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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:50:01 AM EDT
[#1]
Born in 78 to a Vietnam vet and I have heard very little of his stories. a few of the more amazing non-combat ones but nothing on actual combat. I have some friends who have heard more than me. Doesn't really bother me much though.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:50:06 AM EDT
[#2]
IBTP
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:53:39 AM EDT
[#3]
My dad was uncomfortable but when he was younger he'd talk about it. When he was in the last years of his life he would simply tell me that part of my life is over and I just don't want to talk about it.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:54:38 AM EDT
[#4]
born in '69 to a combat vet who fought in the tet otfensive... dad would tell some stories... just random things, including stories about combat.. i don't think i ever asked too many questions... it was just kind of accepted that you didn't... i wish he were still around to talk to about it...
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:57:27 AM EDT
[#5]
Still no poll.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:58:38 AM EDT
[#6]
Just a clarification:
There were no "front lines" in Vietnam. Obviously some areas were waist deep in the shit and others not so much, but it was a war unlike any other in terms of there being no "front lines." You could get killed stepping off a plane at Tan Son Nhut air base. The entire country became a "front line" at one point or another. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:59:20 AM EDT
[#7]
sorry poll took a while did I miss anything?
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:01:38 AM EDT
[#8]
My mom always told me when I was young not to ask my dad about Vietnam. He would never watch war movies with us, but never made a fuss about it. I know he was 1st Cav air/mobile and was there in 68 until he had to come home because his mother was dying. He talked a little about basic at Ft Benning and about being caught in ambush once, but that was it. I always regret asking him more about so that i could share that part of his legacy with my kids. He died last year of cancer and I feel like I still don't know enough about that part of his life. He was like a lot of men from that era, worked hard and didn''t complain. A very honorable man and loving father.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:02:21 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just a clarification: There were no "front lines" in Vietnam. Obviously some areas were waist deep in the shit and others not so much, but it was a war unlike any other in terms of there being no "front lines." You could get killed stepping off a plane at Tan Son Nhut air base. Totally correct, and I am sorry if I offended. FIL was a Huey pilot, dad was a artillery mechanic |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:05:05 AM EDT
[#10]
Born in 76. My dad was an 82AB scout in 'Nam. Heard a lot of stories from him, he never had a problem telling them, and some of them are pretty graphic.
He always enjoys telling the story of killing these green lizards, roasting, and eating them. And how the rest of the guys in his squad though he was weird until they tasted the lizard meat. My late Grandfather was a Korean Vet with the 1st Cav Arty. He never talked much about it, except that it was really cold. The one time he related a story it was about driving a Jeep and the passenger's ear got shot off and landed in his lap. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:05:19 AM EDT
[#11]
You should do it . I have a stack of my dad's WW 2 pictures and I hardly know anything about them . He told me years ago and I did not keep up with what was what . A couple were published in a book about D-day
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:06:27 AM EDT
[#12]
Vietnam vets are tight-lipped and secretive. Part of it, for the few I've known, was that they also swore to not tell secrets for national security. You, I, and perhaps even the government, would forgive them if they talked at this late stage, but it seems that their honor prevents it.
I've met one who did three tours of duty because he absolutely loved being out there and tangling with the enemy in his small patrols. The father of one of my best friends in high school was another. Again very, very secretive, former Green Beret, but when I asked about what he carried he stated that most times it was a shotgun and a camera. His team's goal wasn't to fight, but to take recon pictures and GTFO. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:15:26 AM EDT
[#13]
I was born in 7/71...dad left for Vietnam 2 weeks later and did a year as a LRRP. I learned of this not more than NINE MONTHS AGO! 43 years later he is talking about it. The things he has told me (so far) have blown my mind. Growing up not knowing this...I never would have guessed my father had killed a man with his bare hands. He is only talking about it with me....I think the reason is because I served active duty as well...
I let him talk, I do not press him for anything........... 
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:18:51 AM EDT
[#14]
Born in '67, my dad was in Vietnam as a guest of the Marine Corps. He never talked about his time there.
Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:24:36 AM EDT
[#15]
so dad has let these 2 pics go on facespace and I have posted them here a couple times but I will again just cause they are my dad and this is as close as I have gotten to that portion of his life.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:30:27 AM EDT
[#16]
I was born in 64 and my dad went to Vietnam in 65 or 66 (???) with 1st Cav. He abandoned his family and I haven't spoken with him in 30 years.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:32:34 AM EDT
[#17]
Born in 65. Uncle led a rifle company in 67 to 68. When I worked construction for him he would sometimes just tell a story. I never asked questions. Says he still thinks about it a least once an hour to this day. He's 74.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:35:35 AM EDT
[#18]
My Dad was with the USAF during the war and what he says of his time in Viet Nam sounds a lot like MASH without the hospital.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:40:34 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just a clarification: There were no "front lines" in Vietnam. Obviously some areas were waist deep in the shit and others not so much, but it was a war unlike any other in terms of there being no "front lines." You could get killed stepping off a plane at Tan Son Nhut air base. The entire country became a "front line" at one point or another. So there really were no Rear Echelon Mother Fuckers...just guys with with less AC and ice cream. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:41:07 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
snip I let him talk, I do not press him for anything........... Yep WII, Korea, Desert Storm, OIF and AFG Vets, in my experience, will say what their "role"was or relay how it affected them ( and yes role is in quotes, I have no baseline and have not been there) Viet Nam Veterans just dont do this for many reasons. Political, Sociological, Psychological, Personal or Religious reasons |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:42:11 AM EDT
[#21]
going to bed now, some one bump fopr the night and morning crew for me
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:46:29 AM EDT
[#22]
My wife's father is a Marine Vietnam veteran. Both my wife and I served and deployed overseas. She has told me that growing up he never spoke of it. He's since retired and more and more will relate his experiences to me. I believe that as a fellow Marine he's comfortable talking to another veteran. I can tell my wife is very interested in hearing her fathers stories and he seems to use me as a conduit. I'm glad that they can connect this way. He's a good man that worked hard and sacrificed to provide for his family.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:50:01 AM EDT
[#23]
My father was in Vietnam with the 101st from 1965 until 1967 when he was wounded by shrapnel. I was born in 1983 and I can't think of any other kids growing up whose parents were Vietnam vets. My dad has told me a few stories, mostly about grunt life, whores and making the mistake of being near some 105s that went off that cost most of his hearing in his right ear. I never asked him about combat although I know he saw quite a bit especially during operation Hawthorne.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 1:51:15 AM EDT
[#24]
My dad only talks about it to other Vietnam vets then and now. I only heard stories eavesdropping, which is too bad because he did two tours and fell in live with the country. He has a room full of reel to reel tapes he recorded over there that he used to listen to when I was a kid.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 2:18:20 AM EDT
[#25]
My father was in the Army Air Corps and later the USAF and served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He never talked about it in any detail and gave vague mention of some stuff only a couple of times. He seemed pretty messed up and more than a little disgusted by all of it.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 2:35:57 AM EDT
[#26]
My step-dad (who IS my dad, much more than my sperm donor bio father could ever hope to be) is a Vietnam vet. He does not talk about Vietnam unless prodded, and even then not much comes out until he has a couple drinks in him.
Over the years he has told the funny stories, like when his buddy from Detroit who had a rough upbringing and basically was given the choice of going to Vietnam or going to jail was clearing jungle on a Cat D9 when a huge snake fell out of a tree and landed on the hood. The guy hated snakes and instantly bailed, the D9 continued on and down into a ravine. It was unrecoverable and is probably still rusting there today. I also like the story about the first time he took incoming fire at an airstrip. In his haste to run for cover be forgot to grab mags for his A1. Luckily one of his buddies had spares, and it was not a mistake he made again. The only time I've seen him get emotional is recently when he was describing his R&R trip to Hawaii. Don Ho played a USO show and sang "God Bless America". He teared up telling us this story, the emotions still very raw even after 44 years (he served 69-70). The overshadowing specter of having to go back to to the war weighed heavily on him. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 3:04:53 AM EDT
[#27]
OST
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Posted: 10/1/2014 3:14:17 AM EDT
[#28]
The vietnam veterans where I work love to trade war stories after they find out you've been to iraq.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 3:20:51 AM EDT
[#29]
My dad's a multi tour VN vet and he always talked about VN, not everything but a lot.
He worked with the Phoenix program and transitioned it over to the Viets as Phung Hoang. Man, he knew some shit! Bill Colby came to our house for dinner once; I was too young to know who he was at the time, but he and my dad told some funny stories! Later on I knew two MSgts, both were in VN at the same time, same age, both saw heavy combat, really nasty combat, but they were different as night and day. One talked about his experiences all the time, had a photo album in his desk drawer he'd pull out at the drop of a hat  and kind of held class for the junior Marines (this is all prior to 9/11).
The other NEVER talked about his experiences until he got drunk then he'd get all weepy and maudlin. Man, his retirement ceremony sucked...he literally went out with a whimper. 
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Posted: 10/1/2014 3:21:55 AM EDT
[#30]
Dad would never talk about it until i got older.
He was part of the conflict up into when it became war (63ish.) his Job was recon, he was the part of the "give me back my M14" crowd. he said he was under fire and his M-16 jammed (pre fwd assist, and bad powder in the ammunition.) they were trained to field strip wipe clean and return to battery until they got the new shipments with FA and the correct ammunition. He said he carried an AK until then. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 3:55:44 AM EDT
[#31]
Zero stories from my old man about his time in Vietnam. It fucked him up pretty good which combined with him being born to a German war bride who took him back to Germany after my grandfather died in his mid 20's. He spent some time in jail in Hawaii after separating from the Army. All of the stuff I know is from his DD214 which I got after he died at 57 from I strongly believe Agent Orange exposure or from stories my great grandmother told me before she died.
He never allowed guns in our home when I was growing up and was extremely violent towards my brother and me. We avoided him whenever we could. I left in 2000 and didn't speak to him ever again. He mellowed towards my brother and saw him one more time before he passed. He apologized to my brother but the mention of my name caused him to flip out. Talking to some of the older guys I know from the shooting sports or Ham Radio, Vietnam was something quickly forgotten/hidden from view especially if you were a grunt in the jungles of Vietnam during the war. Very few of them brag about or acknowledge their service. I almost didn't believe my dad until I saw him interred at the cemetery. While he was a shitbird most of the time, I do feel bad for a future stolen from him all for a niche for his ashes in a cemetery.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 4:01:52 AM EDT
[#32]
Yeah, it's not like today where the military is lauded. Back in the day, VN vets were baby killers and losers, the media portrayed them as psycho killers ready to explode at a moments notice, so you kept your head down and your mouth shut.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 4:05:01 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Dad would never talk about it until i got older. He was part of the conflict up into when it became war (63ish.) his Job was recon, he was the part of the "give me back my M14" crowd. he said he was under fire and his M-16 jammed (pre fwd assist, and bad powder in the ammunition.) they were trained to field strip wipe clean and return to battery until they got the new shipments with FA and the correct ammunition. He said he carried an AK until then.   |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 4:10:57 AM EDT
[#34]
Vietnam vet. Son, and nephew, of WW II and Korea vets. I heard a few stories while growing up, but not much. I have learned a whole lot more recently.
To answer your question, yes, it is history you need to know about and he/they lived it. Talking about it may be difficult. Be aware of, be sensitive to, that. If you let him know you really want to know, I believe he will not refuse. My advice to anyone wanting to start such conversations: The more specific the question, the more likely it is you will get an answer. The more general/open ended/vague the question, the easier it will be to give the same type answer, or blow it off. I wish you, your dad and FIL the best with this. I think they will find it to be good for them also. CMB69 4th ID RVN, '69-'70 |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 6:52:56 AM EDT
[#35]
Not the kid of a 'nam vet. But step grandfather served in the pacific in WWII.
He talked to no one about his past, with the exception of me. He told me all kinds of stories, sadly I was too young to remember them. R.I.P. Ben
In reguards to what you first said. Everyone in his family had the dont ask dont tell mentality. I was too young to understand as to why I shouldn't ask. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:15:00 AM EDT
[#36]
Time rounds off the edges of the wounds and hurts.
Peace is the goal. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:21:50 AM EDT
[#37]
My grandfather was in Vietnam. He has told stories to some of my uncles and a few to me. He was a Corpsman with a Marine unit and later went on to become a preachers assistant, only so he could give last rights.
He stays quite about his time there for the most part. He wear a Vietnam hat and is proud of his service. He has shown us some binders full of newspapers arrivals, lists of names, some that are circled is blue pen. Pretty sure the pen that stays in the binder is the one he used over there. It's beat to hell. He has showed pictures of him and his buddies hanging out and random pictures of tree lines. Anytime I talk about my current AR build he always tells the story of him ahooting his 45 and the M16. He said the M16 would just rise up and you shot. He goes on to say that he only carried the 45 "if the doc needs an M16, we were too far gone". I have been wanting to sit down and talk to him about it by being 10 hours away makes it hard. I hope to this Christmas, ask him to share more. Chaplin!! That is the name I couldn't remember. Replace preacher with Chaplin! |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:37:07 AM EDT
[#38]
He is in his 70's and still won't talk about it.
I suspect he never will. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:45:14 AM EDT
[#39]
My Father is a Veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam as well as being "wheels up" during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He has always liked to tell war stories but it wasn't until I grew up that he told me of things that were harder for him to express. Still, he never claimed to suffer from and sort of PTSD. My Father (he is still alive BTW @90yo) is the most peaceful man I know. I never saw him goaded into a fight and he has always shown the greatest respect for other people even if he was arguing with them. He has too much dignity for name-calling and I have never seen him drive aggressively. However, when I was a child (in the 1970s) we had two teenage brothers in our neighborhood who were bad news. Their Halloween antics has escalated from smashing pumpkins to breaking windows and then killing and eviscerating a neighbors pet cat. I don't know what my Father said to them or their strung out mother but they never bothered us. One was murdered in prison and the other OD'd while in the Army after choosing the offer of enlistment over prison by a judge.
One incident that he still will not talk about was his role in ferreting out a Viet-Cong infiltrator on Tan Son Nhut Air Base. For his part, my Father was awarded the 9mmBHP the VC infiltrator was carrying at the time of his capture (I have pics posted in the Browning forum in the ARFCOM Handguns section). When I asked him what happened to the man he simply says "well, he certainly had no use for that pistol anymore". I know there is MUCH more to the story but he won't say another word. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:50:57 AM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just a clarification: There were no "front lines" in Vietnam. Obviously some areas were waist deep in the shit and others not so much, but it was a war unlike any other in terms of there being no "front lines." You could get killed stepping off a plane at Tan Son Nhut air base. The entire country became a "front line" at one point or another. A mechanic I worked with at Kennedy Airport told me he would carry his toolbox with one hand, and his M-16 with the other. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:53:36 AM EDT
[#41]
Nam was a green wet hell with little brown deamons out to kill you at every turn, period..and no, few want to talk about it.
You have to take into context how Nam Vets were treated by the general populace when they came home and how the media painted us as monsters, baby raping, murderous insane ravagers with no conscience only fueled by the desire for more blood spit on, shat on, generally mistreated, many couldn't find jobs when they returned home, disowned by their own government in many ways, women and men shamed from wearing the uniform they worked hard for or the medals they deserved.....
some today won't even use the benefits offered them as they still mistrust the government so much or fear they'd retaliate agains one of these long haired hippy pinko types that shunned and denounced their actions.....an near inbred fear and or dislike for their own people, their own country... |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:54:58 AM EDT
[#42]
I was born in 74' and my Father was there 1969-70 and he has told me maybe a couple of things about his experience there.
I also never asked anything about it and I still don't. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 7:57:08 AM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just a clarification: There were no "front lines" in Vietnam. Obviously some areas were waist deep in the shit and others not so much, but it was a war unlike any other in terms of there being no "front lines." You could get killed stepping off a plane at Tan Son Nhut air base. The entire country became a "front line" at one point or another. +1 My dad guarded ammo dumps around Cam Rahn Bay. There weren't too many safer places in Vietnam, and even there he said he saw fighting in the distance. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:10:43 AM EDT
[#44]
My father just turned 70 and he doesn't talk about Vietnam.
I am 35 and I don't talk about Iraq. It's just one of those things. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:15:06 AM EDT
[#45]
My dad talks about basic and when he got back & served on a base in California. The whole Vietnam part he won't talk about. I have learned to leave it alone.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:17:17 AM EDT
[#46]
My dad was AF and stationed in Thailand. I always thought that was the end of it, he loaded bombs on planes and came home after a year. Then he kinda got a screw loose about 7 years ago, diagnosed with delayed PTSD. Turns out he would go on "missions" to cleanup American plane crash sites at times. He has never said what he saw, but it obviously bothers him badly to this day.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:25:10 AM EDT
[#47]
My old man still doesn't talk about many of the details. He is classically PTSD and has been so since the 70s, but managed to do just fine.
That's his business. I feel the same way about my friends that spent time in hostile places more recently. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:30:37 AM EDT
[#48]
Son of a Vietnam combat vet.
He has answered every question i have ever asked him, and same with my son asking him questions. I'm sure it was the defining time of his life, and i think it made him an even better person. BTW, my answer isn't even an option in your poll... |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:33:35 AM EDT
[#49]
I've said more about Vietnam here than I ever had to my three kids or wife. Made a decision long time ago not to allow a short intense period that took place a very long time ago to affect the rest of my life. That plus I can't keep the war stories straight anymore. Last month a guy I was in the same unit with contacted my step father (found him through my relatives) trying to get in contact with me. Step father gave me his phone number, I thanked him and tossed it in the trash. "Don't you want to talk to him?" Hell no. About what? Killing gooks, dead GIs, whores, heroin, pot, ect. Nothing I really care to remember. "What if he calls back?" Tell him you gave it to me and I'll call him sometimes. Yeah, right. If dad doesn't want to talk about it then leave it alone. He's kept quiet all these years for a reason.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 8:39:54 AM EDT
[#50]
My dad served in the Air Force in Vietnam in 70/71. He talked about some of the things they did but he was never a front line infantry grunt.
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