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stationed in germany during vietnam war

    stationed in germany during vietnam war

    The war changed and dealt cruelty to many families, not just mine, but I have seen the sadness in my fathers eyes, and we both know what is there, and what is missing.. File a claim online. Dave. Some Air Force Reservists who were crew members on C-123 Provider aircraft, formerly used to spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, have raised health concerns about exposure to residual amounts of herbicides on plane surfaces. You could watch The Beverly Hillbillies, Appy said. WebThe Vietnam War exposed this problematic dimension in the U.S.-German relationship most dramatically. Ukrainian soldiers find remains of German WWII soldiers, LGBTQ+ rights situation at home drives young Slovaks abroad, Remembering the horrors of Colonia Dignidad in Chile. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. Germany will remain strategically important for the US. An official website of the United States government, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website, About the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website, Historical Vignette 105 - Engineers Played an Important Role in Europe During the Cold War, Deactivated Nuclear Power Plant Program (DNPPP), Regional Environmental and Energy Offices REEOs, Industry Information Re: COVID-19 Support, Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity, G-1 Reserve Component Augmentation, Office of Human Resources Directorate, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. The stress of military life was constant. Reflecting back, Im more skeptical whether a war of choice can help defend a country in the long run. After discharge in 1976, Thornton took his 4-year-old daughter and pregnant wife home to her family and used the GI Bill to earn an a degree in allied health sciences from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Some 20 years later, US President George W. Bush went to war with Iraq over its alleged program to develop weapons of mass destruction. I know that was very dependent upon where you called home, but that was my reality, Thornton said. Based on the HMD report, VA has decided to acknowledge exposure to Agent Orange for personnel whose military service involved regular contact with the contaminated C-123 aircraft. Given the popular conception that being drafted during Vietnam was a guaranteed ticket to the combat zone, Ive always found it amazing how many of the people I know who served in the Army or USMC during the Vietnam War never actually went to Vietnam. American expenditures on construction in Europe declined sharply. Because he was one of the last there in that formation and those three went to the ROK. You had no say in what your MOS would be. It was a game of cat and mouse that almost turned deadly when he was nearly killed by some drunk Vietnamese soldiers, Lomperis said. would have to use the scheduled bus service to get around the base, Lair wrote in Armed with Abundance.. They gave up their lives back home. She served me milk and cookies, and we have been together now for 44 years, Thornton 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. Peace activists, however, saw them as a threat and held massive demonstrations. Is it just the guy with the gun? Engineers and USACE remained in Europe, still proud of their contribution to defending Western Europe and ending the Cold War. He also wrote the liner notes, which reveal a surprising fact: The U.S. Army spends an estimated $200 million a year on music, and is the largest single employer of musicians in the country. Soldiers bought goods with their ration cards, which were punched when purchases were made, Lair said. Mastering these complicated and delicate international arrangements, EUD accomplished a large and complex construction program, especially during the 1980s. Situated in a remote area with the enemy about 300 yards away over the border, Shkurtis unit was constantly in harms way. Heavily guarded Pershing-II rockets were brought to the US base in Mutlangen in 1983. 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. At the end of the spraying campaign in 1971, the remaining C-123 planes were reassigned to reserve units in the U.S. for routine cargo and medical evacuation missions spanning the next 10 years. "All the branches of the armed services have always included music as part of their mission. With pressures on USAREUR in the mid-1970s to reduce the size of its headquarters and budget, the command asked the Corps of Engineers to take responsibility for military construction in the theater. Ask me or any other serviceperson and they will tell you they are proud of their service, Shkurti said. Veterans (including some Reservists) who state that they flew on or worked on a C-123 aircraft between 1969 and 1986 are eligible for the Agent Orange Registry. Find out if you qualify for VA health care. If you dig into it, it becomes a very grey war, he said. 7) Cologne, Germany. "Bear in mind that these bands were all engaged in a show band contest in 1971 and 1972, and the winners of the that contest would then be able to tour Europe, and would also record an LP in the Armed Forces Network studios in Frankfurt. There were swimming pools, bars, cheap booze, entertainment, dancers and strippers, American TV. Long Binh was not a standard base, but it was home to the Armys Vietnam headquarters and showed the abundance and consumerism that was possible to create. 9) Luxembourg Well, one. Executing the construction program was a complex affair because American forces in West Germany had to use German construction offices and procedures to build facilities. Grafenwoehr is a tiny base compared to almost anywhere youve been stationed in the US. Another difference was the sense of solidarity he felt. Brutal tactics were the norm during the Vietnam War, and no one suffered more than the Vietnamese themselves, both in the North and the South. An average of 311,870 troops were stationed in Europe per year during 19861990. When they got home they were all the same (veterans), but they did not all have an equal experience. He was friendly with street urchins who would badger him for chocolate and other small treats. A new compilation pulls together some of those old records it's called East of Underground: Hell Below. Country western music blared all over Saigon, Lomperis said. The mood around the country was not good for the military, not like today with cheers and applause for returning members. The following individuals may qualify for benefits related to Agent Orange exposure: Veterans may file a claim for disability compensation for health problems they believe are related to exposure to Agent Orange residue on post-Vietnam C-123 airplanes. She was a USO (United Service Organizations) volunteer who entertained servicemen. I talked to many men who felt sheepish that they didnt have those (combat) stories to share, Lair said. I had an uncle that was drafted out of Brooklyn, NY. Six out of seven served on bases. That was where I met my wife. 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. 800-829-4833, Veterans Crisis Line: We wore different uniforms. 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. 1. 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. Especially from the minority groups, our black comrades, because they bore the brunt of the draft, were very unappreciated, and made the ultimate sacrifice above and beyond other groups, and for what? Thornton said. It was still no guarantee you wouldn't be sent to Vietnam and in some cases even be sent to do something else besides what you trained for. Error, please try again. The guys with the gear in the rear. HMD released its report, Post-Vietnam Dioxin Exposure in Agent Orange-Contaminated C-123 Aircraft, Jan. 9, 2015. Please switch auto forms mode to off. People dont understand how consequential the decisions were that were being made at headquarters, he said. Over 220 others have already been closed, mostly following the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. 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. Most of all, Army bands will strive to honor General George Washington's observation, "Nothing is more agreeable and ornamental than good music. 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. Ammunition storage facility, Heilbronn, West Germany (left); The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where they have been for the past 40 years. His unit lost more men to overdose and traffic accidents in Germany than to combat in Vietnam. Your message has not been sent. In response the Corps of Engineers drastically reduced the size of EUD and reconstituted it as the Europe District. Arriving in West Germany, was a shocking experience for the new Army recruit. The American military presence in Germany began at the end of World War II. Responding to these concerns, VA asked the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) (formally known as the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study possible exposure and increase in adverse health effects in C-123 crew members. Its kind of like playing goalie for a soccer team. He is seen here waving to his fans at Bremerhaven train station. If you enlisted you would serve 3 years and chose your MOS. The men and women at the main bases such as Saigon, Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Long Binh had a fairly sedentary life and plenty of downtime compared to combat soldiers, Lair said. Everyone else went directly to Vietnam, or a few were sent to Ft. Benning to attend the NCO School or Airborne Training. German Chancellor Gerhard Schrder, knowing the majority of voters supported him, ruled out Germany's involvement. They left their families to fight in a war that wasnt popular. Most of his time was spent protecting government buildings from Vietnam War protesters. After completing Field Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Shkurti was sent to Germany not Vietnam. The band formed while its members were stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War. One would fly overhead about every 60 seconds, remembers the professor emeritus of political science at Saint Louis University. The entire emphasis is on the narrow combat experience, Lair said. 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. The book became the first volume in aCenter of Military History series, U.S. Army in the Cold War. So there was a great need for personnel outside South Vietnam through out the entire period, and the refusal to mobilize the Reserves and National Guard only exacerbated the problem. TCDD, the toxic substance in Agent Orange, may be inhaled as an aerosol or ingested by contaminated food or water or from hand-to-mouth transfer. It's also a mystery what happened to the bands apart from Lewis Hitt, none of the members have come forward. 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. For the next 17 years the Europe Division of the Corps executed the Army and Air Force construction programs in Europe and supported the NATO construction program. 6) Berlin, Germany. As opposed to the goldbug society, or service personnel who were not interested in meeting locals and learning about Vietnam, Lomperis sought out opportunities to get off the base and interact with the Vietnamese. 2. There are different degrees of experience. Powered by Invision Community, Vietnam Era Draftees Stationed in W.Germany, South Korea, and CONUS, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. For recreation there were basketball, volleyball, tennis and multipurpose courts, football fields, miniature golf courses, a driving range, an archery range and a skeet-shooting range. Not enrolled in the VA health care system? One of the toughest parts of service was seeing people whose lives were ruined or lost because of the war, he said. Don't forget Panama and Alaska, Alaska itself in that time period had two Infantry Brigades separate stationed there.

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