Fred & Ellie

I met Fred and his daughter's dog Ellie outside of the Whole Foods in Berkeley on Halloween. He's been in Berkeley for years, after studying architecture there.

During the war, however, he was drafted into the Army and worked in a helicopter crew stationed at Binh Hoa, a very large base in Dong Nai province that served as tactical and training station for the US Army, Air Force and Marines, as well as the first air base for the Republic of Viet Nam Air Force (VNAF). It was there that the VNAF's 1st Fighter Squadron was formed (later renumbered the 514th SF). Binh Hoa grew to support the greatest number of air combat units of any base in South Viet Nam.

Fred said something to me that I've never heard before, much less from a veteran. He said that after all that, he believes that the US came out ahead after that war because of all the Vietnamese who came to America and have contributed so much. That wa an amazing idea to me, and one that I'd never considered. I'm sure that there are plenty if people who would disagree with him, but that thought strikes me as amazingly generous, forgiving, and kind spirited. Yet again, I am humbled by a complete stranger. Thank you Fred.

Edgartown Martha's Vineyard

 Martha's Vineyard is a small island community on the Massachusetts coast.  Largely known as a preppy summer gettaway for well-healed New Englanders, its year-round (permanent) residents currently number approximately 15,000.  Despite its small size, the community of Edgartow, one of just six towns on the island, sent 78 servicemen and women to Viet Nam. 

Roy and Mary

Roy was the crew chief of an Army helicopter unit based out of Ban Oi, though he did see a lot of action in central Viet Nam we well during his tour.  After returning from Viet Nam, he met Mary while he was working for Cal Fire in Fountain Valley, CA.  They had their son John while in Fountain Valley (born in the same hospital that  Nhuanh, Johnson & Jonathan were!).  They moved with Cal Fire to Chico, where they lived until Roy retired, after which they moved to the cooler climate of Santa Rosa.  Their son John still lives in Chico, working for Cal Fire and raising Roy and Mary's two grandkids.  

Lou

I met Lou and his wife Harriet at the Costco in Rohnert Park, where they've retired after being long time bay area residents.

Lou was already in the Navy and stationed in Japan when the US officially entered the war. After his tour, he and Harriet married and initially lived in San Leandro. Later, they moved to Pinole, where Lou served his community a mayor for four years beginning around 1984.

Lou credits his time in the Navy for forming his perspective and forging his desire to be involved in the world around him.

Lou retired about 12 years ago after a long career ar Ford in Richmond; he and Harriet have two kids and four grandchildren who also live nearby.

Five Fewer MIA

Currently, there are still over 1,100 American soldiers still missing in Viet Nam.  A unit of the Department of Defense called Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) continues to try to find, identify, and return these soldiers to their families.  This past June and July, the JPAC was able to conclusively notify five families that their loved ones were finally on their way home.



Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Wann stands in front of an injured Huey helicopter during his first tour of duty in Vietnam around 1968.

Wann, a former pilot with the 101st Airborne Division, and 1st Lt. Paul Mager, were shot down on June 1, 1971 but their bodies were never found. Wann and Magers were both members of the 158th Aviation Battalion, 160th Aviation Group, 101st Airborne Division, now based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

That fateful day, the two were deployed in a Cobra gunship to extract a group of Army Rangers under attack, then destroy left behind ammunition and mines near Hill 1015, or Dong Tri Mountain.

Wann and Mager's remains were recently identfied and returned to their native native states- Wann to Oklahoma and Mager to Nebraska- to be laid to rest with full military honors. 

More details can be found at this Army Times article.

On April 11, 1965, Navy Lt. William E. Swanson was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider aircraft and nearing the end of his tour, but he would never make it back home. His plane was hit by enemy fire over Khammouan Province, Laos.  Lt. Swanson was 27 years old.

The wreckage of his aircraft was found in 2009, but he was only recently positively identified.  His remains will be returned to his family in Crystal , MN, where he will be laid to rest with full military honors. 

More details can be found at this article.




Air Force 1st Lt. Robert E Bennett III from Spingfield, NJ, was listed as MIA in 1967 after his F-4C fighter jet was hit by enemy fire and went down in Tra Vinh Binh province on Dec 13.  Bennett and his aircraft commander Capt. William Sakahara both ejected and were seen going into the Co Chien river.  Though the co-pilot was rescued immediately, Bennett was never located and presumably drowned. 

In 2010, a Vietnamese man reported discovering human remains and military equipment while dredging sand from the river.  Using DNA evidence, the JPAC identified the remains positively as Bennett, and he has been transported to his next of kin, in Montrose, CO, for burial with full military honors.  Sakahara, now a retired lieutenant colonel, delivered the eulogy.

More details in this article.



On March 1, 1969, Capt. Clyde W. Campbell, of Longview, Texas was a pilot aboard an A-1J Skyraider that crashed while carrying out a close air support mission in Houaphan province, Laos. 

In 1997, a joint team of U.S. and Lao People's Democratic Republic officials investigated a crash site in Houaphan province within 330 feet of the last known location of Campbell. In addition to human remains, the team located aircraft wreckage and military equipment, which correlated with Campbell's aircraft.

From 2009 to 2010, additional joint U.S.-L.P.D.R. recovery teams investigated and excavated the crash site three times. The teams recovered additional human remains, military equipment -- including an aircraft data plate -- and a .38-caliber pistol matching the serial number issued to Campbell.

Scientists from the JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools in the identification of Campbell.  Campbell was recently laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary; the service was attended by his widow, two daughters, and six grandchildren.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo.

Memorial Day

We should be giving thanks everyday, actually.

Eric

After arriving in San Mateo from his native Peru, Eric was drafted into the Marines. He was a truck driver, based out of Da Nang.

After his tour, he came back to the bay area, where he now lives with his wife with whom he has three kids, and through them three grandchildren.

Eric interacts with a number of Viet Nam vets through a group of vets who meet in Oakland to talk about dealing with PTSD. There are many groups like this throughout the nation and they have been critical in helping vets cope with very serious consequences of war.

Eric is a retired probation officer, and he is active in a catholic missionary group that takes trips to Mexico and South America- this summer they will be going to Chile.

Bambi Did Three Tours as a Marine

Yes, that Bambi!

Courtesy of OMGfacts.com:

Donnie Dunagan was only 6 when Walt Disney hired him to be the voice of Bambi. He was discovered at a Memphis talent show, and actually performed in 8 movies as a little child. He had a promising career that was cut short because his family fractured. He spent his time as a kid and teen in different boarding homes, until he joined the military as a teen.

He had a pretty good career there too. He was the youngest ever Marine Drill instructor and served three tours during the Vietnam war. He said he was fortunate to be in a leadership position for over 25 years. However, his true identity as Bambi remained hidden while he was in a military. He thinks people wouldn’t have taken him seriously if they knew he voiced the famous fawn. It wasn't years later, until he was 70, that he made it publically known.

He was attending a banquet, when a casual comment tipped media off that he had been a child star. After that, Disney got back in contact with him and he participated in the DVD featurette about the Bambi cast. He's now getting DVDs from them to give to orphanages. Fans are ecstatic that he's come back into the spotlight, and he's now proud whenever someone calls out "Major Bambi" out on the street "I love it to death," he says.

Lloyd

Lloyd served on the USS Oriskany for three years from '65-'68, the height of the war.

The Oriskany was an Essex-class carrier that posted primarily in the pacific and earned distinction in both the Korean and Viet Nam Wars. In Viet Nam, she carried out over 12,000 combat sorties. Infamously, Orisansky was the carrier from which John McCain flew off on Oct 26, 1967 when he was shot down and taken as a POW.

After Llyod got out of the Navy, he settled down in Manteca. He eventually retired from Goodyear, where he put in over 16 years, and is now waiting patiently fo his wife to retire.

Tony

Tony signed up for the Navy while he was a junior in high school in New Jersey. He trained in San Diego, then was stationed at Mare Island.

While at Mare Island, he met a local girl and got married a day and a half before his first of two deployments to Viet Nam. They now live in Pleasant Hill, and have three beautiful grandkids.

Tony speaks very highly about his time in the Navy, when a lot important events happened in his life. He says it grew him up. And he still stays connected to the naval community by working to restore a WWII craft (LCS102) which was a heavily armored & armed craft used in the Pacific to give cover to personnel landing on the the beach. His group has access to the moth ball fleet in the delta, where they are looking for parts in an effort to have the craft ready for SF fleet week this year.