Dude, you should never mention (even to your own wife and children) you were in Vietnam. Why? I'm VERY proud of my military service. I was the only house on my block with an American flag flying on 9-10-01. My wife is an Army brat and wouldn't have married me otherwise, and my daughters love me anyway. All my grandsons think I'm a cold-blooded killer and tell all their friends so.
I had plenty of company: "The U.S. Census Bureau (2004) reports there are 8.2 million 'Vietnam Era Veterans.' Of these 2.59 million are reported to have served 'in country.' More than 58,000 U.S. military personnel died as a result of the conflict"* (including some good friends of mine).
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_veteran
Our Secretary of State is a Vietnam vet: "Shortly before he graduated from Yale University, Secretary Kerry enlisted to serve in the United States Navy, and went on to serve two tours of duty. He served in combat as a Swift Boat skipper patrolling the rivers of the Mekong Delta, returning home from Vietnam with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts."*
*state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/203657.htm
Plenty of other (smart -- not stupid) people are Vietnam vets:
Al Gore, Fred Smith (founder and president of Federal Express), Colin Powell, John McCain, Craig Venter (famed for being the first to map the human genome)*
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_veteran
You were scammed (unless you're too stupid) into going to war. It was just an exercise ordered by the US military complex and banks to test the weapons and to waste tax payers' money. The Vietnam War was the last American war with conscription.*
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_veteran
You either not an American or you're too young to remember the draft or both, but many of the young men that went to Vietnam didn't have a choice. Sure, they could have gone to Canada ("Canadian immigration statistics show that 20,000 to 30,000 draft-eligible American men came to Canada as immigrants during the Vietnam era"*) or dodged the draft in other ways ("some notable US figures avoided the draft as students such as Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Dick Cheney"**), but most of us just went and tried to stay alive long enough to get the hell out of there. That was my strategy and by the time I left, I was the youngest staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and making good money so I reenlisted for 5 years for the fat reenlistment bonus and an assignment to Thailand. This was a Very Smart Thing To Do*** -- Thailand rocked.
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_evasion **en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_and_the_Vietnam_War ***IMHO
[quote[Hopefully before you die you'll realize how much damage your 'war' caused in the name of absolutely nothing.[/quote]"Some would argue that the Vietnam War was fought to send a message to the United States' communist rivals."* (I believe this, but it was a mistake from the beginning for sure.)
humanities360.com/index.php/what-the-vietnam-war-achieved-8602/
America was not threatened by Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a joke created by your own generals. I'm assuming you feel the same way about all the wars after World War II, including the Persian Gulf wars, where America was not directly threatened:
Korean War (1950 "1953) Part of the Cold War
Vietnam War (1955 "1975) Part of the Cold War and Indochina Wars
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) Part of the Cold War
Cuban missile crisis (1962) Part of the Cold War
Dominican Civil War (1965) Part of the Cold War
American occupation of the Dominican Republic (1965 "1966) Part of the Cold War
First Gulf of Sidra incident (1981) Invasion of Grenada (1983) Part of the Cold War
American occupation in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) Operation El Dorado Canyon (1986) Second Gulf of Sidra incident (1989) Invasion of Panama (1989 "1990) Gulf War (1990 "1991) Unified Task Force (1992 "1993) Bosnian War (1993 "1995) Part of the Yugoslav Wars
Operation Uphold Democracy (1994 "1995) Kosovo War (1998 "1999) Part of the Yugoslav Wars*
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States
That's a lot of war, huh? Are all of the veterans who participated in these wars stupid, or just the Vietnam vets? Or just me? I'm curious.
If you, after so many years, still believe in the bullsh|it fed by the state you have no business writing academic essays; you are unable to connect simple facts (despite tons of relevant research materials available). I didn't see any endorsement of the Vietnam war in my ad, only a mention of my military experience as being relevant to my background. I was surprised and baffled a little, though, by your hateful and vulgar attack (especially on Veterans Day*). Since I've been doing this full-time for 16+ years now, I guess I'm doing something right.**
**Remember: "I write it right with all my might!" |