"When The Lord Was Creating Vietnam Vets"

[Acker1]

"When The Lord Was Creating Vietnam Vets"

When the Lord was creating Vietnam veterans, He was into His
6th day of overtime when an angel appeared.

"You're certainly doing a lot of fiddling around on this
one."

And God said, "Have you seen the specs on this order? A Nam
vet has to be able to run 5 miles through the bush with a
full pack on, endure with barely any sleep for days, enter
tunnels his higher ups wouldn't consider doing, and keep his
weapons clean and operable.

He has to be able to sit in his hole all night during an
attack, hold his buddies as they die, walk point in
unfamiliar territory known to be VC infested, and somehow
keep his senses alert for danger.

He has to be in top physical condition existing on c-rats
and very little rest. And he has to have 6 pairs of hands."

The angel shook his head slowly and said, "6 pair of
hands....no way."

The Lord say's "It's not the hands that are causing me
problems.... It's the 3 pair of eyes a Nam vet has to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through elephant grass,
another pair here in the side of his head for his buddies,
another pair here in front that can look reassuringly at his
bleeding, fellow soldier and say, "You'll make
it".......when he knows he won't.

"Lord, rest, and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord. "I already have a model that can
carry a wounded soldier 1,000 yards during a firefight, calm
the fears of the latest new replacement, and feed a family
of 4 on a grunt's paycheck."

The angel walked around the model and said, "Can it think?"

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can quote much of the UCMJ,
recite all his general orders, and engage in a search and
destroy mission in less time than it takes for his fellow
Americans back home to discuss the morality of the
War, and still keep his sense of humor."

"This Nam vet also has phenomenal personal control. He can
deal with ambushes from hell, comfort a fallen soldier's
family, and then read in his hometown paper how Nam vets are
baby killers, psychos, addicts, killers of innocent
civilians."

The Lord gazed into the future and said, "He will also
endure being vilified and spit on when he returns home,
rejected and crucified by the very ones he fought for."

Finally, the angel slowly ran his finger across the vet's
cheek, and said, "There's a leak...I told You that You were
trying to put too much into this model."

"That's not a leak", said the Lord. "That's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled up emotions, for holding fallen soldiers
as they die, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth
called the American flag, for the terror of living with PTSD
for decades after the war, alone with its demons with no
one to care or help."

"You're a genius," said the angel, casting a gaze at the tear.

The Lord looked very somber, as if seeing down eternity's
distant shores..

"I didn't put it there," He said.


Some Gave All, Some Still are, NEVER forget!

[Route 66]

[BpK9Miami]

Thank You. RVN 69-70 & OIF 05.

[SideRoads]

Semper Fi

[greystroke]

Well Done! God Bless.

(110 Combat Support Missions)

[Wayne M]

'68-'69

[FleetMan]

Welcome Home Brothers! USAF, DaNang Jan 70 -Jan 71. In theater TDY support 72 til the end.

[jfran304]

820th CES, RED HORSE Det 1. Tuy Hoa, DaNang 67-68.

[Moshe5368]

Never were truer words ever spoken. Welcome home, my brothers!

[garyricc]

Welcome Home Brothers & Sisters...Thank You for your Service...For all those that are forever Young, Your Sacrifice will NEVER be Forgotten
The Land of the Free, BECAUSE of the Brave!!

[w6pea]

Well put. Thank you

Semper Fi.

[KC1BUD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FleetMan Welcome Home Brothers! USAF, DaNang Jan 70 -Jan 71. In theater TDY support 72 til the end.

I was an Army Combat Engineer in Chu Lai Sept. 5th 1970 to Sept.5th 1971. Then I went back for the final act in 1975 in the Navy and spent 3 months off the coast when Saigon fell.

I was not a hero in any way shape or form, I was just doing a job that I had committed myself to. In my opinion, most Heroes came home either in a box or after leaving some portion of their bodies on foreign soil. I do have a disability due to diabetes and am a life member of the D.A.V., but am too ashamed of the way I meet the eligibility requirements.

Can anyone explain that after 40 years of less than good treatment by the general public why I feel uncomfortable when someone thanks me for my service?

Don't mind me just ranting this morning.

[bigskymt]

KC1BUD: I get uncomfortable with the "thanks" also.
When we returned home we were uncomfortable admitting to our service, "baby-killers" was the ignorant term for anyone that served. We were chastised, laughed at, made fun of and sometimes hated. While our family and friends supported us they were also uncomfortable being around us....the stigma attached to a Combat Vet.
Now we proudly admit to our MOS, Unit, years served and A.O.
And the "heroes" that "stood up" for their beliefs........all the way to Canada are forgotten.
Army Recon, 11-B, 3/21 Inf. 196 LIB, I-Corp, '70-'71
God Bless Our Defenders!

[KC1BUD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigskymt KC1BUD: I get uncomfortable with the "thanks" also. When we returned home we were uncomfortable admitting to our service, "baby-killers" was the ignorant term for anyone that served. We were chastised, laughed at, made fun of and sometimes hated. While our family and friends supported us they were also uncomfortable being around us....the stigma attached to a Combat Vet. Now we proudly admit to our MOS, Unit, years served and A.O. And the "heroes" that "stood up" for their beliefs........all the way to Canada are forgotten. Army Recon, 11-B, 3/21 Inf. 196 LIB, I-Corp, '70-'71 God Bless Our Defenders!

After returning, I had it better than most as far as treatment. I do believe that those that ran to Canada should have stayed in Canada and should have the opportunity to become naturalized citizens of Canada and not allowed to return to the US. By the same token those Canadians that served in Vietnam in the American military should have been allowed to also seek citizenship like immigrants that serve are today, if they wanted to.

As I said before I am a life member of the DAV but have yet gone to a chapter meeting.