Re; Finding The Fakes Among The Heroes

[Bonzai]

I finally read all the way through this thread...*whew*

I disagree with the Airborne commands though. Before jumps, I would nap until I heard "10 minutes" B)

But never having made a combat jump, I don't know if I would nap in that situation :P

Edited August 6, 2009 by Bonzai

[Commander Bob]

Napping before you jumped out of a plane. I can picture that. LOL Way to go Bonzai... I always wanted to try jumping out of a plane. Think I still have a chance???

[sgmdae]

Bonsai is correct, there was a 20 minute, 10 Minute and 6 minute, many paratrooper would nap, it was very exhausting prepare for a jump and a mission that followed,

Commander, yes you can jump, go to free fall place and a Tandem jump, you will love it

Airborne

[Berta]

Unfortunately there are wannabee widows of vets too.

I think I have met them all!

I don't mean widows who are common law spouses recognized this way by the VA- with valid claims-

I mean the ones who definitely want something from VA that no regulation provides for them at all.

One widow referred to me by a vet org married a vet while he was in hospital and he died a few months later.She had not been married to him long enough to be considered surviving spouse and they didn't live in a common law state.She threatened to commit suicide if I didn't get her some money from the VA right away.

She thought the comp would still come monthly to her -after he died.

When we get checks that are tax free and come every month- from the VA and/or SSA-we all look pretty cute to some people out there who have ulterior motives...

Then again I helped a vet who was in the VA PTSD inhouse program with my husband.Many of the vets felt they had a wannabee in their midst.

It took me a year or more to realize this was the same one.

The VA denied him the 100% inhouse comp and not a single stressor he had (he listed plenty) could be proven.

But I learned a lot from that experience.If a stressful event occurs, there are ways to prove it.

[MikeR]

Commander Bob,

You are absolutely right about the wanna be's. Like you I am very careful about folks who claim to be Vets. Especially Viet Nam Vets. I've had so many jerks come up to me and talk about being in secret units that "they'd have to kill me if they told me". However, they couldn't tell me where they took basic, what their MOS was or what unit they were assigned to in the Army.

I spent 20 plus years in combat boots either in Armor or Aviation, and I never saw a unit (other than Delta or the old Phoenix program) that was in black ops. Especially one that took civilians straight off the street and turn them into super duper ninji killing machines without benefit of any basic training and AIT.

I get so damn mad that I just want to grab them and kick their a**. Instead I usually expose these worthless creatures of dung for what they are and enjoy their dismay at being exposed as a fraud in front of a crowd. Heroes my a**. These pathetic, slimey, worthless POS do dishonor to our brothers and sisters who gave their lives for our country.

Excuse me--I just noticed that I am slobbering, my right eye is twitching, veins have protruding from my forehead and I have inadvertently chewed through my desk. Time to go take one of those little pills those nice people down at VA tell me to take for my anger management problem.

Cav

Cav,

I met a former Army ASA who was legit, and he could tell me unit, times, etc. I used to work with Doc Donovan retired Army Ranger who spent 5 years in Vietnam in SF as Medic. He spent the next 25 with 1/75th Ranger Regt, and he would be in a bar and guys would pop off about being Green Berets in Nam when they may have been in the 173rd. He would ask them where they were point blank. His comment to these guys were, look be proud of your service in Vietnam. I can't imagine how he would respond to the fakes. I had seen him pissed, so all I can say is that it would be ugly.

last I heard he was over in Kosovo helping those people.

Mike

[john999]

The Perfume River runs around Hue. It must have been an exotic and beautiful place. I was never there, but just the name "Perfume River" conjures up some images of Vietnam in my mind. I was down south not to far from the Rung Sat. I think they used to do B52 raids in the Rung Sat sometimes because I was about 10 miles away and it like an earthquake. Vietnam is one of the most beautiful countries on earth especially before the bombing. The 9th Infantry used to go into the Rung Sat. It was a vast swamp. The VC went to ground there so close to Saigon. It was just 25 miles S.E. of Saigon. Utube has a film of troops in the Rung Sat crossing streams up to their noses in water.