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Another slap to our military guys... (currently 1 views) |
Jim Armstrong |
Posted on: November 14th, 2012, 12:45am |
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Posts: 203
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Ken: It;s funny, but I guess we all have dates that are stuck forever in our minds. I probably was not very far from you those 46 years ago.
My platoon provided security for the latterite pit on and off over the months, including New Year's Eve. We never ventured on Nui Ba Den itself, though it was only meters away. We heard activity coming from different areas and altitudes. For a while we had a "Twin 40" anti-aircraft gun leftover forom WW2 that lit the mountainside big time using up ammunition from the same era. I wonder if it did any good.
I'm not sure where we were on 11/13 except it is likely we were being moved willy-nilly here and there by the Light Colonels in the air. What a foolish waste of resources and manpower, not to mention young lives.
I remember them everyday, especially on Memorial Day.
This weekend I tried to think of those of us who came home and are still kicking. |
Jim Armstrong C, HQ, A 2/1 1965-1967 |
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Reply: 15 - 29 |
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joemahoney |
Posted on: November 14th, 2012, 6:23pm |
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Posts: 56
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The Park Service plans to build an underground hall to store all the items collected from the Viet Nam Memorial. Construction is scheduled to start in the spring. The museum/hall will be across Bacon drive, up from the Lincoln Memorial, east of 23rd street and below Constitution Ave.
It is strange but I don’t ever remember guarding the laterite pit. 3/21 had base security in Tay Ninh and handled most of that. As you can see Jim was in A, C and HQ company 2/1 while I was in B company. We did run some ambush patrols out of the Special Forces camp on Nui Ba Den, but we had to stop because the ARVN’s or whatever you called them were very disorganized and could not read a map or be counted on to set up where they said they were going.
Last thing, my friends from the 11 A CAV where able place a wreath at the WALL for Veteran's Day along with about 30 others. |
Joe Mahoney B 2/1 66/67 |
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Reply: 16 - 29 |
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Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 |
Posted on: November 14th, 2012, 8:04pm |
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Posts: 131
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C-4/31 guarded the laterite pit and rode convoy security in the dump trucks once in a while when we first got over, but they may have let the Engineers provide their own security after a while.
My understanding of the underground hall is that it will be an education center with exhibits of material, but the bulk of the material will be stored elsewhere. |
Ken McKenzie C-4/31, 196th LIB, 1965-1967 C-1/5(MECH), 25thID, 1967 |
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Gregory B Peters |
Posted on: November 17th, 2012, 8:57pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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Reply: 18 - 29 |
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Jim Armstrong |
Posted on: November 18th, 2012, 12:32am |
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Posts: 203
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Thanks for posting those links. I tried so many times over the years to get that "ttu" stuff to open, that I forgot to try it with my new computer. It worked! I had seen some of that summary before, and was struck again that two encounters that resulted in three KIA's each from A 2/1 were not mentioned, with "no significant activity" for those dates (1/2/67 and 2/7/67). That kind of error always makes me wonder about the accuracy of the stuff I don't know firsthand. Classified for 12 years then put on the internet after 20 more. Makes research difficult. |
Jim Armstrong C, HQ, A 2/1 1965-1967 |
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Reply: 19 - 29 |
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Larry D Mcknight |
Posted on: November 18th, 2012, 2:14pm |
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Posts: 63
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Jim, I can't remember what operation we were on, but on 2/4/67 we had 3 KIA's from the C Co. 2/1 and 1 from HHC 2/1 and I think 1 from 3/21. None is mention in the sight that Greg posted. It says 5 KHA's on 2/6/67. Maybe there were to seperate operation going on. I might be misreading the report. |
Larry D. Mcknight B Co., HHC S-4 2/1 1965 to 1967 |
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Reply: 20 - 29 |
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Jim Armstrong |
Posted on: November 18th, 2012, 5:18pm |
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Posts: 203
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Larry: I think the 5 KHA's were engineers at th laterite pit after they took over security. I have gotten inquiries about them because of the ones we lost on 2/7. Overall the Honor Roll shows about 90 KIA's in the period at hand. I can't find that many on the ttu webpage. Maybe the whole periiod was not "Fitchburg." I'll bet there others here with memories to fill these in. |
Jim Armstrong C, HQ, A 2/1 1965-1967 |
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Reply: 21 - 29 |
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joemahoney |
Posted on: November 19th, 2012, 6:04pm |
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Posts: 56
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Apparently “no significant activity” does not include our KIA’s. On Dec 21,1966, I witnessed one of the dumbest thing I ever saw in Viet Nam. The Battalion moved from one LZ to another LC with only two (2) choppers. It took hours. We (B company, 3rd platoon) were the last lift out. There were 10 infantry men and a headquarters Captain and his RTO in the last lift. Needless to say, the VC started to mortar us as the Huey’s came in for the last lift. The choppers pulled up and only one of the two came back in for us. Somehow we packed 12 guys in that chopper including our dead or wounded while under fire. He only took us a mile or so and then we got out as he took Jack Beam (KIA), Dennis Shaffer (WIA).and Paul Storer (WIA) back to base. We all agreed we owed that pilot our lives and whoever decided to move a Battalion with only two choppers was an idiot. |
Joe Mahoney B 2/1 66/67 |
Revision History (1 edits) |
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Reply: 22 - 29 |
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Larry D Mcknight |
Posted on: November 19th, 2012, 6:52pm |
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Posts: 63
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Joe, apperently there was a lot of misleading info back then. I always wonder when Dennis Shaffer was wounded. Lost contact with him after I was transfered to HHC. We were good friends. 2/1 must of been on another operation also at this time period. I was in the field up to Feb. 3, don't remember what operation we were on. Sal C. one of the KIA's on the 4th replaced me on the 3rd. |
Larry D. Mcknight B Co., HHC S-4 2/1 1965 to 1967 |
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Reply: 23 - 29 |
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Lloyd Martin C 3-82 68 |
Posted on: November 19th, 2012, 11:01pm |
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Medium Member C 3/82nd Arty
Posts: 48
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[size=8]VA disability backlog has doubled under Obama[/size]http://video.foxnews.com/v/1977072486001/va-disability-backlog-has-doubled-under-obama |
Lloyd Martin Austin, TX C 3/82 Arty FO D 4/31 Feb 68 - Aug 68 XO C 3/82 Aug 68 - Aug 69 |
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Jim Armstrong |
Posted on: November 20th, 2012, 12:58am |
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Posts: 203
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Lloyd: Maybe a new thread for that topic? |
Jim Armstrong C, HQ, A 2/1 1965-1967 |
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Reply: 25 - 29 |
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steve tanner |
Posted on: November 20th, 2012, 2:05am |
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Posts: 20
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At the rock quarry on 2-7-67 B Co. 3/21 1st Ptl. was pulling perimeter duty for the engineers. At about 2:00 o'clock in the morning the men in the bunker at the gate entrance noticed VC coming through the fence. They opened up and their bunker was hit by a RPG. Tim Olson from N.Y. was killed, Roland Foster from Michigan lost both legs and Leland Dave Ritchie form Michigan lost an arm. There were already sappers inside the wire and they blew up two barracks with satchel charges killing a number of engineers. There were tracer rounds going every which way inside the compound so there could have been more casualties but that is the best that i recall. |
Steve Tanner B & D 3/21 66-67 |
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Reply: 26 - 29 |
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Gregory B Peters |
Posted on: November 20th, 2012, 10:21pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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My recolection of the date and the action at the quarry is same as Steve, this was my platoor also, but Steve's memory is better than mine :-) As to the non-kia listings I think Larry and Jim are correct that other movements were happening besides Fitchburg. I do note at the end of the report that we suffered 22 kia and 99wia during this time. Which represents far more than what is specifically mentioned in this report. But it is possible that stupid incidents like what Joe mentioned were simply left out of the reports by the brass. |
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Reply: 27 - 29 |
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Gregory B Peters |
Posted on: November 20th, 2012, 10:39pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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I forgot to add: everyone have a great thanksgiving and set an extra plate for those that didn't make it back, and those that left us after they did. |
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Reply: 28 - 29 |
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Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 |
Posted on: November 24th, 2012, 3:46pm |
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Posts: 131
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Although there is a larger backlog under the Obama administration, the cause is NEW claims. This administration has completed more claims than any other administration, however; the new claims are out numbering the completed claims.
Discussion of this very important topic might be better under the "VA Claims" heading.
From Politifact.com (Nov 2, 2012): http://www.politifact.com/trut.....ministration-claims/
Quoted Text In a campaign document outlining his positions on veterans issues, Obama said he would reduce the backlog by hiring more staff to process benefits requests; he also pledged to convene the nation's veterans groups, employees and managers to improve the training those claims processors receive.
The process of reviewing claims has been the subject of repeated government oversight reports, which inevitably cite long lag times and avoidable errors in rating claims. (Beyond deciding whether a veteran qualifies for a benefit, the processor must assign a rating that determines how big the benefit would be.)
The backlog refers to benefit requests that go unaddressed by a government office within 125 days. Although the Veterans Benefits Administration oversees an array of benefits, the backlog is shorthand for the bureaucratic bottleneck of claims for disability compensation, pensions and compensation for surviving spouses or children of veterans who die because of their military service.
The backlog nearly doubled from roughly 36 percent in summer 2010 to 65 percent in June 2012. In that sense, Obama has failed. The backlog grew after he took office.
Some context though: In the past four years, Veterans Affairs hired more than 2,500 new staff to rate claims and shortened the average time to process a claim by 16 percent since 2008. The backlog worsened because the expanded staff didn't keep pace with increased demand. A decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, new benefits made available to veterans and more medical conditions per veteran have resulted a dramatic increase in claims. The number of claims jumped from 888,000 in 2008 to 1.4 million in 2011.
Obama also promised improved training for staff that review claims. We found instances in 2010 and 2011 when the Veterans Benefits Administration revised its training program. Staff who received the new training seem to work quicker -- a July report from the administration said students of the new program finished more claims per day -- and with better accuracy -- compared with students of the older training model.
We did not find evidence of Obama convening a formal summit with the leaders of veterans groups to establish a new training and management model. However, the Veterans for Foreign Wars informed us that monthly meetings between the executive directors of six national veterans groups do occur, as do regular meetings between those groups and the under secretary for benefits at Veterans Affairs.
The progress on this promise is a mixed bag. Although he made modest improvements, he failed to keep up with the surge of applications. On the most important measurement of this promise -- the claims backlog -- things are worse. We rate this a Promise Broken. |
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Ken McKenzie C-4/31, 196th LIB, 1965-1967 C-1/5(MECH), 25thID, 1967 |
Revision History (5 edits) |
Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 - November 24th, 2012, 3:49pm | Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 - November 24th, 2012, 3:54pm | Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 - November 24th, 2012, 3:55pm | Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 - November 24th, 2012, 3:56pm | Ken McKenzie, C, 4-31 - November 24th, 2012, 3:57pm | | |
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