stationed in germany during vietnam war

As the threat of imminent invasion receded in the late 1950s, U.S. Army Engineers continued to build and maintain facilities that supported American and NATO combat power and housed and supported U.S. forces and their families, now permanently stationed in West Germany. You made a deal in Saigon, and the car arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, said Lomperis, who bought himself a $30 radio cassette player during the war, brought it home and kept it until about 2000. Even as the war drew down in 1975 and early 1976, the pressure was intense as huge numbers of men came home with addictions and injuries too horrible to really describe, Thornton said. Since his older two brothers were already serving in Vietnam he was not allowed to go. Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Army Staff Medal First Class and is the author of four books about Vietnam including The War Everyone Lost and Won.. The Ramstein base is especially significant, since it is also headquarters of the United States Air Forces in Europe. The U.S. has had personnel stationed in Germany and South Korea, two of its military allies, for several decades, yet the number of active-duty troops in each country is at a modern low. My middle brother died five years ago from extended PTSD and the ravages of the drug addiction he endured while trying to cope with his memories from Vietnam. For website corrections, write to hqwebmaster@usace.army.mil. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where they have been for the past 40 years. File a claim online. He remembers his commanding officer Abrams as a political genius who turned the war around.. Those recordings were lost for decades, until a collector discovered an East of Underground LP in 1997. This was because they had relatives (brothers) already serving in Vietnam. The high rate may have been attributed to our being an Infantry MOS, but the only way you didn't go to Vietnam was because of the above reasons. In the early years, dances were held on the streets of Berlin in summer months and in winter, the US Army organized Christmas parties for local children. While having a positive attitude about any PCS is important, its equally important to have realistic expectations. I can only speak from my own experiences. Its kind of like playing goalie for a soccer team. One colonel joked, If we ever really got attacked, the V.C. I talked to many men who felt sheepish that they didnt have those (combat) stories to share, Lair said. I personally met over the years quite a few guys in my neighborhood that enlisted in the Army, 3 years like you said, interesting thing was that not one served in South Vietnam, even up to two duty station changes, in example serving in CONUS then Panama, etc, I recall one guy I met in a bar who enlisted for 3 1967-70, an Ordnance guy, said he served his whole three years after Basic (Bliss) and AIT (Aberdeen) as wheeled vehicle mechanic at West Point, you know in the regular army component at the academy. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. Pew Research Center From the end of World War II until the end of the war in Southeast Asia, the Army component command in Germany, the U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR), managed military construction in the theater with its own Engineer organizations. "All the branches of the armed services have always included music as part of their mission. When we got home, everybody was the same, said Lomperis, a Saigon warrior who served in a support capacity at MACV (U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), also known as mafia HQ or Pentagon East.. You would think (serving in Germany) would be a great duty, but it wasnt.. Abook describes and analyzes the important Engineer effort in Europe. He wasn't wealthy or connected in anyway and he also had an Infantry MOS and he was one of three soldiers out of his basic training platoon that went to the ROK. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. He never carried a gun because if he was shot, the enemy soldier could have claimed it was self-defense, he said. Back at home over the decades, veterans themselves may have helped camouflage the roles they played during the war. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. "I met the singers and the other players and we got together and played, and it just kind of all meshed together.". The rule was to always go out in groups of two or three, but I often went by myself unarmed. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, Germany will remain strategically important for the US. WebThe entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. The big problem was that Saigon was Sodom and Gomorrah. We had each other, and we understood it takes so much honor to serve during the tough times. would have to use the scheduled bus service to get around the base, Lair wrote in Armed with Abundance.. Arriving in West Germany, was a shocking experience for the new Army recruit. 4) The Alps Swiss, German or French. Out of our entire class I believe two, maybe three guys got orders for Korea. Today, he cautions people not to draw quick lessons from the war. At least we all went to the same unit, one guy and I went through basic together. Still, a ration card would allow personnel to buy $2,000 to $3,000 worth of goods, she said. Vietnam At the end of the Vietnam War, the United States adopted a volunteer Army, but declining military expenditures made it difficult to keep the American forces combat ready and maintain the quality of life for soldiers and their families. By Once we got our orders, the guy Just below me went to Germany. With two sons already in the war, they felt I should not go. The Federal Republic of Germany became an important strategic location during the Cold War. The guys with the gear in the rear. Boy, I thought I had it made, Shkurti said with a small laugh. The book became the first volume in aCenter of Military History series, U.S. Army in the Cold War. Reflecting back, Im more skeptical whether a war of choice can help defend a country in the long run. Adopting a variety of organizational arrangements, including an engineer command from 1966 to 1974, USAREUR and its engineers attempted to find the most efficient and effective means to use the scarce resources available for construction and maintenance. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force used C-123 aircraft to spray Agent Orange to clear jungles that provided enemy cover in Vietnam. Hitt says he had already been in one Army band by the time he joined the group. So many popular movies feature the combat side of war ground combat or maybe the air war. Their story got eliminated. Its important for people to know they exist. It was a huge fire. I thought, hot dog, going to go relic hunting. It was painful to even be around them. Regardless of how we each served, part of our soul was left in that place with those who never came back alive, and with those who suffered and died after, and we should be honored for our collective loss if for no other reason. As my husband likes to preach: expectation management.. You could watch The Beverly Hillbillies, Appy said. They gave up their lives back home. He says it was completely random, some bodies had to go to 7th Army and his lucky number came up. Well, one. No matter where veterans served in Vietnam, they were a close witness to danger. They wore fatigues and carried M16s. The chow halls tried to replicate moms home cooking with menus of grilled hamburgers, roast beef with gravy, French-fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, buttered corn and asparagus, ice cream, vanilla pudding and cherry pie, Lair said. According to the report, from 1972 to 1982, approximately 1,500 to 2,100 Air Force Reserve personnel trained and worked on C-123 aircraft that previously had been used to spray herbicides, including Agent Orange, in Vietnam. He now is an adjunct professor in the John Glenn College of Public Service. The experience that most people likely associate with Vietnam is the horror and deprivation of war, so its ironic that that wasnt the real experience of most Vietnam veterans, Lair said. At the end of his service, Shkurti was an executive officer with the 6th Armored Cavalry at Fort Meade, Maryland. In the late 65 through 1966, the Army Divisions outside of Vietnam, specifically CONUS and West Germany were hemorrhaging personnel for service in South Vietnam, these being primarily if not exclusively volunteers, these numbers had to be made good. The guys with the beer with hot food and hot showers, Appy said. "I was shocked when I found that out myself, but it kind of makes sense," Hollander tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered. Additionally, not all Vietnam-era veterans served in-country. Don't forget Panama and Alaska, Alaska itself in that time period had two Infantry Brigades separate stationed there. Those aircraft were used for military airlift, medical transport, and cargo transport operations in the United States and internationally. In response to this fear, the United States deployed large forces to West Germany. Upon graduating they lined us and announced that if your last name started with A through J your orders were Germany and K through Z your orders were Vietnam. She served me milk and cookies, and we have been together now for 44 years, Thornton said. Instead of breaking them up, Army brass sent them on tour. Over 220 others have already been closed, mostly following the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. At least in our case. Thornton returned to school later in life and is now finishing his doctorate in business administration in the field of cross-cultural competency and conflict management. When I left Korea, the first thing I did when I got to Germany was to find Special Services, which happened to be right next to my barracks," Hitt recalls. Soldiers bought goods with their ration cards, which were punched when purchases were made, Lair said.

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