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Memorial wreaths are presented during the Inaugural Gold Star Families-Matson Wreaths Across the Islands Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Purple Heart Memorial in Skinner Plaza, Hagåtña, Dec. 18, 2021. PDN file photo

Guam senator Dwayne San Nicolas

Episode 2614 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the Guam senator who is proposing the establishment of a memorial to Vietnam Veterans at Skinner Plaza in Guam. The featured story comes from the Marianas Variety, Micronesia’s Leading Newspaper since 1972, and was titled; Senator looks at establishing Vietnam veteran’s memorial. It was submitted by Shane Tenorio Healy.

Guam played an important role during the Vietnam War. It housed the largest U.S. Air Force installation for B-52 bombers. It lost 77 of its own sons in the war. After the War ended it hosted 112,000 boat people who were escaping the new communist paradise that was established in the former South Vietnam.

Today the good people of Guam are still standing tall for freedom while honoring those who served in the past.

The Pacific Daily News recently reported that Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas, along with five other senators, on Monday introduced a bill seeking to establish a Vietnam veteran’s memorial monument at Skinner Plaza in Hagåtña.

The proposed monument would honor the 77 sons of Guam who made the ultimate sacrifice and all Vietnam veterans in service of the island and country, according to San Nicolas, chairman of the Committee on Emergency Response, Military and Veteran Affairs, Border Safety and Mayors Council.

“Vietnam Veterans served during a long, dark war for all the freedom we have today,” San Nicolas said in a statement on Bill 170-37. “It’s our time to honor and remember the sacrifices made by many Americans, including our people of Guam, through this memorial monument.”

The Bill to authorize the proposed memorial monument is co-sponsored by Vice Speaker Tina Muña Barnes and Sens. Joe San Agustin, Amanda Shelton, William Parkinson and Roy Quinata.

Listen to episode 2614 and discover more about the Guam senator who is proposing the establishment of a memorial to Vietnam Veterans at Skinner Plaza in Guam.

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The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall

Episode 2612 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the appearance of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall at Dunnellon, Florida. The featured story comes from the Citrus County Chronicle and was titled: Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall arrives in Dunnellon . It was submitted by Matthew Beck, the Chronicle photo editor.

The 288-foot-long Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall memorial is a 3/5-scale exact replica of the original Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial will be open 24 hours each day until Sunday, Sept. 24, at 4 p.m. when a closing ceremony will be held at Ernie Mills Park on Bostick Street in Dunnellon.

The wall has names of all 58,281 U.S. service personnel who died in the Vietnam War, just like the Vietnam Memorial in the nation’s capital. Of those, there are three sets of father-and-son casualties and six women’s names etched in the panels.

In addition to the memorial to those lost in the Vietnam War there are also tributes with names of those who died on 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan, Desert Storm and Desert Freedom.

The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is part of the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard (V V B) located in Brevard County Florida. The V V B is a 501(c)(3) organization that was formed and incorporated in December of 1985. The VVB is a grass roots, community based organization.

It strives to be an active member of the community by having a color guard and a rifle team to participate in local events. It also supports a transitional housing facility which helps veterans in getting back up on their own.

The members plan on taking this same dedication and putting it into the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall; not only in Brevard County, but other Florida counties and all of the United States as well.

CLICK HERE for more information about the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall.

Listen to episode 2613 and discover more about the appearance of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall at Dunnellon, Florida.

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Retired Navy Capt. Dave Carey speaks in Monticello about life after his plane was shot down in North Vietnam nearly six decades ago.

Episode 2612 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about POW Vietnam Vet Dave Carey. The featured story appeared in the News-Gazette of Champaign, Illinois and was titled: Surviving and thriving: Vietnam POW recounts harrowing tales during Monticello visit. By Nora Maberry-Daniels nmaberry@news-gazette.com. She is editor of the Piatt County Journal-Republican, a Community Media Group newspaper.

Dave Carey, recently spoke to a group in Monticello about his experiences as a POW in North Vietnam. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was a carrier-based pilot during the Vietnam War.

On Aug. 31, 1967, he was 30 miles off the coast of Vietnam on what he remembers being a hazy day. The pilots manned their airplanes at 7 a.m. Their target that day was a small airport bridge. In the air they went, crossing from over the water to over the beach. That’s when the shooting started.

“They fired in succession from way out in front of us two surface-to-air missiles,” Carey said. The first missile missed his plane. The second did not. There was a huge explosion that destroyed the entire tail section of his plane, which was on its back, spinning and tumbling through the air.

Carey ejected and landed in a small Vietnamese village, where he “started running across the rice paddy.” He was quickly captured, tortured and taken to Hanoi where he spent the next five years in a North Vietnamese POW prison.

Carey was ultimately released during Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973. When he and other POWs returned home, they weren’t met with the same animosity that other soldiers returning from Vietnam experienced.

Despite his rough treatment in North Vietnam, he sympathized with his fellow Vietnam Vets with this declaration: “We came back home completely different than the troops, The way the troops came home from Vietnam was a disgrace. Those folks went because we made them, and then when they came back, we spit on them. It is absolutely a disgrace.”

Dave Carey believes that people can survive anything.

Listen to episode 2612 and discover more about POW Vietnam Vet Dave Carey’s story.

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Johnnie and Arthur Ashe

Episode 2611 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Arthur Ashe’s brother Johnnie who served in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine. The featured story appeared in the UCLA Newsroom and was titled: Brother of Arthur Ashe made decision that kept tennis legend out of war. It was submitted by Jonathan Van Dyke on November 8, 2016.

According to Van Dyke’s story Arthur Ashe had a younger brother named Johnnie who served as a Marine in Vietnam for two tours. When Johnnie returned home from his first tour in 1967, he volunteered for a second tour in country to prevent his brother Arthur from having to go to Vietnam.

Arthur at the time was serving as an officer in the U.S. Army at West Point, NY. He graduated from UCLA and was in the Army ROTC program. Johnnie was aware of the greatness of his brother Arthur, so he made the decision to do something courageous to save his brother from going to Vietnam. He knew of the government policy against sending brothers to war at the same time.

Johnnie recalls that their family always felt a strong bond to service. Two of his uncles were in the Marine Corps — one was among the first 20,000 ever to serve in that branch of the military. He said “I decided to go into the corps right out of high school, knowing that there was a possibility of going to Vietnam.”

Johnnie recalled; my Uncle Rudy used to tell us how tough [the Marine Corps] was, and how it can make you a man. “During that period, I was either going to get caught up in the draft, or I could join some service on my own.”

So he joined the Marines in June 1965 and deployed in August 1966 to Southeast Asia.

Listen to episode 2611 and discover more about Arthur Ashe’s brother Johnnie who served in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine.

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Episode 2610 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature an op-ed about the sage advice for all Vietnam Veterans from Oklahoman Jim Redwine. The op-ed appeared in the Pawhuska Journal-Capital and was titled: Some thoughts as U.S., Vietnam become partners. The piece was submitted by Jim Redwine.

Jim Redwine lost his good childhood friend and neighbor, Gary Malone, when the latter was killed in Vietnam on July 28, 1966. He thought about Gary when President Biden stood in Hanoi before the flags of the two countries and announced to the world a new strategic partnership between our two countries.

He wondered what Gary would think about this development. He said this; “Gary cannot express his feelings about his country’s rapprochement with the people our government sent him to fight. But I may soon get to see his brother, Bud Malone, who along with Gary’s twin, Jerry, also saw combat in Vietnam. Maybe Bud and I will discuss the war and Gary and Jerry or, more likely, since Bud is Osage and we have been friends for almost 80 years, not much will need to be said.”

He added this; When American young people were both fighting and protesting the Vietnam War, our government was issuing vague exhortations about the need to stop the advance of Communism in China and the U.S.S.R. (today’s Russia). In fact, as Gary and 58,000 more members of our generation were serving and being killed in Vietnam, our government’s pronouncements then sound much like our government’s rationales for war today. We must fight China, Russia, Iran and a myriad of other perceived enemies there now so we will not have to fight them here later. The one constant we can rely on is that old people will do now what old people did then when 22-year-old Gary gave his life for what he believed in. That is, our government will send young people to pay the price.

Listen to episode 2610 and discover more about the sage advice for all Vietnam Veterans from Oklahoman Jim Redwine.

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Indigenous MACV-SOG personnel

Episode 2609 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the MACV-SOG story. The story appeared on the US Army website and was titled: MACV-SOG History. It was submitted by Robert Seals, USASOC History Office.

The men who served with the MACV-SOG in Vietnam did their country a great service. The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was activated, January 24, 1964, to function as a joint special operations task force. Commanded by a U.S. Army Special Forces colonel, MACV-SOG was a subcomponent of MACV. Born from a need to conduct more effective special operations against North Vietnam, many Central Intelligence Agency programs were transferred to SOG, which eventually consisted of personnel from U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEALs), U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, Force Reconnaissance and CIA personnel. Special operations were conducted in North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam.

MACV-SOG grew in size and scope over the next eight years. Missions evolved over time, and included strategic reconnaissance, direct action, sabotage, personnel recovery, Psychological Operations (PSYOP), counter-intelligence, and bomb damage assessments. Maritime operations covered the coastal areas of North Vietnam. PSYOP missions included ‘Voice of Freedom’ radio broadcasts into North Vietnam, to publicize the advantages of life in South Vietnam.

After 1970, the scope and intensity of SOG operations were affected by the ‘Vietnamization’ of the war, and steady withdrawal of U.S. forces from Southeast Asia. In March 1971, 5th Special Forces Group, the largest source of volunteers for the unit, returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Congressional restrictions prevented U.S. personnel from accompanying operations into Cambodia and Laos. On April 30, 1972, the unit was deactivated. Colonels Clyde R. Russell, Donald D. Blackburn, John K. Singlaub, Stephen E. Cavanaugh, and John F. Sadler served as SOG commanders.

Nine ARSOF SOG soldiers received the Medal of Honor and the unit was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. Some sources credit the organization with providing upwards of seventy-five percent of intelligence on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. SOG innovative tactics, personal equipment, and lessons learned influence SOF to this day.

Listen to episode 2609 and discover more about the MACV-SOG story.

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Episode 2608 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Hanoi Jane Fonda apologizing for her egregious actions in Vietnam. The featured story comes from the Far Out Magazine and is titled: The controversial reason why Jane Fonda was blacklisted from Hollywood. It was submitted by Calum Russell. He is based in Manchester, UK, Calum Russell is a passionate film writer and enthusiastic music listener whose love of cinema extends from the British social realism of Mike Leigh to the eccentric animation of Jan Švankmajer. When a film night is not on the cards, he enjoys a hearty dinner in front of Peep Show, for there is nothing else as satisfying.

Every Vietnam Veteran is aware of the unforgivable actions of Jane Fonda during her trip to North Vietnam in 1972. The time has come to forgive her for her despicable actions Hanoi.

Russell’s story gives good reason for such actions. He describes her apology and her explanation for her change of heart when he wrote the following:

Explaining her actions decades later in a blog entry titled The Truth About My Trip to Hanoi, Fonda explained: “It happened on my last day in Hanoi. I was exhausted and an emotional wreck after the 2-week visit…someone (I don’t remember who) led me towards the gun, and I sat down…I hardly even thought about where I was sitting. The cameras flashed…It is possible that it was a set up, that the Vietnamese had it all planned. I will never know”.

Continuing, she added: “But if they did I can’t blame them. The buck stops here. If I was used, I allowed it to happen…a two-minute lapse of sanity that will haunt me forever…But the photo exists, delivering its message regardless of what I was doing or feeling. I carry this heavy in my heart…It was never my intention to cause harm”.

Listen to episode 2608 and discover more about Hanoi Jane Fonda apologizing for her egregious actions in Vietnam.

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Episode 2607 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the upcoming PTSD conference at San Antonio, Texas. The featured story comes from The UT Health San Antonio Newsroom and is titled: 2023 San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference to examine 50 years of progress.

PTSD is one of the most challenging hang-over’s from the war in Vietnam. On Oct. 17–18, 2023, a conference of  PTSD interest parties will be held in San Antonio.

The featuring of this story on the podcast is to honor the service of Ron Mosbaugh. He served as a field corpsman in the Marines in Vietnam where he saw much combat close up. Because of his close combat experiences, today he suffers from a severe case of PTSD. It is hoped this conference will produce new ways to deal with PTSD.

At the event, experts in the field will discuss advances, challenges, and next steps in diagnosing and treating combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-occurring conditions. Veterans and clinicians of different war eras also will share their lived experience.

Karl Marlantes will set the tone as he shares his reflections in the conference’s popular “Profiles in Resilience” address. The Marine veteran received numerous medals for his heroic service in Vietnam, and years later completed his New York Times best-seller Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War, which he credits with helping him heal from post-traumatic stress. In 2011, he published a second book, What It Is Like to Go to War, which includes his own memories along with an analysis of the effects of war on those who fight and thoughts on how we can better prepare service members for the experience of war.

Other highlights will include keynote speaker Terence Keane, PhD, of the VA’s National Center for PTSD and Boston University School of Medicine, who will chart the course of psychological trauma research from the Vietnam era through today.

CLICK HERE For more information about the San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference and registration.

Listen to episode 2607 and discover more about the upcoming PTSD conference at San Antonio, Texas.

Recommended Reading

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Episode 2606 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the Riverine Operations in Vietnam. The featured story comes from History Net  and is titled: All You Need to Know About Riverine Operations in Vietnam Riverine operations were central to the Vietnam War. It was submitted by David T. Zabecki.

The mobile riverine forces in Vietnam faced a challenging situation. They had to patrol 15,000 miles of waterways in the Mekong Delta. The second brigade of the 9^th Infantry Division provided the power of the force. The unit did a good job and should be commended for a job well done.

In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the brown-water navy. It was modeled after lessons learned by the French experience in the First Indochina War of Dinassaut and had the task of both transport (of soldiers and equipment) and combat. The primary land base was at Đồng Tâm Base Camp, with a floating base which operated in the major rivers of the Mekong Delta. Soldiers and sailors went out in river boats from the floating base to assault the Viet Cong. During part of the 1968-69 period, there were two such mobile bases operating in different parts of the Delta, Mobile Riverine Groups Alpha and Bravo. The MRF played a key role in the Tet Offensive.

Each river assault group, later designated river assault squadron, was to consist of the following: 52 Armored Troop Carriers (ATCs or “Tangos”), 10 Monitors with 40mm cannon and 81mm mortar, 32 Assault Support Patrol Boats (ASPBs), 5 Monitors to serve as command and control boats and 2 LCM-6’s to serve as refuelers. A salvage force would include: 2 2,000-ton heavy lift craft, 2 YTB’s for salvage, 2 LCU’s (landing craft, utility), and 3 100-ton floating dry docks.

Listen to episode 2606 and discover more about the Riverine Operations in Vietnam.

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Episode 2605 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature the incredible story of Vietnam Vet Larry Liss and the injustice he has faced over the years. The featured story appeared in the Stars and Stripes and was titled: Vietnam pilots who flew rescue helicopter into firefight 6 times deserve Medal of Honor, advocates say. It was submitted by John Vandiver.

On May 14, 1967, Army pilot Capt. Larry Liss arrived at the Green Beret outpost at Cau Song Be, Vietnam, in an unarmed Huey — the only helicopter on site at the time — when all hell broke loose.

What came next involved Liss and co-pilot Tom Baca flying six times into a small, contested area, in a frenzied rescue operation that helped save 87 troops with the help of a second Huey.

Their heroics were comparable to the exploits that led to last week’s ceremony at the White House, where President Joe Biden pinned the Medal of Honor on Vietnam War pilot Larry Taylor, according to people with firsthand knowledge of the events.

Larry Liss’ brother Arthur has compiled a 2,100-page history of the rescue that incorporates affidavits and flight logs as well as admissions from leaders at the time who say the pilots and several others weren’t given their due. For more than a decade, a push has been underway to get the Distinguished Flying Crosses awarded to Liss and Baca upgraded. Liss is now 82, and Baca died in 2020.

After numerous rejections, the Army’s awards and decorations office in May issued an advisory opinion saying that Larry Liss met the minimum standards for the Silver Star and referred the matter to the Army Board of Corrections for Military Records. The board, which can accept or reject the advisory opinion, has yet to rule on the matter.

While a Silver Star would be an upgrade, Arthur Liss said it still falls short of recognizing the level of valor his brother demonstrated on May 14, 1967.

Listen to episode 2605 and discover more about the incredible story of Vietnam Vet Larry Liss and the injustice he has faced over the years.