True Tales of Days Gone By ~ UNTAC recollections
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- My Best Friend is my Computer
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Hello Petrol Head,
Re: Per OML's comments, would it be possible to break out a new thread for recollections by Aussie Vietnam vets ? There are precious few of you fellas left. I have read extensively on the topic, but there is far too little scally waggery therein.
Such a forum would be far too narrow if just for Australian veterans recollections. Besides, I doubt if there are many of us contributing to this forum anyway. In addition to which, many things are best left in the dark recesses of people's minds. Although each of us feels differently about such matters. Personally, I tend to remember the more humorous aspects of life at that time - humorous within the context and setting that is.
What is needed is a forum topic along the lines of ...Second Indochina War - Personal Involvement Recollections ... This way, all former combatants and non-combatants, from all sides, and of all nationalities, could contribute.
But I agree with you about one thing. I seem to be receiving AU Veterans obituary notices and funeral notices at an alarmingly fast rate these days and many of them for vets far younger than myself. In addition to which I have my own significant medical problem thanks to Agents Orange, Blue and White being sprayed all over all of us in the Australian TAOR. Dioxin is a terrible substance.
OML
Re: Per OML's comments, would it be possible to break out a new thread for recollections by Aussie Vietnam vets ? There are precious few of you fellas left. I have read extensively on the topic, but there is far too little scally waggery therein.
Such a forum would be far too narrow if just for Australian veterans recollections. Besides, I doubt if there are many of us contributing to this forum anyway. In addition to which, many things are best left in the dark recesses of people's minds. Although each of us feels differently about such matters. Personally, I tend to remember the more humorous aspects of life at that time - humorous within the context and setting that is.
What is needed is a forum topic along the lines of ...Second Indochina War - Personal Involvement Recollections ... This way, all former combatants and non-combatants, from all sides, and of all nationalities, could contribute.
But I agree with you about one thing. I seem to be receiving AU Veterans obituary notices and funeral notices at an alarmingly fast rate these days and many of them for vets far younger than myself. In addition to which I have my own significant medical problem thanks to Agents Orange, Blue and White being sprayed all over all of us in the Australian TAOR. Dioxin is a terrible substance.
OML
- Petrol Head
- Grand Poobah
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I'd read that.Ot Mean Loi wrote:Hello Petrol Head,
Re: Per OML's comments, would it be possible to break out a new thread for recollections by Aussie Vietnam vets ? There are precious few of you fellas left. I have read extensively on the topic, but there is far too little scally waggery therein.
Such a forum would be far too narrow if just for Australian veterans recollections. Besides, I doubt if there are many of us contributing to this forum anyway. In addition to which, many things are best left in the dark recesses of people's minds. Although each of us feels differently about such matters. Personally, I tend to remember the more humorous aspects of life at that time - humorous within the context and setting that is.
What is needed is a forum topic along the lines of ...Second Indochina War - Personal Involvement Recollections ... This way, all former combatants and non-combatants, from all sides, and of all nationalities, could contribute.
But I agree with you about one thing. I seem to be receiving AU Veterans obituary notices and funeral notices at an alarmingly fast rate these days and many of them for vets far younger than myself. In addition to which I have my own significant medical problem thanks to Agents Orange, Blue and White being sprayed all over all of us in the Australian TAOR. Dioxin is a terrible substance.
OML
Haha - my money’s on Playboy
Agree with OML, some interesting posts Karmageddon1, I'll have to read again the last two as a little heavy for me first read. Closest I ever got to Tu Do street was listening an old tape of Barry Sadler, who served as a green beret, later did a collection of songs about South Vietnam and his expierences, one of them about Tu Do street. However, I don't think I'd have felt comfortable walking down Tu Do street, or any other street in Saigon in April'75. I was on a chartered flight out of Saigon late 1970, and read about the fall of Saigon and South Vietnam to the final invasion of North Vietnam, in the Brisbane telegraph I think. Regardless of the enthusiastic views of a couple of posters, my personal view was and still is it was an invasion, some of the time by stealth, of the South by the North, not a reunification as the North would have it with their re-education and brainwashing. All water under the bridge now of course.
As to the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia I hold no views, it's quite obvious they were appreciated in 1979 and beyond, but it would appear they looked after themselves pretty over the ensuing decade, and beyond perhaps.
OML, your friend Les Strouse in Bangkok would be a very interesting person, and his time with Air America in particular. Apart from the military, they must have had about the best equipped airline in the world in those times. I have a mate I served with, went to Australia for his R and R, missed his scheduled return flight and somehow ended back in Saigon, a few days late, part of the way courtesy of Air America. I didn't know anything about it until he included the little adventure in a book he had published several years ago.
Just to finish, your idea about a separate thread about the Second Indochina war, personal recollections etc is quite a good one. I'd contribute a few, but as you rightly say, probably very on this forum to contribute and interest probably limited as well.
o
As to the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia I hold no views, it's quite obvious they were appreciated in 1979 and beyond, but it would appear they looked after themselves pretty over the ensuing decade, and beyond perhaps.
OML, your friend Les Strouse in Bangkok would be a very interesting person, and his time with Air America in particular. Apart from the military, they must have had about the best equipped airline in the world in those times. I have a mate I served with, went to Australia for his R and R, missed his scheduled return flight and somehow ended back in Saigon, a few days late, part of the way courtesy of Air America. I didn't know anything about it until he included the little adventure in a book he had published several years ago.
Just to finish, your idea about a separate thread about the Second Indochina war, personal recollections etc is quite a good one. I'd contribute a few, but as you rightly say, probably very on this forum to contribute and interest probably limited as well.
o
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- My Best Friend is my Computer
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Hello Holdfast. Very good to see you back on topic.
But back to Air America. Most of their aircraft carried so much armaments, munitions and auxiliary fuel drop tank/s that it is a wonder that they got airborne on many occasions. I kid you not.
Yes, Les is a very interesting character and one I would like to spend more time with before he fades away, as is his mate who shall remain un-named, who also lives in BKK, and who also spent many years as a non-Air America pilot in Lao at that time. I just wish that Les would write his memoir.
But what is little known to most is that Air America also ran an operation in Cambodia and there is a well researched and documented book about this secret operation run from the White House no less - Call Sign Rustic - The Secret Air War over Cambodia, 1970 - 1973 by Richard Wood. It's also a good read for those who know their Cambodia geography and place names.
OML
But back to Air America. Most of their aircraft carried so much armaments, munitions and auxiliary fuel drop tank/s that it is a wonder that they got airborne on many occasions. I kid you not.
Yes, Les is a very interesting character and one I would like to spend more time with before he fades away, as is his mate who shall remain un-named, who also lives in BKK, and who also spent many years as a non-Air America pilot in Lao at that time. I just wish that Les would write his memoir.
But what is little known to most is that Air America also ran an operation in Cambodia and there is a well researched and documented book about this secret operation run from the White House no less - Call Sign Rustic - The Secret Air War over Cambodia, 1970 - 1973 by Richard Wood. It's also a good read for those who know their Cambodia geography and place names.
OML
- Jacked Camry
- Is the World Outside still there ?
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I think you'd find that most of us hold that view as well. Unlike Karmageddon, we don't see everything that happened in Cambodia afterwards as a manifestation of Vietnamese manipulation or control. I too find his views interesting, and would contribute more if I weren't in a major work crunch. But I am, so it will have to wait.Holdfast wrote:Regardless of the enthusiastic views of a couple of posters, my personal view was and still is it was an invasion, some of the time by stealth, of the South by the North, not a reunification as the North would have it with their re-education and brainwashing. All water under the bridge now of course.
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- Jumped Up Little Oik
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Well Saigon did use to be part of Khmer Krom. Interesting history of how the Vietnamese took over the Mekong delta.Jacked Camry wrote:I think you'd find that most of us hold that view as well. Unlike Karmageddon, we don't see everything that happened in Cambodia afterwards as a manifestation of Vietnamese manipulation or control. I too find his views interesting, and would contribute more if I weren't in a major work crunch. But I am, so it will have to wait.Holdfast wrote:Regardless of the enthusiastic views of a couple of posters, my personal view was and still is it was an invasion, some of the time by stealth, of the South by the North, not a reunification as the North would have it with their re-education and brainwashing. All water under the bridge now of course.
I never really thought about it as a anything other than a re-unification until I read your posts.
Isn't the point that the line was drawn internationally to begin with? I know a lot of the South Vietnamese in Saigon feel that it was an invasion for sure. As for the south as a whole, it depends on who you are talking to/ about.
Interesting OML, I figured they would be loaded with a lot of hardware. Must get hold of that book, doesn't surprise about involvement in Cambodia, I've had coffee with a couple oferr non flying members of that organisation in Siem Reap with my mate, who in turn had an American contact with the State Department who inter alia were supplying C4 for the little operation based up there.
I don't want to derail this thread any more, but I wanted to post a reply JC and Mr Lovejuice, so I wonder if Admin could move this post to a new thread titled -
Second Indochina War - Personal involvement Recollections
Something a little lite could perhaps be the start - Sex Drugs and Rock'n Roll, and booze of course.
And I can still see Frankie , drinkin tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a 36 hour Rec leave in Vung Tau. Thank you John Schumann
I didn't see Frankie at the Grand Hotel but I did sight him when John Invited him on stage at that great concert in Sydney, the Domain I think it was 1987, when Australia finally welcomed home it's Vietnam Veterans'.
And, the still perception of a former ARVN soldier who a mate of mine had somehow reconnected with some years ago. This from a conversation with HY late April last year in a little bar in Saigon just off Bui Vien street. This was two days before the 40th glorious anniversary of the reunification of the Republic of Vietnam with the North, uncle Ho had prevailed.
I don't want to derail this thread any more, but I wanted to post a reply JC and Mr Lovejuice, so I wonder if Admin could move this post to a new thread titled -
Second Indochina War - Personal involvement Recollections
Something a little lite could perhaps be the start - Sex Drugs and Rock'n Roll, and booze of course.
And I can still see Frankie , drinkin tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a 36 hour Rec leave in Vung Tau. Thank you John Schumann
I didn't see Frankie at the Grand Hotel but I did sight him when John Invited him on stage at that great concert in Sydney, the Domain I think it was 1987, when Australia finally welcomed home it's Vietnam Veterans'.
And, the still perception of a former ARVN soldier who a mate of mine had somehow reconnected with some years ago. This from a conversation with HY late April last year in a little bar in Saigon just off Bui Vien street. This was two days before the 40th glorious anniversary of the reunification of the Republic of Vietnam with the North, uncle Ho had prevailed.
- Jacked Camry
- Is the World Outside still there ?
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I wouldn't worry so much about derailing threads - that's the tradition here anyway, and sometimes ends up making things more interesting before they inevitably circle back to their original subject matter.Holdfast wrote:Interesting OML, I figured they would be loaded with a lot of hardware. Must get hold of that book, doesn't surprise about involvement in Cambodia, I've had coffee with a couple oferr non flying members of that organisation in Siem Reap with my mate, who in turn had an American contact with the State Department who inter alia were supplying C4 for the little operation based up there.
I don't want to derail this thread any more, but I wanted to post a reply JC and Mr Lovejuice, so I wonder if Admin could move this post to a new thread titled -
Second Indochina War - Personal involvement Recollections
Something a little lite could perhaps be the start - Sex Drugs and Rock'n Roll, and booze of course.
And I can still see Frankie , drinkin tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a 36 hour Rec leave in Vung Tau. Thank you John Schumann
I didn't see Frankie at the Grand Hotel but I did sight him when John Invited him on stage at that great concert in Sydney, the Domain I think it was 1987, when Australia finally welcomed home it's Vietnam Veterans'.
And, the still perception of a former ARVN soldier who a mate of mine had somehow reconnected with some years ago. This from a conversation with HY late April last year in a little bar in Saigon just off Bui Vien street. This was two days before the 40th glorious anniversary of the reunification of the Republic of Vietnam with the North, uncle Ho had prevailed.
My understanding that it was an invasion stemmed from a job I did in 1991 which had one project in the North (Hai Hung) and one in the South (Song Be). Didn't take long to realize that these were basically two different countries with a similar language but two dialects. Interestingly, all the Mandarins I was dealing with in the South were transplants from the North, and every single one was now a diehard "I ain't going back up THERE any time soon" and had been spending most of their time trying to make hay while the sun was shining. Whereas their colleagues in similar situations in Hai Hung were constantly on the lookout for anyone who might have been doing something that was either not in the five year plan or approved by the local People's Committee.
- Petrol Head
- Grand Poobah
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Reiterate - if any of the Vietnam Vets would like to spin something off this thread to recall stories of the time, however big or small, it would be much appreciated.
This is quite unbelievable; 50:41 - 58:40 especially. Serious respect.
This is quite unbelievable; 50:41 - 58:40 especially. Serious respect.
Haha - my money’s on Playboy
My wife and I met a Marine VietNam Vet a couple of years ago who was on some of the last helicopters out of VN in '75. My wife being Viet, her dad AVRN, he introduced us to another, who had been an Air America employee.But back to Air America
We enjoyed a great evening with him, chatting about the times, Saigon, and what the area was like then. First time I'd ever had the pleasure to be able to ask questions of a AA vet.
OML- my wife said that she had treated land mine victims in her time in Cambodia, although she didn't say how many or what percentage of wounds they comprised.
This is a great thread!
- Captain Bonez
- Fluffy Bunny
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Don't know if these have been posted or are of interest to anyone.
More here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHTK-2 ... y=cambodia
More here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHTK-2 ... y=cambodia
^ Some good film footage of Cambodia on that AP youtube page
I'm not a negative person, I encourage people all the time...it's usually to f**k off! But, whatever.
I thank all of you who have contributed to this thread. Having lived here continuously for 19 years I fraudulently considered myself"an old hand." Thanks to your contributions my shit is now squared away. Your personal stories compelled my to not only reevaluate my egotism, but have given a deeper understanding of the current political situation. So again, thank you very much and look forward to further contributions.
- Felgerkarb
- Sir Felgerkarb, Kt Pb
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barangse wrote:I thank all of you who have contributed to this thread. Having lived here continuously for 19 years I fraudulently considered myself"an old hand." Thanks to your contributions my shit is now squared away. Your personal stories compelled my to not only reevaluate my egotism, but have given a deeper understanding of the current political situation. So again, thank you very much and look forward to further contributions.
It has nothing to do with how long you have been here. I know people here a year and get it immediately and I highly respect, there are others here decades that are total knobs and will never grok Cambodia. Unfortunately the former are getting further and further fewer....
====================
Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
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