Happy Memorial Day!

[Thomas Promise]

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, originated as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans — established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. By the 20th century, competing Union and Confederate holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Memorial Day Commentary by Andy Rooney.

 

 

[tsap seui]

"Thank God That Such Men Lived"..... George Patton

 

Tomorrow, I will think, as I do every day of the fallen...in particular those brave young pilots and crew members of both England and America's bomber commands during WWII. In my heart, no greater men ever lived, or went through such prolonged terror and hell day after long day until they too fell from the sky.

 

I hope someone will listen to both of these videos. What the nurse says later in the first video is priceless.

 

 

 

 

Again, as I always will, I apologize to the two different dust-off loads of wounded precious grunts for whom I failed to keep the damned slick in the air as I tried to get you to salvation. I am forever sorry.

[Mick]

Memorial Day is always a bittersweet day for me. It is positive in the sense that it gives us pause to pay tribute to those brave, selfless servicemen and service women who made the ultimate sacrifice. These men and women deserve the highest and most lasting honor we, as humans, can muster. Yet it is also a very bitter day for me too as I often wake early in the morning thinking of those grunts that I watched take their final breath. These guys are etched deeply in my mind and will never be evicted, no matter how much time has passed. As I type this I begin to get that deeply familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach, the familiar shaking in my hands and my eyes begin to grow damp. I see the two kids that grew up together and died within minutes of each other on the back deck of a slick flying low over Dragon Mountain heading into Pleiku, where they hoped to find healing but instead found the inside of a body bag. I see a kid named Chuck, who played on the offensive line in high school and was going to be a walk on at Michigan State, but got drafted instead. He bled to death from a severed femoral artery, that was about all he had left of a leg blown off by a mine. I see the blank, wide-eyed stare of Pete, I think that was his name. Pete was already gone when they tossed his corpse into my lap in the hot LZ just two clicks from the Cambodian border. He had a small entry wound in his forehead, but the entire back of his skull was gone. I think of these guys and scores of others. Memorial Day is bittersweet - bittersweet, indeed. I think any combat medic would echo what I just said.

 

That thing that Dusty said to David just broke me up - my God, how many times did I live that scenario, over and over. Yes, I wrote more than a few of those letters home to parents, especially to the ones that had sons sent home in pieces. Sorry, I was listening to Dusty as I was typing this - I have to stop. Sorry. It hit just way too close to home.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Mick (see edit history)

[Catherineli]

Thanks to this post. I was wondering what a Memorial Day means in America. It seems similar to Tomb Sweeping Day in China. I like men who have tears, what you say "Damp". Those who honor the body-offering people are very much respected here in me. So we have every reason to value what we have today.

[tsap seui]

Catherine, Mick is one of the fellas who was in combat, yet was also the medic whom everyone screamed for when they or one of their buddies was hurt in the raging firefight. Mick had to drop his weapon and grab his medical bag as he low crawled beneath the enemy's bullets to attend to the wounded. Then, totally in harms way he had to rise up and trying to stop the spurting arteries, or sucking chest wounds of lungs, or promising youth with their brains spattered in the dirt that a combat medic like Mick had to endure and keep alive the ones he could, quickly disregarding the ones he couldn't. I must say, I hardly ever saw any "live" combat medics thrown (in live combat there is no time to place anyone, even the ones carrying the wounded are getting shot down) onto my helicopters. Every soldier knows to shoot the medics Most were shot in the back or back of the head as they had tried to shield the fallen as they worked upon them. Combat medics like Mick, had the worst of the worst jobs. I can't even imagine what he and they went through.

 

Yes, it is hard to keep the tears from flowing when you listen to Dusty. It congers up everything one saw related to the deaths. I never knew those young men I carried in the choppers. The door gunners dealt with them with what they could but I had to focus on the job and could only briefly feel their spirits back there....or feel to be more honest as the months grew on....feel nothing. As the dead and wounded and their body parts would get loaded on, I'd sit there with the controls in my hands, watching temp and pressure gauges on the turbine and transmission trying to keep from watching the glowing tracer rounds arcing through the LZ, all aimed at us sitting there so large and inviting, as I awaited that "GO GO GO" scream from the gunners for us to finally attempt to get away from the growing tempest on the ground. I never could keep myself from taking at least one peek in the back , looking to see if the guys running with the poncho liners were close to finishing...and that look down at the carnage on the rear deck.

 

That was yesterday....and it often seems sure as hell as that is what it was, yesterday.

 

A lil' music from JJ and Eric that is very fitting...

 

"When this war is over, it will be a better day..

when this war is over it will be a better place, but

it won't bring back those boys in the grave"

 

 

Hope Mick and all the rest of you vets have a gud un' ....truly

 

Wenyan wanted to make me a cake today, she hardly understands this Memorial Day stuff but she wanted to do something. We went to a lil' market here and while we're lookin' for the stuff in the cake isle this DAMN PURDY, and young mother with two lil' ones in tow touches me on the shoulder to get my attention and she gives me a big grin and says..."Thank You, sir" I was caught off guard, being in cake mix buying mode and I quickly recovered and told her "thank you for saying that ma'am, that was very nice of you".

 

Ol' Wenyan had a big grin and said, "everywhere you go people say thank you. I jes tol' her "it was my good looks". She laughs and says, "SSSSSS" as she throws her head up in mock disgust. Yeah I wear my 1st Aviation Brigade cap but it's been 7 years ago since I put a military cap on and I forget about it. Hell yeah, I'm proud of 1st Aviation, for what it did in Nam), not many people get to wear that cap...not many people still alive. I heft a glass of my now cocktail....pulpy OJ and cran-apple juice..in SAL-UTE to the pilots, crew chiefs, and those wonderful door gunners (the 18 year old who kept us 20 year olds a little bit safer) of 1st aviation...and to all of those who never got to step on that Freedom Bird to America. You will never be forgotten by this lowly shot down too often, wobbly one. Oh yeah, as a joke I reckon, the Army sent me W2 orders, months after I came home but, this kid is forever a W1. Warrant officers don't need no stinkin' rank. Rank smells!! Heck, in my head I always wuz more of a PFC (private fuckin' civilian) no matter what they wanted to calls me while I was a taxi/ambulance driver for the Army. Only thang I wuz proud of wuz them thar silver wings.

 

Say Mick and anyone who likes JJ Cale n' Eric Clapton's Road To Escondido album, if this link does it right, there will be a lot more of just JJ playing after this first song. Really great JJ stuff. If not, go onto YouTube and search for When this War Is Over and you can relax to many JJ songs. RIP to JJ Cale too. One incredible musician and singer.

Edited May 25, 2015 by tsap seui (see edit history)

[Catherineli]

Hello Ronny! I read your post over and over. You guys, Mick, are all men of love. You all had different experiences about life and about war. I wish I could have a chance to listen to you telling your military life. My goodness! Mick had such a special moment in the battle. that's why he has tears thinking of Memorial Day! I'm fascinated with the front life in the battle. It's like in a movie. One of my relatives used to be in American air force. He told me he had to receive the pre-war training pretending to be lost in the wildness without food or water. He also had to have the training about the life after being captured by the enemy such as how to stand the opposite political brainwash, etc.

WenYan's English can't stop growing. She has such a walking dictionary with her everyday. Your English is sooooo special. Btw, is there any subtle invisible difference between the Union and the Federate in the modern days? I mean between the south and the north?

Catherine

[Thomas Promise]

Hello Ronny! I read your post over and over. You guys, Mick, are all men of love. You all had different experiences about life and about war. I wish I could have a chance to listen to you telling your military life. My goodness! Mick had such a special moment in the battle. that's why he has tears thinking of Memorial Day! I'm fascinated with the front life in the battle. It's like in a movie. One of my relatives used to be in American air force. He told me he had to receive the pre-war training pretending to be lost in the wildness without food or water. He also had to have the training about the life after being captured by the enemy such as how to stand the opposite political brainwash, etc.

WenYan's English can't stop growing. She has such a walking dictionary with her everyday. Your English is sooooo special. Btw, is there any subtle invisible difference between the Union and the Federate in the modern days? I mean between the south and the north?

Catherine

When I lived in the deep south also known as the land of grits and gravy. There is a friendly animosity that prevails. The southerners have a saying about Yankees (People who are from the Northeastern states) There two types of Yankees, 1 the Yankee that goes home. 2 The damn Yankee is the one that stays in the south.

[Mick]

As I said early this morning, today was most likely going to be a bittersweet day and it was. The memories of those who didn't make it. Li and Salina went to some friends for a cookout today (turned out to be a cook in as we had storms here today). I stayed at home as I was not feeling so well health wise. After spending some alone time I talked for awhile with my good friend Chris (Ronny, you met Chris when you were down here) - He was a point-walker in Nam and also has a tough time on days like this. Just talking to each other helped us both and by the time we finished, we were both yukking it up over the absurdity of military life as a whole. Chris and I have known each other since sixth or seventh grade. We have experienced much together over the years. He is a true brother to me.

 

Ronny, I listened to the JJ Cale and Eric Clapton album today, as I do on many days. It was a great gift my friend and one I cherish greatly. Thanks so much.

 

Catherine, thanks so much for the kind words. They mean a lot. I wish you much happiness in your new home.

 

Thought I would post this. I spent time in and out of here, mostly flying dust offs as an onboard medic and bringing in the wounded. Also did two rotations in this hospital, which I think had a different number than 67, but my memory is bad. Only the first half is at the hospital, the rest is shot elsewhere.

 

 

And this is the primary base I was stationed at, Camp Enari, in the shadow of Dragon Mountain outside Pleiku.

 

Edited May 26, 2015 by Mick (see edit history)