Ali after his WBA fighting ban was lifted. The ban was placed on him and his title taken away because he refused to serve during the Vietnam War. The article is available here and a video is available on YouTube.

If you were part of any of these operations I mention above, or events similar to these, please share your Cold War story with the readers. Email me at proudcoldwarrior@gmail.com and we can develop a post and add it to a future week.

Please consider joining The Proud Cold Warrior Society (lifetime membership includes a choice of t-shirt or coffee mug and a suitable for framing full color certificate). If you join the Society, please email me your contact info (we need it to send the certificate). Spreadshirt.com does not share your purchase information with us for security reasons. I only see which item is ordered. Thank you. JohnnyK

                      

Citations -

Truman Presidential Library website

U. S. State Department website

History.com

Wikipedia.org website

Youtube.com website

Google Images for the photos and the Time magazine covers

Cold War Headlines - 28 FEB to 6MAR - Special Report - Entertainment

5MAR46 Churchill's so called "Iron Curtain" Speech, which is actually titled "The Sinews of Peace" at Westminster College, Fulton, MO at the invitation of President Truman takes place. The speech is mainly about the newly formed United Nations Organization and pursuing peace in the world in the aftermath of WW2. The Soviet Union and communism is the antagonist that threatens this world peace goal after such a devastating war. We all know how this worked out. The text of the speech is at the Winston Churchill biography website. I have read multiple books on Churchill, including the 3-volume biography (about 1,000 pages per volume), and this is one very impressive man. For those that would rather watch the speech there is a video on YouTube here.

Churchill had President Truman and the others laughing in a lighter moment before the official speech begins

5MAR53 Stalin Dies - after 30 years in power, Joseph Stalin dies in a very similar manor to the man he supported in revolution, Lenin. The circumstances surrounding Stalin's death are eerily like the final days of Lenin, which Stalin, as some historians conjecture, orchestrated. Which of the four comrades that were there at Stalin's Dacha did a little more than being movie and dinner companions? Was it Malenkov, Beria, Khruschev, or Bulganin? or, all four of them!? Malenkov becomes Chairman the next day but relinquishes it to Bulganin 2 years later, who is then replaced by Khrushchev three years after that. A revolving door of communist dictators continues until the fall of the USSR in 1991. The Smithsonian magazine has a interesting take on the story here.

2MAR65 First "Rolling Thunder" Raid in Vietnam. Three years later and an estimated hundreds of thousands of pounds of ordnance dropped on Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder had limited effect in some historians viewpoint. Others disagree. Read more about it here.

3MAR71 US Special Forces leave Vietnam. The U.S. 5th Special Forces Group departs Vietnam after almost 7 years in-country training and fighting alongside the South Vietnamese military. A large part of their effort was to organize the Montagnard (CIDG) forces. Read more here.

6MAR83 Kohl Elected West German Chancellor - 3-time elected Chancellor of Germany, two times as West Germany, and once as the Unified Germany in 1990. This story will be of interest to you veterans who served in Europe, especially those of you who were stationed in West Germany during the Cold War. Read more here.

6MAR90 - SR-71 #972 Transcontinental Flight Speed Records - Retiring in Style! Here is one for the Air Force and CIA oriented readers. In blazing speed style, SR-71 #972 is retired to the Smithsonian Museum by a record setting flight from Los Angeles to Dulles airport. I found a cool website with loads of information on the event. An SR-71 documentary with video of takeoff, flights, interviews with pilots, and information on missions is here.

Special Report -

28FEB94 First NATO Military Action. Formed in April 1949 as a political and military alliance for mutual protection in the Cold War. The original 12 founding member countries has been expanded over the years to 29 countries. In 1955 The Warsaw Pact was signed by the USSR and seven member states in the Soviet sphere of influence to counter NATO. NATO and the Warsaw Pact forces never directly fought. On 28FEB94, NATO forces had their first military action by shooting down Serbian warplanes in the No Fly Zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The NATO website article on this event and follow on actions during the war and enforcement of the Dayton Peace Agreement is here.

Entertainment -
28FEB83 M*A*S*H Final Episode After 11 years on television, the final episode pulls in 105.9 million viewers, making it the all time winner! Link over and watch the 2 hour series finale on YouTube.

Billboard Top 100 for this week in 1966
SSGT Barry Sadler - Ballad of the Green Berets
On the "B" side of the 45 record was this song - Letter from Vietnam

Sports -
2MAR62 Wilt Chamberlin 100 Point Game He was the first to score 100 points in a single game beating his own 78 points record from earlier in the season. YouTube has more including audio of the game here and the NBA has a synopsis of the game here.

If you were part of any of these operations, or events similar to these, please share your Cold War story with the readers. Email me at proudcoldwarrior@gmail.com and we can develop a post and add it to a future week.

Please consider joining The Proud Cold Warrior Society (lifetime membership includes a choice of t-shirt and a suitable for framing full color certificate). If you join the Society, please email me your contact info (we need it to send the certificate). Spreadshirt.com does not share your purchase information with us for security reasons. I only see which shirt is ordered. Thank you. JohnnyK

Citations -
history.com website
winstonchurchill.org website
youtube.com for links to videos and songs
smithsonianmag.com website
sr71.us website
nato.int website
nba.com website
spreadshirt.com website
The Proud Cold Warrior Society store