Today we had the pleasure of meeting many Vietnam Veterans at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fundraiser in Farmington, New York. We hope John enjoys reading the stories in the book, NEVER FORGOTTEN, The Vietnam Veteran Fifty Years Later, a copy of which was gifted to him at the event. Thank you for your service! Veterans Interviewed and Stories Shared by www.JennyLasala.com
In 1945, my father’s cousin, James Ryan, Army Air Corps., was shot down while over Japan on board the Lonesome Lady. He lived and was taken to Chugoku Military Police Headquarters in Hiroshima. There were 12 fliers in all. All 12 POWs were killed instantly when the atomic bomb went off on August 6th, 1945. The identities of the 12 Americans might never have been discovered were it not for Shigeaki Mori, a historian who has spent 30 years documenting…..
My father Walter Cordle, Sr. served in Europe during WWII with the US Army and received a Purple Heart. I served with the 101st Airborne and was in Phi Bai/Hue Vietnam during 1971. My MOS was on the flight line and the stock control and parts for the cobra assault helicopters. I still love the whop, whop noise of the chopper blades and still hear them at night sometimes… The most challenging part of my job was the perimeter guard…..
My dad Ssgt. E6 Alvin I. Bickal was born on July 6, 1931 and passed away December 10, 2001. He served from 1948 to1968 and was a 187th Rakkasan paratrooper in Korea and served Vietnam. Dad didn’t talk much about it and almost died in Korea after being shot with a machine gun, but still stayed in to serve. I wish he would have said more. He was so proud of his service. He LOVED fishing! He was an avid…..
I served in the Marines as a squad leader in Vietnam and spent most of my time In-country from 1966 to 1967. We were continually in the “hot” demilitarized zone, or DMZ, that separated North and South Vietnam. I was wounded twice during my 13-month tour of duty. After returning to the United States, I became a police officer and then the chief of police in a small town on the eastern shore of Maryland. Later, I joined the Department…..
I was a paratrooper in the 506th of the 101st Airborne Division from 1961 to 1964. My war was the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was discharged before the 101st went to Vietnam. We trained all the time when I was in the army. The experience has stayed with me because we came within minutes of a nuclear war with the Russians. But I think the war we are in now is just as bad or worse because these people come…..
Grandpa Dick Gipson served in the Navy and then the Air Force. My Grandmother Imogene Gipson followed my grandpa to Germany, Korea, all over, and raised six children and made it look easy. She was as tough as any Soldier I met, never said a lie and never held back the truth. Grandpa served in the Navy and then the Air Force. He was stationed here, at Barksdale AFB when my father was a child, so we have four generations…..
I am a Vietnam Veteran and was honorably discharged in 1970. My plan was to join the Air Force and learn a skill that I could transfer to a great job as a civilian as an air traffic controller. But that was not in the cards. So in a way, I found myself facing the same dilemma 4 years later. I asked myself, “So what are you going to do with yourself?” However, I had added a few tricks to…..
My father served in the Marines in WWII and was wounded at Guadalcanal. I served in Vietnam, with the 1st Cav from 1968 to 1970. My experiences in Vietnam certainly changed me. I never talked about my service until recently. I was married for 19 years and my ex-wife still doesn’t know that I served in combat in Vietnam. I just did my job over there as well as I could. It was something that I decided to put on…..
I served overseas with 137th Ordnance co in Okinawa and CO A 1/327th Infantry 101st Airborne in Vietnam. This is the only picture I have of me in Vietnam. I am on left and my twin brother William is on right. We were 18-year-old twin brothers from the Gerritsen Beach section of Brooklyn, New York. William and I enlisted and served in Vietnam. We were both with the 101st and in the same unit when we first got there. I…..
