Monday, March 29, 2021

Vietnam War Veterans Day 50th Anniversary

Nation to Observe Vietnam War Veterans Day

MARCH 29, 2021 | BY DAVID VERGUN, DOD NEWS

On March 29, Americans will come together to commemorate the service and sacrifices made by the nearly 3 million service members who served in Vietnam.

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a presidential proclamation, designating March 29 as the annual observance of Vietnam War Veterans Day.

The signing of the proclamation marked the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American troops from Vietnam — March 29, 1973. Only  U.S. embassy personnel and support staff remained in South Vietnam until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

A sniper aims a rifle while two soldiers discuss a target.

"The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission," the proclamation states. "It is a story of Americans from every corner of our nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm's way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear."

More than 58,000 Americans were killed and many thousands more were wounded and injured or determined to be missing.

The proclamation also states: "In one of the war's most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected — to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again."

Helicopters fly above fields and bodies of water.

Although U.S. military advisors had been in South Vietnam since 1955, the proclamation states that Jan. 12, 1962, was the starting point of the war. This is the date when America's first combat mission, Operation Chopper, was launched.

On that day, U.S. Army pilots airlifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to an area about 12 miles west of Saigon to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold. The NLF, also known as the Viet Cong, were communist fighters who were in South Vietnam.  

Some of the Significant Battles

The Battle of Ia Drang, which lasted from Nov. 14 -18, 1965, was the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army. It took place in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

A helicopter flies close to ground troops in a field.

The battle saw the first use of a large scale helicopter air assault and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers being used in a tactical support role.

The Battle of Khe Sanh took place in northwestern Quảng Trị Province in South Vietnam, from Jan. 21 to July 9, 1968. The main U.S. forces defending Khe Sanh Combat Base from a much larger enemy force consisting of three NVA divisions were two U.S. Marine Corps regiments, supported by elements from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and South Vietnamese soldiers.

The Battle of Huế occurred within that same time period, Jan. 31 to March 2, 1968.

A man directs tank fire.

The battle was a major military engagement which was part of the larger Tết Offensive launched by the NVA and Viet Cong. After initially losing control of most of Huế, which was a major city in northern South Vietnam, the combined South Vietnamese and American forces gradually recaptured the city after more than a month of intense house-to-house fighting.

Besides ground campaigns, there were also air campaigns, with one of the most significant being Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation lasted from March 2, 1965, to Nov. 2, 1968, and involved a sustained aerial bombardment by U.S. and South Vietnamese air assets against targets in North Vietnam. The operation was designed to halt enemy supplies from reaching South Vietnam.

In 1972, another massive bombing campaign was conducted against North Vietnam, known as Operation Linebacker.

American aircraft drop bombs from above the clouds.

Other Proclamations

In addition to the presidential proclamation, there are also proclamations observing Vietnam War Veterans Day in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and all five U.S. territories.

Most of these proclamations list March 29 as Vietnam War Veterans Day, but some, like California, observe March 30 instead.

Besides the Defense Department, other federal, state and local agencies observe Vietnam War Veterans Day, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration and nonprofit veteran service organizations.


Friday, March 26, 2021

20th SF Grp "Alumni" BBQ & Shrimp Boil March 25th----Photos

March 23, 2021

 

L-R (all photos) Jerry Bartlett, ? Brown (I asked for his 1st name), Steve Muskett
CBJTC airborne training tower (my label)
Tom Collins, Joe Defee, Michael Ricketts, Jerry Bartlett, Steve Muskett.

Butch Garwood, Jerry Bartlett
Ron Evans (Event coordinator) with Jerry Bartlett


Saturday, March 20, 2021

SOF FOR LIFE


                                                                    SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION

                                                                          Chapter 76 - South Florida 

                                                                                “The Green Berets”

 

 

March 19, 2021 

Hello SF Members and Friends of the Association,

The following is coming to you from Special Forces National Association President Kevin Harry.  The sender (Commo Joe) does not have additional information. 

 

SFA Presidents/Representatives,

The SOF for Life Committee has over 20 sign-ups but we need more Regions/Chapters represented.  Please push this information out to your members.  SFA is meeting with USASOC next week to continue developing a relationship to support each other on this initiative.

Special Forces is more than a qualification, it’s a brotherhood that lasts lifetime.  SFA National expanding the SOF for Life mission that many of the 89 chapters and their networks use to support the brotherhood. 

SFA is working with USASOC and several benevolent organizations to help identify needs of SF Soldiers, Veterans, Retirees, Family members and Gold Star Families so that we can work together to provide assistance for those needs.   SFA National wants to leverage the 89 SFA Chapters and over 23,000 members (active/inactive) to provide a network for this assistance.  We have SFA members/non-members that are looking for assistance and sometimes don't know where to go or who to ask.  Just as important, we have SFA members that are small business owners, medical professionals, Realtors, State/Federal employees, VA Claims representatives, Federal/State/Local representatives, astronauts, etc... that can provide some assistance or are connected to communities and other networks across the globe.  By providing a network, we can connect the need to the resource best suited to respond: SFA, Benevolent Organization, Government Organization, etc...  We are looking for people to volunteer some time to help develop a network in States/Regions that already exists within many SFA Chapters.  Could you be one of those volunteers?

 

What is SOF for Life Committee and Mission:

We are standing up a new SOF for Life Committee to assist SFA National and Active SOF units to help identify the needs of the SOF Soldiers and their Families, Soldier/Family programs that are available, and provide assistance in all aspects of life.  In general, to assist SOF Soldiers to find a clear path for when transitioning from active duty to the civilian world, no matter if they are preparing to transition, recently transitioned or have been separated or retired for many years. The SOF for Life concept is our commitment to these Soldiers and their Families forever.

 

Who are we looking for: 

The committee will consist of no less than one (1) representative of SFA National Board of Officers (NBO), minimum of three (3) from each of the ten (10) SFA Regions, other benevolent and non-profit organizations, and any individuals with the skills and talent to help with this mission. 

 

Request from members:

SOF for Life Committee is looking for professionals that would like to volunteer a couple of hours a month to assist with our mission. We need people that can attend virtual/in-person meetings, provide input and help take on action items when needed to move the SFA forward with our mission. 

If you are interested in participating please go to this link and put your information. 

https://forms.gle/1ZthzVVXb2eWa21m8 

Leadership:

The Committee CoChairs will be Jeremy Miller, SFA Chapter 500 President, John Spanogal SFA Chapter 500 VP President, Ed Richter member, with Kevin Harry, SFA National President, as the responsible NBO member to provide oversight.

Committee members contact info- 

Title

Name

Email

Cell

SFA NBO POC

Kevin Harry

president@specialforcesassociation.org

Co-Chair

Jeremy Miller

jeremy@lionfishcybersecurity.com

Co-Chair

John Sponogal

john.spanogle@gmail.com (sp?)

Co-Chair

Ed Richter

edwardjrichter@gmail.com

 

Thank you for your consideration of joining the SOF for life committee 

DOL

Jeremy Miller 

President SFA-500
jeremy@lionfishcybersecurity.com

 

Joe Pruett on behalf of

Ed Pijuan

President

 

Chapter 76 Facebook Site: https://www.facebook.com/SFA-South-Florida-Chapter-76-111343950710574/

 

Chapter Blog is located at http://SFACH76.Blogspot.com/

 

Please update your email address to prevent interruptions

 

ED PIJUAN 

PRESIDENT

 

ROGER KIDDER

VICE PRESIDENT

 

AL HERNANDEZ

SECRETARY

 

JASON PSALTIDES

SECRETARY

 

JIM TRICE 

TREASURER 

 

TOM HOUSE

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

_________________

 

DAN POIRIER 

CHAPTER 76 BLOGGER

 

ED BELLO 

CHAPTER 76 WEBMASTER

 

JOE PRUETT 

COMMUNICATIONS


Saturday, March 6, 2021

VA BENEFITS NEWSLETTTER..


Veterans Benefits Newsletter | March 2021