http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/lt-gen-hal-moore-dies-depicted-in-film-we-were/article_74d91bc4-bb34-5bc4-b8f6-4e90c25b9289.html

Thank for your service Mr. Moore

I know there are a lot of veterans and avid readers dropping by here. Hope you'll want to re-read...and re-live...the wonderful Vietnam story contained in John Del Vecchio's "The 13th Valley." We obtained the publishing rights recently and the books is now available through Warrior Publishing Group or on Amazon. It's truly one of the great books to come out of the war in Vietnam. D

The man who sent this to me is trying to help reunite this man with his "adopted" father. Thanks for your help!

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

 

Dear Mr. Marion,

 

Greetings from Hochiminh city, Vietnam

 

My name is Quy, I am a travel agent in Hochiminh city, Vietnam.

 

I searched on Google and know you thru this website http://www.6thcorpsc...tengineers.com/. I am helping a Vietnamese man find his foster father who was a veteran in Vietnam in 1966, 1967, his unit stationed in Tam Ky, former Quang Tin province and currently Quang Nam province.

 

I used to help an American veteran whose unit was Vietnam 737^th transportation company http://www.vietnam73...om/aboutus.html) find a Vietnamese boy who he knew and helped in the war and I succeeded in finding that boy. Now that boy’s daughter is the American veteran’s daughter in law. Now I continue to volunteer to help find an American who was the foster father of a Vietnamese boy in the war, his name is Hien.

 

I send you his below story and do hope you can help by forwarding the story to your friends who were veterans in Vietnam before or forwarding to any one who you think can help

 

In 1966, 1967, when I was 8 years old (I was born in 1958) in Ky Huong commune, Tam Ky district, Quang Tin province (Now it is Quang Nam province).. One day, I was walking by the road, I saw some American soliders on a Jeep car, they dropped by a roadside tea shop, they saw me and one man took me to the Jeep then they took me to their base, after that they took me back home and asked my parents to adopt me. According to my memory, that unit is engineer troop and they are the people who built Tam Ky hospital, the unit stationed there to protectthe former Quang Tin province, next the unit is an artillery of South Vietnamese government and in front of the unit is a combat airport.

 

My foster father named me Friday and took care of me as his son, I remember his name is Audom or something like that as I was so small then so I don’t remember his name exactly. He is tall, I am pretty sure that he worked in the headquarters as his room is just next to the radio transmitter shelter of the unit headquarters.

 

My foster father took me to school where I learnt both Vietnamese and English, he also hired a teacher to give me private tuition and I remember the tutor is a son of a colonel who is the governor of the former Quang Tin province. My school was Tin Duc school, now it is Le Quy Don school in Tam Ky town. On Sundays he often drove me to Chu Lai airport to do shopping and swim in the beach.

 

His family sent me a lot of clothes, toys, he took many pictures of me but I lost almost of them, now I only have the picture that was taken at the power station of the unit.

 

In early 1972, my foster father proceeded the paperworks to bring me to US together with him, one day he and some Americans plus a translator namely Dung went to my house by a Jeep car to talk with my family to proceed the paperworks. I don’t know why he could not take me with him, he cried a lot and so did I. He left a lot of devices such as 1 Television, 1 fan, 1 radio, 1 watch and many other devices to me and my family.

 

After he got home, in 1973 he sent me a box with devices and toys together with a letter that the translator brought directly to my family. I don’t remember the content of the letter as I was so small then but we still kept that letter until 1975 when the war was over, my family moved to another place so we lost the letter and other papers and we don’t know any news from him anymore.

 

It has been 46 years since 1966, now I am an adult, a teacher in Dak Lak in the central highlands of Vietnam, the image of my foster father engraved upon my mind, I wish some day I can meet him, kiss on his cheeks and thank you for all the good things he has done to me. If you know anything about him or anyone who has the same story about me, please let me know. I really appreciate your help.

 

Attached, you will find his photo taken when he was 8 or 9 years old

 

Thank you very much for your kind attention and help

 

Best regards

Andrew Nguyen(Mr)

Travel Consultant

http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=b70e859fd8&view=att&th=138cc8c50dd3bd47&attid=0.0.1&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1

ASIAN DESTINATION TRAVEL CO..,LTD

Add : 5th floor, Hudson building, 179 Nguyen Cu Trinh street, Dist 1, HCMC, Vietnam

Tel : +84-8-2240 7804/03/05

Fax : +84-8-3920 9098

Mobile : +84-98 3343656

General email : service@vietnamtravelmate.com

Direct email : quy@vietnamtravelmate.com

Website : http://www.vietnamtravelmate.com

In recognition of Memorial Day 2011, we received several Vietnam War Facts emails such as the one below. They were all well documented, and with highly recognized sources that included President Nixon's Papers, General William C. Westmoreland, Lieutenant General Barry R. McCaffrey, CACF (Combat Area Casualty File), VHPA 1993 (Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's Association), plus others...

We have permission to send the following to our database for The Jerseyman.

Tom

Thomas H. Helvig, CTRCM, USN (Retired 1953-1975)

Volunteer Writer/Editor The Jerseyman

Vietnam War: Facts, Stats & Myths

Credit: Capt. Marshal Hanson, USNR (Ret.)

and Capt. Scott Beaton, Statistical Source

9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975.

2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam.

Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation.

240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.

The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1961. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named for him.

58,148 were killed in Vietnam.

75,000 were severely disabled.

23,214 were 100% disabled.

5,283 lost limbs.

1,081 sustained multiple amputations.

Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21.

11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old.

Of those killed, 17,539 were married.

Average age of men killed: 23.1 years.

Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.

The oldest man killed was 62 years old.

As of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged.

91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served.

74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome.

Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups.

Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.

87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem.

There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group

(Source: Veterans Administration Study).

Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.

85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.

Common Myths Dispelled:

Myth: Common belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted.

Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers.

Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran population.

Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. "The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans' group.

Myth: Common belief is that a disproportionate number of blacks were killed in the Vietnam War.

Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, in their recently published book "All That We Can Be," said they analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder during Vietnam "and can report definitely that this charge is untrue. Black fatalities amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in Southeast Asia, a figure proportional to the number of blacks in the U.S. population at the time and slightly lower than the proportion of blacks in the Army at the close of the war."

Myth: Common belief is that the war was fought largely by the poor and uneducated.

Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school education or better.

Myth: The common belief is the average age of an infantryman fighting in Vietnam was 19.

Fact: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. None of the enlisted grades have an average age of less than 20. The average man who fought in World War II was 26 years of age.

Myth: The common belief is that the domino theory was proved false.

Fact: The domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism.

Myth: The common belief is that the fighting in Vietnam was not as intense as in World War II.

Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. As a result, less than one percent of all Americans wounded, who survived the first 24 hours, died. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. Without the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure the border).

Myth: Kim Phuc, the little nine year old Vietnamese girl running naked from the napalm strike near Trang Bang on 8 June 1972 (shown a million times on American television) was burned by Americans bombing Trang Bang.

Fact: No American had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. The planes doing the bombing near the village were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was Vietnamese. The incident in the photo took place on the second day of a three day battle between the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who occupied the village of Trang Bang and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) who were trying to force the NVA out of the village. Recent reports in the news media that an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc are incorrect. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. "We (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF," according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. They were Kim's cousins not her brothers.

Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam.

Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance.

General Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike (a professor at the University of California, Berkeley), a major military defeat for the VC and NVA.

Statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of November 1993 (the CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, aka The Wall)

Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action).

Deaths Average Age

Total: 58,148 - 23.11 years

Enlisted: 50,274 - 22.37 years

Officers: 6,598 - 28.43 years

Warrants: 1,276 - 24.73 years

E1 525 - 20.34 years

11B MOS: 18,465 - 22.55 years

Interesting Census Stats and "Been There" Wanabees:

1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures).

During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958.

As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between '95 and '00. That's 390 per day. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT.

The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country. Corrections and confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365).

Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. - Nixon Presidential Papers.

The United States Did Not Lose The War In Vietnam, The South Vietnamese Did. Read On...

The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973.

How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? We fought to an agreed stalemate. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides' forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification. The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 than there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States.

As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous.

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

JON R. CAVAIANI

U.S. Army, Vietnam

Member Reception - 5:00pm cst

Presentation & Live Webcast - 6:00pm cst

For his first few months in Vietnam, Staff Sgt. Cavaiani felt like the war was passing him by. But when the war found him, Cavaiani was ready to prove his courage several times over.

Medal of Honor recipient Jon R. Cavaiani will appear at the Pritzker Military Library on Tuesday, June 29th for an interview with Ed Tracy on his life and service with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will begin at 6:00 p.m., preceded by a reception for Library members at 5:00 p.m. It will also be webcast live and recorded for later broadcast on WYCC-TV/Channel 20.

Born in England, Cavaiani immigrated to the U.S. with his family at the age of four. He became a naturalized citizen in 1968 and enlisted in the Army despite his 4-F status — Cavaiani was allergic to bee stings. He was recruited for Special Forces and sent to Vietnam in the summer of 1970; his experience on the family farm in California resulted in a relatively dull assignment as a veterinarian and agricultural advisor, but that would change a few months later.

Stationed at an isolated radio relay site near Khe Sanh, Cavaiani had charge of 13 Americans and 70 Vietnamese troops. When the site came under overwhelming enemy attack, Cavaiani directed the evacuation of most of the men, and remained behind with the rest when — for reasons unknown to them — the helicopters stopped coming. The men believed Cavaiani had been killed while covering their escape; in fact, he avoided capture by pretending to be dead, even as his bunker was set afire. After eleven days in the jungle, Cavaiani was captured nearly within reach of an American camp; after undergoing interrogation, he was imprisoned at the infamous Hanoi Hilton.

Cavaiani weighed 198 pounds when captured and 92 when released nearly two years later. Once he was back in shape, he asked to return to duty with the Special Forces. On December 12, 1974, Cavaiani received the Medal of Honor from President Ford. He retired in 1996, and went on to graduate with honors from a culinary arts program in California.

Please note: Seating for this event is limited, so reservations are strongly recommended. Call 312.587.0234 or email events@pritzkermilitarylibrary.net. While we will attempt to seat all who wish to attend, we can only guarantee a place for attendees with a reservation. Reservations will be held until 15 minutes prior to the start of the program.

This event is eligible for 1.5 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) for education professionals in Illinois.

Pritzker Military Library

610 North Fairbanks Court, 2nd Floor

Chicago, IL 60611

312-587-0234

ALFRED V. RASCON

U.S. Army, Vietnam

Member Reception - 5:00pm cst

Presentation & Live Webcast - 6:00pm cst

Almost 34 years after what he described as "ten minutes of hell", a heroic medic would finally receive his due.

Medal of Honor recipient Alfred V. Rascon will appear at the Pritzker Military Library on Thursday, June 10th for an interview with Ed Tracy on his life and service with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will begin at 6:00 p.m., preceded by a reception for Library members at 5:00 p.m. It will also be webcast live and recorded for later broadcast on WYCC-TV/Channel 20.

Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Rascon moved to the United States with his family at 4 years of age. Though not a citizen, he enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school, and was sent to Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. On March 16, 1966, an intense firefight broke out in the jungles of Long Khanh, and Rascon was ordered to stay sheltered. However, after seeing members of his platoon wounded on the trail ahead, Rascon ran forward to aid them, staying on his feet despite being hit several times by grenade shrapnel and bullets — and saving the lives of several men before he finally passed out from his own wounds.

The men whose lives he saved nominated Rascon for the Medal of Honor. Rascon himself, however, had several months in the hospital ahead. After he recovered, he enrolled in college and became a naturalized U.S. citizen, later returning for a second tour in Vietnam.

Years later, at a reunion of the 173rd Airborne, Rascon's platoon discovered that their nomination had been lost. Determined to see him receive the award, they petitioned the Army to reopen the case, and then asked Illinois Rep. Lane Evans of the House Veterans Affairs Committee to intervene with the White House. Finally, on February 8, 2000, Rascon received the Medal of Honor from President Clinton. He went on to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Medical Service Corps; the Army renamed its training school for medics at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in his honor.

Please note: Seating for this event is limited, so reservations are strongly recommended. Call 312.587.0234 or email events@pritzkermilitarylibrary.net. While we will attempt to seat all who wish to attend, we can only guarantee a place for attendees with a reservation. Reservations will be held until 15 minutes prior to the start of the program.

This event is eligible for 1.5 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) for education professionals in Illinois.

Pritzker Military Library

610 North Fairbanks Court, 2nd Floor

Chicago, IL 60611

312-587-0234