VIETNAM VETERANS GET MEDALS FOR HEROIC ACTIONS...

[Indi Guy]

Source: AP



SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two Vietnam veterans were awarded the Silver and Bronze Star medals Friday for their courage in a battle on a jungle hillside where more than 75 percent of the troops with them that day were killed or wounded.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in his citation to the president that Joe Cordileone and Robert Moffatt showed extraordinary heroism during the first Battle of Khe Sanh in 1967. Marine Brig. Gen. James Bierman apologized to the veterans for the 46-year-wait, saying "I'm sorry that it took so long for these awards to work their way around to you."

The men were never recognized until now because the commanders who make such recommendations were killed: Of the more than 100 American troops on the hill, 27 were killed and 50 were wounded. Maj. Gen. John Admire said he was shocked to learn not one of the survivors had a medal...

Retired Pfc. Cordileone still has shrapnel in his face from the fighting. He continued firing for about eight hours after getting hit by fragments from the explosions as he carried his platoon commander, who was killed when a second mortar hit. Moffatt suffered severe head wounds after taking over the machine gun from a wounded comrade, saving American lives. "I knew we had to remedy this because there was no doubt in my mind that what they did was absolutely courage beyond belief," Admire said...

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/vietnam-veterans-get-medals-heroic-actions

[Fantastic Anarchist]

1. K&R

[grilled onions]

2. So Sad That It Took This Long

In so many ways the Vets of the Viet Nam war seem to be the forgotten ones. While we keep stirring up new wars so many forget the fallen from past ones. Did Vet groups drop the ball on this one? I can't believe that it wold take so many years for them to getting around to honoring these two.

[pinboy3niner]

43. At last they're finally getting the recognition they deserve

Others may have gone unrecognized simply because nobody took the trouble to write them up.

There are many heroic acts in war that go unrecognized. It's nice to see these vets receiving their long-delayed recognition.

[David__77]

3. I would applaud if they turned around and threw the medals back at them.

...

[sulphurdunn]

8. Go earn one.

Then you can throw it back if you want. Someone may even applaud.

[DURHAM D]

10. Cheap shot.

Please keep in mind that these men almost certainly were drafted, they did not volunteer.

Your post suggests to me that you don't know the difference or just simply hate veterans.

[Ash_F]

11. Plenty of heroes chose not to go. /nt

[DURHAM D]

12. And many more

avoided the draft because their families had influence or could afford to send them to college. Are they on your "hero" list?

[Ash_F]

13. Absolutely not.

Don't read into my post more than there is written there.

[Paladin]

22. It'll be a cold day in hell before I disown my opposition to the Viet Nam War.

The only regret I have is that this country doesn't seem to have learned a single fucking thing from that costly and deceitful conflict. If that knocks me off any "hero" list you may be maintaining, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

That having been said, I certainly don't begrudge these veterans their long-delayed medals.

[DURHAM D]

23. I am female so I did not have to make a tough decision.

I actively protested the war and consider myself very lucky that I was never detained or arrested.

Not a single member of my immediate or extended family served in Viet Nam. Just some of the ways they avoided it:

Uncles or family friends on the draft board

College deferments

Marriage

Starting a family

One cousin moved to another state/location, fudged residency requirements and enlisted in the Navy reserves. He picked the location based on the fact that active duty from that unit was in the Atlantic, not the Pacific.

Another cousin joined the Army (ASA) under an agreement that he would never be stationed in Viet Nam. It worked as he spent almost all of his time in S. Korea.

My parents best friends moved to Canada just before their only son turned 18.

I am so glad that they all found a work around.

otoh - I am from a fairly small town and many of the young men I went to high school with were drafted. One of them was kicked out of the army after a tour in Viet Nam (Section 8) and he came home and murdered his ex-girlfriend and her husband. The girlfriend was a close friend of mine and her husband was my brother's best friend. Two very good friends came home with drugs problems and both died in their 30s. And others that made it back are still being screwed by the VA.

I have several friends who have never reconciled with their families because of their opposition to the war and the generational divide.

I could go on and on but will not disrespect anyone's choices during that period of hell.

[Paladin]

31. I lost a cousin to Viet Nam.

He came back a drastically-changed person, and ultimately killed himself a few years after he returned. As far as I'm concerned, the U.S. government used and discarded his life like the rest of us use and throw away toilet paper. Whatever flag-waving tendencies my family and I had, we lost them after that.

[karynnj]

15. In those days, "choosing" not to go was only an option for the

more connected or the more educated people. I was in high school and college during the years when the draft was calling up the most young men. My high school served a neighborhood that was lower middle class to middle class. About half the kids went on to college. I graduated college in 1968. Of the guys who did not go to college, the draft was a fact of life. (I knew very few of them because I was in the college prep track and I was also pretty shy.)

For most of the years I was in college, there were talks that went late into the night on the morality of going to Vietnam. For many guys older than me - even as a college graduate the choices seemed stark - either comply or go to Canada - meaning in some cases maybe never seeing some of your family again. Here, there were some outs - some companies could give their employees jobs that prevented them from being drafted. (Mostly companies - like Bell Labs that had some military projects, but got deferments for all their jobs.) Also, many men became teachers in needed fields. Also, some did join the National Guard - though that usually required some connection who could pull strings.

As a woman, I never faced having to make the decision. However, I do think I saw enough to say that unless you were faced with the horrible choice many guys faced, it is both impossible to know what you would have actually done. I do know that either choice was extremely difficult.

Not to mention, this battle was in 1967. These guys were likely drafted in 1966. At that point, the antiwar movement was much smaller than it would become and it was before the incredible loses in the Tet initiative.

[Ash_F]

17. Absolutely not. Many went to jail in protest. Many hid.

Thanks for sharing your experience, but I disagree. The world has established that "just following orders" is no excuse. The US is no exception.

[karynnj]

20. "Many" needs definition

One estimate is that there were about 3 million soldiers who served - most of whom were drafted. I don't know the total of those who went to jail, but I think it was very small - not even a big part of those who did not go.

As I noted there were people who avoided the draft but even if you look at this page that lists many ways to do it -- most of the ones that left you in reasonable standing in your community were doable only for those with education or connections - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_dodger

One thing I should have said was for the guys my age, JUST going to college in 1968 completely changed your chances enormously. The draft in 1968 and 1969 was pulling in huge numbers of men -- by 1972, when they would have graduated, there was a lottery and most guys knew they would not be called. The small number with low numbers, could apply to graduate school, get an exempt job or (like Cheney) get married and become a father.

Note that this was 1967. These were kids raised in the 1950s, right after WWII. Look back - even at the rhetoric of JFK - pay any price, bear any burden?? You can point to some antiwar speeches - notably MLK jr - but they were not yet where even a significant part of the country was.

[Ash_F]

21. A thoughtful response.

Yes, context is key. This does not reverse my position, however. The people who chose not go, and suffered consequences for it, were heroes who sacrificed much in order to do the right thing.

[karynnj]

35. I never disagreed with that - and like 95% of the people at my college,

I was against the war. (There was a campus wide vote sometime around 1970. )

The vast majority of the people who avoided going suffered NOTHING - certainly the case for those who avoided it by enough college deferments, marriage or parenthood, or through a job that came with an exemption. Those who avoided it through the National Guard did not suffer and ended up with a resume enhancer. (At the highest level, note that going and being a genuine war hero, did not help John Kerry -- it likely resulted in him entering Congress 10 or so years later than people like Biden, who did not serve.)

I do respect the people like Mohammed Ali or Joan Baez's husband, who were willing to go to jail. They were heroes.

However, just as not everyone who served was really a hero - no matter how often many say the opposite - not all who avoided going were heroes either.

[pinboy3niner]

39. Contrary to popular belief, most troops who served in Vietnam were not draftees

Vietnam: 25% (648,500) of total forces in-country were draftees
http://www.mrfa.org/vnstats.htm

Of the total number of Draftees ('65-'73) which was 1,728,344 only 38% served in Vietnam.
http://277arty.tripod.com/vietfacts.html

A total of 8.7 million men and women served during the era, 3.4 million of them in-country:

Vietnam War (1964-1975)
Total U.S. Servicemembers (Worldwide) 8,744,000
Deployed to Southeast Asia 3,403,000

http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf

[happyslug]

41. I am tried of hearting this, people volunteered so they could avoid the infantry and thus Combat

When the draft was in full swing, if you enlisted you could pick what military specialty you wanted to be. This could be anti-aircraft (Not used in Vietnam), maintenance (which even could be a 9-18 month long training course), to clerk-typist.

Worse, if you could find a military specialty that did NOT interact with platoon or smaller infantry units, you could avoid most of the combat (Artillery was one branch, except in some small cases of mortar attacks, artillery rarely if ever came under enemy fire, through artillery was used extensively in Vietnam and in Khe Sanh in particular).

In the Civil War 90% of the troops were actual combat troops, but Vietnam 90% of the troops were support troops to the actual combat troops. Thus there were a lot of options to avoid actual combat even if you ended up in Vietnam. Look at the numbers you actually cite. Of the 8.7 million men and women who served in Vietnam, ONLY 3.4 million served "In country" i.e. actually sent into combat ( and most of these 3.4 million served on bases in country as opposed to actually engaging the Viet Cong).

We also have to remember that except for the Tet Offensive, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers were under orders NOT to engage Americans if it could be prevented. They POLITICAL objective was to defeat the South Vietnamese Government NOT to fight Americans. Thus one tactic used by the Viet Cong was to vacate an area when US Forces entered. Why stay and fight when you knew you were going to be defeated? The Vietcong left and returned when US forces left (The US used similar tactics during the American Revolution in Northern New Jersey and along the Hudson River when the British held New York City AND in the Carolinas when the British held Charleston South Carolina).

This tactic meant the US had to adopt some very quick movement of troops (i.e the extensive use of Helicopters in Vietnam) in attempts to pin down these enemy forces and destroy them. The use of Helicopters also had two side affects:

First even less fear of attacks on American bases, thus if you were assigned to the base your chances of being killed or wounded dropped like a rock, and

Second, massive increase in the need for support troops to maintain those helicopters, the bases the helicopters worked out of and other support, including fuel, for those helicopters. Thus more troops who would never see combat.

Sorry, once you realized HOW people avoided the draft, and that one way was to enlist and select a non-combat specialty, you quickly see more and more draftees ended up in infantry units. Furthermore by enlisting rather then waiting to be drafted you had a choice in what you would be doing while in the Army (i,e, select you army specialty). Thus enlisting can make it harder for the Army to send you to Vietnam AND make it harder for you to see actually combat if you did go. Thus enlisting was a way to avoid the draft and its bad connotation.

Side note: As US infantry units declined in performance in Vietnam after Tet, Special forces increased their own tempo in an attempt to off set the drop off in US Infantry quality after Tet. You had to volunteer for Special Forces thus a "Volunteer" group, but Special forces were never big enough to off set the decline in US Infantry after Tet.

Side note: The drop off of US Infantry after Tet appears to have nothing to do with Tet itself, but that the troops in those units were reflecting the fact that by the Summer of 1968 the majority of Americans had come out against the War (Prior to the Summer of 1968 the Majority of Americans still supported the war in Vietnam). That is one of the side affects of an draftee universal service army. It is as good and often better then an all volunteer force IF THE PEOPLE SUPPORTS THE WAR. The reason is the enlisted ranks of the Army and the people are one and the same. Thus the US had to pull out of Vietnam by 1972 for both the American People and the Army enlisted ranks wanted out.

One of the reasons to go to an All volunteer army AFTER Vietnam was that if the troops were sent into a war the American people did not support (Iraq and Afghanistan) the army would last a lot longer (in both cases over 10 years when the Majority of Americans did not support those wars).

One of The argument for the draft is that US troops had to be withdraw within four years of the American People opposing the war, but here we are still fighting in Afghanistan more then 10 years after polls in the US showed that the majority of Americans opposed the war.

[pinboy3niner]

42. You seem to be reacting to arguments others may have made, not what I posted

In response to assertions that most troops in VN were draftees, I simply replied with information that that was not the case and provided some relevant statistics.

Draftees WERE more likely to end up in the Infantry, as suggested by the fact that while they represented only 25% of the force in VN, they accounted for more than 30% of the fatalities. But the vast majority of those who served in-country or in-theater were enlistees.

The Army did have programs and poicies that offered some choice of MOS or duty assignment (and some of these required a longer, 4-year enlistment). But if you washed out of training, you'd end up with a different MOS assignment, including the Infantry among those possibilities.

Apart from the official Army program guarantees, there are a lot of horror stories about oral promises and guarantees made by recruiters that didn't turn out the way they were supposed to. So there were a lot of enlistees who didn't get the choices they thought they were signing up for, and some who enlisted to avoid Vietnam and ending up as a grunt in combat probably ended up doing just that.

Any discussion of "combat" versus "non-combat" or "support" troops is problematic, especially in relation to the experience of individual troops in VN. The Army's major combat branches are the Infantry, Artillery and Armor, and in Vietnam I think the ratio of "support" troops to "combat" troops was about 10 or 11 to 1. But generalizations don't serve well here because so many support troops had some exposure, and in many cases significant exposure, to combat and to the traumatic casualties of combat.

My little brother served with me in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He was a personnel clerk at our Division HQ, but he also pulled duty periodically for which he was issued combat gear and stationed as a bunker guard to defend the perimeter of his basecamp. (That's what he was doing the day I was wounded, and he had to be pulled off bunker guard that night and report to his orderly room to receive the telegram the Army Secretary sent him in Vietnam to notify him about me.) The point is that while most of the time my brother was manning a typewriter, he also spent some of his time as a so-called "support" troop manning an M-16 and guarding his basecamp against enemy attack.

When it comes to the Artillery, the notion that the Arty "rarely if ever came under enemy fire," "except in some small cases of mortar attacks," is absurd. Besides the artillery batteries stationed at major basecamps--which ALL experienced enemy attacks, including even the large U.S. Army Vietnam HQ at Long Binh and other major installations--hundreds and hundreds of Fire Support Bases were established throughout South Vietnam to position Arty batteries in range to support combat operations of Infantry and other combat units.

Moreover, these firebases usually were small and often especially vulnerable to both indirect fire and ground attacks. Many FSBs in "hot" places like the A Shau Valley ended up being abandoned because of the frequency of attacks and the difficulty of defending them.

After I was medevac'd, my company was overrun two or three times at artillery firebases in the next few months--once with casualties so extensive that they had to be pulled out of the field until they could be replenished with enough replacements to meet minimum combat strength. The guys in the arty batteries who went through those attacks alongside our Infantry unit at those FSBs might have something to say about the suggestion that they were relatively safe and rarely experienced enemy attacks.

Another example of combat-exposed Artillery: The Army's combat Infantry companies in the field in Vietnam often had Arty personnel attached to them as Forward Observer teams (usually an Arty branch Lt. from an artillery unit plus an Arty radioman). One friend who is a retired Army Arty officer half-jokes that his biggest regret about his VN tour is that he spent his whole damn year there humping the boonies with an Infantry company as their FO and going through combat with them and he wasn't eligible for the CIB--the Combat Infantryman Badge.

About the performance of draftees (or any troops who opposed the war), my experience was that in combat it was about the same as everybody else, if not better. When things got hot, political views tended to take a back seat to survival. And if there was one thing the antiwar grunt opposed more than the war, it was the idea of his life being wasted for it.

btw, I was a draftee who volunteered for the draft so I could get out in 2 years (minimum enlistment term was 3). I thought that was very unique, but I've met other vets who did the same thing. For me it was as simple as calling up my local draft board and asking them to take me. They were happy to oblige. I don't know if that spared someone else, but I guess it may have.

My 2-year hitch ended up being 4-1/2 years. I volunteered for Infantry, then for Infantry OCS, VN, and combat assignment. Graduating from OCS with a commission as a 2nd Lt. started a new 2-year obligation, and I already had more than a year in at that point. I had another year in and was a 1st Lt. by the time I got orders for VN. When I was wounded by AK fire while serving as an Infantry platoon leader there, I ended up spending 18 months in treatment at an Army hospital, and 14 months of that was past my ETS (the date I was due to get out of the Army).

I am just one more of so many of us in those days for whom things didn't turn out like we planned or expected...

[whathehell]

33. Some could be called "heroes, in that they followed their beliefs, others were likely just cowards

like G.W. Bush and Mitt Romney who supported the war for OTHERS, but used their

upper crust connections to get out of it.

I don't know how "Butt Cyst Limbaugh" and "Shit Pants" Ted Nugent felt about the war back then,

but they sure as hell seem like Chicken Hawks now.

[David__77]

26. My own father is a Vietnam veteran... I have no hate for them at all.

He got not just medals, but also substandard care for his Agent Orange Syndrome and PTSD.

[TBF]

47. Similar to my experience -

my dad got his medals and care for the disability (similar to the agent Orange victims but he was in earlier - I don't think they've ever told him what he handled but it apparently is all in his records). I'm sorry your dad's care was sub-standard. I think it was pretty much dumb luck that we lived in a small town and had VA counselors who gave a damn, along with a pretty good VA hospital within driving distance. I know many others weren't so fortunate.

[pinboy3niner]

49. With the VA, the medical care tends to be exceptional, but the admin side can be a real killer

The claims process always has been jammed up, but never so bad as it is now.

And the admin offices can vary in quality. The Los Angeles Regional Office informed me that I "never filed a claim"--some 40 years after my claim had been filed and approved. That office insisted that I wasn't qualified, even though other offices in the VA system were sending me letters verifying my Priority 1 status as a partially disabled combat-wounded vet--and the L.A. VARO even had the IRS dock my disability pay for services they thought I didn't deserve.

In my case, the funny thing was that I'd re-enrolled at a hospital in the L.A. VARO's region, and their own hospital documented my status and specifically entered a "verified" notation in my records. Regional kept telling me that they couldn't find my records, but multiple ofices in their very own jusrisdiction had no trouble finding them with a quick computer check. The only conclusion is that the fuckers at the L.A. VARO never even looked before rejecting me.

The VA's Los Angeles Regional Office has had a history of incompetence and probably shoud be cleaned out from top to bottom. But somehow they manage to keep passing their IG inspections,despite a history of poor treatment of vets and even some financial irreguarities reported in their region. For my money they are the WORST office in the system (and I've dealt with several others with no problem), and I fear for our returning vets who have to deal with the L.A. VARO.

[Ernesto]

36. Bullshit!

Very few Marines were drafted @ that time. I know cause I was a casualty replacement because of the "hill fights" such as "881, 861".

[pinboy3niner]

38. Marine Corps Draft (during Vietnam War): 42,633

http://www.veteranshour.com/vietnam_war_statistics.htm

I saw men being drafted into the Marines when I reported for induction in L.A. in 1967. We had formed a bunch of lines for processing, and there were two Marines there who were picking guys out and sending them to one particular line--the one destined for the Corps.

My observation at the time was that they were picking out the biggest guys.

[Ernesto]

40. That's true...............

In late '65 my boot camp company had a couple draftees. As I understood then, this was the 1st USMC draft since Korea.

The drill instructors made their lives pretty bad!

[pinboy3niner]

45. Semper Fi, brother!

Marine D.I.s and Army drill sergeants weren't that different. No matter which service, they gave us hell!

[furious]

14. Real classy.

Not really.
Maybe when you did what these men did and earn your own medals, you can do that.

[David__77]

27. War isn't about class.

And you have no idea about me and my own family. Vietnam touched me, my brother, and both of my parents. My father earned a Purple Heart while he was in Vietnam - all of his closest friends there were killed and seriously injured. It was a sick, depraved, immoral war that destroyed lives and families - not just Americans, but even more so Vietnamese of course.

They deserved those medals, and they deserve a whole hell of a lot more than that from the US government. All I said is that I would applaud if they followed in the footsteps of those who rejected those symbols - I don't expect them to do it, and I respect them either way.

[furious]

29. Ok, that's a fair point of view.

And tell your dad welcome home from a fellow vet.

[David__77]

30. I will, and I regret if I communicated that poorly.

Thank you.

[furious]

32. Not communicated poorly at all.

Quite understandable why you feel the way you do, I can, and do, respect that.

[WilliamPitt]

18. My fucking hero.

[David__77]

28. Not sure what you mean.

But perhaps you misunderstand.

[LanternWaste]

52. If enough people misunderstand what I'm saying

If enough people misunderstand what I'm saying, it's likely because I'm saying it such a way as to be difficult to understand...

[David__77]

53. Good point.

I guess we just disagree. I meant what I said.

[Ash_F]

19. Haha, remember when Kerry got a bunch of flack from Republicans for doing this?

I remember how DU defended that strongly back then. Years later, you are getting flack for suggesting these men should do the same.

DU has certainly evolved.

[David__77]

25. Ain't that the truth.

And I'm certainly not suggesting that I EXPECT them to do so, but I think it's important to remember all the veterans, including those who spoke up against that highly immoral and unjust war. It is a stain on this country that people were forced to fight the Vietnamese people.

No, I didn't fight in Vietnam, but my father did. And he is still suffering debilitating effects from it - Agent Orange Syndrome, PTSD... People suffered on the home front too. So I reject those who will say that I have no right to speak.

[Pterodactyl]

57. Kerry is an arrogant dipwad. I can't believe he was ever nominated.

[karynnj]

58. Kerry is an outstanding American statesman, who I hope will help Obama leave

the world a little more at peace than it was when Obama took office. In the context of the subject of this thread, he is a genuine war hero - for the best reasons - he saved American lives. He then came back and spoke truth about the war that he fought in. Too bad you sound like the Republicans 2004 vintage.

Your comment is rather troll like.

[Pterodactyl]

59. He can be a dipwad and a hero. Like McCain.

[karynnj]

60. In his case, he isn't - he is a wonderful person

- not at all like McCain.

[Pterodactyl]

61. I guess well have to agree to disagree. But I'll concede he is a military hero.

[karynnj]

62. I've seen him speak - including in some small groups - and know some people who worked for him

He is a very decent nice person.

I see you are still mad that Obama picked Kerry over Susan Rice. I seriously doubt that she could have negotiated with Russia - given past experiences - over Syria.

[Pterodactyl]

67. I have no preference for Rice. I don't think she would have been very good.

[karynnj]

68. There must be two Pterodactyl's then

You clearly don't like Kerry -- and you praised Rice. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=320013

[Pterodactyl]

69. Your sarcasm detector is on the fritz.

[Ash_F]

63. The invasion of Vietnam was a crime against humanity

A crime against the Vietnamese and a crime against normal Americans.

Kerry may not be perfect, I have strongly disagreed with some of his policy decisions in the past, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with his protest.

[Pterodactyl]

66. Kerry fought bravely and with honor in Vietnam. Like the vast majority of his fellow ...

... servicemen.

[ronnie624]

24. Any Vietnam veteran,

who is honest enough to draw the proper conclusions about his government's extraordinary crimes in Indochina, definitely merits applause.

[Throd]

48. My dad did two combat tours. He has no regrets as to his service.

In hindsight, he can argue the merits of the policy of the war 40 years after the fact, but I have never seen any doubt in his belief that he was doing the right thing at that time in history. He put his ass in the line of fire for what he considered a just cause. It is hard for me to judge such resolve without ever having been in such a situation myself.

[pinboy3niner]

50. Tell your dad, from a fellow vet, "Welcome home"

Most of us who served in that war are conflicted about our service. Proud of enduring what we endured and of our behavior, but hating the war and its horrible consequences for human beings--for our side, the other side, and the civilians caught in the middle.

After speaking to a college class once, I was asked, "If you had it to do all over again, would you?"

The question took me aback. As much as I hated that war, I knew that just wishing it away was a fantasy--and that I would never give up having had the honor and privilege of serving with those good, good men whom I knew and lost.

[MichaelKelley]

4. Good

It is good that finally, they are getting the recognition for their bravery and I am happy to know this. They have come from the home of death and survival form battle is proud moment.

[Hulk]

5. War is hell.

I wasn't in Nam for a month before our platoon of 23 was whittled back down to 15. We started with 8 when I entered the platoon. We went through two officers while I was there...in my short three months before I went home on a stretcher.

War is hell, and don't let anyone tell you any different. Dying by chemical weapons isn't any better or worse than dying by gun-fire, napalm, land-mines, or being driven crazy from fear, anguish, shock and despair. If you were lucky enough to push papers in the back, or send in supplies by plane or truck, then maybe you don't realize what I'm saying; but if you 11B bush stomper, you know it was hell.

I watch Platoon every so often, just to remind me of what I experienced. That movie says it all from my experience. I don't want any salute or thanks...I just want us NEVER to do it again...NEVER!

[heaven05]

9. my salute to you

welcome home.

[furious]

16. Welcome home.

[bearssoapbox]

6. Yes...Yes

Not for the war...

For the men.

[whathehell]

34. +1 n/t

[4bucksagallon]

7. And to think this wasn't even the big battle for Khe Sahn........

That did not take place until 1968. Well done Marines, sorry it took so long. I am sure plenty of career officers and staff NCO's made sure they got their share of ribbons and medals before you.

[Ernesto]

37. More info on the "hill fights"

Last edited Sat Sep 21, 2013, 06:23 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-10425.html

PS.... I knew Lt. Mike Chervenak.

[pinboy3niner]

44. For Joe Cordileone and Robert Moffatt

It does my heart good to see these guys finally getting their long-overdue recognition of their valor.

Well done, brothers! Well done!

[pinboy3niner]

46. THIS THREAD SHOULD HAVE MORE RECS

These guys, Joe Cordileone and Robert Moffatt, are real heroes and it's a shame that it took so long for them to be recognized for what they did.

[Half-Century Man]

51. Gentlemen.

I wish I could meet you. Well done.

[Crabby Appleton]

54. Well done, Marines

Salute

[4bucksagallon]

55. Stats on this now soon to be relegated to a "forgotten war" in Vietnam........

Stats
Replies: 54
Views: 1891
And only 19 rec's........ How sad for this old Vietnam veteran that we have now joined the Korean vets who fought in the other forgotten war.

[douglas9]

56. Marines Cordileone and Moffat Finally Honored

Over forty-six years after the fight, Marines Joe Cordileone and Robert Moffat of Mike Company, Third Battalion, Third Marine Regiment are finally being recognized for their actions in combat at Hill 881 South on April 30, 1967. Cordileone has been honored with a Silver Star and Moffat with a Bronze Star

On April 30, 1967, while Cordileone and Moffat were fighting for their lives and the lives of their comrades, Bravo Company, First Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marine Regiment, the subject for the film BRAVO! COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON VALOR, was operating southwest of Danang around Hill 55. Bravo Company and the rest of the First Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines moved up to Khe Sanh in early May of 1967 where they would remain through the Siege of Khe Sanh.

Even though the Vietnam War has been extensively chronicled through a variety of media, the voices and actions of individual veterans of the Vietnam War were muffled for decades, due in part, to the American public’s ambivalence and downright hostility towards the conflict and by association, the men and women who fought it.

http://bravotheproject.com/2013/09/26/marines-cordileone-and-moffat-finally-honored/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=marines-cordileone-and-moffat-finally-honored

[libdem4life]

64. I wish there were a way that every single man or woman who served in combat could get a very

very special medal from that Terrible War. Not just a medal of bravery and service out of gratitude, but in apology for the non-welcome home they got. I have never in my life felt so ashamed for my country. My college years were 1966-71 like many Boomers we "came of age" at a time of complete chaos in our culture. Those years shifted me from my very right wing religious, yea Bircher, upbringing.

I was anti-war and still am. I didn't want anyone I knew to have to go because it was a stupid war...ginned up by the politicians and we knew it. The college was a hotbed of anti-war activity, even though the area was pretty Republican. This was Nixon's alma mater...hanging him in effigy was only one of the things we did. The Administration was not happy, but remained pretty cool as a liberal arts college.

I left the formal movement when the near-treasonous sentiment began. It was against young men who either felt it their duty and volunteered, couldn't honestly be a CO, didn't head off to Canada, didn't pull a Ted Nugent, or got drafted ... and it turned personal and critical. And worse, as they returned...those that did...and even the dead, were not met with the proper welcome, thanks, honor.

This does not in any way reflect on those who for whatever reason, did not end up in the military or overseas. Life meets us all where we are. Nor do I intend to ignore the Veterans from other earlier and later and current wars. But this one was very personal and wrongs need to be just a little righted. I flat out cried at the photo and was grateful for the article.

So in my small way, in honor of these two men, to everyone on this board (or anyone they know) who served during those years, regardless of the reason, I say Thank You from the bottom of my heart and I wish we could have a digital parade or something.

[Ranchemp.]

65. A very heartfelt post.

From a Vietnam Veteran, I thank and salute you.