Veteran Angels

Davis Zilli’s post made me think of something. When I was in Vietnam I was serving my country and honoring its flag. My brothers were of different backgrounds and different races and different religions. But there was no race separation. There was no religious separation. Brotherhood and God and Country bound us close enough to be willing to die for one another. We were Americans. One Nation under God. See the difference today. That’s the prayer I have. To bring us together as one nation, under God. Just as The Founders saw it.

To vote for Veteran Angels go to Clearviewfcu on Facebook, like the page, then go to the link: https-//bit.ly/32NNBY3 And like our video. We are way behind on day 1. I think we can do better than that. Remember, your efforts could win a donation that would feed several hundred Veterans at a banquet with a speaker about dealing with the traumas of combat and at no cost to the veteran. Thanks.

I have a car loan through Clearview Federal Credit Union. They invited me to enter a $5K contest for a donation to my favorite charity. How could I pass that up? Veteran Angels, a 501(c)(3) that I formed to help Veterans to deal with the traumas of combat would be the beneficiary should I be chosen. I had to submit a 1 minute video of why my favorite charity should receive this donation. I have been notified that mine is one of the finalists for consideration. Now I need... to get my friends to like Clearview’s Facebook page and, beginning Monday, August 10 and until August 24, vote for Veteran Angels to win the donation. You can vote every day but only once per day. We could use your support. The video, my first selfie video, is as follows. Please support our organization. Thank you. And share your post as often as possible. Thank you.

Happy 4th of July. Thank you to all Veterans who have sacrificed so much so we could be free. Now is the time, however, for all good men and all good women to come to the aid of our country. Remember that one from school days? Well, it’s here and for real. Our freedom is at risk. We gained our freedom in 1776 from the oppression of a wicked king. Our forefathers had enough of taxation, unwanted regulations from a far away dictator who had no concept of the reality of livin...g in the new world, and figurative leadership without authority to choose and shape our own destiny. Are we at that point again. YES WE ARE. There is a movement in this country to by-pass our constitution, to deny the rights in the Bill of Rights, to deny us the right to defense ourselves from enemies of the state both foreign AND domestic, to open our borders to friends and enemies alike to make us vulnerable to any wicked empire that wants to control us, to remove the protection of the police from us so we can’t begin to oppose any evil desires others might have with us, to redistribute wealth and property to all without worry of earning, to replace the rule of law with the whim of the wicked. Really, must I go on? I can, but I have other things to do. Our country is in peril. Our freedoms are at stake. We need to wake up and see what’s coming. We must act now, just as our forefathers acted to achieve our freedom we must act to preserve it. I am confident all Veterans are prepared to act if needed. What about the rest of you? We must put an end to the destruction of our country. The enemy is the whackos in Congress, not all, but enough. They are secretly led by someone, probably Soros, and he is led by someone, maybe China, Russia, North Korea, maybe some evil combination. The time is near. The boiling point could be the November elections. violence is already happening. Somebody needs to lead. I hope it never comes to that, but if it does, I am ready to lead whoever will follow. God bless the United States. See more

I often get asked what’s the best movie on Vietnam (war)? I usually have to think then I pick one. Today I saw the best. Last Full Measure. It never came to my town but I heard about it and finally got it on Netflix for around $5. I highly recommend it. True story. Will bring tears. But real.

This is the plaque marking the Veterans section of Westmoreland Memorial Park. I have a reservation at the top of the hill overlooking all my troops. It’s Memorial Day. Another long weekend off. Get the flags out, tap the beer, and light the grill. Put on some music and entertain and have fun. That’s what Memorial Day is for most Americans. For Veterans and their families and loved ones, it’s a day of remembrance and paying homage to those who have given the ultimate... sacrifice to keep this nation free and great. For me, particularly, I always remember the 30 men, very young men, who served under my command in Vietnam. A year earlier I was playing football and wrestling for West Point. 14 months later I was leading 30 some kids in combat. I never lost one. We prayed together before each mission. I had them write me letters to tell about themselves so I could get to know them. I still have those letters. I helped several write letters to their wives because they didn’t know what to say. Me, who didn’t have a girlfriend since high school. But I was their leader and they respected me. One month after I moved to a job at Battalion, the 2LT who took over my platoon (Bill Callahan) was killed in an ambush along with half of my men. That was March 3, 1967. (I was 23). They were mostly 18-20. On April 8, 1967, the rest of my platoon and their new LT (Al Guyer), walked into an ambush and were killed. I will never forget them. Nor will I ever forget Bob Arvin, the commanding cadet of my class at West Point, my wrestling teammate, who came to see me on August 14, 1967, just the day before I was to return home. Bob was an advisor of Vietnamese paratroopers, and he was scrounging for ammunition to fight the battle. I gave him all he could haul in a Jeep. He died two months later in combat. Why would the top man in my West Point class not have enough ammo to fight the battle? And my roommate, my brother who I loved and went through 4 years with at West Point, was on patrol one day and came to a stream that had odd colored water, orange. Later, after recovering from a leg lost to a booby trap, Jack Terry began his demise from the effects of Agent Orange. You, know, that poison that some science whiz thought would be good to dump on us to defoil the jungle so we could see the enemy. So many were affected and died from that poison. I’ll never forget Jack and I’ll never forgive the decision to use Agent Orange. Obviously, I can’t name all of my friends who perished in that war, but I will never forget any of them.I honor them every Memorial Day and often during the year. See more