Category: Vietnam

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The Time Spent Deployed, Can be Frightening. Here’s a Story That Isn’t

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What a week I have had.

My back went belly up on me last Saturday, and I have been suffering ever since. I am taking Tylenol to help.

Today I went to have a blood test done. I turned to go into the parking lot, and I was amazed to see at least a hundred cars lined up to get tested for the virus. There is panic here. In my county there have been many people coming down with the virus. The blood test came out great, and I got out of there as fast as I could.

There are other problems, but I am through whining for now.

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Did you take advantage of all the free things for Veteran’s Day?

I hope you did. You certainly deserve it. I told you in a previous post that my Veteran’s Day day was being at the Oregon Coast. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the little town I went to was having a Veteran’s Day event. They were right across the street where I was getting a haircut.

I so wanted to join them. I could see all the American Legion hats, and they were hugging and really enjoying themselves. My haircut took too long and the event was over. However, it felt good to see such a small town gathering to honor our veterans.

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I will share another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I have chosen one about a Vietnam veteran that is from the same town that I got my heair cut at. It is the town of Waldport, Oregon.

He shared with me a story that was very positive and hard to find from soldiers of the ERA.

He said:

” I was sitting on the ground with a buddy, when I looked up into the trees. There were a bunch of monkeys up there playing around. I told him I would love to have one of those monkeys as a pet. ” His buddy said he would take care of that. He cut a hole in a coconut, drained all the milk out of it, and place a quarter inside it.

The Veteran then told me, “My buddy put the coconut out in the middle of an opening with a string attached to it. Sure enough the monkey’s saw the glittering of the quarter on the inside of the coconut and soon there were several nearing the coconut. One monkey reached inside to try to get the quarter out and my buddy yanked on the string catching the monkey with his arm stuck in to coconut. He pulled the monkey next to me and I got ahold of him..”

That started a long friendship with the monkey. The veteran even made a home for him to live in. It had a grass bed, food and drink there for him, and things were going great. The monkey really bonded with him to the point that he could let the monkey out and sit with him. He didn’t run away.

Well, some odd things started happening.

The other men were complaining that things had been stolen from their personal stash of food. Yes, it was the monkey. One soldier threatened to get rid of the monkey if he didn’t keep control of it. The monkey kept stealing food.

Then the other soldier had enough. He grabbed the money. He made a miniature parachute for him and threw him over a cliff.

The veteran was very upset that this had happened. He became depressed.

It was a couple days later, and as the whole group was gathered, this brave little monkey came strolling into the camp with the parachute still attached to him.

The veteran was ecstatic.

He had gotten his monkey back. I couldn’t get much more out of this brave veteran. This rest of his story was too sad for him to tell. I did find out that he was severely wounded, and received the Purple Heart. He ended up with a drinking problem, but overcame that with the help of his wife.

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Checking in..

How are your doing my friend? The times are difficult at best. The pandemic, and rioting. Not knowing who will be our next president, and much more.

The days like we have been having can drag you down . It can push you to the edge. I know, I was on the edge way back in 2001. I was ready to check out of this hotel called earth. I came to my senses and got help. I am still here to be able to write to you.

If you are overwhelmed, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7, and it is free. There are highly trained counselors there the help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

Please call if you need it.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Good advice for veterans to Read

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Very slow today. Helped my wife clean the house yesterday. Mistake! Injured my back. The reason we had to clean the house is that our cleaning lady came down with COVI(D-19. We told her we couldn’t take the chance of using her again, because of underlying problems I have in my health.

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Speaking about health. I came across a good guide of what to ask your doctor when he is suggesting surgery, or a procedure:

  1. If testing, what is the test for?
  2. How many times have you done the surgery/procedure?
  3. When will I get the results?
  4. Why do I neded this treatment?
  5. Are there any alternatives?
  6. What are the possible complications?
  7. Which hospital is best for my needs?
  8. How do you spell the name of that drug?
  9. Are there any side effects?
  10. Will this medicine interact with medicines I am already taking?

Do not assume the doctor will tell you everything if you don’t ask.

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Some intersting military Stats:

  1. 3% of veterans who are unemployed, down from 3.5% from last year.
  2. 490,000 information technology jobs that go unfilled due to shortage of people with IT backgrounds.
  3. 31,000 Veterans and spouses who have obtained employment opportunities through Hiring Our Heroes since 2011.
  4. 44 percent of veterans who leave thier initial post-military job in one year.
  5. 40 Million-Amount that USAA will contribute to militay causes this year.
  6. 32 Donors who participated in this year’s one-day blood drive. 27 pints were collected.
  7. There were 12 first time donors who gave.

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OK…More interesting facts:

  1. 20.4 million living veterans in the United States. representing less than 10% of the population.
  2. 7.1 million living veterans who served in the Gulf war.
  3. 6.8 million living veterans who served in the Vietnam era.
  4. 771,000 living World War II veterans.
  5. 1.6 million living Korean veterans.
  6. 77 percent of the living veterans who served in war time.
  7. 9 percent of the living veterans who are women, projected to increase to 18% by 2045.
  8. 75% of Americans who said they would increase funding for veterans and services.

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How is your world turning? Do you want it to stop and let you off? You are certainly not alone. There are over 9, 560 fellow veterans here, and they have your back. Do not let the drk side win. Go towards the light.

If it is just too overwhelming GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number for you to call that has highly qualified counselors to help you 24/7.

1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Remember:

You are nevr alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unoved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Should We Use the Military in the Riots?

It’s Monday, and most people don’t like Monday. I look at it from a different angle.

  1. I am retired.
  2. I have time to do whatever I want and when I want.
  3. I able to write to you in this site to share hope.

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I am so excited by all of the new subscribers we are getting.

We have been averaging over 25 new subscribers a day now. A month ago, we may have had that many in a week.

Why is this happening?

It is because so many veterans are trying to find hope. They are trying to keep up on the latest military news. They need to hear about anything military, and this site does that.

If you like what you are reading just go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will got directly to your inbox. Please tell others about this site as well.

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I saw that president Trump wants to send in regular Army troops to end all the rioting. The Secretary of Defense feels that is wrong. I tend to agree with him. Why should our brothers and sisters be put in harm’s way. It should be up to the mayors and governors to straighten this mess out.

Notice that where all the rioting is occurring are run by Democrats? Enough said.

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What should we do?

I would love for you to make some comments on this in the comment area at the bottom of this post. I will be excited to read them and respond.

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I am going to share another interview with you for my new book, Signs of Hope for the military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

This one may be a repeat as I have been sharing many interviews. I think that this interview is extremely important:

I was driving home and felt hungry. I saw a Carl’s Jr, (Hardy’s) and stopped. I got my order and was heading to my table. I walked by a Vietnam veteran. I knew he was a Vietnam veterans by the hat he was wearing.

He look in pain

As I watched him eat, he seemed to be in pain. He shifted many times trying to get comfortable. He finished his meal and was walking (struggling) to the garbage can. He had walk by me to get there, so I asked him if he wanted to sit down and talk.

He looked like he didn’t want to do that, but I told him I was a veterans like him. He decided to sit down.

He had much mental pain

He sat down and we chit chatted for a while. Then I started asked him some questions. I wondered what he did in Vietnam. He said he was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam. He want on to say That his ship was a helicopter ship. They were taking supplies to the troops; picking up wounded, and sending supplies to the villages that were starving.

We talk for a while long and then I asked him what was the worst moment for him in Vietnam.

He said that his best friend was a pilot of one of the helicopters. His friend was ready to take off with his co-pilot. They said it was a go, and the helicopter began to rise and head out. Immediately there was engine trouble the copter started wavering. Then it crashed into the ocean and sunk very fast. They never even tried to recover the bodies, because the water was too deep.

That was very devastating to him.

We talked a little more, and I asked him one more question:

Was there another time you felt upset and sad?

He said it was when his planed landed and the soldiers had to walk through the terminal. There were people on each side of the terminal cussing at them. They called them killers. They spit on them. He felt disgraced.

We finished talking and did a shoulder hug. He actually smiled as he walked out the door. I could see him hobbling along as he went to the near by hotel.

This tore me up badly. This man was a hero and people treated him like dirt. We owe the Vietnam veterans so much.

(I will be sharing much more about this veteran in my book. He shared with me why he was so hobbled and in pain.)

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How are YOU doing. Are you struggling like this Marine was? Do you feel rejected? Do you have war wounds? Are you battling PTSD, TBI, depression, Etc?

You are not alone. There are now 8,231 fellow veterans here with big shoulders. Many of them are Vietnam veterans like this Marine.

Never think that you shouldn’t seek help. I know, we as veterans always feel we don’t need help because we are tough guys. Forget that thought!

If you are hurting GET HELP!

Here is a place to get help 24/7. Just call 1-800-273-8255 (option # 1)

Don’t spend another day in your living hell.

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Remember:

Your are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!