stationed in germany during vietnam war

While older Germans were friendly, younger ones were hostile and aloof, Shkurti said. We served honorably. They gave up their lives back home. Engineers and USACE remained in Europe, still proud of their contribution to defending Western Europe and ending the Cold War. They were clerk typists, cooks, drivers. In November Thornton journeyed to Da-Nang, Vietnam, with his wife as a keynote presenter at the Asia Pacific Mediation Forum. The American military presence in Germany began at the end of World War II. 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. After that, the search was on for as many of these Army bands as they could find. They were selected during something called "The U.S. Army's Original Magnificent Special Services Entertainment Showband Contest" let's just call it a battle of the bands. 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. I am focused on peace and conflict reduction on a global and local scale, he said. Patches, In 1968 you could volunteer for the draft and serve 2 years active duty. They deserve our respect. Germany Their lot was really rugged, Lomperis said. A new compilation pulls together some of those old records it's called East of Underground: Hell Below. More military personnel played support roles than combat ones. They wore dirty boots and dog tags hanging around their necks. There were more prostitutes than bureaucrats, and every kind of club and bar from high-class to low-class. I had an uncle that was drafted out of Brooklyn, NY. was told," you are going to Germany, get your wives in german class". His unit in Germany lacked the leadership and necessities to get their job done, he said. To preserve morale, the ration program ensured that all personnel were able to buy highend goods, but it was limited due to the possibility they might resell goods on the black market, Lair said. Those aircraft were used for military airlift, medical transport, and cargo transport operations in the United States and internationally. The NATO maneuver Reforger I (Return of Forces to Germany) in Vilseck/Grafenwhr in 1969 was one of many joint war games held by the US Army and the Bundeswehr. At the height of the Vietnam War, Ali refused induction into the United States Army, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the conflict. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. For the government ofLudwig Erhard (October 1963-November 1966) it was ultimately fatal. Well, one. 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. "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. I was thinking I would have a better chance of determining where I would be sent.. Despite separate residential districts, there has always been contact and exchange between German and American families. If you call it wrong, thousands of people could end up being killed, he said. This is the official public website of the Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its easy to forget how large a US military presence in West Germany and Korea was maintained during the late 60s and early 70s aside from the forces fighting in Vietnam. Boy, I thought I had it made, Shkurti said with a small laugh. After the defeat of Germany, the relatively small American force in Europe was preoccupied with the administration and reconstruction of their former foe. By At least we all went to the same unit, one guy and I went through basic together. 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. Vietnam has come to symbolize certain things that arent necessarily true. Instead of breaking them up, Army brass sent them on tour. The U.S. military presence in Germany peaked at 274,119 in 1962, nearly eight times its level last year. Attention A T users. The report determined that it is possible that this exposure contributed to some adverse health effects. The US soldiers also brought American culture to Germany. Powered by Invision Community, Vietnam Era Draftees Stationed in W.Germany, South Korea, and CONUS, US MILITARIA FORUM - COLLECTORS PRESERVING HISTORY. 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. 7) Cologne, Germany. They left their families to fight in a war that wasnt popular. I had surgery shortly after the fire, then spent convalescent leave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Many celebrities joined in the protests. Deploy network infrastructure faster and easier than ever before, with pre-packaged yet massively scalable infrastructure components for top packet and optical systems. 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. 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. 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. Sign up for a new account in our community. 877-222-8387, TDD (Hearing Impaired) Their story got eliminated. Many veterans struggled with feeling that their experience didnt measure up. 3. It's kind of both complicated and disjointed, it was a struggle to be sure. I say 16 months because his orders were involuntarily extended because he was in the ROK when the USS Pueblo was taken. He says it was completely random, some bodies had to go to 7th Army and his lucky number came up. This was because they had relatives (brothers) already serving in Vietnam. Opposition to the war made military personnel band together. So many popular movies feature the combat side of war ground combat or maybe the air war. If you enlisted you would serve 3 years and chose your MOS. Combat veterans offered a truly unique and special contribution to the war, but that doesnt mean it wasnt a sacrifice for people who served as support, Lair said. Outdoor Recreation Center. Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy urges more effective air defense, Ukraine: Russia continues to target civilian sites, Ukraine's counteroffensive: Goals, opportunities, risks. Arriving in West Germany, was a shocking experience for the new Army recruit. Reflecting back, Im more skeptical whether a war of choice can help defend a country in the long run. I talked to many men who felt sheepish that they didnt have those (combat) stories to share, Lair said. The Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Army Center of Military History jointly published this book,Building for Peace: U.S. Army Engineers in Europe, 1945-1991 written by Robert P. Grathwol and Donita Moorhus. 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. 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. 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. 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. If you have health concerns about Agent Orange, talk to your health care provider or contact yourlocal VA Environmental Health Coordinatorto help you get more information from a health care provider. Even before Erhard succeeded Konrad Adenauer as West Germany's second chancellor, the conflict in Vietnam had Supercharge your procurement process, with industry leading expertise in sourcing of network backbone, colocation, and packet/optical network infrastructure. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. 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. "I met the singers and the other players and we got together and played, and it just kind of all meshed together.". Upon graduating, I was the only one in our Company sent to Ft. Knox Ky.. All of the other Draftees in our class stayed at Ft Lewis in Infantry. Not enrolled in the VA health care system? We would take orders from Washington and from the five information streams (personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics and political implications) and use all that information to create an order of the day, Lomperis said. It's there to boost morale, it's there to provide entertainment and comfort for soldiers, it's there to sort of represent what the U.S. is musically, culturally to the rest of the world.". We had each other, and we understood it takes so much honor to serve during the tough times. Vietnam War Lockbourne/Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Ohio (906th and 907th Tactical Air Groups or 355th and 356th Tactical Airlift Squadron), Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts (731st Tactical Air Squadron and 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, International Airport (758th Airlift Squadron). In-depth strategy and insight into critical interconnection ecosystems, datacenter connectivity, product optimization, fiber route development, and more. So he was off to Camp Casey and the 9th Infantry Manchu's for 16 months, I was in the same unit a couple of decades after him. Office of Accountability & Whistleblower Protection, Training - Exposure - Experience (TEE) Tournament, Military Exposure Related Health Concerns, War Related Illness & Injury Study Center, Clinical Trainees (Academic Affiliations), Post-Vietnam Dioxin Exposure in Agent Orange-Contaminated C-123 Aircraft, local VA Environmental Health Coordinator, Find out if you qualify for VA health care, diseases related to Agent Orange exposure, Call TTY if you During the era of the Vietnam War, American troops and facilities were neglected forcing Engineers to marshal their slender resources augmented by host nation contributions to keep American forces ready for war and take care of Army and Air Force personnel and their families.

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