Under two previous Executive administrations and wars from, father and son. With son and conservative congresses leading the extremely quick abandoning of the missions and those sent to accomplish after 9/11:
The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration
National Announcement and Proclamation Ceremony
Memorial Day at The Wall, May 28, 2012
May 28, 2012 - Vietnam veterans never got the homecoming many feel they deserved. On Monday, a group of veterans, the Department of Defense and others will begin the first of many ceremonies to honor those who served and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War. Events will be planned over the next 13 years, concluding with the fall of Saigon. Many will gather Monday at the Vietnam Memorial Wall for a wreath ceremony, including President Obama.
snip KEYES: He spearheaded the effort to build the memorial wall, and worked with the government on today's event. Scruggs says no president has spoken there since 1993, and he thinks president Obama will have something important to say to veterans today, especially since this commander-in-chief was too young to be a part of the Vietnam era.
SCRUGGS: It's probably even better to have someone who is thanking, almost, his elders for something they did. There's a more humble quality associated with it. Transcript>>>
OIF: Iraq, from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn Sept 1, 2010
December 20 2011 - Ceremony to Retire Iraq Mission Colors on U.S. Soil
The last Soldiers to die in service in OIF-OND at official end to the war and occupation in Iraq
Spc.David Emanuel Hickman 23 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Died of injuries suffered when his patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb in the Kadhimiya neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, on November 14, 2011
1st Lt.Dustin Dale Vincent 25 Mesquite, Texas, USA Battery A, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire in Kirkuk province, Iraq, on November 3, 2011
Though many still haven't come home from our previous wars, Iraq is Really Now Officially Over,All are out!!
There have been 4,804 coalition deaths
4,488 Americans
2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 South Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of January 2, 2012, according to a CNN and iCasulties count.
Graphical breakdown of casualties. At least 32,224 U.S. troops had been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon.
View casualties in the war in Afghanistan
POW/MIA: Afghanistan & Iraq
One U.S. soldier is currently listed as captured or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown as of March 3 2012. The information below reflects the name as Prisoner of War or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown by the Pentagon.
Sgt Bowe R. Bergdahl 23 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Ketchum, Idaho Captured in Paktika province in Afghanistan, on June 30, 2009. The Pentagon declared him Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown on July 1 and his status was changed to Missing-Captured on July 3.
Memorial at the New JPED facility at Dover Air Force Base, Del..OEF: Afghanistan - Pakistan!!
There have been 3,030 coalition deaths -- 1,988 Americans, 32 Australians, 417 Britons, 1 Belgian, 158 Canadians, 5 Czech, 42 Denmark, 25 Netherlands, 9 Estonians, 2 Finn, 82 French, 53 Germans, 7 Hungarian, 46 Italians, 2 Jordan, 3 Latvian, 1 Lithuanian, 10 Norwegians, 35 Poles, 2 Portuguese, 19 Romanians, 1 South Korean, 34 Spaniards, 5 Swedes, 14 Turks, 6 New Zealand, 10 Georgian and 14 NATO/ISAF -- in the war on terror as of June 4, 2012, according to a CNN and iCasulties count. Below are the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. The troops died in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or were part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. At least 16,144 {15,786 up to June 3, 2012} U.S. personnel have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. In addition to the military deaths, 11 U.S. intelligence operatives have died in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt.Alexander G. Povilaitis 47 Dawsonville, Georgia, USA 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade Died of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked with a roadside bomb in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on May 31, 2012
Cpl.Nicholas H. Olivas 20 Fairfield, Ohio, USA C Troop, 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Died when enemy forces attacked his unit with a roadside bomb in Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on May 30, 2012
Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Edward Brazas 26 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA Assigned to Security Detachment, Naval Base Kitsap Died while conducting combat operations in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on May 30, 2012
Capt.John R. Brainard 26 Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, USA 12th Combat Aviation Brigade One of two soldiers killed when their AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter crashed while on patrol west of Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 28, 2012
Chief Warrant Officer 5John C. Pratt 51 Springfield, Virginia, USA 12th Combat Aviation Brigade One of two soldiers killed when their AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter crashed while on patrol west of Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 28, 2012
Sgt.Julian C. Chase 22 Edgewater, Maryland, USA 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 28, 2012
Pfc.Leroy Deronde III 22 Jersey City, New Jersey, USA 125th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division One of two soldiers killed when their unit was attacked by enemy forces in Chak-e Wardak district, Wardak province, Afghanistan, on May 27, 2012
Spc.Tofiga J. Tautolo 23 Wilmington, California, USA 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Died of wounds sustained when his vehicle was attacked with a roadside bomb in Bati Kot, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, on May 27, 2012
Spc.Kedith L. Jacobs 21 Denver, Colorado, USA 125th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division One of two soldiers killed when their unit was attacked by enemy forces in Chak-e Wardak district, Wardak province, Afghanistan, on May 27, 2012
Lance Cpl.Steven G. Sutton 24 Leesburg, Georgia, USA 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Died following a roadside bomb attack during combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2012
Hospitalman Eric D. Warren 23 Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA Navy corpsman assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Died of wounds received in action due to a roadside bomb blast in Sangin district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2012
Capt.Stephen James Healey 29 Cardiff, Wales Commander, Reconnaissance Platoon, 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh Killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb during a mounted patrol in the northern section of Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2012
Spc.Vilmar Galarza Hernandez 21 Salinas, California, USA Company A, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Killed when enemy forces attacked his unit with a roadside bomb in Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on May 26, 2012
Staff Sgt.Roberto Loeza 28 El Paso, Texas, USA 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Killed when enemy forces attacked his unit with indirect fire in Charkh, Logar province, Afghanistan, on May 25, 2012
Pfc.Cale Clyde Miller 23 Overland Park, Kansas, USA Company B, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Died of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with a roadside bomb in Maiwand, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on May 24, 2012
Cpl.Keaton Grant Coffey 22 Boring, Oregon, USA 1st Law Enforcement Battalion, Headquarters Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 24, 2012
2nd Lt.Travis Alan Morgado 25 San Jose, California, USA Company C, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Died of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his patrol with a roadside bomb in the Zhari district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on May 23, 2012
Spc.Arronn David Fields 27 Terre Haute, Indiana, USA 381st Military Police Company, 81st Troop Command, Indiana Army National Guard Died of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket propelled grenades during a mounted patrol in Qal-ah-ye Mirza Jal, Afghanistan, on May 21, 2012
2nd Lt.Tobias Christoph Alexander 30 Lawton, Oklahoma, USA 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment, 214th Fires Brigade, deployed as part of a Security Force Advisory Team to train and mentor Afghanistan's National Security Forces One of two soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with a roadside bomb in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, on May 20, 2012
Petty Officer 1st ClassRyan J. Wilson 26 Shasta, California, USA Assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command headquarters Died of complications associated with a medical condition in Manama, Bahrain, on May 20, 2012
Capt.Jesse Aaron Ozbat 28 Prince George, Virginia, USA Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 214th Fires Brigade, deployed as part of a Security Force Advisory Team to train and mentor Afghanistan's National Security Forces One of two soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with a roadside bomb in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, on May 20, 2012
Spc.Samuel Thomas Watts 20 Wheaton, Illinois, USA Company B, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Died on May 19, 2012, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, of wounds sustained on April 25, 2012, when a roadside bomb detonated near him in the Zhari district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan
Sgt.Michael Joseph Knapp 28 Overland Park, Kansas, USA Battery B, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade One of two soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with indirect fire in Asadabad, Afghanistan, on May 18, 2012
Sgt.JaBraun Steven Knox 23 Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA Battery B, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade One of two soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with indirect fire in Asadabad, Afghanistan, on May 18, 2012
Pfc.Richard Lewis McNulty III 22 Rolla, Missouri, USA Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division One of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle in Bowri Tanah, Khost province, Afghanistan, on May 13, 2012
Sgt.Brian Lloyd Walker 25 Lucerne Valley, California, USA Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division One of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle in Bowri Tanah, Khost province, Afghanistan, on May 13, 2012
Petty Officer 2nd ClassJorge Luis Velasquez 35 Houston, Texas, USA Assigned to Commander, Task Force 56 Died as a result of a non-combat related incident in Manama, Bahrain, on May 12, 2012
Lance Cpl.Lee Thomas Davies 27 Carmarthen, Wales Police Advisory Team, No. 2 Company, 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards One of two British servicemen killed by small-arms fire while providing security for a Police Advisory Team meeting at the local Afghan police headquarters near Patrol Base Attal in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2012
Spc.Alex Hernandez III 21 Round Rock, Texas, USA 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Died after he was found unresponsive in his living quarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2012
Staff Sgt.Israel Paul Nuanes 38 Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA 741st Ordnance Company, 84th Ordnance Battalion, 71st Ordnance Group Died of wounds sustained during an enemy attack with a roadside bomb in Maiwand, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2012
1st Lt.Alejo Rene Thompson 30 Yuma, Arizona, USA Company A, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Died when an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against coalition service members in Bagram, Afghanistan, on May 11, 2012
Cpl.Brent John McCarthy 25 Priorslee, Shropshire, England Royal Air Force military policeman deployed with 174 Provost Company, 3rd Regiment, Royal Military Police One of two British servicemen killed by small-arms fire while providing security for a Police Advisory Team meeting at the local Afghan police headquarters near Patrol Base Attal in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 12, 2012
Sgt.Wade Daniel Wilson 22 Normangee, Texas, USA Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Killed when a Taliban insurgent opened fire on his unit in the Musa Qaleh district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 11, 2012
Sgt.Jacob Michael Schwallie 22 Clarksville, Tennessee, USA C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division One of three soldiers killed when their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle struck a roadside bomb during a patrol in southern Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on May 7, 2012
Pfc.Dustin Dean Gross 19 Jeffersonville, Kentucky, USA C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division One of three soldiers killed when their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle struck a roadside bomb during a patrol in southern Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on May 7, 2012
Spc.Chase Stone Marta 24 Chico, California, USA C Troop, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division One of three soldiers killed when their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle struck a roadside bomb during a patrol in southern Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on May 7, 2012
Staff Sgt.Thomas Kent Fogarty 30 Alameda, California, USA 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Killed when enemy forces attacked his Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle with a roadside bomb in Ahmad Kheyl, Paktia province, Afghanistan, on May 6, 2012
Sgt.John Patrick Huling 25 West Chester, Ohio, USA 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force Huling was killed when he was shot by an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 6, 2012. The individual who opened fire was killed by return fire.
Cpl.Andrew Roberts 32 Middlesbrough, England Operations Squadron, 23 Pioneer Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps One of two British soldiers killed during an indirect fire attack on Forward Operating Base Ouellette in the northern part of Nahr-e Saraj district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 4, 2012
Pvt.Ratu Manasa Silibaravi 32 Fiji Operations Squadron, 23 Pioneer Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps One of two British soldiers killed during an indirect fire attack on Forward Operating Base Ouellette in the northern part of Nahr-e Saraj district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on May 4, 2012
Master Sgt.Gregory Lamont Childs 38 Warren, Arkansas, USA Assigned to Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency Died of a non-combat related illness in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 4, 2012
Staff Sgt.Zachary Hayden Hargrove 32 Wichita, Kansas, USA Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 84th Ordnance Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Died after being found unresponsive in his living quarters at at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on May 3, 2012
2nd Lt.David E. Rylander 23 Stow, Ohio, USA 630th Engineer Company, 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division One of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their unit in Logar province, Afghanistan, on May 2, 2012
Spc.Junot Mevs Legrand Cochilus 34 Charlotte, North Carolina, USA 630th Engineer Company, 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division One of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their unit in Logar province, Afghanistan, on May 2, 2012
Capt.Bruce Kevin Clark 43 Spencerport, New York, USA Company A, Troop Command, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, deployed with 566th Air Support Medical Company Clark died of unknown causes at a forward operating base in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, on May 1, 2012. At the time of his death, Clark's wife was videochatting with him via Skype when her husband suddenly forward. She tried to summon help for him but it took two hours before anyone checked on her husband, she said. Military investigators say they do not suspect foul play in Clark's death.
"You walk into one of our rooms where ... decisions are being made about disabilities for veterans (and) see individuals sitting at a desk with stacks of paper that go up halfway to the ceiling. And as they finish one pile, another pile comes in," - U.S.V.A. Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki, Feb. 10, 2009
"And so what I've been trying to do and what Mrs. Biden and Mrs. Obama and the chairman and his wife - all these folks, are trying to do is to - is to try and get that other 99 percent to - they all say they support the troops, but it's not just enough to say it." - Defense Secretary Robert Gates - 23 June 2011 - PBS News Hour
He found one of his biggest battles was connecting with Americans on the home front. "I was struck at how little they really did understand about what we've been through," Adm. Mike Mullen (retired) October 2, 2011 CBS Sunday Morning
Now a decade and counting added to the previous decades of under funding the VA, while the peoples reps Still try and lay blame on the Agency, after rubber stamping wars and costs of and those represented cheer on these wars! While the wealthy and other investors garner their booty, still from both, and many have the chutz·pa to call themselves more patriotic{?} then others wrapped in those false flags, using false slogans and various cheap symbols of!
The new 'magnetic ribbons', the 'parades' and 'welcome home celebrations', with no demand for sacrifice get same results, but 'parades' only last a few hours on one day! Think 'Desert Storm' and 'Gulf War Syndrome', Ignored till the last couple of years, finally, after the 'Parades'! Have the 'Welcome Home Parades' but at each the one word that should be spoke and on the minds of All, 'Sacrifice', Demand It!
VA is seeking to extend the date to Dec. 31, 2018 for medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses and undiagnosed illness to have appeared in Gulf War Veterans. Medically unexplained chronic symptoms include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, and respiratory disorders: Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses: Medically Unexplained Chronic Multisymptom Illnesses.
Series Includes Army Women's Hall of Fame Inductees -- Army Women Who Served in Vietnam
WASHINGTON, June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army Women's Foundation announced the June 4th launch of a podcast series to help servicewomen and veterans returning home from deployment with real advice from leaders and veterans. The podcasts will be available starting at 12:00 a.m. EDT for free viewing and download from Podcast - AWFDN. A schedule of podcasts is below.
Monday, June 4: Symposium Panel One, "Beyond the Battlefield: Coming Home"Tuesday, June 5: Symposium Panel Two, "Beyond the Battlefield: Back to Work" and The State of Women Veterans Today by LTG Horoho
Wednesday, June 6: Hall of Fame Luncheon Part I and a Tribute Speech by MG Janet Cobb
Thursday, June 7: Hall of Fame Luncheon Part II and Inductee Remarks
During March, military leaders, government officials, academics, and corporate and non-profit leaders assembled in Washington, D.C. with one question: how do we use our collective knowledge and resources to help servicewomen successfully transition back into their homes, jobs, and communities? This question was the focus of Foundation's 4th Annual Army Women in Transition Symposium & Hall of Fame Luncheon. read more>>>
Recording Casualties: Victims of Armed Conflict Worldwide
This programme draws on the principles of human security to develop and enhance the technical and institutional capacity, identify and consolidate the legal requirements, and build the political will to record details of every single victim of armed conflict worldwide. The programme incorporates research into emerging good practice and existing legal frameworks, the development and promotion of clearer legal and more effective regulatory instruments, and the creation and support of advocacy networks. visit site for updated reports
Every Casualty.org: New Org Website Launched On Casualty Recording The one-stop source for information on conflict's casualties worldwide and the organisations that record them
Exact Count of Civilian Casualties may never be known, as is the case in every conflict, especially an Invasion by another Country. For it is the Innocent Civilians and those Defending their Countries,of which All would be counted if this country, the U.S., were ever invaded, who suffer the most, during and long after!
The Rand Corporation Terrorism Report the press release here, you can get the full document here or a summary of the research brief here
97 percent {now more} of U.S. deaths in Iraq have occurred after George W. Bush declared an end to "major combat."
May 1, 2003 - "Mission Accomplished!" After leaving the Main Mission in Afghanistan, as to 9/11, to invade and occupy Iraq, which created the rise in the regional insurgents fighting in Afghanistan since!
"How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me -- unless you don't count American soldiers as Americans." How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq Matthew Alexander who is writing under a pseudonym for security reasons
"Torture is the tool of the lazy, the stupid, and the pseudo-tough. It's also perhaps the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists have." Major General Paul Eaton
The personal letters of US Army Sergeant Steve Flaherty, who was killed in action in 1969, rest on a tabel at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hanoi on June 4, 2012. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Hanoi on June 3 after visiting the former port at Cam Ranh Bay used by US forces in the Vietnam War in a highly symbolic trip that reflects Washington's efforts to deepen ties with its former enemy as it seeks to counter China's growing power.
4 June 2012 - HANOI, Vietnam — On the day he died more than 40 years ago, Army Sgt. Steve Flaherty carried with him a stack of letters he’d written but not yet sent to loved ones back home.
In one, addressed to his mother, he grimly detailed the brutal battle he was fighting just before his death.
“We couldn’t retrieve the bodies of our men or ruck sacks and when we brought air strikes, jets dropped napalm and explosives that destroyed everything that was there,” he wrote.
After he was killed on March 25, 1969, the letters were taken from him and used as propaganda by Vietnamese forces during the war. Now, Flaherty’s family will finally receive his last written words.
Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Gen. Phung Quang Thanh gave the letters — along with two other sets of letters that may have belonged to other American servicemembers — to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday. In return, Panetta presented the diary of a Vietnamese soldier, which had been taken after a firefight in March 1966 by an American Marine.
The historic exchange of documents at the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense underscores how the relationship between the two countries has progressed in the 17 years since the normalization of diplomatic relations, said George Little, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.
“It is a reflection of the priority the United States places on people-to-people ties with Vietnam,” Little said. read more>>>
The following are excerpts, provided by the Defense Department, come from the letters taken from Army Sgt. Steve Flaherty, of Columbia, S.C., when he was killed in Vietnam on March 25, 1969.
Letter to “Betty”
“I’m sorry for not writing so long but we have been in a fierce fight with N.V.A. We took in lots of casualties and death. It has been trying days for me and my men. We dragged more bodies of dead and wounded than I can ever want to forget.”“Thank you for your sweet card. It made my miserable day a much better one but I don’t think I will ever forget the bloody fight we are having.”
“RPG rockets and machine guns really tore my rucksack.”
“I felt bullets going past me. I have never been so scared in my life. Well I better close for now before we go in again to take that hill.”
Letter to “Mother”
“We couldn’t retrieve the bodies of our men or ruck sacks and when we brought air strikes, jets dropped napalm and explosives that destroyed everything that was there.”“I definitely will take R&R, I don’t care where so long as I get a rest, which I need so badly, soon. I’ll let you know exact date.”
“If Dad calls, tell him I got too close to being dead but I’m O.K. I was real lucky. I’ll write again soon.”
Letter to “Mom” read more>>>
June 04, 2012 - Background Information on the ArtifactsSergeant Flaherty Letters
In March 1969, U.S. Army Sergeant Steve Flaherty of Columbia, South Carolina was killed in action in northern South Vietnam while assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. Vietnamese forces took Flaherty’s letters and used excerpts for propaganda broadcasts during the war. At that time, Vietnamese Senior Colonel Nguyen Phu Dat retained the letters and following the war, contemplated how to return them to Flaherty’s family. Decades later, Phu Dat referenced the letters in an August 2011 Vietnamese online publication about documents kept from the war years.In early 2012, Robert Destatte, a retired Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office employee, found the online publication referencing the letters and brought the issue to the attention of the Department of Defense. The Department of State and the Department of Defense began work with the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) to assist in returning the letters to the Flaherty family.
Now that Secretary Panetta has received the letters from the Vietnamese government, the Office of the Secretary of Defense will work with the United States Army Casualty office to present the letters to the surviving family.
Vu Ðình Ðoàn Diary
In March 1966, 1st platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, was engaged in a firefight near Quang Ngai during Operation Indiana. Following the battle, Robert “Ira” Frazure of Walla Walla Washington saw a small red diary on the chest of Vu Ðình Ðoàn, a Vietnamese soldier who was found killed in a machine gun pit. Frazure took the diary and brought it back to the United States. In November 1966, Frazure was discharged from the Marine Corps following three years of service.Also in March 1966, a friend of Frazure, Gary E. Scooter was killed in action during Operation Utah. Decades later, Frazure was introduced to Scooter’s sister Marge who was conducting research for a book about Scooter’s life and service in the Marine Corps. Frazure asked Marge for her help to return the diary to the family of Vu Ðình Ðoàn. In February 2012, Marge Scooter brought the diary to the PBS television program History Detectives to research and find the Vu Ðình Ðoàn family. Last month, after finding the family, History Detectives asked the Department of State and the Department of Defense to help return the diary to the Vietnamese government so it can be returned to the Vu Ðình Ðoàn family.
HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military and Coalition Forces Killed in Action, Iraq & Afghanistan/Pakistan from 2001 to September 2012 - My Honor Rolls, and more, to Share
National World War II Memorial
National Korean War Memorial
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial - "The Wall"
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial
Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries
Arlington National Cemetery
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