Survivors of Vietnam’s deadly battles on the life-changing toll of war
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Long after the battles are over, survivors of the Vietnam War recount how the experience stays still with them, and how it changed their lives.
#vietnam #veterans #reconnaissance #patrols #military #vietnamwar
I lost both my legs there in 1968. I had some trouble adjusting with both a new lifestyle and Vietnam. Some how a met a nurse who took me even though I smoked weed drank and took pills to try and find that high that would make it ok. I think it lasted about 13 years before I slowly found some sense in life. God has been with me all along even when I thought he wasn’t. My wife and I have 50 yrs together this Nov. A son former Naval officer and today a top notch ER doctor and a daughter high school teacher. I’m 80 yrs old and Vietnam is still with me everyday. Most young folks today hardly ever heart of Vietnam.
Wow ! Inspiring
Thank you for your service, you are a true hero and deserve to be honored. I’m sorry for the way a lot of Vietnam veterans were treated after the war, you all deserve so much better. You are appreciated. Because of you vets, we are able to enjoy our everyday freedoms that we take for granted.
Thank you for your service. I wish I had some amazing thing I could say to you that would make you feel better or at least smile. I’m not a literary genius. So just know that there’s many of us who never served in the military that do appreciate you and those who are no longer with us.
Great story brother❤
@@TheGeonam wow welcome home & thank you so much for your service sir! I’m glad you made it home. Seems you ended up doing great seeing how well your kids did in life 🙏🏻 I just had a baby in Feb & I just want to give them everything they need to succeed in this world! My grandpa was drafted at 18 in 68/69 with the 173rd, glad he made it home 🇺🇸
I served 20+ years in the Air Force, five years in the Vietnam era. Thankfully I wasn't sent there. My older brother by 7 years, a Marine, unfortunately received 3 Purple Hearts for his service. He died at 43 as a result of his time in 'Nam, he was home, but he really never came home. RIP brother I still miss you to this day.
Ho
❤❤
Wars are never over for those who fought them.
I was one of the lucky ones and managed to readjust after i came back. Took me six years to adjust but i made it. I also feel sorry for all the Vietnamese that suffered from both sides. I just finished writing my autobiography and now am starting my next project. I plan to interview soldiers from both sides of the Vietnam war, i mean the Vietnamese soldiers. I have not seen anyone write telling their side of the story. I believe they suffered the most. I never hated my enemy. We were all doing our job as soldiers so i never considered it personally against me. There is much healing that still needs to be done, for both sides.
USMC 64--68. Vietnam 65--66. Like our Drill Instructors at Parris Island. You never forget them. And as for Vietnam. Well, no matter how hard we try, we will never forget. And to all my Fellow Veterans. God Bless you all. Proud to have been a Marine, and always proud to have served.
@@richardnixon4345 What's it like living under a bridge, troll?
Thank you for your service
First and Foremost. Semper Fi Marine. Ooooooooooorah. Many went to Nam. Many never came home. It's an honor and a privilege to listen to all these testimonies. No one will ever know the sacrifice this warriors went through to include what they had to give up for our freedom. My utmost respect for all those who fought in Nam. Thank you for Honor, courage and commitment. A special salute from GySgt Montemayor USMC Retired 77-97 Santa Rosa, Texas ( Eagle, Globe, and Anchor )
@davidfrehlini5430 Hi David, I'd love to interview you & write your story if you're willing. I'm not a publisher but I'd write and print for you to keep your stories in your family. I'd do it for free.
I left there over 55 years ago, I still think about it every day, especially the smell!
Thank you for your service!
@@armyvet8279 back at you fellow vet!
@@speedracer2336 thank you
Welcome hone brother.
Thank you for your service
My brother did 3 tours never was right again. 173th airborne He was medic he talked about hill 875 lost 300 guys in that battle. God bless he and all✌🏻
@@CraigerAce wow I’d love to be that guys friend
These people deserve more respect
My grandpa was drafted at 18 in 68/69 with 173rd …. Glad he made it home 🇺🇸 Vietnam vets are the greatest & got treated the worst when they just answered the call
My brother also 173 th airborne. Doc Spanky.
@@tomcat58rtc I hope your brother is doing well. Thank you & him for his service, I’m proud asf to have family in paratroopers. That’s badass.
Yes, they were treated horribly by a govt who didn’t want to take care of them afterwards. So they concocted the hate and discontent thru the media and gullible people. Same thing is happening today.
Well said. Take lots of pics and video of your Gramps. Memorize anything he shares to ensure your future generations know where they come from.
@@IronSikh44 unfortunately he’s retired in the Philippines with his wife . But I video chat him every chance I get! I just had a baby in February so I made him a great grand father! I can’t wait to tell my son about him & how we are related to a paratrooper ‼️🇺🇸
To any war veteran whom I have had the privilege of listening to open up to any degree and express their feelings, please,please,never apologize for showing tears. It is an honor and privilege for those of us to hear your personal stories you share with us and to see your emotions. I personally hold it sacred and extremely special. Thank you
saddest thing is, all these wars are based on lies,
to make a few people more rich , not being disrespectful towards the people who
were send there
So true.
Reminds me of a book by an early 20th century, two-time Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Marine named Smedley D. Butler called "War Is a Racket".
So often true.
Very true. RVN '66-'67, 1st Mar Div.
You're painting with an awfully broad brush. Not all conflicts and warfare is "based on lies".
@@ericsierra-franco7802 could be, call me one , so i can check it out
The politics of that war are for another time,but all these men (and women) answered their Nations call and did their duty.They deserve our respect...forever.
Yes sir that is a correct statement.
My Dad was a LRRP. 1/327 101st airborne. RIP. He never left Vietnam as well. Spent the rest of his life chasing the dragon.
Your father/dad is a bad ass mofo
My buddies and I use the term chasing the dragon to describe "combat addiction". It's a condition where you become addicted to the chemicals that are produced in your brain during combat.
@@southwestoklahomaairsoftcl9889 Yep. If Valhalla is real he is there now with his CAR-15 in a firefight. He had an airborne tattoo, jump wings with words “death from above” . Thought that was so cool as a kid, still do.
Vietnam vet here, l was lucky to see close up what LLRPs went through because of where l was when l transferred to the 4th Div. in ‘67. These guys were unbelievably brave.
Welcome home! My father was a medic with the 82nd 67-69
Gentlemen you will never ever be forgotten. My wife and I have a 5-month-old son. When he is older he will understand and respect the sacrifice from all of you who served.
God Bless Our Vietnam Veterans!!!! They didn’t get the welcome home they deserved!!!! Or the help they needed!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
I’m not a clinical psychologist but I am willing to guess that trauma is a lifetime thing. War veterans are probably more traumatized than most. Thoughts and prayers for all veterans. May God bless
My family STILL doesn’t understand what myself, and my fellow warriors have been through for freedom. Taken for granted every single day and it will never change. I’ve simply learned to live with it the best I can.
This country hasnt fought a war for freedom since 1945. Get over yourself.
@@haveaday1812 What the hell type of sorry gremlin are you?
Any interest in being interviewed and having a book printed about your stories for your family? I'd do it all for free.
Their eyes tell the story that most of us will never comphrehend. Viewing this was humbling.
The way Vietnam vets were treated when they made it out is absolutely despicable.
ABSOLUTELY! MADE ME SO FREAKING MAD!!!! THANK U SOLDIERS!!!
Welcome home Vietnam Veterans. Thank you for your service 🙏
6/67-6/68, medic 25th Inf. Div. I guess I will never reconcile the uselessness of it all and the futility of war. So many who never came home and certainly those that did were never the same. May they never be forgotten.
I was a cop for 30 years. I have been diagnosed with PTSD. I’ve done the work. I’ve realized I’m very proud of my condition because it reminds me I did something meaningful and profound with my life. It will always be a part of me.
I want to tell these old soldiers how much I love and respect them. I don’t judge them. I wasn’t there. I can’t even imagine. All I can say is you guys and all of our Veterans are the greatest and I thank you for your sacrifice. Keep fighting every day to make yourself right any way you can. You are LRRPS and that’s a big deal. Respect!!
These boys/men are 100% American heroes for giving soo much to keep us free.
keep you free?😂 i agree they are brave for the things they did and experienced , but it was not done to keep you free , it was supposed to be a quick war just to show the USSR that America is "a lethal military force" but yeah it did not go that way . WW1 and WW2 were the only wars where America had to fight to keep you free and safe , every other war you guys were in had alternative motives and propaganda influenced a lot of you to think it was to keep you free . America could have never sent anyone to Vietnam and it would have had the same result or well sort of , if they didn't send anyone your economy would be much better due to the billions spent , but i do agree they were brave and strong for the things they did
@@sadocx I agree with your comment. But I will go a step further. If they were "heroes" they were ignorant "heroes". It wasn't rocket science to figure out Vietnam was BAD in so many ways. That is why I resisted the Draft.
I'm a proud Vietnam/Draft resistor. 2 things. There was nothing brave about what they did. They all should have stood up for themselves and avoid their dysfunctional Government sending them to a war they had no right or legitimate reason to be. If they agreed with going to Vietnam they were ignorant. If they went against their own conscience they were both ignorant and cowards.
The second thing. They did NOT do a damn thing to keep you,, me and themselves free as Americans....win or lose.
You are a Kool Aid drinker....and that's why this country keeps getting into other "Vietnams" since then. There is NO way you can connect the "dots" of fighting in Vietnam with American freedom, security and way of life. It's called propaganda.
@@sadocxexacting right and what I believe also. The last just wars if you will were WWI and WWII.
@@topgeardel the men in this video and the hundred thousands of the young Americans like them went because their country called and they answered the call, my father and uncles included. Whether it was right or wrong they went. You say you resisted the draft in my eyes and everybody else that's just cowardly.
Thank you for your service you are all Heroes to Me AND Never do you ever need to apologize. I Love You All 😊
Men like this is one of the reasons why I join the military and retired after 24years. I’ve always studied Vietnam war and the hell these guys went through not only in Vietnam but back home as well. Every time I meet Vietnam veterans, I always show him respectby just a handshake and telling him I have the upmost respect for him. It’s just a nation of mine to say that to every Vietnam veteran.
Thank you for serving our country an thank you for coming home
Thank you gentlemen with the deepest sincerity!
A very smart person once said, "you touch war it touches back." RVN Recon 68/69. Stay strong Brothers.
THANK YOU and WELCOME HOME from the son’s and daughters of the Vietnam war❤
I truly hope these Men find the peace that has eluded them over these many years, before they leave this earth.
Heros 🙏🏼👏🏻🙏🏼👏🏻🙏🏼👏🏻🎖🎖🎖
Some still fighting the war
Vietnam soldiers were heroes in my neighborhood .
Still are!
In my mind the term hero is reserved for the people on the wall. The rest of us just did our jobs! To try to explain it all is near impossible! What is most insulting is those who don’t even want to know even though they asked the questions first.lts like your being baited!
MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU GUYS AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING SO MUCH, GOD BLESS AND BE WITH YOU’S ALWAYS 🙏✝️🙏🇺🇸
I was attached to the 23rd Inf. Div., Americal out of Chu Lai, Vietnam. Served 18 months in country until a mortar round ended my tour of duty. After I was discharged from the 41st Evac. Hospital the Army sent me to Ft. Roots Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas for combat fatigue, my mental state was still fighting out in the bush. I am 75 now and for years I have harbored no anger, no nightmares, no sobbing with another Vet. I simple just forgot the war and got along just fine. In fact I have considered going back to Vietnam as a tourist to revisit areas where my brigade fought. In other words the war never shattered my life. Upon discharge I simply unshouldered my rifle, took off my uniform and led a normal healthy life with no regrets.
I was in Chu Lai with the Marines in 69-70 . Just recently I found out the Americal division was the 23rd infantry division. Don't remember it called anything but americal.
@mikemurray1047 Thanks for your service and you've got a unique tale. Any interest in being interviewed & having a book written about your experience & coming home? I'm not a publisher but I'd do the writing and send a hardcopy book to you to keep in your family. I'd do it for free if you're open to it.
Welcome home brothers.
Videos like this have given me so much more Respect(not that it wasn't there already) for these Heroes trying to understand how a year in Vietnam, sometimes more, impacted the rest of their lives. I lost my oldest Brother in that war. Steve apologized at the end of the video, Sir you have nothing to apologize for you have earned your emotions. God Bless all men and women that did return.
PTSD goes beyond human understanding. I had a psychologist who dragged me through. I had to let myself go through the experiences again. Half asleep my room would be turning over and over again, etc, etc. There is another side to this. The sooner you go through it the less it lasts. Leave it too long and you are stuck with it. The sooner the better. Good luck.
One day while hitch hiking I met a guy who was one of the "Chosin few" ... a Marine attacked by Mao Tse Tung's troops at the Chosin reservoir in North Korea during the Korean war. He was friendly, intense, and always on the Korean war. He said you don't forget about it when you go to bed at night and it is there for you all the next day. He was proud, and he was trapped.
Welcome home and thank you all so much for your service,👊🏻🇺🇸
I met these Frenchman that fought in the Indo-China war, and they were from there but the thing was they were terrified of Vietnam. They told me it was cruel, and unbelievable.
Thanks guys for being you. For being normal. The levels of violence and mental stress of war..is too much for normal people to bear. Finding peace best way you can. 🤗....thanks for your service 🌹
You are right, someone who wasn't there could never understand what we went thru. However i have went back twice since the war. Had many people tell me i needed to go back for the closure it would give me. I scoffed at it for years but when i did go back it gave me closure i could never have imagined. The people of Vietnam had no hard feelings and that alone amazed me. I had never had hard feelings towards them but never expected it in return. For the bad acts committed in war for either side is unforgivable.I now looking forward to trips back to Vietnam.
Vietnam 1967 - 1968. Retired US Army (23 years total). Welcome home brothers, it's been a long hard road we had to travel together with no help from America. I was not one of you, but I was there with you. Some talk about going back to Vietnam to visit old places of the past and their youth. I have no need to do this as Vietnam comes and revisits me on nights when the moon is in its darkest moments.
These dudes were always welcome home, the only ones who didnt welcome them home were liberals.
So sorry brother. I'm a Desert Storm veteran and we had a heros welcome home. I hope you are getting better a little each day.
I want to express my thanks and respect for every Vietnam veteran. I know many personally. Some have shared stories with me, some not. I respect each and every one of you.
Thank you. My father fought in the Battle Of The Bulge.
I am a member of The American Legion. I have the privilege to know many Vietnam vets. When I am at the club house, many of these men are able to share their stories with each other. I know that you gentlemen have struggles. And I know what those struggles can be like. For me it was Desert Storm. And yes, I too have a bit of survivor's guilt. I will always respect you & your service in probably the most hellish places that one had to fight a war. The only other ones would be those that served in the Pacific Theater and were part of the Island Campaign. But they were never on each island such as you in Vietnam.
My greatest respect for you! Hoo Rah!
I was a resident at the VA Hospital and the Oregon Health Science University in Portland Oregon. The public will never understand that the Wars these men fought will never end for them…….
One of my cousins was drafted into the Army during Vietnam. He got stationed on a Fire Base in the remote mountains. Every night the VC would climb the mountain and try and kill the soldiers. When Leslie came home my Aunt told me he could not sleep unless a rifle was on his chest, this went on for years…..Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome at its worst…. RIP Leslie, you were one of the Hero’s.
God Bless all you Boys .🙏♥️
I wasn't a lrrp , I was combat engineer , but it still just never goes away .
I was a combat engineer 25th Infantry Div 1965 to 1966 Pleiku Vietnam
I finished a career in the military but i was also the first person on active duty to become a bounty hunter. I realized i chose this career for the Adrenalin thrill. Being a vet i enjoyed getting that thrill over and over.
I'm sorry you guys and ladies had to go there. Im 55 and have lost more than one person who who served there and have since passed. I can't begin to thank you enough for trying to do right, in a world seeming on self-destruction. I've made plenty of different va hospitals for my friends. Thank you Vet's
3rd Batt. 7th Marines ChuLai,RVN 10/65-11/66
This is a great series. About the best of the best in Vietnam.
God bless these men. I have the privilege to talk with vets like these on a regular basis. The statement, "They never came home," is the core soul feeling most of them share...imagine trying to live life as two separate souls...pray for, don't disgrace them with your pity, these fellas. Again, bless these honorable men.
God bless these men! They gave their souls for a cause that some questioned if it was worth it. Others are convinced it was a worthy cause, but these men still suffer the consequences. “You can take the man out of the war, but you can’t take the war out of the man.” They’re still fighting in that war. Lord give them peace of mind, and ease the pain in their hearts.
I can never feel the things that you brave people have experienced and are living with every day. All I can say is thank you
Men like these are a national treasure. Anytime I see a Vietnam hat or WWII hat on someone’s head I make it a habit to talk to them. Years ago I worked with a Korean War veteran who was a naval pilot. He got shot down and captured. He told me of the torture. They broke both of his hands, got strapped to a table and had children pull his teeth out with pliers amongst many other forms of torture. That really opened my eyes as to what our brave service members had to endure.
The Truth and Honesty of these Men is so hard hitting. May they find Rest Dear Lord.
Thank you for your service, .!! My dad was there . I'm glad you made this video, THANK YOU !! Welcome home !
Has anyone heard the song 19 by Paul Hardcastle it really rips your guts out. Thank every Vietnam Veteran for your Service. You deserved better. ❤✌️
Thanks you all for your service in my country against nva or vc. Love you
Thank you for being you guys. Their are people here that love you for being you. Love from America
I love and appreciate all of you guys from the bottom of my heart❤
These guy r such heros.
EVERYONE SHOULD LEARN LISTEN AN MOST OF ALL RESPECT THEM ALL
There is a saying "you may have left Vietnam but Vietnam doesn't leave you" n it's so F'n true I live it every day just like all my Vietnam brothers. Welcome Home Brothers
Thank you gentlemen! May the good Lord bless all of you.
Thanks
I couldn’t imagine going from high school to Vietnam. God bless your souls!
My brother is a marine force recon vet with multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq and he told me he's a family man living in TN but his mind and soul is still in Afghanistan smh shit kills me
Thank you for all your services sir
My step dad was a helicopter gunner and mechanic in the army during the Vietnam War, he served for three years over in Vietnam and he never talks about it
The ones that didn't come back are forever young, damn thats heavy AF 😢
Difficult watch. Thank you for your service and welcome home, sir.
I cannot phantom what you went through, God Bless All Veterans for your Service. j
Thank you for this story!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL. You have my utmost respect as well as many others, far more than you know.
Glad you made it.
My hereos thank u for youre service and welcome home sir....
Thank you sirs!
This seems to be a running theme with all veterans of wars!
I have three uncles that were over there, my dad was drafted but got turned down when he had his physical taken. My mom's oldest brother got wounded over there and when he got out of the VA and healthy enough went and lived in the woods in north Eastern Minnesota for a year. I'm a member of an American Legion post, and the main guy of the Honor Guard was with the Marines on the DMZ. He was on library in Ka Son when Tet happened and tells stories about it. Thank you all and welcome home.
Thanks for sharing these stories.
It's never just the horror of being in combat day after day. It's the lack of treatment available once you get back home. We ignored our troops after Vietnam and Iraq & Afghanistan. We need to do better.
Thank you to our vets..im so proud of you all and we love you so much. America wouldnt be America without you heroes..God bless you all...
God Bless these men and women.
God bless our veterans
Am sad & sorry you & all the other young boys had to endure that war.
😢
There will never any way to ever give your life back.
So sad for you but glad you are alive & TRYING to live day by day.
My late father was an Army Ranger LRRP 9 th Infantry Division.
Was a non-essential, unnecessary war that took 58,220 or more souls of the BEST among us. No matter your politics, the LRRPS, of which my fallen cousin was one, KIA CPL. ANTHONY V. HEIN, Dar Loc Provence August 7th, 1968, were wholly sacred HEROS in every way! What those young men (now sacred elders) were told to do and had to perform in Vietnam, however, WAS essential and highly necessary in order to gain advantage over an entrenched and accomplished enemy. ALL my deepest respect to EVERY man and woman who died in that conflict. NEVER FORGOTTEN. R.I.P. Tony, we love you. to ALL LRRP/LRP soldiers - gratitude isn't enough. I THANK YOU to my marrow. Peace, a'ho.
I went to an Air conditioning School in Phoenix...had a teacher by the name of Marv Fipher ....on the first day of class he told us how he was in Nam ...he also said his initials were M F ...and he said that wasn't by accident!
I'll never forget how he said one time they dropped them into this bamboo grass??...and their out calling around and he said he split this patch of grass apart to see ahead covertly and there was a HUGE cobra...ready to strike right in front of him!.... He said the only thing he could think to do was put his head down...also he said he went number 3...
I hope Marv's okay....
God bless our boys for enduring such a nightmare...
Also R.I.P. Ralph Corrasco 👉 your family is proud of you 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Your number 3 must be different than common slang now.. which means ejaculated.. I have to assume you meant a combo of 1 and 2 let go?
Thanks guys. CWO4, USN 73-95.
"Where's your Leg Bobby?" " Up There in That Tree " 😮
The words of “The Song” state the feeling prophetically, except we will “ Get out of this place…” and it will be the last thing we ever do, when we pass. 😊
First Force Recon USMC 68-69. I’m still there everyday
Thank you for all you all did and been threw
Knew a fellow who was the sole survivor of an ambush. The NVA had shot him twice and then stuck him 3 times with a bayonet. When I met him while assigned to Schofield Barracks, he was 40, but he was still there and 17 years old. 100% disabled. 😢
Thank you!!!
Thank you all vets welcome home may god bless you
Never be sorry for who you are or gone through. I’m just glad you’re still here with us