Woodstock

[jarhead]

Thank you Jo for the kind words. Lets see,I became a Marine in 1968 and "Once a Marine--Always a Marine" so I guess I've been a Marine for 41 years. You would think that after that many years I would have rose above the rank of Sgt. Vietnam was a trying time but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It had to be rough on my mother as my oldest brother was there first, then I went over before he rotated home, then Steve signed a waiver and came over before I left. Gave our Mother a double dose for quite a spell.The worst part was I was married and my first child was born while I was there.
Oh yea, I was only an active duty Marine for two years. That's all Uncle Sam needed an ol grunt like me.
Did Fred or Don serve in the Pacific near Uncle Bill T. ?

[Jo McDonald]

No,Fred said they weren't.  They were both in the Navy and in the Pacific. but not close to Bill.  Your Mama had her full share of "heart worries" that is for sure.
  Jo

[flintauqua]

this "confused out of control" thread

This thread was started by a well repected member of the Elk County community, married into a family that has been here since the 1870's.

He wanted to get real, honest, heart-felt commentary about the time period in which Woodstock occurred so he could share that with his 9 year old son.  To say it is confused and out of control, simply because there are viewpoints of those who did not serve, is uncalled for. 

I respect that your family had members in harm's way.  I have no greater repect than that for men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms.  And I don't think there is any greater freedom in this country than the right to think the way you want to, to express your own personal point of view, and to accept that not everyone is going to share that view.

Charles

[Jo McDonald]

Did I say, that anyone said  "anything that wasn't true" ?  Heeellllooooo....I do not think those was my words!!!!!

[Sarge]

but I'd love to hear your honest opinion.   

  Certainly! I knew we were fighting to protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam. The big picture was to control the spread of communism throughout SE Asia. We succeeded in that. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries who won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism.  The United States did not lose that war. We won every major battle during the conflict. When we turned combat operations over to the Republic of Vietnam is when the tide turned and the war was lost.  I enlisted in '66 and spent from Nov '67   to Nov '68 over there.

[D Whetstone]

Wow!

David

[Rudy Taylor]

Dr. Whetstone: Thanks for using the forum for a great purpose --- to provide some historical information to your son.

[dnalexander]

During the summer of Woodstock I was 8 ½ years old and lived in Prarie Village, Kansas.. (I think I was still counting halves). I was unaware of Woodstock at the time It would be 10 years before I started to listen to the music from that era. The music from the 60's is now my favorite. I was aware of the Vietnam War. I was aware that I had cousins that were fighting in Vietnam. Two of them would be killed or injured during the war. I saw the graphic pictures and heard the body count on the news every night. In hindsight I tend to think that that was something an 8 year old should not have seen, but I am glad that I did. During that summer I had gone on some Cub Scout camp outs and played in Little League. Very close to the actual date of Woodstock I was visiting family in Howard and Wichita. During that visit I learned to skateboard. I also, spent some time running trot lines for flatheads on the Elk River. I'd also like to give you some information on a group that was just starting out then and would become very popular among kids of my age. During the 70's many of us wore POW\MIA bracelets in honor of Vietnam prisoners of war and those soldiers that were missing in action. Here is some information.


History of the POW/MIA Bracelets
by Carol Bates Brown
 
 
Over the years, people have contacted the League looking for information on the history and background of the POW/MIA bracelets, originated and worn extensively in the 1970s, and continuously since by POW/MIA family members, veterans and other interested Americans.  The following historical information was written by Carol Bates Brown, one of the originators.
 
I was the National Chairman of the POW/MIA Bracelet Campaign for VIVA (Voices In Vital America), the Los Angeles based student organization that produced and distributed the bracelets during the Vietnam War. Entertainers Bob Hope and Martha Raye served with me as honorary co-chairmen.  

The idea for the bracelets was started by a fellow college student, Kay Hunter, and me, as a way to remember American prisoners of war suffering in captivity in Southeast Asia. In late 1969 television personality Bob Dornan (who several years later was elected to the US Congress) introduced us and several other members of VIVA to three wives of missing pilots. They thought our student group could assist them in drawing public attention to the prisoners and missing in Vietnam. The idea of circulating petitions and letters to Hanoi demanding humane treatment for the POWs was appealing, as we were looking for ways college students could become involved in positive programs to support US soldiers without becoming embroiled in the controversy of the war itself. The relatives of the men were beginning to organize locally, but the National League of POW/MIA Families had yet to be formed.

During that time Bob Dornan wore a bracelet he had obtained in Vietnam from hill tribesmen, which he said always reminded him of the suffering the war had brought to so many. We wanted to get similar bracelets to wear to remember US POWs, so rather naively, we tried to figure out a way to go to Vietnam.  Since no one wanted to fund two sorority-girl types on a tour to Vietnam during the height of the war, and our parents were livid at the idea, we gave up and Kay Hunter began to check out ways to make bracelets. Soon other activities drew her attention and she dropped out of VIVA, leaving me, another student Steve Frank, and our adult advisor, Gloria Coppin, to pursue the POW/MIA awareness program.
 
The major problem was that VIVA had no money to make bracelets, although our advisor was able to find a small shop in Santa Monica that did engraving on silver used to decorate horses. The owner agreed to make 10 sample bracelets. I can remember us sitting around in Gloria Coppin's kitchen with the engraver on the telephone, as we tried to figure out what we would put on the bracelets. This is why they carried only name, rank and date of loss, since we didn't have time to think of anything else.
 
Armed with the sample bracelets, we set out to find someone who would donate money to make bracelets for distribution to college students. It had not yet occurred to us that adults would want to wear the things, as they weren't very attractive. Several approaches to Ross Perot were rebuffed, to include a proposal that he loan us $10,000 at 10% interest. We even visited Howard Hughes' senior aides in Las Vegas. They were sympathetic but not willing to help fund our project. Finally in the late summer of 1970, Gloria Coppin's husband donated enough brass and copper to make 1,200 bracelets. The Santa Monica engraver agreed to make them and we could pay him from any proceeds we might realize.

Although the initial bracelets were going to cost about 75 cents to make, we were unsure about how much we should ask people to donate to receive a bracelet. In 1970, a student admission to the local movie theater was $2.50.  We decided this seemed like a fair price to ask from a student for one of the nickel-plated bracelets. We also made copper ones for adults who believed they helped their "tennis elbow." Again, according to our logic adults could pay more, so we would request $3.00 for the copper bracelets.

At the suggestion of local POW/MIA relatives, we attended the National League of Families annual meeting in Washington, DC in late September. We were amazed at the interest of the wives and parents in having their man's name put on bracelets and in obtaining them for distribution. Bob Dornan, who was always a champion of the POW/MIAs and their families, continued to publicize the issue on his Los Angeles television talk show and promoted the bracelets.

On Veterans Day, November 11, 1970, we officially kicked off the bracelet program with a news conference at the Universal Sheraton Hotel. Public response quickly grew and we eventually got to the point we were receiving over 12,000 requests a day. This also brought money in to pay for brochures, bumper stickers, buttons, advertising and whatever else we could do to publicize the POW/MIA issue. We formed a close alliance with the relatives of missing men - they got bracelets from us on consignment and could keep some of the money they raised to fund their local organizations. We also tried to furnish these groups with all the stickers and other literature they could give away.

While Steve Frank and I ended up dropping out of college to work for VIVA full time to administer the bracelet and other POW/MIA programs, none of us got rich off the bracelets. VIVA's adult advisory group, headed by Gloria Coppin, was adamant that we would not have a highly paid professional staff. As I recall the highest salary was $15,000, a year and we were able to keep administrative costs to less that 20 percent of income.

In all, VIVA distributed nearly five million bracelets and raised enough money to produce untold millions of bumper stickers, buttons, brochures, matchbooks, newspaper ads, etc., to draw attention to the missing men. In 1976, VIVA closed its doors. By then the American public was tired of hearing about Vietnam and showed no interest in the POW/MIA issue.

Here is a current list of unaccounted for Vietnam POW\MIA soldiers for Kansas.
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmsea/unaccounted/pmsea_una_p_ks.pdf

David Alexander



 
 

[sixdogsmom]

I have one of those bracelets--------somewhere.