An overdue story from one of my Brothers in service… ~ Editor

I was 17 years old when I got to Vietnam-1966 through 1969 (My mom had to sign a waiver for me), I grew up fast and learned a lot, good and bad. (I am now 73 and still learning). I was stationed on the USS Providence and also stationed in Country at a place called “Monkey Mountain” close to DaNang,. I spent 3 tours of duty in and around Vietnam. 3 of my high school friends were killed in Vietnam, I was spared. I participated in the TET Offensive in Feb 1968, that was bad. Somewhere along the way I was exposed to Agent Orange (Nasty Stuff) I am now on disability for the effects of agent orange. When I was discharged and came home to the States we arrived in San Francisco, and there were a lot of protesters spitting on us and throwing rocks and eggs and called us baby killers. That was our welcome home. I tell you this to say to you, that whatever your position is or was on the Vietnam war, it was not the veteran who got us into the war, most of us went because we were patriots and loved our country. Blame the politicians, yes, but not the veteran. To all Vietnam Vets out there, you are not forgotten. As a previous combat Vet myself, I salute you my friend. ~ Denny T.
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“When I have your wounded.”

Those words set the standard and example for generations of Dustoff crews, which provided helicopter aeromedical evacuation from the battlefield. They were also the death rattle of Maj. Charles Kelly. In terms of lives saved, his sacrifice was perhaps the most productive U.S. combat death ever. Kelly’s story may be instructive in demonstrating the shabby state of evacuation and care of wounded warriors today. Continue reading →

A still image from Morton Dean’s report aboard a Dust Off chopper in Vietnam; Courtesy Morton Dean, CBS News, January 1971

One of America’s most legendary war correspondents visited Branson during Veteran’s Week, presenting his documentary “American Medevac” at the Branson IMAX Military Film Festival.

Morton Dean has been a journalist since 1957, starting his career at WVIP in Westchester County, New York. He went on to work in Boston and New York City, when he joined WCBS-TV, the flagship station of the CBS Television Network. He moved to the network in 1967, covering NASA, national politics, the Invasion of Grenada, the Falklands War, the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Vietnam War during a 20-year stint. In addition to his reporting work, Dean also anchored the CBS Sunday Night News, and CBS Sunday Evening News.

He also worked for ABC for 14 years, covering the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, reporting from Kuwait during the first Gulf War, was on the ground during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and was the only reporter to report from inside the parking garage at the World Trade Center in 1993 after terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the first WTC bombing.

Dean was reporting from Vietnam in 1971 when he and cameraman Greg Cooke were at an Army emergency aid station called Hawk Hill, where they discovered the story that later was the basis for the documentary film. Continue reading →

In January 1964 Brady volunteered for Vietnam and was assigned to the 57th Medical Detachment – Helicopter Ambulance, led by Major Charles Kelly. The unit’s call-sign was “Dust Off,” a cry for help that would become the most famous of all Vietnam call-signs.

On January 6, 1968, Brady was rousted from off duty to help with an extraordinary causality situation. Despite repeated warnings that the missions were impossible – due to weather, the enemy, or land mines – on three different missions Brady extracted patients from areas where other aircraft had failed. For these actions Brady was awarded the Medal of Honor. Continue reading →

A man of God and American Patriot.

A quiet man and humble man, Gary Beikirch, departed this life for the next on 26 December, becoming the third Medal of Honor recipient we said farewell to in 2021, after the deaths of T/Sgt. Charlie Coolidge and Lt. Col. Chuck Hagemeister.

Gary, a Vietnam veteran whose Medal of Honor citation you can read here, was instrumental in shaping and supporting the character education curriculum of our National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. Continue reading →

Ever since Vietnam, the distinctive sound of helicopter rotors in the distance causes me and every other Vietnam or War on Terror combat veteran to look up. That sound has an often inexpressible meaning to us. Continue reading →

You are missed Christoper Lucci.

Many a man fell into the hands
Of that vicious enemy
In Viet-Nam, the land of the damned,
Captured by VC
Many men died in captivity
And many would somehow survive
But to die in the Nam is easy.
The harder is staying alive Continue reading →

Grateful for a life spared, and thankful for those who paid the ultimate price.

It was as hot as I remembered, nearly 120 degrees under cloudless skies. It was 1989 and 23 years had passed since I last stood on this spot. Twenty-three years earlier we often came into this little fishing village on the Perfume River five kilometers south of the Imperial City of Hue, South Vietnam. My squad of Marines almost always took enemy fire as we approached this village. Continue reading →

Hanoi Jane, the infamous traitor to her country and now Joe Biden surrogate, couldn’t contain her excitement while talking about the coronavirus. “What a great gift! What a tremendous opportunity!” she exclaimed. It has “ripped the Band-Aid off who [President Donald Trump] is and what he stands for and what is being done to average people and working people in this country.” And now, she gleefully asserts, “We have a chance to harness that anger and make a difference. So, I feel so blessed to be alive right now.” She gloated, “We can stop fascism.” (Read full commentary…)

THIS is our answer to YOU…

The names of eight women, all nurses (seven from the Army and one from the Air Force), are inscribed next to their fallen brothers on The Wall in Washington, D.C.

Each dedicated themselves to taking care of the wounded and dying. Continue reading →

WARNING: This video contains much offensive language and much vulgarity. Even so, Al’s story is absolutely compelling, historic, and even emotionally touching if you watch all the way to the end.

I was with Al White at the Khe Sahn 881 Hill Fights that he just described. I was in 1st. platoon. Met him at our reunions, but he was in weapons platoon. Knew Lt. Cannon well. My platoon commander was Lt. Izenhour. The worst hell in three weeks of our lives. People only remember the Siege, which they should in 1968, but we were fighting these North Vietnames for three weeks a year earlier. Some of the worst fighting in the war. . Lost 32 Marines on May, 3rd., 1967, when we were overrun. The Marine hero he mentions that got the Navy Cross was Fred Monahan. He saved a lot of us. If you want to learn more of this battle go to Amazon, and order the 881 Hill Fights. I am in one of the last pictures he shows at our reunion. ~ Dick Backus Semper Fi

As veterans we see the empty places in our ranks where friends once stood. We see shadows when we remember something funny with them and start to laugh realizing only you will be laughing. And we look across the table or the bar stool next to you and realize that it’s filled with another you don’t recognize because your brother hasn’t been there for a while.

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