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End of the Vietnam episode made me want to cry


At the end of the episode on Vietnam, a TV news correspondent is standing in Arlington, stating future politicians should come here the next time they take the country to war, since that would force them to have very good reasons for doing so. Then I thought about the wars in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen, and I just wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

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You know the old saying, those that forget history are doomed to repeat it? That seems most appropriate in this case.

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It affected me the same way...I literally choked up. I grew up during the Vietnam war, and I remember all too vividly seeing its coverage every day on the evening news--and all these years later it's still so painful thinking about all the young lives [and older lives, too] that were lost so unnecessarily.


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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

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My father is the most decorated living Vet that served from 1967 on in the NY Metro area. Most of the medals he received were taken back since it is still classified and he was in the most elite unit of the U.S. Armed forces (Marine Force Recon - for every 10-12 SEALs there's one Forcon Marine and the SEAL "hell week" is what Forcon suffers through for months until only a literal handful are left). The medals he does have he keeps in a cheap picture frame in the back of a shelf in his spare closet. His identical twin brother born hours later on a different date was drafted, so he decided to go to war for they did everything together. In that frame sits a Navy Cross, Multiple Silver and Bronze Stars, Four Purple Hearts, from Vietnam alone. As he watched that a Medal of Honor "minority ceremony" Obama held he was angered like I've never seen before as a solider under his command received the CMR though the man was just present at the battle and did not do what was claimed. He actually was known to be a coward and was left in the rear guarding gear while 6 men lost their lives, 2 being minorities, all of whom did beyond what the coward recipient was said to have done. All of that and the fact the war in Vietnam could have ended in a few months if we did not hold back like the Balkins to present day... Ironically my dad was on the front lines of 9-11 at the Towers and knew once again this country would get more of us killed in battle not by sending troops but by the ultra liberals who make our rules of engagement ridiculous, because they fail to see how we are animals in the end, and that war will always be around. Look at what crimes OUR WW2 soliders did that wasn't reported, yet they are viewed as heroes as they stopped the fall of the world and a few genocides. Should a woman be able to drive a car, even a bicycle? Well it's obvious, they should have that right and much more. We are at war stopping those who forbid it, just as the Communistic ways forbid freedoms that would have every ultra liberal in the USA screaming. No, I'm not a conservative God fearing fool. I just know that US bullets change governments and offer freedoms far faster then Amesty International. My father should not have to hide his amazing valor and sacrifice, but has to because you don't think we should do anything about the same causes you fight for in our country. Example: female inequality in the workplace here .. Well what about female forced to marry a stranger and unable to even show their face, work at all, use any form of transportation, and under laws sentencing them to death if they play a sport? We, the USA, can change this, and lives have been lost doing so. Show some respect or go change something for real. Commercials asking for money for pets here are just a joke given the human struggle here and abroad, and the way those who did something about it are belittled (us soliders).

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"Commercials asking for money for pets" are only necessary because of the sick and sadistic HUMANS who have abused and tortured them for fun. You complain that soldiers are belittled? Well, you make me sick for belittling the suffering of innocent animals.

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"Commercials asking for money for pets" are only necessary because of the sick and sadistic HUMANS who have abused and tortured them for fun.
THANK YOU, blondeblue1. I wanted to say SOMETHING, but was too pissed off to think of what to say without being really ugly.

You complain that soldiers are belittled? Well, you make me sick for belittling the suffering of innocent animals.
Yep.


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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

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I was with you throughout your entire post, Quigs1122--until your last sentence. It's a shame you don't realize that abused/neglected animals are helpless and voiceless, and without humans intervening on their behalf, they have no hope. But aside from that, I don't agree with your assertion that US soldiers are belittled.

My husband is a 40% compensable disabled veteran who spent five years in the Air Force--during Vietnam. He has NEVER, EVER felt belittled in any way, shape, or form. In fact, he's never seen anything but respect and appreciation for his service.

If your father's experience is different from my husband's, that's a shame, but it's unfair to make blanket generalizations.


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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

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But aside from that, I don't agree with your assertion that US soldiers are belittled.
If your father's experience is different from my husband's, that's a shame, but it's unfair to make blanket generalizations.
Quigs1122 wasn't making a blanket generalization, he was merely stating fact. Maybe these will refresh your memory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_x2Yl7xW8U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANDKEOalGjY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbynlYWYC5U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwZh5NfCvd0

Doesn't ring a bell? Still not convinced? If it didn't happen, then why did this happen 40 years later?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/29/us-usa-obama-memorial-idUSBRE84R0J420120529

I'm happy that your husband's homecoming didn't heap more trauma on him, but his experience was the exception, and not the rule.


"In a time of universal deceit,
telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
George Orwell

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Throughout your entire post, one question burned brighter in my mind each second as I read on: what's a solider?

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