Veterans Day tomorrow

[richhodg66]

I know there's a lot of vets on this forum, sound off with your branch of service, years served and any highlights.

Army, October 1988 to November 2012. Desert Shield and Storm, twice to Iraqi Freedom.

[EMC45]

96-01 USN Seabees
05-11 USAF Logistics

[Larry Gibson]

1964 - 2007; 22 1/2 years active duty and 19 years NG and USAR.
11F; infantry scout (Airborne) with 1/503, 173rd Airborne Brigade (SEP) and 1/506, 101st Airborne Division
19D, Armor Scout with 3/116th Armored Cavalry
18D, 18F, 18Z, Special Forces

Viet Nam War
Cold War
Iraqi Freedom

Retired First Sergeant

[rockrat]

A big thank you to each and every one of you

[RKJ]

74-77 USA Echo Troop 2/6 Cavalry (Fort Knox)
82-99 USN, USS Saratoga CV-60 USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 (Desert Shield/Storm)
USS Kearsarge LHD-3
A whole lot of other duty stations. But I loved it.

[Winger Ed.]

June '73-- Dec '80
SSGT USMC 6064

Parachute Rigger School
A couple years in Jets. A year in MAG-36 on Okinawa with HMM-164
Four years at Quantico, VA on the Marine One crew.


When in doubt- punch out.
You can't beat my seat.

[lefty o]

aug89-aug95
uss fresno lst-1182
uss vincennes cg-49

[Der Gebirgsjager]

'61-'64 3rd Inf. Div., Schweinfurt, Germany. Sgt. (E-5), MOS 111.1, 111.6, 112.6. Highlights? Got to shoot on the battalion rifle team, summers of '62 (M1 rifle), '63 (M14).

[Stephen Cohen]

Today in Australia is Remembrance Day, it does not matter what I am doing or where I may be, I always observe the two minutes silence. I shall also be wishing you a great Veterans Day for tomorrow. As an older man I can't help but feel a sense of loss for all those who gave their all. Regards Stephen

[Finster101]

1979-1983 2d Armored Cavalry

19F Bamberg Germany then to Nurnberg Germany.

[2A-Jay]

USN '71-'92 Helicopter Combat Search and rescue Aircrewman, Aviation Electricians Mate.

[Walks]

USN 1971-1975 Vietnam

Every Nov. 11 I drive up to L.A. Veterans Cemetery Early.

Visit; Brother/VN, Uncle/WWII & Grandfather/WWII. All Served - United States Navy

[popper]

USN 1961-1965 MT/FT2 E5 CAG2 USS Canberra, CG11 USS Chicago.

[retread]

USN ;66-71. VW-1 Airborne Early Warning Squadron, Crew member Crew 6 TE-6. Detachment Charlie- Chu Lai RVN. VQ-132 Electronics Warfare Squadron, USS America/ Shore Detachment - Danang RVN. Rate ATR-2

[samari46]

Enlisted right out of high school. USS Franklin D Roosevelt CVA42
Spent close to 3 years in the engineering dept. Main engines,Generator rooms,Pump Rooms and thrust block. Enlisted 16,August '64 and released from active duty 04 October '67 Received my Honorable discharge August 1970. When I wentto a job interview I was asked if I had served and had discharge papers. Showed them to the interviewer who made copies. My next question was, well what if they don't have discharge papers?. I was told that if they didn't have discharge papers they still could have the interview but we won't hire them. Draft was starting up to get guys trained for viet nam and since we have you all with discharge papers we'll have enough people to train and no need to sweat the draft. Those DD214N's were worth their weight in gold. Frank

[bikerbeans]

USN 73 - 80. Nuclear power plant machinist mate. USS California CGN-36. Operation Eagle Claw participant.

BB

[JBinMN]

Recruited & Enlisted USMC on the USMC B-day, Nov. 10, 1979. On the Delayed Entry Program(DEP) to March 17, 1980( St. Patrick's Day)when I stood on the yellow boot prints at MCRD San Diego.


Graduated from boot camp & left there in June to school & ended up at NAS- Memphis for a few months for school, then on to 2nd MAW-Mag 26, MCAS(H)New River, N.C. to be a CH-46 Mechanic, then a Plane Capt., a Collateral Duty Inspector(CDI), then a Crew Chief & Aerial Gunner. I was in 3 squadrons there. HMM-365(Blue Knights), HMM-264(Black Knights) & HMM-266(Fighting Griffins). They were CH-46 helo squadrons back then, but now are tilt rotor Osprey squadrons, if I am not mistaken.

From there, I was selected for Drill Instructor school & went to MCRD Parris Island,S.C. for DI school & after graduation went to 3rd RTB, I Co. and helped train recruits until I was transferred to the Headquarters Co. & became a Water Safety Survival Instructor(WSSI) , a Multi-Media First Aid Instructor, & a CPR instructor for my final duty at P.I. before my Honorable Discharge in 1986.

To me, Veterans Day is a reminder that, "All gave some, some gave All.".

Thanks to all who have served.
:Drinks:

[ioon44]

Army 1970 to 1973, Vietnam 1970 to 1971.

[ohiomadman]

Army 1975 to 1978.
MOS 05 h Morse code intercept operator

[bandsmoyer]

USN 1966-1972 Helo crew Combat Support Squadron 4

[square butte]

God Bless all who served and are serving . .

[tdoor4570]

US Navy 1965-1971 Viet Nam

[DukeConnors]

Army Reserve
1983-1995
13E
Cannon Fire Direction Specialist

Hope it is ok I responded. Technically I am not considered a veteran by the VA because I never had 180 days consecutive active duty service. At least that used to be the rule.

[tmax64]

Army. Active duty Pharmacy Tech 91Q from 3/85 to 3/97. Got out and was hired back as a Army civilian GS employee 4/97 to 10/2017. Retired Halloween 2017 after 32 years total time.
Duke, you put up with crap for 12 years even if it was on the weekends. You may have seen more than some us did.

[madsenshooter]

78-82 One cold war hitch in the AF, aka the chair force. I was a clerk. My military claim to fame? I was in the same outfit as the comedian Sinbad!

[CastingFool]

1971-1974 US Army, Ft Benning, Ga. Ch 47 rpmn, Huey crewchief.
1974-1982, Michigan National Guard. Acft rpmn, Huey crewchief, weapons tech.
1982-1996 MI Air National Guard, weapons loader, A-37 load crew chief, A-10 load crew chief. Weapons specialist.

Highlight, got a ride on a A-37, as a reward for my crew being chosen as load crew of the quarter.

[Adam_Selene]

Army Reserve
1983-1995
13E
Cannon Fire Direction Specialist

Hope it is ok I responded. Technically I am not considered a veteran by the VA because I never had 180 days consecutive active duty service. At least that used to be the rule.

Never knew that. I can see it for folks who got dropped (ie, never made it more than 6 months), but 12 years - more than a decade - of reserve service... the idea that doesn't count is a headscratcher to me.

Just shy of 8 years, about half with 10th Mountain, half with 95th CA.

[MrWolf]

As others have said. God bless all of you to those that serve or have served. Thank you.

[Reverend Al]

Our Memorial Day was yesterday too and again many thanks to all who serve and have served in both Canada and the USA.

I was sent a very sobering photo that shows a regiment of Cameron Highlanders taken in front of Edinburgh Castle in 1914 and then a second photo of the same regiment in 1919 after WWI. Such a waste of so many young lives ...

:-(

https://i.imgur.com/Y0KEh44.jpg

[Larry Gibson]

Army Reserve
1983-1995
13E
Cannon Fire Direction Specialist

Hope it is ok I responded. Technically I am not considered a veteran by the VA because I never had 180 days consecutive active duty service. At least that used to be the rule.

Being a Veteran has nothing to do with the VA rules. You signed up, you serve, if called......you go.....that's all that counts.....

251035

[DukeConnors]

Never knew that. I can see it for folks who got dropped (ie, never made it more than 6 months), but 12 years - more than a decade - of reserve service... the idea that doesn't count is a headscratcher to me.

Just shy of 8 years, about half with 10th Mountain, half with 95th CA.


i spent some time at Ft. Drum. We shot there during anual training before and after the post became the home of 10th Mountain. I have never seen an area with such a variety of terrsin. Mountains, swamps, sand and savanah.

[trapper9260]

Being a Veteran has nothing to do with the VA rules. You signed up, you serve, if called......you go.....that's all that counts.....

251035

You sum it up good Larry .
For me I sign up delay entry for the navy to finish high school and then one week out of high school I went in from 79 to 83 active duty in the navy and then 83 to 84 in active reserves . then 88 to 90 active reserves . Station and home port Norfolk,VA
Was on the USS Siapan LHA -2 , USS Emery S. Land AS-39 , USS Fulton S -11 when in the active reserves out of New London,CT.

Was part of the Iran hostage , the Cuban air lift

Came out as EN-3 E-4

[fatnhappy]

I posted here. Then I deleted it. I did serve, I did my duty honorably and well. To my thought, I always considered it a duty but no less important than serving on juries or voting. Without many forms of service our Republic would have long ago failed. Citizenship carries a personal responsibility, I stand in awe of some of our current vets who know they're volunteering for years of hardship and combat in far away holes... yet there's no lack of volunteers.

between WWII, Korea and Vietnam my Uncle Jack served more years in combat than I spent in service. My Uncle Jim's return involved disinterment from Henri-Chapelle. My cousin Georgie was 2 weeks away from coming home alive in 1969. He came home early. Next week will be the 6th anniversary of SSG Alex Viola becoming a casualty in Kandahar. They have elevated service to the Republic, and I'm eternally grateful.

I'm humbled and honored by those that came before and since. So much more has been asked of many of them.

[472x1B/A]

U. S. Air Force June 1970 - July 1990 472x1B/A B = Refueling Maint. Specialist A = Fire Truck Maint. Specialist. I was fortunate to have had 13 PCS assignments while serving.

[WRideout]

I am feeling some survivor's remorse today. I did serve my twenty years, three as an active duty medic, 91B, and the remainder in the Army Reserve and National Guard. On active duty, I was at Ft. Lewis Washington in 1972 when the 9th Infantry Division was being reconstituted with soldiers reassigned from Viet Nam. We had battalion formations with eight people, including the battalion commander. At the end of that tour, I went to West Germany for a year. I was a medic in a Pershing Missile battalion in Schwabisch Gmund when Saigon fell.

Much later, after graduating from college, I needed some spending money, and so joined the California Army National Guard. I spent a couple of years as a medical section chief, when I had an opportunity to go to OCS. I graduated as a second lieutenant, and field artillery officer. I was promoted to battalion staff positions rather quickly, and served as S1, S2, and S4, with a brief hitch as Service Battery Commander (for which I never got credit.)

When my job at Vandenberg AFB dried up, the contractor I worked for transferred me to Oak Ridge TN, where I worked on the nuclear cleanup program. At that time, I joined the Tennessee Army National Guard, and served at the brigade level in several different positions. In 1998 employment took me to Southwest Pennsylvania, where I joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, 28th Divarty. I was assigned as a Fire Support Officer to an attack helicopter battalion, and that is where I finished my time.

While I had a lot of interesting experiences, and arguably protected the nation during the Cold War, I don't really know that I did anything too special. My heroes are the ones who put everything on the line for their country. Some are relatives, and some are people I knew.

Francis Randall; the uncle I never knew. US Army WWII casualty, he is buried in Margraten Cemetery, Netherlands. I found out that he had served in the same National Guard battalion that I was in.
Homer Rideout; ambulance driver WWII and brother of my dad. He served in both European and Pacific theaters
Douglas (Sam) Sandifer; USN, Korea, he was my Scoutmaster in my teenage years and was the one who taught me about being a man.
Ed Sanders; USMC, WWII and Korea, member of Merril's Marauders. He was blinded by a Chinese grenade. He taught my Explorer Post Morse code, and helped us get our amateur radio licenses.
Francis McKee; my father-in-law (deceased at age 93) and USMC veteran of the Pacific Theater, WWII.

These men, and others, are my heroes. I am still trying to live up to the standard that they have set.

Wayne