Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., 89, Dies; With Blinks, Vietnam P.O.W. Told of Torture

Cmdr. Jeremiah Denton Jr. blinked the word T-O-R-T-U-R-E in Morse code during an interview while he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.CreditCreditNational Archives, via Associated Press

The prisoner of war had been tortured for 10 months and beaten repeatedly by his North Vietnamese captors in recent days, and there were threats of more if he did not respond properly when the propaganda broadcast began. Haggard but gritty, Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton Jr. slumped in a chair before the television cameras. Continue reading →

Remember the USS Forrestal. There is an old adage that says, “It’s not polite to speak ill of the deceased.” So – I won’t. I will post this NOW – while he is hanging on and still causing trouble. I hope that he is buried with a R(h)INO horn, for it befits him. As a 21 month Veteran of the Viet Nam “war” – I have never had any use for him, nor have I ever voted for him – and had even less respect when he spearheaded the movement to establish relations with his buddies – his captors – who housed him so well and took such good care of the Admiral’s son in Hanoi. He and Senator Ted Kennedy will soon be reunited – in Hell. May his journey be swift. ~ Ed.
Continue reading →

Terrifying study shows jungle parasite from Southeast Asia may be killing American veterans decades after end of the war

Troops of the Ninth division wade through swamps and rivers south of Saigon in the summer of 1969, in the Delta area

Half a century after serving in Vietnam, test results show some men may have been infected by a slow-killing parasite while fighting in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

The Department of Veterans Affairs this spring commissioned a small pilot study to look into the link between liver flukes ingested through raw or undercooked fish and a rare bile duct cancer.

It can take decades for symptoms to appear.

By then, patients are often in tremendous pain, with just a few months to live.

‘It was surprising,’ he said, stressing the preliminary results could include false positives and that the research is ongoing.

Of the 50 blood samples submitted, more than 20 percent came back positive or bordering positive for liver fluke antibodies, said Sung-Tae Hong, the tropical medicine specialist who carried out the tests at Seoul National University in South Korea. Continue reading →

Be skeptical of Ken Burns’ documentary: The Vietnam War

Some months ago I and a dozen other local veterans attended a screening at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta – preview of a new documentary on The Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick” The screening was a one hour summation of this 10-part documentary, 18 hours long.

The series began showing on PBS Sunday Sep 17, and with Burns’ renowned talent mixing photos, video clips and compelling mood music in documentary form, the series promises to be compelling to watch. That doesn’t mean it tells the truth. Continue reading →

It matters not which war we served in. ~ J.B.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has accidentally deemed thousands of veterans dead and canceled their benefits over the last five years, according to recent department data that revealed the problem was much bigger than previously thought.

The VA made the mistake more than 4,000 times within the last half-decade due to employee errors and inaccurate cross-checking of information by the department’s computers, among other issues. The VA modified its procedures to tackle the problem, but it is not yet known if the new system works. Continue reading →