I got home from Vietnam 40 years ago today.

[jaysunb]

Where'd the time go ???????????

[Jackpine Radical]

1. A little over 38 years for me.

Jeez--You must be old!

[jaysunb]

4. hehehe !

are you looking in the mirror ??? :rofl:

[EFerrari]

9. I'm so glad you guys are here to joke.

lol

:)

[jaysunb]

14. me too...

n/t

[TahitiNut]

32. Two months less than 37 years for me.

Man! You're BOTH old! :evilgrin:

November 14, 1969 ... back "on the block" on the 15th.
(And into another kind of "war zone.")

[jaysunb]

38. Hey Nut !

Been thinking bout you lately. Hope you're well.

[TahitiNut]

48. Hey, bro'! Same to you!

Was messaging two mutual friends (Tinoire and noiretblu) recently and thinking of you, too. I miss y'all more than I can say.

:hi:

[Toots]

49. You beat me by a month

I left Vietnam on Christmas day and yet arrived at Fort Lewis the day before Christmas and actually arrived home for Christmas ...

[TahitiNut]

50. Nixon's "Home for the Holidays" (domestic pacification) program

In 1969, the Nixon administration (elected on a promise to get out of Viet Nam) insituted a program of early returns of "non-essential" in-country personnel. The idea was to bring home the troops BEFORE the holidays if they had DEROS's during or shortly after the holidays. My DEROS was (iirc) Jan 3rd, 1970. My section C.O. (Major Troy) loved my butt ... since I'd performed some 'miracles' of systems design and implementation that the Pentagon had orgasms about. When he saw my mental state after coming back from R&R in Hawaii (when I found that my new bride of about a year was having an affair and calling the marriage quits), he sped the processing to send my sad butt home - and, as a side benefit, get rid of a potentially serious morale problem (and possible suicide?). I got 'home' before my postcards did. (Of course, that's when the shit hit the fan.)

I think I barely qualified for the early return ... and since my ETS was March 1, 1970 (iirc), an early out, too. If your C.O. didn't get you home early, he probably dropped the ball or your unit was under strength.

Welcome home, bro'! :hi: :patriot:

[Psephos]

2. Thank you for your service. Many times over. n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. Welcome home jay...

...I'm so glad you made it back. I can only imagine how fast that time flew.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. Wow.. I probably just got home from an antiwar protest about the same time

and I never spit on one seviceman but I did party with a lot of them.

Glad you made it back safely.

http://www.leftandrightfight.com/index.html

[jaysunb]

20. Went to a protest the next week.

Nobody spit on me or said anything negative. Met lot's of "cool" chicks too. :evilgrin:

[zonkers]

6. Jay, what do you think should happen to the Nam deserter arrested

at the border just the other day?

[jaysunb]

15. Nothing...

unless Cheney, Bush and the others get nailed. What would be the point ?

[zonkers]

21. Wow, interesting. Thanks for your servic. I remember when I registered

for selective service. Draft never happened in my generation. I can't imagine fighting at that young age. Hey did you ever listen to the pirate radio guy, Dave Rabbit while you were over there? (not the Good Morning Vietnam guy)

[ret5hd]

7. Was the bud there THAT good???

[jaysunb]

17. Thai Stick was the thing back then.

Bud is a relatively new strain.
And no, I didn't do no smack !

[Just-plain-Kathy]

8. I hope the last 40 years have been good to you...

....Thanks for your service. :) Peace.

[Ellen Forradalom]

10. It was 40 years ago today

That jaysunb taught the band to play.
He's been going in and out of style
But he's guaranteed to raise a smile!

Thanks for that thankless service. I hope the 40 years have been good ones.

[jaysunb]

23. I like that !

thanks...
Lifes been good. My experiences have served me well, and I hope I've been able to give back as much as I've taken.

[razors edge]

11. looks like a forty year time warp circle

hit paris island 25 years ago come the 25th.

[FoxOnTheRun]

12. Some things never change

The Tonkin lie and Kellogg Brown and Root making money, sound familiar.

[jaysunb]

18. Hughs, Northrup, various arms dealers

whose names I don't recall. But it's the sos (same old shit) different day.

[Dinger]

13. Thank You For Your Service Jay

From the bottom of my heart:loveya: :patriot:

[ellisonz]

16. Nowhere...

the time is all still here, some times you just have to dig a little beneath the surface to find just that space you'd thought you lost.

40 more years!

:dem:

:hi:

[jaysunb]

24. You're STILL a very nice young man.

I'm proud of you.

[jazzjunkysue]

19. Glad you're back and here to teach us all.

[Bucky]

22. Thank you for serving a country that hasn't always respected you

I'm glad you got back. I keep thinking we're gonna learn the lessons of Vietnam. I keep getting disappointed. But at least DU has you and your fellow vets around. Never let us forget.

[madokie]

25. welcome home bro',

the 12th of next month will be 37 years for me. and yes time do fly when you're having fun.

[jaysunb]

45. Yes, it do, don't it !

:rofl: :hi:

[senseandsensibility]

26. Welcome home

Thanks for your service. We'd like to hear more of your memories sometime.

[Capn Sunshine]

27. Hey man, I'm sorry I forgot to pick you up

Things were really smoky that day and I lost my keys.

Where DID the time go?

[jaysunb]

46. Cheech ? Chong ? DAVE ? is that you man ?

:rofl:

[madmax]

28. Welcome back!!

:toast: :hug:

[wicket]

29. God bless you

:hug:

[Wilber_Stool]

30. 35 years in October........

Looks like I'm the youngest for a change.

[Glorfindel]

31. Flies, doesn't it? I got home from Vietnam in Dec 67...

so this year will be 39 for me. Welcome home, brother. Just coincidentally, "Judy in Disguise" is playing on the radio right now. In some ways I don't feel one minute older. :hippie:

[jaysunb]

44. Heh Heh !

Satellite radio has done wonders for my memory.
Sam & Dave's, " Hold On, I'm Coming," never fails to get me grinning ! :hi:

[doc03]

33. Welcome home, I got lucky and went to Germany

got out in 1970. Most people I know that were in Vietnam feel we could have won and blame the protesters for the loss. I wonder how you felt about the anti-war people back at that time and how you feel about it now? Myself I feel we should thank the people that protested, if it wasn't for them it is no telling how many more would have died there.

[jaysunb]

43. see post # 20

I could find Vietnam on the map before I went, which made,( going ) a real hard choice. I really didn't have the guts to deal w/ the jail thing. Having been a soldier in the civil rights movement, I had a fairly good understanding of the dynamics, but held out hope in the liberal dream. In retrospect, jail would have been the principled decision, but that's hindsight.

[kentuck]

34. I got home in April of '69 and Woodstock was in August...

I'm sure I was there in spirit... :)

[knowbody0]

35. welcome home, baby!

and thankyou for your service to our country.

[StraightDope]

36. Time is not our nemesis, but our constant companion on life's journey

To paraphrase Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.

[PlanetBev]

37. Hey, Jaysun, it's MissBevey

Lately PlanetBev. Glad you came back in one whole piece (or is it peace?) Besides, there ain't no deviled eggs in 'Nam. (inside joke, folks.)

It is amazing how fast 40 years has gone by. I was in high school, cutting class and listening to Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Just happened yesterday.

[jaysunb]

39. Hey Babe !

Hope you're well. Let's get the DU gang together soon.

[qwertyMike]

40. I never had a war to fight

Unless you count Belfast 1968 - My passions were so high and I was a Protestant who sympathized with the Catholics. I would have been dead in 2 weeks.
So I move to Canada and married a CATHOLIC!!!
I hated your war , but not the people who fought there. It must have been hell.

I salute you

[Homer Wells]

41. Left Long Binh 430 am April 1, 1970

got into California 330 am April 1, 1970.
Two April Fools days, but was thankful to have them.

:toast:

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

42. I was USAFSS, thus never had to go in country.

But I returned home from my post in England in Sept. '75, which makes it 31 years ago, with just a few days difference.

Damn, I'm getting "experienced"!

I'm in no way comparing myself to any combat veteran. They did the real work- I merely stood behind the lines and cheered.

[democrank]

47. There`s a special place in my heart

for Vietnam Vets. Always has been, always will be. Glad you made it home.

[Stanchetalarooni]

51. Welcome Home.

[Bandit]

52. "We got to get out of this place if it's the last thing we ever do".

Ever heard that before? :thumbsup:

[blm]

53. Could you use that song out there again these days.

And a salute to Dear Jaysun.