Cpl. Larry G. Nabb finds a moment of peace in front of a decorated Christmas tree in December 1968 at Quang Tri Combat Base, Vietnam. (Staff Sgt. D.L. Shearer/U.S. Marine Corps photo)

Christmas in the military is certainly different than celebrating the holidays as a civilian. And Christmas during war is an entirely unique experience from anything else. When we asked for your most prized stories of the holidays in uniform, our Vietnam-era veteran readers responded in force.

These stories made us laugh, cry and take stock of the sacrifices made by so many from the Vietnam generation. From holidays spent in locales from Greenland to Thailand, dodging enemy mortars, friendly fire or beer cans, or listening to perennial favorite Bob Hope, these Vietnam-era stories deliver poignant memories from yesteryear. Continue reading →

56 years ago I spent my first Christmas in Vietnam. I have never regretted one day of my 21 months of service. ~ Editor

Putting his philosophy of ‘Leave No Veteran Behind’ into practice…

      A commanding officer presents 1st Lt. Michael Jackson with the Bronze Star Medal in 1969. ~ Courtesy Judge Jackson

Judge Michael Jackson, a combat veteran, had the power to send veterans convicted of crimes to prison. But he had a better idea about how to return them to their status of upstanding citizens.

Working as a Common Pleas Judge in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Judge Jackson, now 80, decided it was better to customize a rehabilitation program for veterans who had offended — and surround them with other veterans. Continue reading →

“Dustoff inbound” was the message crackling over the radio that troops wounded in Vietnam most wanted to hear.

                …and I was there as well – as a Patient Protector with the 498th Dustoff Unit! – Jeffrey Bennett, Editor

The message using the “Dustoff” call sign meant that an unarmed UH-1 “Huey” helicopter air ambulance with a red cross painted on the nose was coming for them no matter the weather, no matter whether the landing zone was “hot,” no matter whether there even was a landing zone – some 8,000 hoists while the aircraft hovered were conducted during the war.

To honor those who flew more than 496,000 Army medevac missions from May 1962 through March 1973, the House last week passed the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act. Continue reading →

I couldn’t go to Woodstock, because I was training for a tour in Vietnam. I was 20 years old and had no idea what I was getting into. On the chartered flight to DaNang, we sang this song over and over. The lyrics were so true. The military industrial complex is who wanted this war. It had nothing to do with preserving freedom in the U.S.. ~ David Holst
Continue reading →

In 1975, President Ford was left to manage the difficult ending of the Vietnam War.

President Ford went to Congress for a relief package to allow American personnel and our allies to evacuate. However, there was ONE US SENATOR who opposed any such support. The result was the embarrassing and hurried evacuation from the roof of the American embassy in Saigon.

This senator reveled in the embarrassment and did everything he could to leverage it politically against Ford. Despite the efforts of this U.S. Senator – President Ford managed to rescue 1,500 South Vietnamese allies prior to the country’s fall.

Had President Ford not acted quickly, these people would have been targeted and slaughtered for their support for America. Continue reading →

For me – two months at Ft. Ord in 1966 then off to Germany for 2 years – then on to ‘Nam for twenty one months – volunteering to fly in a Huey picking up wounded human beings – from both sides of the war – and do you think that I was not affected? And yet – throughout life – Orange had always been my favorite color… ~ J. Bennett, Editor

A chemical in Agent Orange is a known carcinogen linked to several cancers, chronic conditions and birth defects.

A soldier participates in the Norwegian Foot March at Fort Ord National Monument, in Monterey County, California, Oct. 28, 2022. Mounting evidence shows that to kill pervasive poison oak and other weeds at Fort Ord — a former Army base, which closed in 1994 — the military sprayed and experimented with the powerful herbicide combination Agent Orange as far back as the 1950s. (WINIFRED BROWN/U.S. ARMY)

As a young GI at Fort Ord in Monterey County, California, Dean Osborn spent much of his time in the oceanside woodlands, training on soil and guzzling water from streams and aquifers now known to be contaminated with cancer-causing pollutants.

“They were marching the snot out of us,” he said, recalling his year and a half stationed on the base, from 1979 to 1980. He also remembers, not so fondly, the poison oak pervasive across the 28,000-acre installation that closed in 1994. He went on sick call at least three times because of the overwhelmingly itchy rash.

Mounting evidence shows that as far back as the 1950s, in an effort to kill the ubiquitous poison oak and other weeds at the Army base, the military experimented with and sprayed the powerful herbicide combination known colloquially as Agent Orange. Continue reading →

Douglas B. Hegdahl, 77, is one of the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War

Hegdahl, now 77, secretly memorized the names of 256 American servicemen held prisoner in Vietnam, allowing them to be reclassified from MIA to POW years before the war ended

The captured US Navy sailor known to his North Vietnamese guards as ‘The Incredibly Stupid One‘ had a sneaky trick up his sleeve.

Navy sailor Douglas B. Hegdahl survived for two years in the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ prison by posing as an illiterate fool

During the Vietnam War, Seaman Apprentice Douglas B. Hegdahl survived for two years in the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ prison by posing as an illiterate fool, while secretly memorizing the names of 256 American servicemen held there.

Memorized to the tune of ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’, the list of names likely saved many lives, by confirming the men were still alive and putting immense pressure on the North Vietnamese to release them at the war’s end.

Hegdahl, now 77, is living quietly in San Diego, retired after an illustrious career spent teaching at the US Navy SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) School at Naval Base Coronado.

A family member told DailyMail.com he is ‘not really interested in attention in general’ and didn’t wish to speak publicly about his harrowing war experience.

But Hegdahl is one of the great unsung heroes of the Vietnam War, and a legend among fellow veterans and former POWs. THIS is his remarkable tale of survival… 
Continue reading →

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ralph Jim Chipman disappeared into darkness in late 1972

Capt. Ralph Jim Chipman was laid to rest on Nov. 11 in American Fork, Utah. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ralph Jim Chipman was the pilot of an A-6A Intruder when he and his crew went missing into darkness nearly 51 years ago flying a mission during the Vietnam War .

Considered missing in action and then later deemed killed in war, Chipman’s remains were found and identified three months ago. Now, he’s coming home.

Chipman’s remains will return to his native Utah on Saturday for a final resting place — flanked by family members, first responders and others for a Veterans Day memorial.

“After 50 years the day our family has been waiting for has finally come!” Scot Chipman, his son, said, according to KSLN. “Our family wants to thank all of those that have made this day possible.” Continue reading →

Takeaways:

• Cindy Winegar and Daryl Zubey, widows of Vietnam veterans, share their experiences of caring for their husbands who were exposed to Agent Orange during the war. Continue reading →

More veterans may be included in compensation

Originally published by the Author on November 8, 2016. ~ Monsanto and Dow were 2 of the 9 wartime contractors hired by the US government to create Agent Orange, a combination of the toxic chemicals 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T, just over 40 years ago. The damage these chemicals have perpetrated on our health and environment did not end with the Vietnam War though.

Aside from the long-term poisoning of soil and crops, a new review of Agent Orange research has found evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are more strongly linked to exposure to Agent Orange than was previously assumed. Continue reading →

Welcome Home, Sister!

In 1968, Cheryl Feala of North Bend, Nebraska was a nursing graduate and a 2nd Lieutenant in the United State Army stationed at Chu Lai Airbase located just 55 miles from the DMZ during the Vietnam War. Cheryl reflects on her memories as a combat nurse in the year of the Tet Offensive.

I put his video up for some local veterans because after watching every major news network on the morning of Vietnam War Veterans Day this year, including our local newspaper, there was not one mention about our special day. Made me so angry, I created the slideshow from photos sent to me over the years or posted on websites I had back then. Our average age is around 73 now and I wonder in about 15 or 20 years when we are all gone if we will be once again forgotten. To my brothers in arms, Welcome Home. Never Forget. ~ American Veteran Continue reading →

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.
Continue reading →

“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 →