# Vietnam Vets -- Where Are They Now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 29, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474 "2011-08-29T05:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/41 "2014-02-27T21:22:51Z")
> [@Jade66](#): > > When the military was desegregated, NCO’s weren’t even required to salute black military officers but that to changed. A slow process perhaps, but none the less it will hapen. Interracial marriages faced the same kind of remarks. I’m African American and a fifth generation military veteran so I’m pretty well-versed on the history of racism in the US military. Somewhat different with LGBT as people only know that you are gay or bisexual if you tell them. It’s not as if you can be a “stealth” Black military member. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/42 "2014-02-27T21:50:57Z")
My husband (69 now) enlisted in 1962, Navy, out in 1965. He has a scar on his butt from when the seaplane he was on was shot down. That’s all he’ll talk about. Except for “mold” in his ears, something about being lost in the bush for several days/weeks after that happened. He’ll talk about R&R in Iwakuni, Japan though. 🙂 He has Type II diabetes and high blood pressure, but other than that, he’s okay. Works part-time, is pretty active for an old fart. His vet friends are doing well – the ones he’s kept track of. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/43 "2014-02-27T22:11:31Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > I don’t think “combat fatigue” was taken all that seriously; the Wikipedia article about [Charles Kuhl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kuhl) indicates that Gen. Patton and at least one division commander, Gen. Clarence Heubner, refused to see it as more than “malingering”. (The article does note that there were calls for Patton’s resignation over the matter, and that Eisenhower forced him to apologize.) > > However, it’s only been relatively recently that the military/VA have come to see PTSD as the serious problem it is, but the military culture has a long way to go before it will truly accept that servicemembers with PTSD really do need help; there is no “man up and deal.” They took it seriously enough that after Patton slapped the soldier, they had a member of the family (psychiatrist) jump on a plane and fly from Southern Italy to Northern Italy. Sadly, that movement resulted in his death from a plane crash. His son suffers from some PTSD from Vietnam, though retired as a successful physician. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/44 "2014-02-27T22:50:45Z")
I spent 1963 in Vietnam -ASA - 3RD RRU UNIT. The first military guy killed there - James Davis was one of our guys - Dec 22 1961 as I recall. One of my drinking buddies (Glover) was killed soon after I got back to the states. I still think about him often. I am doing good. Got a BSEE with the aid of the GI bill. Retired in 2002 and with my wife spent 11 years living in a motor home seeing the country. Snow bird now with a home in western CO. ---
**Author:** ![Jade66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jade66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jade66)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/45 "2014-02-27T23:33:44Z")
> [@Diver](#): > > I spent 1963 in Vietnam -ASA - 3RD RRU UNIT. > The first military guy killed there - James Davis was one of our guys - Dec 22 1961 as I recall. One of my drinking buddies (Glover) was killed soon after I got back to the states. I still think about him often. > > I am doing good. Got a BSEE with the aid of the GI bill. > Retired in 2002 and with my wife spent 11 years living in a motor home seeing the country. Snow bird now with a home in western CO. Damned, I envy you seeing the country and living in a Motor home, been a lifelong dream of mine but it’s beginning to look like it will be just another one of those impossible pipe dreams ---
**Author:** ![Jade66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jade66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jade66)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/46 "2014-02-27T23:38:47Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > They took it seriously enough that after Patton slapped the soldier, they had a member of the family (psychiatrist) jump on a plane and fly from Southern Italy to Northern Italy. Sadly, that movement resulted in his death from a plane crash. > > His son suffers from some PTSD from Vietnam, though retired as a successful physician. Don’t know if there is any truth to it or not, but here’s you a link the assignation of General George S Patton. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3869117/General-George-S.-Patton-was-assassinated-to-silence-his-criticism-of-allied-war-leaders-claims-new-book.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3869117/General-George-S.-Patton-was-assassinated-to-silence-his-criticism-of-allied-war-leaders-claims-new-book.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jade66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jade66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jade66)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/47 "2014-02-27T23:47:21Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > I’m African American and a fifth generation military veteran so I’m pretty well-versed on the history of racism in the US military. Somewhat different with LGBT as people only know that you are gay or bisexual if you tell them. > > It’s not as if you can be a “stealth” Black military member. That reminds me of a line an black former serviceman said on the old showtime series Brothers “I never told them I was black either, but somehow they always found out” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/48 "2014-02-28T05:36:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > This guy seems to be doing OK: [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/203657.htm](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/203657.htm)… Oh, and this guy, too: [Chuck Hagel \> U.S. Department of Defense \> Biographies](http://www.defense.gov/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=365) ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/49 "2014-02-28T10:15:30Z")
I used to exchange with WW2 vets in a military forum. I guess that membership is dwindling fast. One told me how they fought using bolt-action M-1903’s as late as 1943 and they didn’t trust the Garand at first. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/50 "2014-02-28T12:03:28Z")
My father-in-law was career Army infantry and did two tours in Vietnam (or, shall we say, the Vietnam environs). He’s doing fine at 75 - summers in Nebraska, winters in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/51 "2014-02-28T15:37:49Z")
> [@Jade66](#): > > Damned, I envy you seeing the country and living in a Motor home, been a lifelong dream of mine but it’s beginning to look like it will be just another one of those impossible pipe dreams It was a wonderful eleven years. I bet you would enjoy it also. Hope it works out for you somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/52 "2014-02-28T18:06:58Z")
My father in law. Was on a copter when his CO asked if they could switch places so the CO could take a photo. A few seconds after switching a round came through the bottom of the copter and killed the CO. I have never heard him talk about the war. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/53 "2014-03-09T17:34:12Z")
Update on Dad: VA ruled him 90% disabled thanks to extensive Agent Orange exposure (We learned that what he thought was kerosene to wash the flightline down was half kerosene, half Agent Orange), resulting prostate cancer, and severe PTSD. He never realized it was there at all, excepting the odd Really Bad Night. I knew it was there, but eh, you’re used to what you grow up with, you know? The vertebrae damage was not involved in the ruling at all. He still doesn’t talk about the non-leave times much, except that, for an Air Force Captain he saw a lot of action on the ground, and I know some of why. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/54 "2014-03-09T17:52:54Z")
Mr. Kite is standing in a flag line today as a member of the Patriot Guard at the funeral of our latest MN soldier killed in Afghanistan. His two younger brothers who served in the Navy both died untimely deaths by cancer - one in the jaw and the other in the brain. The elder of the two received serious back injuries while serving on the aircraft carrier. He was never able to obtain sufficient health services for them. I know of a few cases of total life disintegration with chemical dependency and mental health problems and subsequent suicide. And I know a few examples of people who were able to suffer serious damage and through hard work and help put themselves back together again. I suppose the majority fall somewhere in between. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/55 "2014-03-10T05:53:18Z")
I’m still here and just short of 67. I’ve been 100% for about 12 years. When I finally broke down and went to the VA they sent me to the psychiatrist. The second question they asked (after asking if I was having suicidal thoughts, which was why I was there) was if I had intrusive thoughts. I figured this meant hallucinations or some such, so I said no. It wasn’t until several visits had gone by that I realized that watching Kimo Peliholani die 4-500 times a day wasn’t right. I was an accountant and for the last couple of years every time there was stress I’d start seeing it and couldn’t make it stop. Couldn’t sleep. Through a lot of effort I trained myself to just lay there on the theory that if I couldn’t sleep at least I could rest. Did that for years. ---
**Author:** ![catflea12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@catflea12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catflea12)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474/56 "2014-03-11T10:30:59Z")
I am sitting at my computer in darkest Nebraska. I was only in Vietnam for a few hours right before the country fell in April of 1975, on a medevac. The war was fatal for my husband, he didn’t die there, Agent Orange killed him 20+years later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vietnam-vets-where-are-they-now/594474.md?page=2)