vanya189's photostream

I'm a 64 yr old male in New Hampshire, USA. I am proud to be a Vietnam Veteran (1970-1971), but I'm a vet who has come to abhore all wars for the trauma and pain they cause both sides in the conflict. Unfortunately, due to human nature wars will be with us forever. There is never a good war or a just war.

My son is also a Veteran who was proud to serve his country and now he's totally disabled from a brain injury and is not available to be a dad to his three children. I try to be a surrogate, but I'm just the grandfather, lucky enough to have three great grandkids who love their dad even with his disabilities.

War leaves indelible imprints on your psyche that never diminish with time. Even now 39 years later dreams are still vivid and scenes and flashbacks are like they just occured--actually gives me shivers typing that just thinking of incidents.

As in life, war does have its share of humor, and as long as you focus on the humor and silliness of soldiers and their antics to deal with boredom, isolations and lonliness, you can laugh about those experiences and hope they overshadow the bad ones.

I flew with the 189th AHC "Ghostriders" based at Camp Holloway, Pleiku, in the Central Highlands. We supported ARVNs in II Corps, and both Special Forces SOG (Studies and Observation Group) teams out of Nha Trang, Kontum operating at CCC (Command and Control Central), and MACV SOG based out of Saigon. We inserted SF teams and R/R (radio relay) teams into northeast Cambodia and southeast Laos. This is some of the most gorgeous terrain in the world to fly over, but is still romote and isolated and populated by the various tribes of Montagnards (Jarai, Rhade and B'hnar). The Montagnards are a wonderful peole living simple lives still doing slash and burn agriculture in the 20th century, guess they still do in the 21st century.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zchSnPcEbU&feature=related

Recently, my company clerk, the very gifted writer Frank Mosco published his war memoir "The Last Ghostrider" and it accurately reflects events of his enlistment in the Army and his time in Vietnam with The Ghsotriders. It's a histroical novel, real events and real people, but names are changes to protect the guilty--and probably prevent lawsuits. It's available on Amazon.com, please buy his book if you have any interest in this theater of war.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O8wpRuzfdk&NR=1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq3bb-zV1gk