Mother, mother, mother - there's too many of you crying.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

as to hammies, read Dr. Sarno. As to 71/73, how do graduate law school in 2 years of being in Vietnam jungles. My ls graduation was not within 2 years of my being in a Vietnam jungle.

My dad was drafted while he was in law school. Finished first year, went to Vietnam for 9 months (during which my sister was born), returned to the USA and finished law school thereafter. He apparently had straight As first semester (before he was drafted) and straight Cs second semester (after he found out and DGAF).

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

My dad was drafted while he was in law school. Finished first year, went to Vietnam for 9 months (during which my sister was born), returned to the USA and finished law school thereafter. He apparently had straight As first semester (before he was drafted) and straight Cs second semester (after he found out and DGAF).

Sometimes I am so fucking glad I wasn't 10 years older.

Are folks watching Ken Burns' Vietnam? He's been obsessed with this the last five years. Totally obsessed.

[ferrets_bueller]

Burns is extraordinary. Last night was hard for me. Although I didn't get to Vietnam until 1970, I served in the First Cavalry, indeed in the1/7 Cavalry that was depicted last night. The Colonels I served under, Tony Labrozzi and Earl Spry, held the same position as Hal Moore, who was made famous by Joey Galloway in We Were Soldiers Once, and Young.

Labrozzi was a "true believer." He lived to kill Communists. He was a "mustang"...an enlisted man, made sergeant, and then got a field commission in Korea. He carried an open bolt Grease Gun, and got right in the thick of things when he could. My platoon, a Recon unit, reported directly to him, and I got to know him well. His successor, Spry, was very different. A student of war, who studied the Vietnamese tactics.

My platoon has periodic reunions. I have virtually nothing in common with most of them, but I am closer to those men than family. The majority of them are flyover country Trump supporters. I'm also in the local First Cav alumni association, people who were mostly officers. (I was a "shake and bake" instant sergeant, given three stripes at NCO school at Fort Benning as a consolation prize for being able to read.) I have less in common with them; most were careerists.

I am depicted in a recently self-published book, available occasionally on Amazon, War Stories, by Conrad Leighton, a First Cav draftee journalist, who often traveled with our platoon. Along the way, I spent some time in Bien Hoa in the rear area, where I picked up a unique military occupational specialty.

Go here: http://www.vintagezodiacs.com/watchstories.php

The first picture, at the First Cavalry Sniper School, is a shot of my wrist watch on the wrist of the left handed sniper in training, Ferrets. (Because of the mounting, I had to learn to shoot a Starlight Scope right handed for night work.) The spotter behind me is Bill Bearden, deceased, one of the President's Hundred, a combat sniper on a par with anyone who ever picked up a rifle in anger.

Hell of a way to spend ten months. But when I landed back in law school, I met a classmate in my new second year class. We're still married.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by ferrets_bueller

Burns is extraordinary. Last night was hard for me. Although I didn't get to Vietnam until 1970, I served in the First Cavalry, indeed in the1/7 Cavalry that was depicted last night. The Colonels I served under, Tony Labrozzi and Earl Spry, held the same position as Hal Moore, who was made famous by Joey Galloway in We Were Soldiers Once, and Young.

Labrozzi was a "true believer." He lived to kill Communists. He was a "mustang"...an enlisted man, made sergeant, and then got a field commission in Korea. He carried an open bolt Grease Gun, and got right in the thick of things when he could. My platoon, a Recon unit, reported directly to him, and I got to know him well. His successor, Spry, was very different. A student of war, who studied the Vietnamese tactics.

My platoon has periodic reunions. I have virtually nothing in common with most of them, but I am closer to those men than family. The majority of them are flyover country Trump supporters. I'm also in the local First Cav alumni association, people who were mostly officers. (I was a "shake and bake" instant sergeant, given three stripes at NCO school at Fort Benning as a consolation prize for being able to read.) I have less in common with them; most were careerists.

I am depicted in a recently self-published book, available occasionally on Amazon, War Stories, by Conrad Leighton, a First Cav draftee journalist, who often traveled with our platoon. Along the way, I spent some time in Bien Hoa in the rear area, where I picked up a unique military occupational specialty.

Go here: http://www.vintagezodiacs.com/watchstories.php

The first picture, at the First Cavalry Sniper School, is a shot of my wrist watch on the wrist of the left handed sniper in training, Ferrets. (Because of the mounting, I had to learn to shoot a Starlight Scope right handed for night work.) The spotter behind me is Bill Bearden, deceased, one of the President's Hundred, a combat sniper on a par with anyone who ever picked up a rifle in anger.

Hell of a way to spend ten months. But when I landed back in law school, I met a classmate in my new second year class. We're still married.

I'm watching the Burns thing religiously; it IS extraordinary, maybe his best work yet. I'll be interested in your takes as it goes on.

My brother-in-law, who is a college classmate of Ken's, is currently in Vietnam, north of Nha Trang, where his business has a subsidiary, and will be there for the next year; my sister is about to join him and we're debating spending Christmas there with the family this year. It would be fascinating to get the take on it from people there. He's brought a copy with him.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by ferrets_bueller

Burns is extraordinary. Last night was hard for me. Although I didn't get to Vietnam until 1970, I served in the First Cavalry, indeed in the1/7 Cavalry that was depicted last night. The Colonels I served under, Tony Labrozzi and Earl Spry, held the same position as Hal Moore, who was made famous by Joey Galloway in We Were Soldiers Once, and Young.

Labrozzi was a "true believer." He lived to kill Communists. He was a "mustang"...an enlisted man, made sergeant, and then got a field commission in Korea. He carried an open bolt Grease Gun, and got right in the thick of things when he could. My platoon, a Recon unit, reported directly to him, and I got to know him well. His successor, Spry, was very different. A student of war, who studied the Vietnamese tactics.

My platoon has periodic reunions. I have virtually nothing in common with most of them, but I am closer to those men than family. The majority of them are flyover country Trump supporters. I'm also in the local First Cav alumni association, people who were mostly officers. (I was a "shake and bake" instant sergeant, given three stripes at NCO school at Fort Benning as a consolation prize for being able to read.) I have less in common with them; most were careerists.

I am depicted in a recently self-published book, available occasionally on Amazon, War Stories, by Conrad Leighton, a First Cav draftee journalist, who often traveled with our platoon. Along the way, I spent some time in Bien Hoa in the rear area, where I picked up a unique military occupational specialty.

Go here: http://www.vintagezodiacs.com/watchstories.php

The first picture, at the First Cavalry Sniper School, is a shot of my wrist watch on the wrist of the left handed sniper in training, Ferrets. (Because of the mounting, I had to learn to shoot a Starlight Scope right handed for night work.) The spotter behind me is Bill Bearden, deceased, one of the President's Hundred, a combat sniper on a par with anyone who ever picked up a rifle in anger.

Hell of a way to spend ten months. But when I landed back in law school, I met a classmate in my new second year class. We're still married.

I can't imagine doing what you did, voluntarily or otherwise.

ETA: Because I realized it's ambiguous, that was said in awe and wonderment, not any sort of judgment.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

My father was in medical school, and signed up to go to rural India with the Peace Corps, which would get him a deferment to avoid military service. My mother was going to go with, and was pregnant with me. Shortly before he graduated, they changed the rules and his Peace Corps assignment no longer got him the deferment. So he was out of school, with no job and a pregnant wife, and no one would hire him because he was going to be called up. He got in touch with his Congressman's office, and found a way to be called up immediately and stationed near family, stateside. I was born there, several weeks premature, in a military hospital which gave me much better care than I would have gotten in rural India. And my father spent the whole war in the US -- he never did his nine months in Vietnam, because the unusual way in which he had been called up led to some mishandling of his records which wasn't picked up until it was too late to send him.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

My father was in medical school, and signed up to go to rural India with the Peace Corps, which would get him a deferment to avoid military service. My mother was going to go with, and was pregnant with me. Shortly before he graduated, they changed the rules and his Peace Corps assignment no longer got him the deferment. So he was out of school, with no job and a pregnant wife, and no one would hire him because he was going to be called up. He got in touch with his Congressman's office, and found a way to be called up immediately and stationed near family, stateside. I was born there, several weeks premature, in a military hospital which gave me much better care than I would have gotten in rural India. And my father spent the whole war in the US -- he never did his nine months in Vietnam, because the unusual way in which he had been called up led to some mishandling of his records which wasn't picked up until it was too late to send him.

My dad was stationed in San Antonio (Fort Sam Houston?) during Korea as a medic corporal. On off time my dad golfed, and he got to be friends with a general or two. He got his orders, told the generals and they apparently felt the war effort would be best served by him staying there and golfing with them, thank goodness.

His best friend was killed there.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

My dad was stationed in San Antonio (Fort Sam Houston?) during Korea as a medic corporal. On off time my dad golfed, and he got to be friends with a general or two. He got his orders, told the generals and they apparently felt the war effort would be best served by him staying there and golfing with them, thank goodness.

His best friend was killed there.

My father's military service was between Korea and Vietnam. He was reserves in the early 1960s, but also in college and then seminary. He went back in as a chaplain later in the war, and buried more than a few soldiers, including one of my friends' fathers. I was 12 when the war ended; my oldest sister was 20.

Those were tough years in so many ways. But the timing was such, with my father too early and me too late, and women not being drafted, that we missed the worst of it.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

If the Republicans are going to do this, I look forward to (among other things) a Democratic Congress that stops funding for roads in Republican congressional districts.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

If the Republicans are going to do this, I look forward to (among other things) a Democratic Congress that stops funding for roads in Republican congressional districts.

Generally, Dems aren't going to do this, in part because they actual care about not being hypocritical and in part because a lot of the infrastructure that gets federal funding in the rural south (including through the TVA) are very important to the African American communities.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

If the Republicans are going to do this, I look forward to (among other things) a Democratic Congress that stops funding for roads in Republican congressional districts.

Republicans have sunk to a low that I just didn't think was possible. And I fucking already hate Republicans based on their constant, unending fuckery.

TM

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

My father was in medical school, and signed up to go to rural India with the Peace Corps, which would get him a deferment to avoid military service. My mother was going to go with, and was pregnant with me. Shortly before he graduated, they changed the rules and his Peace Corps assignment no longer got him the deferment. So he was out of school, with no job and a pregnant wife, and no one would hire him because he was going to be called up. He got in touch with his Congressman's office, and found a way to be called up immediately and stationed near family, stateside. I was born there, several weeks premature, in a military hospital which gave me much better care than I would have gotten in rural India. And my father spent the whole war in the US -- he never did his nine months in Vietnam, because the unusual way in which he had been called up led to some mishandling of his records which wasn't picked up until it was too late to send him.

My dad was a resident and knew he'd be called up, so he made a deal with the Army to stay in an extra year if they didn't send him over. He spent three years doing research on blood filtration at Walter Reed and probably saved more lives there than he would have had been in Vietnam. He and his colleagues developed ways to better store blood for transfusions, especially while soldiers were being airlifted.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...or_uid=5039459

He met my mom while he was in the Army. She was a biochemist at NIH (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...or_uid=4913918 his list is longer, but her's has a Nature citation). He served on the Medical Committee for Human Rights. He manned the first aid station in the Mall at the protests immediately following the Kent State Massacre, and they both protested the war throughout. I'm really curious what his FBI file looks like.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Republicans have sunk to a low that I just didn't think was possible. And I fucking already hate Republicans based on their constant, unending fuckery.

TM

okay, but why they ain't helping Mi, Pa and Wis? We went red, we got the man in. Sebby and I want our manna!

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

okay, but why they ain't helping Mi, Pa and Wis? We went red, we got the man in. Sebby and I want our manna!

Yeah, you knew how this would play out.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Republicans have sunk to a low that I just didn't think was possible. And I fucking already hate Republicans based on their constant, unending fuckery.

TM

Still sinking!