Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military

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Yes, thank you, I did enlist. I was a short , ugly kid with no connections. I thought by enlisting it would improve by chances for future employment. It worked against me. My welcome home from Vietnam speech was being told to get out of our uniforms as soon as possible because we will not be welcome in America. Sometimes I received insulting phone calls at 2 AM. At one and the same time I was proud to serve yet afraid to let people know.

I think the welcome home is better now for current vets. But they have a tough time getting jobs. And sometimes the medical care is lacking.

About another response to my thread. Many people who died in wars had better things for their lives too. Romneys and his 5 sons not serving does not mean they were better persons than those who died. Maybe someone disagrees with that. And Romney never had to worry about being a Gold Star father so he has no experience there.

But I will still vote for Romney, so don’t get me wrong there.
 
My real point was that Ireland would be protected by the U.S. and by Britain, no matter what. Having an effective coast guard against smuggling, of course, is a different thing; more in the nature of a police force.
 
Michael_C said:
If it is so dangerous then he should fully support the second amendment. He should also dump wasteful weapons and programs like the F-22 piece of junk that makes all the pilots sick and costs 422 million a pop. What a waste of money. Spend it on training or something useful.
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*forums.catholic.c*****************************************************************************
Where did you get this information that the F22 is a piece of junk, all pilots are made sick,
waste of money, 442 mil a pop?? I think you have a little something wrong with your opinion.
 
wondrousgnat said:
Yes, thank you, I did enlist. I was a short , ugly kid with no connections. I thought by enlisting it would improve by chances for future employment. It worked against me. My welcome home from Vietnam speech was being told to get out of our uniforms as soon as possible because we will not be welcome in America. Sometimes I received insulting phone calls at 2 AM. At one and the same time I was proud to serve yet afraid to let people know.

I think the welcome home is better now for current vets. But they have a tough time getting jobs. And sometimes the medical care is lacking.

About another response to my thread. Many people who died in wars had better things for their lives too. Romneys and his 5 sons not serving does not mean they were better persons than those who died. Maybe someone disagrees with that. And Romney never had to worry about being a Gold Star father so he has no experience there.

But I will still vote for Romney, so don’t get me wrong there.
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Thank you and sorry your “welcome home” was like so many others. I think one of the reasons our current troops and recent vets are treated better is that many of us feel the terrible shame of what was done to the Vietnam Vets. There is no way to make up for it though.

In no way did I say Romney or his sons were ‘better’ than those who enlisted (or were drafted) just that the attitude until recently is that the military wasn’t considered a career path or a road to a good career. It was a lot of left over Vietnam syndrome and the booming economy (until recently) that gave a lot of options. In my volunteering for several troop support groups, I noticed that so very often today’s troops were sons and daughters of vets and were directed that way. Also quite honestly there are a lot of geographic differences with someone like the Romney family, well off, east coast, far less likely than say a resident of South Carolina or Texas to enlist. ROTC programs had been disbanded and military service simply wasn’t on a lot of people’s radar until recently.

I do agree that the medical service can leave much to be desired, depending on location. Our VA hospital is outstanding but I know that not all of them are. Really a disgrace and something I hope gets more attention in the next administration

Lisa
 
The Vietnam Veterans’ Wall has 58,267 names.
It has three sets of fathers and sons
39,996 were 22 or younger
8,283 were 19
33,103 were 18
12 were 17
5 were 16
1 soldier, PFC Dan Bullock, was 15
997 wre killed on their first day
1,448 were killed on their last
31 sets of brothers are listed on the wall
31 sets of parents lost two sons
54 attended Thomas Edison HS in Philadelphia
8 women are on the wall
Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 has 6 on the wall
Morenci HS (Arizona) had its entire class of 9 enlist as a group in the marines. 3 returned

Source of information: Prairie Drummer volume 14, issue 2
 
Some years back a moving version came to my town and I was one of those who volunteered to work it. Yes, beer cans and cigarettes were left at the wall. Many left letters. There were also newspaper articles at the wall. People kept them all those years. I remember an uncle kept his nephew’s obituary notice. A priest looking for his brother’s name. One young girl left a copy of her college diploma to a father she probably never knew. One father was so distraught that several vets had to chase him down to keep him from jumping in the river. When I arrived on the first day I noticed a blond lady staring at the wall. When I left three hours later she was still there staring at the same spot. I volunteered all 6 days and she was always there when I arrived and there when I left. Always staring at the same name.

School buses brought students. They were usually pretty rowdy when getting off the buses but very subdued when they neared the wall.

It’s been about twenty years or more and tears still come to my eyes whenever I think of it.
 
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