stationed in germany during vietnam warabigail johnson nantucket home

From the end of World War II until the end of the war in Southeast Asia, the Army component command in Germany, the U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR), managed military construction in the theater with its own Engineer organizations. If I am sad about anything Vietnam-war, it is how other global players view that period of history when compared to the American perspective. Attention A T users. Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Army Staff Medal First Class and is the author of four books about Vietnam including The War Everyone Lost and Won.. Mastering these complicated and delicate international arrangements, EUD accomplished a large and complex construction program, especially during the 1980s. Anyone who served in the military during the war faced the possibility of being sent to Vietnam, though. I worked in an air-conditioned office and wore khakis, starched shirts, spit-shined shoes and a belt with a shiny brass buckle. The post exchanges, or PXs, rivaled todays big box outlets for variety and selection, Lair said. The US Army employed 17,000 American civilians in Germany in 2019. 2) Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Buddy C. Thornton learned from his military service was Always live for the day. 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. 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. He now is an adjunct professor in the John Glenn College of Public Service. You pull together under a common enemy, Shkurti said. At the height of the Vietnam War, Ali refused induction into the United States Army, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the conflict. They left their families to fight in a war that wasnt popular. They were clerk typists, cooks, drivers. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. During the war, in-country combat and support troops could be identified on sight, said author Timothy Lomperis, who served two tours of duty in Vietnam in the Army and Defense Intelligence Agency. Germany This is the official public website of the Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 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. 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. 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 liner notes of East of Underground: Hell Below conclude with a sort of benediction, lifted wholesale from the U.S. Army Field Manual: Because of the unique ability of music to communicate, bands will serve in different capacities of publicity and recruiting, and in the support of civil affairs. 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. An average of 311,870 troops were stationed in Europe per year during 19861990. [Today in History] Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the 5) Venice, Italy. Those aircraft were used for military airlift, medical transport, and cargo transport operations in the United States and internationally. He remembers his commanding officer Abrams as a political genius who turned the war around.. There are different degrees of experience. Country western music blared all over Saigon, Lomperis said. Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy urges more effective air defense, Ukraine: Russia continues to target civilian sites, Ukraine's counteroffensive: Goals, opportunities, risks. Everyone else went directly to Vietnam, or a few were sent to Ft. Benning to attend the NCO School or Airborne Training. Morale was bad, and there were racial problems, Shkurti said. Vietnam War 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.". The US soldiers also brought American culture to Germany. If youre stuck on the base for days on end, visit the Wild B.O.A.R. 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. Out of our entire class I believe two, maybe three guys got orders for Korea. Back at home over the decades, veterans themselves may have helped camouflage the roles they played during the war. HMD released its report, Post-Vietnam Dioxin Exposure in Agent Orange-Contaminated C-123 Aircraft, Jan. 9, 2015. That was where I met my wife. The cover of East of Underground's self-titled LP. The report determined that it is possible that this exposure contributed to some adverse health effects. Their lot was really rugged, Lomperis said. Veterans must show on a factual basis that they were exposed in order to receive disability compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange exposure. 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. Maybe they didnt risk their lives but they risked risking their lives, said Meredith Lair, a Vietnam War historian at George Mason University and author of Armed with Abundance: Consumerism and Soldiering in the Vietnam War, which examines the non-combat experiences of American soldiers in Vietnam. 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). Abook describes and analyzes the important Engineer effort in Europe. When I left Korea, the first thing I did when I got to Germany was to find Special Services, which happened to be right next to my barracks," Hitt recalls. The sky swarmed with helicopters. The big problem was that Saigon was Sodom and Gomorrah. 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. 877-222-8387, TDD (Hearing Impaired) The rule was to always go out in groups of two or three, but I often went by myself unarmed. By 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. 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. One of the toughest parts of service was seeing people whose lives were ruined or lost because of the war, he said. Ask me or any other serviceperson and they will tell you they are proud of their service, Shkurti said. 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.. To make it even more complicated, just what is a combat veteran? Call: 988 (Press 1), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington DC 20420. He says it was completely random, some bodies had to go to 7th Army and his lucky number came up. Many veterans struggled with feeling that their experience didnt measure up. WebThe Vietnam War exposed this problematic dimension in the U.S.-German relationship most dramatically. 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. Home was tough because my parents did not agree with my volunteering. He could take that information back to the base. Vietnam has come to symbolize certain things that arent necessarily true. It's also a mystery what happened to the bands apart from Lewis Hitt, none of the members have come forward. However, their wartime ally, the Soviet Union, soon became an enemy. You would think (serving in Germany) would be a great duty, but it wasnt.. Some people feel the term Vietnam veteran should refer only to those who served in Vietnam, but the U.S. government defines them all as Vietnam-era veterans according to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 any veteran who served on active duty during the official time frame of the Vietnam War (1961-1975). oakleaf777, Army's Rock 'N' Roll Past This was because they had relatives (brothers) already serving in Vietnam. I was going for many reasons, but the most important was to close a chapter of history I felt needed closing, Thornton said. In their spare time, servicepeople could go to the library, join a service club or take a spin on the go-kart track. Like suburban sprawl, the largest American bases just kept getting bigger, Lair said. Right, I got you, very interested to know that fine point. Reservists who were assigned to flight, ground, or medical crew duties at the following locations between 1969 and 1986, and who developed an Agent Orange related disability. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1968, William Shkurti said, I knew I was going to be drafted so I enlisted. After Boston, Thornton served at Marines Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He served as budget director for the state of Ohio from 1985 to 1987. Since his older two brothers were already serving in Vietnam he was not allowed to go. There were swimming pools, bars, cheap booze, entertainment, dancers and strippers, American TV. If you enlisted you would serve 3 years and chose your MOS. Only about one out of seven were combat troops, said historian Chris Appy, history professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Germany Then, there was the shopping. The guys with the gear in the rear. For guys drafted during Vietnam, what really were the odds they would be sent to Vietnam as opposed to remaining stateside, or sent to Germany or Korea? If you call it wrong, thousands of people could end up being killed, he said. Grafenwoehr is a tiny base compared to almost anywhere youve been stationed in the US. stationed in Germany 18th Military Police Brigade (United States 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. Hollander says it isn't clear what the Army planned to do with these recordings, especially since so few copies of them have surfaced just three dozen in East of Underground's case. The band formed while its members were stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War. have hearing loss. American expenditures on construction in Europe declined sharply. Youre in the hot seat. To prop up sinking morale and keep soldiers safe on base rather than heading into Vietnamese towns, the U.S. military strove to make bases as home-like as possible, Appy said. When they got home they were all the same (veterans), but they did not all have an equal experience. Their story got eliminated. The winners toured other military bases and made records. An Army in Crisis The conventional wisdom was that everybody carried a rifle, patrolled the jungle and faced death daily, but thats false, said William Shkurti, who served as an artillery officer in a remote area about 300 yards from the Cambodian border in fall 1970. 7th Army in particular suffered heavily, especially with loses of combat arms NCOs Then there was the two infantry brigades in Alaska, the 171st and 172nd, both gave up one battalion each for transfer to the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii before it left there for South Vietnam, two full battalions had to be raised to replace the ones sent away. "I was shocked when I found that out myself, but it kind of makes sense," Hollander tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered. Im also more respectful of what servicepeople endure. C-123 Airplanes and Agent Orange Residue - Public Health Error, please try again. We served honorably. David Hollander produced the compilation. 8) Bruges, Belgium. They were the rear echelon. 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. He was with the 3rd Infantry Division in Schweinfurt. Regardless of how we each served, part of our soul was left in that place with those who never came back alive, and with those who suffered and died after, and we should be honored for our collective loss if for no other reason. For military intelligence officer Timothy Lomperis, the constant whup, whup, whup of helicopters flying overhead is one of many things that stand out in his mind about the time he spent helping make critical war decisions in Saigon serving under Gen. Creighton Abrams, commander of U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, from 1968 to 1972. The fatigues were faded and had rips. Its important for people to know they exist. "So this was a very viable way to avoid active duty in Southeast Asia.". Situated in a remote area with the enemy about 300 yards away over the border, Shkurtis unit was constantly in harms way.

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