tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50392907601147997282024-03-21T14:39:25.082-04:00Vietnam - Iraq - AfghanistanJohn W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-79743484665734971932023-05-02T15:26:00.002-04:002023-05-02T15:52:38.504-04:00The Dissilusioned<p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The Disillusioned.... Is available on Amazon, Barns and Noble, Books a Million and Ingram</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s Edward
Winslow’s first time back in Viet Nam since his departure shortly after the
Fall of Da Nang in 1975.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s in Hanoi
looking up an old friend from that time who is now the US Ambassador to Viet Nam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His wife Lien has died and he’s looking for
her sister.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Near the end
of the war Captain Edward Winslow was captured by forces from the North.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time he was an advisor to the forces from
the South.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had developed a
relationship with the leader of his captures, a Sgt. Chanh and his ability to
speak Vietnamese was perhaps what saved him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As the NVA
neared Da Nang in 1975 the city began collapsing and the great exodus
began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By air from the airports and by
sea from the Han river in downtown Da Nang and the beaches of My Khe the
civilian and military population that worked with the Americans <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>began the journey south to the final disappearance
of a country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">John W.
Conroy has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as an embedded journalist
as well as present day Viet Nam and Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is the author of the novels, <i>The Girl from Tam Hiep </i>and<i> The
Dissilusoned.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><i><br /></i></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vwtCelxT6ZXQhgu9Ap-UQUigBmI4LdHXoq1z4_uIMS_YJb8mkA-33L_zTrhaX-ecWCodShDLEK4naMWuIUAUYhsWS77N9DL2z1XjI_rN2BrJIY1t8zitTaY2APHotylG4kyyvqd-3reVN0qEu1sMc5Yzljco3J3nrV5Q3mfkbvM6HuBcaBOkZ9WZ/s2777/The%20Disillusioned%20front%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2777" data-original-width="1812" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vwtCelxT6ZXQhgu9Ap-UQUigBmI4LdHXoq1z4_uIMS_YJb8mkA-33L_zTrhaX-ecWCodShDLEK4naMWuIUAUYhsWS77N9DL2z1XjI_rN2BrJIY1t8zitTaY2APHotylG4kyyvqd-3reVN0qEu1sMc5Yzljco3J3nrV5Q3mfkbvM6HuBcaBOkZ9WZ/s320/The%20Disillusioned%20front%20cover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /></span><p></p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-10989430644768238382021-10-15T10:52:00.003-04:002023-05-02T14:35:22.141-04:00The Girl from Tam Hiep<p>The Girl from Tam Hiep.... Is available on Amazon, Barns and Noble, Books a Million and Ingram;</p><p><span face=""Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">It's part love story, part war story…a growing up story…with the US Army in the mid Sixties during the American war in Viet Nam. Pvt. Bill Collins lives on the fringe of Long Binh, the worlds largest base camp that's 20 miles or so north of Saigon. He's a participant in the 'Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll' war of legend. Sex is everywhere, booze is everywhere, and danger is everywhere. However, Tam Hiep , the supposed VC town, the Off-Limits town, is accommodating to most everyone who ventures within. It is also a place where love might flourish. Collins and his fellow soldiers meander through their life with the Green Machine, patrolling the surrounding countryside when not on the road to Saigon, or whoreing and drinking in the dives and fleshpots of Bien Hoa. Whether it's flying to Da Nang and Hue or over the road to Phnom Penh with the girl Kim Lon, Pvt. Collins continues on his journey towards love and survival.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAW5ScALCNkNrHm6f_sMkfcJImojdEzzYG_i11CpJcBjt6btBdyFuSFgxnpHardzKypm7_g1YINcUDu5M9AV4xxCZyVNX9WDYAaGCg7Dhnq6URO6t4ZLjKWMMgmU7uPprig8_jafGQ4ZU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="334" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAW5ScALCNkNrHm6f_sMkfcJImojdEzzYG_i11CpJcBjt6btBdyFuSFgxnpHardzKypm7_g1YINcUDu5M9AV4xxCZyVNX9WDYAaGCg7Dhnq6URO6t4ZLjKWMMgmU7uPprig8_jafGQ4ZU/" width="161" /></a></div><br /><p></p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-36650728933400620532020-07-11T08:59:00.007-04:002023-05-02T16:05:10.237-04:00The Disillusioned: Synopsis for the Novel and Screenplay<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">An old American soldier from the Viet Nam War is flying into Hanoi. His Vietnamese wife has recently died and he
is returning in search of her sister. As
the plane begins its approach, he scans the countryside of endless green from
the window. His mind drifts into
memories as the stories begin.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXiW7SBv2m3yGcz2upcKrvLwaRFrj0LRnRvBPikerKq4cMVakvjsgyjEz7nkw4WHXOR5PUbKyXb0PlKBQK9P190Aq0QqfFysWh-AB0yrMH8f9n5lXzUVEb71NcCRS722QX38udPkZw-gKMJUqCbS32wIxexmc270Gpy33PK2wTu0whn0uz7NjJ4wm/s6528/NimoFilm_31.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4896" data-original-width="6528" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXiW7SBv2m3yGcz2upcKrvLwaRFrj0LRnRvBPikerKq4cMVakvjsgyjEz7nkw4WHXOR5PUbKyXb0PlKBQK9P190Aq0QqfFysWh-AB0yrMH8f9n5lXzUVEb71NcCRS722QX38udPkZw-gKMJUqCbS32wIxexmc270Gpy33PK2wTu0whn0uz7NjJ4wm/s320/NimoFilm_31.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shacks on the Han River in Da Nang </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As the war
in Vietnam draws down in 1975, the lives of an American GI, CAPT. EDWARD
WINSLOW, and a troubled North Vietnamese soldier, CHANH, converge during the evacuation
and fall of Da Nang. The soldier from
the North has endured immeasurable hardship during the previous ten years, many
described in flashbacks, much of it through a beautiful countryside before the
destruction caused by US bombing. There
have been horrendous battles. His girl
back home, HOA, is probably gone. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The GI is ‘stuck’
in Viet Nam. It’s become his home, and
he’s involved with a girl from the North, LIEN, who works the bars. At this point he is an adviser to the South
Vietnamese military. They all still
fight, but the cause is fading….looking bleak.
Refugees from cities north of Da Nang fill the highways leading into the
city. Chaos reigns, as no one seems to
be in charge. The Americans begin an
evacuation to the south of all who can board the last aircraft, ship, or road
vehicle. World Airways flies in for a
last flight south to Saigon and barely makes it off the ramp. The last attempts
from the air are made from the Marble Mountain airfield. The overflowing barges from the river in town
have left for ships in the South China Sea.
The last stragglers are swimming
toward the ships from My Khe Beach.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4YMpH1lMUhRj4p75tPPep4Ji-UBmJzYdZ0o4fAImYzOm3qnveStfpCfN8cp2RFw0H6xpN1kCJ9QKZTeYhXgTOes7K2lYnuWAvEfGsKNTL5eWJrnwi12ZWadwtSO9siA5QpgE57mgPmyrbUgRwWs7mCry7kL1fCrv__RHxQQj8ygxBlwm0j404jat/s2272/IMG_3846.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2272" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4YMpH1lMUhRj4p75tPPep4Ji-UBmJzYdZ0o4fAImYzOm3qnveStfpCfN8cp2RFw0H6xpN1kCJ9QKZTeYhXgTOes7K2lYnuWAvEfGsKNTL5eWJrnwi12ZWadwtSO9siA5QpgE57mgPmyrbUgRwWs7mCry7kL1fCrv__RHxQQj8ygxBlwm0j404jat/s320/IMG_3846.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fields in the vicinity of the A Shau Valley</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Amid the
confusion the American soldier tries to arrange transport out for his ‘Vietnamese
family. He is abandoned and captured by
the North Vietnamese Army. A younger
officer, his superior MAJOR BARNS, a helicopter pilot, fills in arranging what
he can. Most Vietnamese personnel of the
Americans are left to their own devices.
There’s no other choice. The
Major doesn’t leave. He manages to crank
up his old Huey after Da Nang has fallen.
He’ll fly to Saigon, but scours the countryside to the south looking for
his friend Winslow, and finds him.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8thyy6xlUyBfK2jR0JgapAxVRBrGWEtSw_4mMB4Fsby_nj3psg7wdUImkauJKehCUktcK22i7raZU9_ra77NpvMPjTQTbdNn43-DzQdHkUu3q6tZiWM_9ejYLnkWmAg77rHqagU90CfCc8eNFQs3BHo-CdEb2cugX8LKWc7olWYAuNaY44hvFVPzG/s3264/IMG_0270.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8thyy6xlUyBfK2jR0JgapAxVRBrGWEtSw_4mMB4Fsby_nj3psg7wdUImkauJKehCUktcK22i7raZU9_ra77NpvMPjTQTbdNn43-DzQdHkUu3q6tZiWM_9ejYLnkWmAg77rHqagU90CfCc8eNFQs3BHo-CdEb2cugX8LKWc7olWYAuNaY44hvFVPzG/s320/IMG_0270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USO and Red Cross Viet Nam volunteers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In present
day Hanoi, Edward Winslow ties up with a friend from the US State Dept. who now
works at the US Embassy. He eventually
finds the sister and they begin to talk of the past, each so differently. They meet a few times in the countryside,
then in Hanoi and gradually develop a
friendship while digging into their pasts during the war. They discover things unknown.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Viet Nam is peaceful and happiness appears to be a distant possibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-35893312825330613512020-03-10T16:20:00.003-04:002021-10-23T09:02:25.844-04:00The Embedded Ones: Synopsis for the Novel & Screenplay<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Private Bill Collins, the protagonist of the book 'The Girl from Tam Hiep’ is old now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Viet Nam war
is a distant memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the main
character in ‘The Embedded Ones’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he’s back in the
field with the US Army for a few tours as an embedded reporter in Iraq and
Afghanistan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiba1tBW7czs5bK-SHjM4A_HsyTpBv7_sXmtmKlZbfggehKrSh0PHLgjGvGbIpK8BwX0RETNewmu091xVMi1gX8jHayOwztloPo1-5f5COxwZx_ptn4taoSkB05ovN5P7H53stL_ebEEM0/s1600/IMG_2373.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiba1tBW7czs5bK-SHjM4A_HsyTpBv7_sXmtmKlZbfggehKrSh0PHLgjGvGbIpK8BwX0RETNewmu091xVMi1gX8jHayOwztloPo1-5f5COxwZx_ptn4taoSkB05ovN5P7H53stL_ebEEM0/s320/IMG_2373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Survivors from night raid...Yaka China, Afghanistan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">He befriends a number of younger reporters most of
whom are more experienced on the job than he but have only the faintest knowledge
of the war in Viet Nam which is always in the back of his mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The comparison between then and now often
surfaces in his articles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DOxJEkwYly_RnqkJacIszWq6SWIsYlzE5EfwQa6DLM4Lv-pXP4rWxDmtuhF9shtxsWu6CcT3t_5kdMJfhb6tiQ53QqtPTxXaXZlt3K4oY6rxpfMgLQ2NopIIN4LUCyAUpQbaDMz2j_c/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DOxJEkwYly_RnqkJacIszWq6SWIsYlzE5EfwQa6DLM4Lv-pXP4rWxDmtuhF9shtxsWu6CcT3t_5kdMJfhb6tiQ53QqtPTxXaXZlt3K4oY6rxpfMgLQ2NopIIN4LUCyAUpQbaDMz2j_c/s320/IMG_1702.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iraqi girl...Medical outreach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />First and foremost, it’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the story of reporters covering what passes
for war in the first part of the 21<sup>st</sup> century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of these reporters are interesting young
women who more than hold their own with the men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7FzGSU7W4Q8wrLPorFKhkndz-1MzHl71qLLptbd7GFbjlN8JbpJIVc_POEYoFCXGPvc0ohF0Du-i5VxgMkgNLlHHG4RgdrAJoZ6JL8pg13e0BSnUp2aMdHGuUHekOCIk2XWQiNAU8GY/s1600/IMG_1290.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7FzGSU7W4Q8wrLPorFKhkndz-1MzHl71qLLptbd7GFbjlN8JbpJIVc_POEYoFCXGPvc0ohF0Du-i5VxgMkgNLlHHG4RgdrAJoZ6JL8pg13e0BSnUp2aMdHGuUHekOCIk2XWQiNAU8GY/s320/IMG_1290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading up after a hard night raid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Reporter Collins roams the whole of both Iraq and
Afghanistan with various military units, sometimes on helicopters, sometimes across
the landscape in Humvees or MR APs usually in the company of his young reporter
friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxX-1Cg1IToUhZZxvRdso4JBBQGW6Xd2Uv798QNuGXmrTeX1N787_i5Jd23c4L4KNcSnd4NrMIySW6VpesmsMGhBEMa_zawJhbs1r6oef-WRYH7RhqPN9Gk_SCJmWXLEvCUk0N_5iK_0U/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxX-1Cg1IToUhZZxvRdso4JBBQGW6Xd2Uv798QNuGXmrTeX1N787_i5Jd23c4L4KNcSnd4NrMIySW6VpesmsMGhBEMa_zawJhbs1r6oef-WRYH7RhqPN9Gk_SCJmWXLEvCUk0N_5iK_0U/s320/IMG_2399.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning break in the Hindi Kush</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Between embeds he makes a number of trips back to Viet
Nam where he is no stranger having returned many times over the previous twenty
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a number of these trips he is
accompanied by one or all of his young friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjwPY7WqQPu0qOU09MQSflwwZ0UL3ZD5yFRq8quz3CcacD2G39zyMU6A3ufu5Fjch8QIZ2y5sTATAbHFKdSmZ_za54q6K5NJcEa5ATQKyHNllTeGYBpSJB3bc8ctQFnbNvLJX7y8-DvU/s1600/IMG_6066.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjwPY7WqQPu0qOU09MQSflwwZ0UL3ZD5yFRq8quz3CcacD2G39zyMU6A3ufu5Fjch8QIZ2y5sTATAbHFKdSmZ_za54q6K5NJcEa5ATQKyHNllTeGYBpSJB3bc8ctQFnbNvLJX7y8-DvU/s320/IMG_6066.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the fringe of Ho Chi Minh City</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />This is after all the story of an era of US history in
countries it never understands and never will if history proves correct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJbHD3R8ZgvVstIo__n1Li4f2vdd-tmcY_52H6yhU_SbH3zHnMBSeBkpzGDhhkTHWsSOmMIOTfhlCuwyN9R6UKtgofqThsETJLauHG9tkD2SVh_ojDMErIP6KBWYrtrm14591s58J9DQ/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJbHD3R8ZgvVstIo__n1Li4f2vdd-tmcY_52H6yhU_SbH3zHnMBSeBkpzGDhhkTHWsSOmMIOTfhlCuwyN9R6UKtgofqThsETJLauHG9tkD2SVh_ojDMErIP6KBWYrtrm14591s58J9DQ/s320/IMG_0045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Soldiers on parade - Ho Chi Minh City</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">From Baghdad to Kirkuk and Yusufiyah , from Kabul <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Kandahar to the high peaks of the Hindu
Kush above the Pech Valley, from Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to Hue and Ke
Sanh we travel with Bill Collins and his friends through the minefields of
current wars and the memories of a past one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br /></div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-86694282229340437712020-01-23T17:17:00.007-05:002020-07-21T15:43:27.209-04:00The Girl from Tam Hiep: Synopsis for the Novel & Screenplay <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">This book is meant to be a ‘slice of life’ in that time
during the American war in Viet Nam in the late Sixties. It is not a memoir. I think of it as ‘living’ in a particular
time. The protagonist, Private Bill Collins, is something like me but not
really….maybe a fantasized version of myself…and other people too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiObFI6ntfHj127xuIfj-kbboAcAKdCjc5ePUTgUhCxqNK5auHPSGuXKYZiZoy_4_lmemLpAmom27C34Qg1CtC831ln8vxryb3rIxdVpvlIb2D25nyXKHI_9OQKIEMe5ZGjS8VE-_WboM/s1600/Red+Beach.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1385" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiObFI6ntfHj127xuIfj-kbboAcAKdCjc5ePUTgUhCxqNK5auHPSGuXKYZiZoy_4_lmemLpAmom27C34Qg1CtC831ln8vxryb3rIxdVpvlIb2D25nyXKHI_9OQKIEMe5ZGjS8VE-_WboM/s320/Red+Beach.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Beach in Da Nang where the Marines landed in 1965</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The original title, ‘My Friend Me’ is an expression used
frequently by locals when speaking with GIs during that era but 'The Girl from Tam Hiep' took over</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1dAFEI-vLVoycKQyDBf0dt8Cm6belAE9dj6zcStI6v_TRQpRy2awv4vZJxJldVlNQuO-0eeWsrXVdKz3zvkk-omGRT0ftZDH4hHeVeQaud332c5KYY91Ng0v8Afaq3GMCGu-VUXzvh0/s1600/Me+%2526+VC.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1085" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1dAFEI-vLVoycKQyDBf0dt8Cm6belAE9dj6zcStI6v_TRQpRy2awv4vZJxJldVlNQuO-0eeWsrXVdKz3zvkk-omGRT0ftZDH4hHeVeQaud332c5KYY91Ng0v8Afaq3GMCGu-VUXzvh0/s320/Me+%2526+VC.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With an old VC in the fields outside of Da Nang 1993</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />It’s the story of a farm kid from the States out in
the world for the first time and a young girl from Cambodia who lives in Viet
Nam and works for the American GIs. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHSYTdSFZYsj7C69CA8e27Cn73xhktsb1_MoXGJo_kkTOZojKJW_AftcGYK5_Dhj5I7aWfXhARxRogoNM6CAbA1IMI2Vq3GtK21k08UQXZBjZYqhFzSMSMamloiSrogBEUOXnaVtLl2s/s678/picture+4+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="678" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHSYTdSFZYsj7C69CA8e27Cn73xhktsb1_MoXGJo_kkTOZojKJW_AftcGYK5_Dhj5I7aWfXhARxRogoNM6CAbA1IMI2Vq3GtK21k08UQXZBjZYqhFzSMSMamloiSrogBEUOXnaVtLl2s/s320/picture+4+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A girl from Tam Hiep<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s the story of the beginnings of their stumbling
relationship and where it goes; ultimately to present day Viet Nam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgYCq7sfXOM7la0h2F6HiDAzB60shHlrGGR3rYERGs17c5Pv40N1FeGOEobSazM4-wYIBrXW1ZAQq7Vm0UqpqWxnQFMnZx7zBDBmpFjdBK6yd6TIYen8KHPyOPKKtEM74vnsEtTw6GyU/s1600/TamHiep+Cart0001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="902" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgYCq7sfXOM7la0h2F6HiDAzB60shHlrGGR3rYERGs17c5Pv40N1FeGOEobSazM4-wYIBrXW1ZAQq7Vm0UqpqWxnQFMnZx7zBDBmpFjdBK6yd6TIYen8KHPyOPKKtEM74vnsEtTw6GyU/s320/TamHiep+Cart0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Tam Hiep</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s also the story of other American boys from varied
backgrounds and their relationship with
the powers that be that control army life, the Green Machine, the US Army. And their relationships with other GIs and the
Vietnamese ….especially the girls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIrEY8YJGrrprWmW2996pUjDAR7LWcV9djVsCCUO9A8JwWLvX9q6-1RS0Akj0Rd_iWHh5BE21v-rbBeU1KykIqQE-MWHRXprFA-SFeGO9kkm0HiGf9hE27on457wrMhnKNIRdt3i0kVI/s1600/Tam+Hiep+Kim+Lon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIrEY8YJGrrprWmW2996pUjDAR7LWcV9djVsCCUO9A8JwWLvX9q6-1RS0Akj0Rd_iWHh5BE21v-rbBeU1KykIqQE-MWHRXprFA-SFeGO9kkm0HiGf9hE27on457wrMhnKNIRdt3i0kVI/s320/Tam+Hiep+Kim+Lon.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another girl from Tam Hiep</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">In many ways it explores the relationship of two
peoples who have great differences in background but are very much alike at the human level. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dIF48Qu-diXg5tlWQLlrZzsYPZ_hsN_pWT3hwiK3CCRoA8OiVcNj9eCZIz6SQv_51mt1kNJRAW62BHnRJocj2lqpb5uYyzjfx0ACq3OQTyeXyEQBGCsoY1vLhlfRbWlVaCIiU9PUVMU/s1600/Red+Beach.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1109" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dIF48Qu-diXg5tlWQLlrZzsYPZ_hsN_pWT3hwiK3CCRoA8OiVcNj9eCZIz6SQv_51mt1kNJRAW62BHnRJocj2lqpb5uYyzjfx0ACq3OQTyeXyEQBGCsoY1vLhlfRbWlVaCIiU9PUVMU/s320/Red+Beach.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The author </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">There is a larger story of a rich and powerful country
enveloping a small, poor and distant one that is very unlike itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0KuqhEcirvbWXRjVSb4TllcvkXv-BFd4wghIyk2LKxBDCaG8z1UnYCXjzFArVlx4Q3d1rBeAIrsCf-1zSyD90rms3WpPFB3Rm-Fa0fz3DIwfYDwxH6Exq6xqNQn68LsjTuwjfcgDDdI/s1600/Scan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="926" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0KuqhEcirvbWXRjVSb4TllcvkXv-BFd4wghIyk2LKxBDCaG8z1UnYCXjzFArVlx4Q3d1rBeAIrsCf-1zSyD90rms3WpPFB3Rm-Fa0fz3DIwfYDwxH6Exq6xqNQn68LsjTuwjfcgDDdI/s320/Scan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys from the Company</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">From the Long Binh
Ammo Dump to the village of Tam Hiep, from Bien Hoa to Saigon, from Da Nang and
Hue to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. the narrative follows US Army Private
Bill Collins on his treck through the many and the quiet complexities of the
Viet Nam War</span></div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-36188637879178852662017-12-02T13:44:00.000-05:002017-12-08T09:10:58.118-05:00Four Soldiers from the Great War<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was April
6, 2017, one hundred years to the day since President Wilson and the US
Congress declared war on Germany. We had
driven from Paris into Northern France to the site of the infamous Hindenburg
Line. On that beautiful early morning we
stood on a knoll overlooking the landscape once occupied by soldiers and
trenches from opposing armies. All
evidence of the ‘Great War’ had disappeared, as we were surrounded by vast
fields of wheat and mustard seed. We had
begun our journey into the past.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28NRMHYetHeV_2vyyuKM_I33gJLOuMbxHl-qATcKf6sEo6YUSoI-JvSAcDuHJ0ZSs143rhwMRgF4ljnMwEo_8CvTlfekP0liHQFrsQq0ORR9x9rG9v6d0CEsiNK-A9fBqYHrrnfq8C5Y/s1600/IMG_0594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28NRMHYetHeV_2vyyuKM_I33gJLOuMbxHl-qATcKf6sEo6YUSoI-JvSAcDuHJ0ZSs143rhwMRgF4ljnMwEo_8CvTlfekP0liHQFrsQq0ORR9x9rG9v6d0CEsiNK-A9fBqYHrrnfq8C5Y/s320/IMG_0594.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Glaser and Pete Conroy with our 'Beautiful French Girl'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We, are Dr.
David Glaser who has taught history at many of the US military instillations
around the world, including Viet Nam during the war there, for the University
of Maryland. Neal Tallon whose father Daniel
Tallon was a WWI veteran. Pete Conroy
and myself for our grandfather Winslow B. Watson and his brother Mark S. Watson
who were also WWI veterans. Our mission
was to, as near as possible locate the areas where they had served in this
conflict. There was one more WWI veteran
whose path we were tracing, our old family friend Mr. William Shemin who just
last year had the Silver Star that he was awarded for bravery under fire during
his time in the trenches here, up graded to the Congressional Medal of Honor by
President Obama. Neal, Pete and myself
are Viet Nam War army vets from northern New York State and with the help of
David, the historian and US Marine veteran are attempting to walk in the
footsteps of these WWI soldiers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmj9UTXn_6jUBU90LIFNYIBvyznA7HFJz03yusOifj_H-TOx34CReNqzbmPc2ZR6vLg07xpx-m2hUE9Y0u49nxn0z3n3CwWb_MeMtV1NxXGVEt5SlJGz-wiqqZvgVdKLGvQeOGEcgeY24/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmj9UTXn_6jUBU90LIFNYIBvyznA7HFJz03yusOifj_H-TOx34CReNqzbmPc2ZR6vLg07xpx-m2hUE9Y0u49nxn0z3n3CwWb_MeMtV1NxXGVEt5SlJGz-wiqqZvgVdKLGvQeOGEcgeY24/s320/5.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete, Neal and myself...the Viet Nam Vets...Paris, 2017.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Watson
boys grew up in Plattsburgh, NY and were educated at Union College; Winslow in
engineering and Mark in journalism.
Daniel Tallon grew up on a farm in Beekmantown, a short distance north
of Plattsburgh and left for the war when drafted in 1917. William Shemin enlisted in 1917. He lived at that time in New York City,
however his later years were spent just north of Plattsburgh at Chazy Landings on
the shores of Lake Champlain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P0poXPupUGYVvkLbUYMUStQDKPJxuWspCJkBfo4W9sZflGVoQ9r7soAFMMXYXm8pSoHfGXSwu-tTzwXNbkugAVqUx3Vk7zIV-zHdsHyT-RPzJPd9f01bBsdXtAeyEeL2LyEslxGWY7c/s1600/Scan_20171106+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="933" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P0poXPupUGYVvkLbUYMUStQDKPJxuWspCJkBfo4W9sZflGVoQ9r7soAFMMXYXm8pSoHfGXSwu-tTzwXNbkugAVqUx3Vk7zIV-zHdsHyT-RPzJPd9f01bBsdXtAeyEeL2LyEslxGWY7c/s320/Scan_20171106+%25283%2529.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capt. Winslow B. Watson, 106th Inf. American 27th Division</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Driving
north from Paris through areas of large farm fields we finally arrived in the
town of Peronne which having been destroyed by shell fire during the war, had
been rebuilt and is the present location of an excellent WWI museum. The Somme American Cemetery is located
outside the nearby town of Bony where Americans who fell in battle over this
large area are buried. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Capt.
Winslow B. Watson fought with his company in the second Battle of the Somme
with the 106<sup>th</sup> Infantry, American 27<sup>th</sup> Division. This battle continued from the fall of 1917
till the end of the war on November 11,<sup> </sup>1918. Our group was standing on the knoll between
Guillemont Farm and the former site of Quennemont Farm. A very striking French farm girl was out this
early morning planting potatoes with a large piece of machinery. She was kind enough to make a call to verify
the farm locations. During that battle,
Capt. Winslow Watson led his troops on the attack of the nearly impregnable,
Hindenburg Line which had to be breached to defeat the Germans who had been on
the run since the Battle of St. Quenten Canal during the Meuse-Argonne
Offensive. These operations were
difficult to envision while looking over these wide open well-kept fields today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6KBzEjt6vJF3QGjuic1PYoI-OUEtSoPw7VAp9Wiiq-f6bL4hJCMEM2vf_0fTDoXckHUY5XvakzAo6k01pxuNcYXzliuV4a0F8W6z_n-qrJvfiHRi4n-tHKhq35N3TvgtD8PDhYV-ikk/s1600/IMG_0637+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6KBzEjt6vJF3QGjuic1PYoI-OUEtSoPw7VAp9Wiiq-f6bL4hJCMEM2vf_0fTDoXckHUY5XvakzAo6k01pxuNcYXzliuV4a0F8W6z_n-qrJvfiHRi4n-tHKhq35N3TvgtD8PDhYV-ikk/s320/IMG_0637+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neal Tallon on the Sgt. York Trail</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">A direct order quoted here from the history of the 27<sup>th</sup> Division shows the seriousness of the operation.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Those were
desperate days. It was truly victory or
death. ‘If a gun team cannot remain here
alive it will remain here dead, but in any case, it will remain here’ reads a
paragraph of the order. ‘Should any man,
through shell shock or other cause attempt to surrender, he will remain here
dead’ reads another paragraph.
Inferentially, he was to die by the hands of his sterner, stronger
comrades, rather than be permitted to surrender’. Machine gun companies were aptly named ‘suicide
squads’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Winslow
Watson the grandfather whom I never met drowned in Lake Champlain three years
after he returned home. I never felt
closer to him than on the knoll by Guillelmont Farm 100 yea<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk485977426">rs after this ferocious battle.<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Sgt. William Shemin joined the
U.S. Army on Oct. 2, 1917. His unit, G
Company, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry, 4th Division of the American
Expeditionary Forces fought here during the Second Battle of the Marne during
the Spring & Summer of 1918. As near
as we could determine, the actions that he undertook to be awarded the DSC took
place near the spot where we now stood along the Vesle River just outside of
the village of Bazoches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sgt. Shemin was awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross for his actions in France during early August of 1918. His
citation reads as follows:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"The President of
the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress ... takes pleasure
in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Sergeant William Shemin (ASN:
558173), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism ... on the Vesle River,
near Bazoches, France, 7, 8, and 9 August 1918. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8trFBSgu5mhfybE-x4MNBZ7T_yG4oRxXWwBZsas73gNmWEXgW6ct2aZAfdTo3Xa2rnYiz_2ZtI0QaSHTM5w2Xkh-5rhgAO4M3S621btjU5lQIV2nWMWhL2bgqWvezxUX61Rmlpw-IJ3A/s1600/IMG_0613+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8trFBSgu5mhfybE-x4MNBZ7T_yG4oRxXWwBZsas73gNmWEXgW6ct2aZAfdTo3Xa2rnYiz_2ZtI0QaSHTM5w2Xkh-5rhgAO4M3S621btjU5lQIV2nWMWhL2bgqWvezxUX61Rmlpw-IJ3A/s320/IMG_0613+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sgt. William Shemin's 4th Inf. Div. moument, Varennes, France</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Sergeant Shemin,
upon three different occasions, left cover and crossed an open space (of) 150
yards, exposed to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to rescue wounded. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"After officers
and senior non-commissioned officers had become casualties, Sergeant Shemin
took command of the platoon and displayed great initiative under fire until
wounded on 9 August."</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According to Capt.
Rupert Purdon, a superior officer who recommended Sgt. Shemin for the Medal of
Honor at that time, "he sprang from his position in the trench and dashed
out in full sight of the Germans, who opened and maintained a furious burst of
machine-gun and rifle fire all the while Sgt. Shemin was rescuing the wounded.”</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBAeXbF4xjwQPzDbS6N_sjuAgCGc45bVb716IyF8Z3zH6ID2B96pqDdY-bY8hLr26I4f1OEz3z8kdRRbZcSU2coZsuwCYELNIyFIS93mggmVY5Rg4_Zrb8FS58Fabb7kigN2Ms2iIiTA/s1600/IMG_0600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBAeXbF4xjwQPzDbS6N_sjuAgCGc45bVb716IyF8Z3zH6ID2B96pqDdY-bY8hLr26I4f1OEz3z8kdRRbZcSU2coZsuwCYELNIyFIS93mggmVY5Rg4_Zrb8FS58Fabb7kigN2Ms2iIiTA/s320/IMG_0600.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trench system entry point, Varennes, France</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He took over the
command of his platoon for the next three days, leading it until shrapnel
wounds and a bullet to the back of his head forced him from the
field. After a hospital stay of three months, he was
discharged, partially deaf and lame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was determined by
the US Army in 2016 that Sgt William Shemin had been denied the Medal of Honor
because of his Jewish religion. Through
the efforts of his daughter Elsie Shemin Roth President Obama upgraded the
Distinguished Service Cross that Sgt. Shemin had been awarded in 1918 to the
Congressional Medal of Honor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sgt. William Shemin, 4<sup>th</sup>
Infantry Division, American Expeditionary Forces received his award for his
actions along the Velse River where today we saw swans swimming peacefully on
the placid waters. During the WWI battle
here in 1918, the Germans were on one side of the river and the Americans on
the other. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmy1Sn62KJYmGXVbSZWHt9xpFqWs1tx9rMmSv_kOxI3WOHolkolPbytnECgiONgEEfy0DCZFGB1AFv_6k2UR0T-0yewl3LBq423WxPIG6c67wG_mvC7UV6KG3iitDeS6NX4EwC-ErdNs/s1600/IMG_0604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmy1Sn62KJYmGXVbSZWHt9xpFqWs1tx9rMmSv_kOxI3WOHolkolPbytnECgiONgEEfy0DCZFGB1AFv_6k2UR0T-0yewl3LBq423WxPIG6c67wG_mvC7UV6KG3iitDeS6NX4EwC-ErdNs/s320/IMG_0604.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy and Dave Glaser along the Vesle River, France</td></tr>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On the present modern
highway along the river was a monument dedicated to the 4<sup>th</sup> inf.
Div. Sgt. Shemin’s unit, was in Varennes.
The 2<sup>nd</sup> Battle of the Marne.
The nearby Argonne American Cemetery, very well kept. The Star of David is on the crosses of the
Jewish dead. There were pics of black
soldiers, male and female, in the museum of this cemetery. Again, as with Mr. Shemin, minority and
Jewish soldiers were not afforded the recognition they deserved for acts of
bravery because of their ethnicity.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPtEE0Bub3CVsOFFLnq33mTyKdZ7mx-suhY_e9Bvv801YA2MeR3zz_0mhX6f88Il-DhvX8CoznjQvUL_gHZy2NgFELCVUWlxwpgwYlk4XPwQZAaoUwcn3KPY1yIKOJAJ53Es9KJbYp24/s1600/size0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="598" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPtEE0Bub3CVsOFFLnq33mTyKdZ7mx-suhY_e9Bvv801YA2MeR3zz_0mhX6f88Il-DhvX8CoznjQvUL_gHZy2NgFELCVUWlxwpgwYlk4XPwQZAaoUwcn3KPY1yIKOJAJ53Es9KJbYp24/s320/size0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to Right...Sgt. William Shemin, in the field w/the boys, WWI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cpl. Daniel
Tallon served in the 82<sup>nd</sup> Division, 327 Regiment, the unit of Sgt.
Alvin York, the most recognized veteran of WWI who received the Medal of Honor
and was portrayed in the famous movie by Gary Cooper. The Sgt. York Trail which traces the location
of York’s activity the day he was commended for bravery is well marked by a Boy
Scout Troop from the US and is outside the town Chatel- Chehery.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk487872192"> </a>The trail was
a couple of miles along the exact location of the actions that won York the Medal of Honor during the Meuse-Aragón Offensive. </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTX4iGO2gncryHzxrl33lwC7yAPhfPe78UJo1sICBwwuvabPlCq3uRl3K2OPlMRJuuPQZRr4Cq13rAOIvSkxqSPV74YNVIDuQ1D_aLgJYIkdeKg__FiWuEp1nGTx9TihA6bjOpLE0VaNA/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTX4iGO2gncryHzxrl33lwC7yAPhfPe78UJo1sICBwwuvabPlCq3uRl3K2OPlMRJuuPQZRr4Cq13rAOIvSkxqSPV74YNVIDuQ1D_aLgJYIkdeKg__FiWuEp1nGTx9TihA6bjOpLE0VaNA/s320/IMG_0666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy and Dave Glaser at the Chateau of Chaumont-Bois.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was on
October 8, 1918 that Corporal York and sixteen other soldiers were dispatched
to take command of the Deconville Railroad behind Hill 223 in the Chatel-Chehery
sector. These seventeen men mistakenly
wound up behind enemy lines and after a brief but confusing firefight took the
surrender of a superior German force.
The Germans eventually realized the limitations of the American Force
and turned their machine guns on them killing nine Americans. York was then ordered to silence the machine
guns and was successful. In the end, the
nine remaining American soldiers had captured 132 Germans. Cpl. Tallon was supplying the trenches and
the front lines during the push against the Hindenburg Line while the Sgt. York
episode was taking place. He returned to
the US and the home farm in Beekmantown in the spring in 1919.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Maj. Mark S.
Watson</span> graduated from Plattsburgh High School in 1906, joined the army
on the leadup to the American entry in the war in 1917, then<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> trained with the US Calvary at Fr.
Riley Kansas. He was stationed at General ‘Blackjack’ Pershing Headquarters in
Chaumont France for his WWI Tour of Duty.
The Gen. Pershing headquarters building today is a police academy. During his time in Chaumont, Mark Watson was
billeted in the Couillard family home, the Chateau of Chaumont-le-Bois. He established a close friendship with that
family, especially with the daughter, Marcelle Parde who worked with the French
Resistance during World War II, was eventually arrested by the Gestapo in
August of 1944 and shipped to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. On his return to Chaumont on September 30,
1944 as a reporter with the US Army, Maj. Watson indeed found that Marcelle
Parde had been arrested by the Gestapo.
It was later determined that she chose to remain with her secretary,
also arrested and with the resistance, rather than take an offer to escape
alone. Both disappeared during deportation
in 1945 and were presumed dead.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_j7JoVjmWPTOOZt6rviE1VITzQv4uKtFnyPo_AneDAX42mgghGqstO4SO1oiEuA10WZmmA1wRVsmOs-WGrR2AVZBVVksd226HmNPq7SkhEsmXX1H9Dys1u1VNC6oHzezvsPYLbGtCO0/s1600/IMG_0737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_j7JoVjmWPTOOZt6rviE1VITzQv4uKtFnyPo_AneDAX42mgghGqstO4SO1oiEuA10WZmmA1wRVsmOs-WGrR2AVZBVVksd226HmNPq7SkhEsmXX1H9Dys1u1VNC6oHzezvsPYLbGtCO0/s320/IMG_0737.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cpl. Danial Tallon at war's end.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the war
ended Mark Watson was appointed Officer in Charge in the Paris office of the
Stars and Stripes, the soldier’s newspaper.
He was with the Baltimore Sun for most of his professional life and
became the assistant managing editor in 1920 eventually becoming the Sunday
editor. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for reporting from Europe
during WWII and President Kennedy made him one of the first recipients of the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.</span> His first job in journalism was
reporting for the Plattsburgh Press.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVHoI4jeIuwmCGKUW8cyAWnSD4qy13ab41SuiNPe0zopDuYEIxroXpDP7Uv39cKXWDzGDlivzxqHEzTeS-S4KFPByo9BQkmnTXItDYwGYOWGl_TrDOZqG2JiZmXV6IfKtCb3CHvT_cWA/s1600/IMG_0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVHoI4jeIuwmCGKUW8cyAWnSD4qy13ab41SuiNPe0zopDuYEIxroXpDP7Uv39cKXWDzGDlivzxqHEzTeS-S4KFPByo9BQkmnTXItDYwGYOWGl_TrDOZqG2JiZmXV6IfKtCb3CHvT_cWA/s320/IMG_0427.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maj. Mark S. Watson at Pershing's Headqurters, Chaumont, France, 1918.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We had a
sense of completion upon leaving the battlefields of the Somme coming so close
to the footsteps of our friend and ancestors.
Perhaps too a sense of sadness as we left that hallowed ground knowing
that after one hundred years their sacrifices have led only to the battlefields
of Iraq and Afghanistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<i>A version of this article appeared in the Press Republican on 12/6/17.</i><br />
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-12270264233566516592017-01-18T13:49:00.001-05:002017-01-18T14:00:59.770-05:00Chuck Feeney's work in Viet Nam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The end of 2016, marked billionaire
philanthropist Mr. Chuck Feeney’s lifetime achievement goal of giving away all
of his money before his death through Atlantic Philanthropies (AP), an
organization he founded in 1982. A
recent $7 million bequest to Cornell University has brought the total to just
over $8 billion in grants, “to advance opportunity and promote equity and
dignity around the world.” Mr. Feeney’s
philosophy of ‘Giving while Living’ has been realized. While his generosity towards Ireland and
Cornell University is well known, his relationship with the people of Vietnam has
flown relatively under the radar.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mr. Feeney’s
philanthropic relationship with that country began with an article in the San
Francisco Chronicle (1997) concerning the lack of funding for East Meets West
Foundation (EMWF), an NGO working for the poor Vietnamese with headquarters in
the central city of Da Nang. Included
with the article was a picture of Mark Conroy, EMWF country director who was documenting
a few of the foundation’s completed projects and expressing the necessity of
project continuation and expansion.
EMWF’s grants were running out with no cash left in the box to keep the
operation running. During a recent trip
to San Francisco to meet with Mr. Feeney, Mr. Conroy disclosed, “I was having
to use my own savings, which were very limited, to keep busy on some small
projects.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Writer and
humanitarian, Le Ly Hayslip, founded East Meets West Foundation in 1987. Ms. Hayslip grew up in Da Nang during the war
with the Americans, which left her country in complete devastation. Mr. Conroy
had been hired by Ms. Hayslip to run the EMWF Vietnam headquarters following
his Peace Corp tour in Guatemala. Mr. Conroy was already acquainted with Ms. Hayslip,
having met previously during past trips to Ho Chi Minh City. In May 1994, Mr.
Conroy and then wife, Joanne Ives, began work in Da Nang.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_QNSs46X4UjOYDY6lteOuPiDyz33VF2tavo3ryZMkt7_XHQRqLjt3WQ3xeF3OTmRObLlQBTzVwHGQ5hBYWROfIZac_u_RObbNbl6XQUEWqP-Bfk5tGqup9wnMi9-t_xSy3nUFZjPfjQ/s1600/Chuck+and+Helga+at+VOH+2000+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_QNSs46X4UjOYDY6lteOuPiDyz33VF2tavo3ryZMkt7_XHQRqLjt3WQ3xeF3OTmRObLlQBTzVwHGQ5hBYWROfIZac_u_RObbNbl6XQUEWqP-Bfk5tGqup9wnMi9-t_xSy3nUFZjPfjQ/s400/Chuck+and+Helga+at+VOH+2000+1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuck and Helga at the Village of Hope orphanage in Da Nang/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mr. Feeney
had his office investigate EMWF. Intrigued by AP’s findings, he called the EMWF
US office in Oakland, CA. After speaking with Director Mark Stewart, Mr. Feeney
offered to send $100,000 to Da Nang headquarters to see what they could do with
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> “When it’s gone, get back to me and explain
how it was spent,” said Mr. Feeney. EMWF
used the money to build and renovate schools and fresh water systems in poor
villages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In early
1998, Bob Matousek, Mr. Feeney’s long-time friend and associate, visited EMWF
headquarters in Da Nang. Alongside Mr.
Conroy, Mr. Matousek spent a few days checking out various projects in the
Vietnamese countryside and in Da Nang. A number of schools and compassion homes
had been built. The Village of Hope orphanage,
which housed 200 kids and was managed by EMWF, was being effectively maintained. Several other grass root projects in Quan Nam
Province had also been completed by the foundation. In light of his trip, Mr.
Matousek approved EMWF for a visit from Mr. Feeney. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mr. Feeney’s
first personal contact with EMWF in Vietnam was on Oct. 18 1998, in the
original office on Tran Phu Street, Da Nang.
This office was a thinly staffed, ‘nuts and bolts’ operation where the
occasional snake or rat that passed through did not interfere. Mr. Conroy had no idea who Mr. Feeney was at
the time and asked him why he was interested in a small organization like EMWF that
worked primarily in Vietnam. Mr. Feeney answered that he didn’t like or trust
large institutions. He chose to support
the people of Vietnam, believing that the Vietnamese had been dealt a raw deal by
the US government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vietnam also
happened to be on Mr. Feeney’s route from San Francisco to Australia where he
was funding medical research and education projects and trying to persuade
wealthy Australians to follow suit. Ordinarily,
Mr. Feeney focused on top down development in education and public health to
help facilitate a country’s ability to take care of its own. In Ireland, this approach by Mr. Feeney had
been operating successfully for years.
In contrast, his support for EMWF was more from the bottom up due to
their sufficiency with small financing.
It appeared that both Chuck and Mark were ‘brick and mortar’ guys, similar
to the Irish that to the extent of their capabilities, settled America to lend
a helping hand to their people in need. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In those
days, Da Nang General Hospital had next to nothing. Today, that facility has been completely
rebuilt by EMWF with funding from AP and treats over 2,000 patients a day. Its
capacity has grown from 800 to 1,250 beds. In addition, three more hospitals
have been added to the health system in Da Nang: The Eye Hospital with 400
beds, the Woman and Children’s Hospital with 600 beds and the 500 bed Oncology
Hospital. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Dr. Tran
Ngoc Thanh, the hospital director of the last 14 years, recently remarked, “Da
Nang General Hospital’s capacity today is a dream come true for the Vietnamese
people. Without the input of AP and EMWF
it would have taken 30 years to be where we are now. Mr. Chuck Feeney has been the savior of our people
and we will never forget that, and we always make a point of expressing our
gratitude in meetings with other officials.
Da Nang General is one of the top hospitals in Viet Nam and its presence
has stimulated more medical training out of Viet Nam. I hope Mr. Chuck’s health improves. May God
bless him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Through EMWF
and AP, Da Nang University has built two Learning Resource Centers (LRCs), the
modern equivalent of a library that specializes in Internet connections with
other worldwide educational facilities. The LRCs’ textbook supply must be available
for thousands of students in a semester and currently serve 10,000 in the Da
Nang system. The Da Nang University facilities
massive success has led to the construction of LRC s at Universities in Hue,
Can Tho and Thai Nguyen.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOutBffyoJfUoYGsTW7RkazoyJ6S5GnItXf2jrkD-Q3licoBzLBQeQ6f9WMRvgRcnEIJ2odgrAfoQFNoCGoKZOMo5ZjZMLEVbNw4D7ZfZihb45ZHPGI27FHssPmarN1Z8uUG_Pykj-uTo/s1600/100_1879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOutBffyoJfUoYGsTW7RkazoyJ6S5GnItXf2jrkD-Q3licoBzLBQeQ6f9WMRvgRcnEIJ2odgrAfoQFNoCGoKZOMo5ZjZMLEVbNw4D7ZfZihb45ZHPGI27FHssPmarN1Z8uUG_Pykj-uTo/s400/100_1879.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Conroys and the Feeneys, Hanoi, VN</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> In 1999, EMWF began building two Da Nang
University of Education dormitories financed by Mr. Feeney. In large, these dormitories are used by poor
students and minorities from the distant, rural mountain regions. These students would otherwise be homeless while
pursuing their education. Post
graduation, they will return home to teach and help with the advancement their people.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Modern
dining halls and </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Da Nang University Sports
center, another joint AP and EMWF project, was completed in 2004. Today, 800
students use this facility daily throughout the school year. Students can train
in basketball, volleyball, tennis, table tennis, variations of football and
aerobic exercise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mr. ‘Teddy’
Thiet, the Da Nang Sports Center director, traveled with Mr. Feeney to
Australia to research building design for the facility’s construction. Mr. Thiet remembered Mr. Chuck Feeney, “as a
man with a great heart, deserving of much respect; one who understands the
position of the poor, a man who wouldn’t waste money on a tie for himself. I am very sad to hear that he is in ill
health and hope it improves enough so that he can come back here for a visit sometime. I thank him from the bottom of my heart and
extend those thanks also to the staff of EMWF.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
University Games and biannual National Sports Championships are hosted by the
Da Nang University Sports center with over 1,000 student participants. The Da Nang Sports Center’s reputation as a
premier venue for athletic competition has inspired the development of more
sporting event facilities in Vietnam. <span style="color: #c00000;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thai Nguyen
is a rapidly developing city northwest of the Hanoi No Bai Airport with
historical claims of Ho Chi Minh residing there during the French Indo-China War. On the city’s outskirts lies the largest
Samsung plant in the world, encompassing at least 400 acres. EMWF projects at Thai Nguyen University (TNU),
funded by Chuck Feeney and AP, include several dormitories, an LRC, site development
and landscaping. After five years of work, these projects were completed (2007)
and in 2013, the dormitory project won the most prestigious architecture award
in Vietnam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ten years
later, an on-site visit and meeting with Mark Conroy, TNU director, Dr. Nguyen
Van Tao, and his board was set up to assess the present use and maintenance of
projects completed there. Behind the board of directors, three flags were lined
up beginning with the Vietnamese, followed by the US, and finally the
French. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In addition
to 11 dormitory buildings and required site work, landscaping for the sports
facility was prepared for basketball, football, tennis, etc. The dorms, originally built for the medical
school, had expanded their occupancy to the entire university population and
now housed predominately poorer students from the countryside and ethnic
minorities (50 %). 57 Laotian foreign
exchange students lived in the dormitories and couldn’t attend TNU without
them. At $6.00 USD per month, student rent is much cheaper than private housing
and has enabled TNU to upgrade its standards elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">University
enrollment has increased 20% since the completion of the dormitory project and
TNU now offers 17 majors, including medicine, pharmacy, education, information
technology, communication, foreign languages and most scientific disciplines. There
are students enrolled here from Korea, Germany, The Philippines and China. TNU
officials express deep gratitude to Chuck Feeney for his generosity toward
their university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the
central Vietnamese city of Hue, the EMFW Heart Program and Hue Hospital director
Dr.Bui Duc Phu also peaked Mr. Feeney’s interests. Dr. Phu happens to be one of
the best heart surgeons in the country.
He and his team perform over 1,500 open-heart surgeries and 2,000 interventions
or heart cauterizations a year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Financed by
Mr. Feeney, the EMFW Heart Program was able to provide the medical facilities
with equipment to establish a pediatric open-heart surgery unit at Hue Hospital
in 2006. These facilities have enabled postgraduate doctors to stay in Vietnam
and work in their field by meeting the standards of their education. Upon Dr. Phu’s recent return from San
Francisco, where he attended a brief meeting with Mr. Feeney, he also expressed
heartfelt gratitude towards Chuck’s generosity to the Hue health care system.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN70j7PfTDSwGOyalGxLedzwOA76Db0O6_49QlfarAMn0mtxVaOqUY4X5cQ941umpqAev1e2Hg4GGOJN9W2vjvuHQpfr7p0THNRNnaJC5jiNj8vd-L9fIDW5lSBS71JFiyA19P41U9qQg/s1600/Press004025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN70j7PfTDSwGOyalGxLedzwOA76Db0O6_49QlfarAMn0mtxVaOqUY4X5cQ941umpqAev1e2Hg4GGOJN9W2vjvuHQpfr7p0THNRNnaJC5jiNj8vd-L9fIDW5lSBS71JFiyA19P41U9qQg/s400/Press004025.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children from the country who were helped by Chuck Feeney</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mr. Feeney’s
affiliation with Hue Hospital introduced him to Hue University and led to the
construction of university dormitories, a food center and LRC, as well as
pediatric and cardiovascular hospitals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In total,
the EMWF projects funded by AP and Chuck Feeney amount to $100 Million Dollars.
Mr. Feeney and AP funding enabled EMWF to build 10 hospitals and 11 university
building projects of varying magnitude, to repair damages from Typhoon Xang,
and various other community infrastructure projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The present
director of Atlantic Philanthropies, Mr. Chris Oechsli, along with Mr. Matousek
and Mr. Feeney have made numerous trips to Vietnam to consult with Mark Conroy
and EMWF personnel during the course of these projects. Chuck Feeney’s last visit to Vietnam was for
the AP meeting held at the Hanoi Metropole Hotel in 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-79111689905012728932015-12-16T10:18:00.000-05:002016-05-27T06:20:09.464-04:00Media Revolt Kandahar and then Some<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This piece compiled from notes on 2012 Kandahar embed. </i><br />
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.KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN:
Reports from most media sources here regarding coverage of Operaton
Dragon Strike in the Arghandab district northwest of Kandahar City, are that
even those reporters with long time embed assignments are being denied access
to the field of battle. Reportedly even
some that made it to the operational staging area at FOB Nelson ? were promptly
shipped back to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Media</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place> for unexplained
reasons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The feeling is that General Petraeus has taken the gloves off regarding
former rules of engagement applied to the operation in Marjah last February
conducted by the US Marines. According
to Ben Plesser of CBS news, Marjah was primarily a battle between M-16s and AK
47s to control civilian casualties.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Right now in Arghandab reports are that Petraeus is using
bulldozers to push large roads through villages which entails knocking down
houses in the way as well as anything else preventing a right of way for large
vehicles. Artillery and heavy air
strikes are also being reported as well the shooting of suspected
insurgents. Civilians have been leaving
in droves and according to one reporter have already organized a rather large
refugee camp near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kandahar</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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These reports are word of mouth from reporters that have
been on the scene and thrown out or refused transport elsewhere or
whatever. These people are all more or
less permanent residents in <st1:city w:st="on">Kabul</st1:city>
and seem to know their way around the military and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> in general.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfCtXNv66k2jtb-wCwLl-035fuLyAwesRE3mJE130DQVuf_yXpA7iBBL-Ig9sAw5CnFKXyh9e2t8drm0D-kwfjharxXo7Dllouym-RzVDWFV8D3XZqSLNYi2wxp-VyWpSUyijxIfLbLU/s1600/IMG_4882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfCtXNv66k2jtb-wCwLl-035fuLyAwesRE3mJE130DQVuf_yXpA7iBBL-Ig9sAw5CnFKXyh9e2t8drm0D-kwfjharxXo7Dllouym-RzVDWFV8D3XZqSLNYi2wxp-VyWpSUyijxIfLbLU/s320/IMG_4882.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Famed French war photographer Patrick Chauvel, who<br />
has covered the wars from Viet Nam to Afghanistan<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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One reporter’s piece recently in the NY Times baffles many
of these regulars. Carletta Gall the
former bureau chief in <st1:city w:st="on">Kabul</st1:city>
recently toured the battle area with a two star general whom I can’t
recall. Her resulting piece declared the
war in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>
won….apparently because of a supposed victory in one small river valley NW of
Kandahar. These full time Afghan
reporters state also that touring areas in the field with a general, or in the
company of celebrity reporters like Katie Couric never present an accurate take
on events. Obviously. They feel almost unanimously that if you
aren’t in a position to get a grunts eye view of the operations you will never
have an accurate story. In fairness to
Carletta Gall, she left this media center two days ago with the bulk of those
reporters that were held up previously for Arghandab but no word has filtered
back with results.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
CBS reporter Mandy Clark and producer Ben Plesser had been
down there for a week or so early in the month.
Mandy is young and lives in Kabul.
Ben in <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>
but has years here and in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>. After three weeks they’ve given up, returned
to <st1:city w:st="on">Kabul</st1:city> and
are organizing a protest in the Pentagon and Congress to have free access to
the news here as is required by the law.
They say they haven’t got anywhere near enough footage for the time
involved. The same goes for Paul Wood of
the BBC. He had no usable footage in two
weeks of more or less waiting at an FOB for transport nearer the action.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other media on site:
Regis Le Sommier of Paris Match, Tom Bowman of NPR, Joao Silva NY Times
Photographer, Ben Farmer of the Daily Telegraph (England) , Marie Colvin of The
Sunday Times (lost her eye in Siri Lanka sp. from RPG shrapnel, wears a patch),
Drew Brown of the Stars and Stripes and Gordon Forbes of the National
Geographic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I would add here that the opinion of many media I’ve met is
that Petraeus makes his decisions for political, not military reasons. He has his eye on the Presidency for 2012 or
2016 and will need something that looks like a military victory here to pull
that off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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From another source:
Karzai’s brother that is the powerhouse in Kandahar besides whatever
dealing he has in the drug business, also controls two security companies that
are hired by the us for many millions to guard convoys etc in the south
here…also kickbacks for each of these concrete barriers that are every where,
in the many thousands at least. He is from
a minority Pashtun tribe of perhaps 10% total population but these people also
hold 90% of government jobs in this area.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And another: Before
the English aid worker was killed recently during a rescue attempt by US
soldiers, ten tribal leaders in that region offered to meet with the captors
and arrange her freedom. They needed
assurance that the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>
military would guarantee them safe passage to the area where she was held but
that guarantee was not given. That’s according to more than one reporter who
lives in <st1:city w:st="on">Kabul</st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Eo1aI3DyN4e2NArrG4zRbic9ZJPM98Dj2TZkEEgd79-IZRKZx-ZdzIYD84tlzIzCsAHzjksqAWHlSl4BBvV52pU89UaiQRWgW0KFgvsNKh7BraxqIKNHSIfxz5hWFa5Kb5x0tZqFcKA/s1600/IMG_4894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Eo1aI3DyN4e2NArrG4zRbic9ZJPM98Dj2TZkEEgd79-IZRKZx-ZdzIYD84tlzIzCsAHzjksqAWHlSl4BBvV52pU89UaiQRWgW0KFgvsNKh7BraxqIKNHSIfxz5hWFa5Kb5x0tZqFcKA/s320/IMG_4894.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new replacement of the old jeep from the VN era that cost<br />
$2K. This model MRAP goes for nearly a million dollars.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And finally, the cell phone service that the military uses
here to communicate locally among themselves, and overseas is provided by an
IRANIAN COMPANY. There is one large
mineral deposit nearby (I’ll get the type later) however it is owned by the
Chinese who obtained it through a $30M bribe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And more….some of the recently built barracks here, we all
figure for the surge, have rows of Direct TV satellite dishes along the front
below the air con units. I asked if they
were for the GIs. They are for food
service people that are already making six figure, tax free money. The GIs have to buy their own civilian
internet service, for $70 per month, which according to a Sgt. Major I was
talking with this morning seldom works.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is this place fucked up…or what?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NOTES SO FAR THAT NEED VERIFICATIONN TO BE USED<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Addendum: Joao Silva,
the South African Photographer for the NY Times, lost his legs in the Arghandab
a day after I wrote the above piece, while on patrol with Calotta Gall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Marie Colvin was killed a couple of months ago in Syria.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tim Hetherington, who was up in Kunar in 2007 with me for
Operation Rock Avalanche was killed last winter in Lybia.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-60556030678375367862015-07-26T08:33:00.003-04:002016-01-28T14:37:18.879-05:00In Paris with the Stars and Stripes-1919<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had an interesting experience while reporting for this
newspaper from Iraq in 2007. Embedded
reporters work with and from the Public Affairs office of the military unit
that they’re been assigned to. In this
case it was the 2<sup>nd</sup> Brigade Combat Team of the 10<sup>th</sup>
Mountain Division with headquarters in Camp Victory outside of Baghdad; the
officer in charge being Maj. Webster Wright III.<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFfjRpbHL3Ngp1E8z4SsYOb_fleIWsgWUNVb4c-9pMwnvy2PCTe6sKrtyoipyXSf_VW3XivutSjXUNWwMAgwSg4172D_S9p2gmTVmFjZ5zaxRBPEjihOzyJ-DEkQdGIuYBrjZ7rtbnaY/s1600/img043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFfjRpbHL3Ngp1E8z4SsYOb_fleIWsgWUNVb4c-9pMwnvy2PCTe6sKrtyoipyXSf_VW3XivutSjXUNWwMAgwSg4172D_S9p2gmTVmFjZ5zaxRBPEjihOzyJ-DEkQdGIuYBrjZ7rtbnaY/s320/img043.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark S. Watson (on left) on the balcony of the <br />
Stars and Stripes office in Paris, 1919</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So you’re from Plattsburgh” said Maj. Wright “and you’re
with the Press Republican. So how long have
you been with them?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, I’m a freelancer” I said. “They credentialed me to come over here and
print what I send back. It’s working out
well.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So how did you get into war reporting” said the Major.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, when I left Viet Nam after 13 months with the Army in
1967 I intended to go back and give photo journalism a try. Even bought a couple of Miranda cameras in
the PX to work with, but never got around to it till now. Actually I like being back with the troops”. Somehow the conversation got around to the
Stars and Stripes, the soldiers newspaper.
I mentioned that my Great Uncle Mark S. Watson was the officer in charge
of that publication in Paris after WWI.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Really, let me google that” said Web Wright. Then “J****
C***** ! “Do you want me to print this
out for you?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I knew of course, Mark Watson had been with the Stars and
Stripes after WWI. He was with the
Baltimore Sun for most of his professional life and became the assistant
managing editor in 1920. Later on he was the Sunday editor. He won the Pulitzer
Prize for reporting from Europe after WWII. President Kennedy made him one of
the first recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until his death in 1966 at age 78 Mark S. Watson was the
senior defense correspondent working in the Pentagon press office. In May of that year Secretary of Defense
Robert S. McNamara unveiled a plaque above the desk where Watson had worked for
many years. He said at the time. “Mark Watson’s sense of personal integrity
and very deep understanding of the will and desire and purpose of our people is
a standard that will affect actions of all of us, both his colleagues of the
press and those of us in the department, for decades and decades to come.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mark Skinner Watson graduated from Plattsburgh High School
in 1906. His first job in journalism was
reporting for the Plattsburgh Press. It's worth noting that Harold Ross, the founder of The New Yorker magazine and Alexander Woollcott of the New York Times were enlisted men working under Watson on the Stars and Stripes in Paris during that period.<o:p></o:p><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUh-mFPwmPWwYuxwRjxkJIj4xjd7nwxNi2YNCMqXqi7V3N1MuFd8YQz9Fj4VHIExyaCDCa8o9hMfm09ppq2Oji_JJLn5_W8yctLyEzXHM9RxcAdIKaQhQfPlX3YCod9i4fbYDsk_VRli4/s1600/IMG_0809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUh-mFPwmPWwYuxwRjxkJIj4xjd7nwxNi2YNCMqXqi7V3N1MuFd8YQz9Fj4VHIExyaCDCa8o9hMfm09ppq2Oji_JJLn5_W8yctLyEzXHM9RxcAdIKaQhQfPlX3YCod9i4fbYDsk_VRli4/s320/IMG_0809.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maj. Web Wright, PIO 2nd Brigade Tenth Mountain Division</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-62510683600901849642015-05-12T12:39:00.000-04:002016-02-27T14:27:23.362-05:00Mr. Shemin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On June 2nd, the President of the United States Barack Obama* will award the Congressional Medal of Honor to William Shemin posthumously, for
his service to this country during World War I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mr. Shemin, who died in 1973, and his family were longtime summer
residents of Chazy Landing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He bought a
camp there in the late 1930s, and his wife, Bertha, and daughters, Elsie and
Ina, came for the summers from then on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr.
and Mrs. Shemin were life-long friends of my mother and father, Tom and Mary
Conroy of Beekmantown, where my mother gave riding lessons to their young
daughters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elsie, now Elsie Shemin-Roth,
will accept the medal on her father's behalf. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mr. Shemin joined the U.S. Army on
Oct. 2, 1917, after graduating from the New York State Ranger School. He was
sent to Fort Greene, N.C., for basic training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Upon graduation, his unit, G Company, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry, 4th
Division of the American Expeditionary Forces, was sent to the trenches in
France.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcqD4G5S3O7oKnljMZl0TdQj5k7v55fNUmEN6IPH5qtFU5ZXPVOdynTEbd92DlV08gMirm532dTnYPYFwd_QxWZvo4eySe1uXA_BCBclfcxXKkl5nOAKdxP01yGfE8bG2VxDPWi2nFCE/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcqD4G5S3O7oKnljMZl0TdQj5k7v55fNUmEN6IPH5qtFU5ZXPVOdynTEbd92DlV08gMirm532dTnYPYFwd_QxWZvo4eySe1uXA_BCBclfcxXKkl5nOAKdxP01yGfE8bG2VxDPWi2nFCE/s400/unnamed.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sgt. William Shemin (second from left) in France during WWI.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A sergeant, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in France during early August of
1918. His citation reads as follows:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"The
President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress ...
takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Sergeant
William Shemin (ASN: 558173), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism ...
on the Vesle River, near Bazoches, France, 7, 8, and 9 August 1918. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Sergeant
Shemin, upon three different occasions, left cover and crossed an open space
(of) 150 yards, exposed to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to rescue
wounded. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"After
officers and senior non-commissioned officers had become casualties, Sergeant
Shemin took command of the platoon and displayed great initiative under fire
until wounded on 9 August."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">According to Capt. Rupert Purdon, a
superior officer who recommended Sgt. Shemin for the Medal of Honor at that
time, "he sprang from his position in the trench and dashed out in full
sight of the Germans, who opened and maintained a furious burst of machine-gun
and rifle fire all the while Sgt. Shemin was rescuing the wounded.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He took over the command of his
platoon for the next three days, leading it until shrapnel wounds and a bullet
to the back of his head forced him from the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a hospital stay of three months, he was
discharged, partially deaf and lame.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Upon returning home, he finished his
schooling and established a successful landscaping and greenhouse business in
the Bronx.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I knew Mr. Shemin all of my life,
until his death in 1973, and he was always horribly lame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shrapnel left him vulnerable to a
crippling form of arthritis that he endured without complaint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could not walk without the use of a
cane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My brothers and I, throughout our
youth, were his hands in planting his property along Lake Champlain with every
kind of tree, shrub and flower, which he shipped up from his business in the
Bronx.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“He was the best man I ever worked
for,” said Tom Conroy recently. “Back on the farm, we were making $4 a month,
and Mr. Shemin immediately started my brother Will and myself at $2 per
hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On our first payday, he drove us
to the bank and helped us open a bank account so we’d learn how to handle
money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a thoughtful, caring,
exacting person."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Elsie Shemin-Roth campaigned long
and hard to have the government take a second look at her father's war
decorations after reading that Jewish soldiers, along with African American,
Asian and Native American military members, were sometimes denied full merit in
the awarding of service medals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
the driving force behind a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act
of December 2011, called the William Shemin World War 1 Veterans Act, that
provides for a Pentagon review of Jewish soldiers and sailors who may have been
overlooked for the Medal of Honor simply because of their faith.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzDzJSM5dl7R_o21QeE5qeB6aK8N9dbGY2zJRP4LtC5gS3eQt6QJegbzhCRYbwlxJI9LTmMfr0f44GfWDhWk6KL_xUoRiXGZpYG5LfcJXaL_zqOwnOoNEZDwYu-16KTqOQ7VVNLsgb8M/s1600/photo+3+%252811%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzDzJSM5dl7R_o21QeE5qeB6aK8N9dbGY2zJRP4LtC5gS3eQt6QJegbzhCRYbwlxJI9LTmMfr0f44GfWDhWk6KL_xUoRiXGZpYG5LfcJXaL_zqOwnOoNEZDwYu-16KTqOQ7VVNLsgb8M/s320/photo+3+%252811%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ina and Elsie Shemin with President Obama at the White<br />
House ceremony awarding their father William Shemin<br />
the Medal of Honor posthumously May 26, 2015.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mr. Shemin had been awarded the
Purple Heart for his wounds, along with the Distinguished Service Cross, b<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>ut his actions in those days under fire in
France were in the same league with Sgt. Alvin York, who was the most famous
hero of World War I and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. Shemin was not portrayed in a movie by
Gary Cooper, however, in our family any soldier who survived the trenches of
World War I, much less went over the top to rescue the wounded, deserved a medal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. Shemin did it all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the late 1950s, the Shemins
retired to their property in Chazy, where they had built a new house on the lake
shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was during those later years
that we saw the most of Mr. Shemin. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
and his wife spent the remainder of their lives living happily there surrounded
by the trees and flowers that he had planted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He was always "Mr. Shemin"
to the members of my family, old and young. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His presence and dignity commanded that kind
of respect.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For a time, the late Clinton County
Judge Robert Feinberg and his wife lived in the Shemin house on Lake Shore
Road. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is now owned by Jim Carter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At the same White House ceremony
that posthumously recognizes Mr. Shemin, Pvt. William Henry Johnson will be
honored, as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An African-American
World War I veteran, he will also have the Distinguished Service medal that he
received for bravery under fire in France upgraded to the Medal of Honor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*A version of this article was published by the <a href="http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/world-war-i-hero-found-peace-in-chazy/article_48a91d6e-185d-5b68-8ec8-becf013039ba.html">Press Republican</a> on May 24, 2015.</span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">*I </span>received<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> a White House pass from their press office to attend the ceremony for Mr. Shemin but wasn't notified early enough to obtain a ticket to DC in time for the event.</span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-89080686775995436742015-05-07T11:34:00.000-04:002015-07-26T10:20:26.660-04:00Phnom Penh: 40 years after the Fall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">PHNOM PENH:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world knows much of the story on the fall
of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from the acclaimed movie “The Killing Fields."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On April 17, 1975, five years after the
U.S.-led invasion of Cambodia and the installation of the Lon Nol government,
Phnom Penh was taken by the ultra-leftist Khmer Rouge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This secretive organization, which was
founded by left-wing Cambodian intellectuals from the Sorbonne in Paris, was
known by the population at the time as "The Other."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It soon proved to be one of the bloodiest
regimes in history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intent of the
founders was to return Cambodia to "Year Zero," to remake the country
into the ultimate and perfect agrarian society. Their model was to be the
Chinese “cultural revolution."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daniel Hung Meas, a Cambodian by
birth and a Frenchmen by education, lived for nearly four years in Cambodia
under the Pol Pot regime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his
mother, father and five siblings survived. Four of his older brothers were
already living in Paris.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You cannot imagine 2 million
people, the population of Phnom Penh at that time, all in the streets trying to
leave the city," Daniel recalled of the fall.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"No one could move. The Khmer
Rouge told us that the Americans were going to bomb the city, so we had to
leave, but that it would only be for a few days. So we brought next to nothing
with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were very lucky in that my
father worked for the French Embassy and had an inkling of what was to happen
under this new government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw that
we smashed up our glasses, watches, books - anything that would identify us as
the educated class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told us to never,
never speak a word of French … to anyone.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of the group of 300 families that
the Meas family lived among, near the town of Neak Luong between Phnom Penh and
the Vietnam border, half were to perish.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The highway from the Vietnam border
to Phnom Penh today is lined with industrial zones filled with new steel
warehouses and manufacturing facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A great deal of the business in Cambodia is Vietnamese controlled, much
to the displeasure of many Cambodians, who have mixed feelings about their
former liberators - and long-time traditional enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, though this country has a long way
to go before it catches up with Vietnam, it is eons from Year Zero.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lDIQFsjHYuIcRzc6DD3Ask4tMxkw-Ic256L0n8hFzMQIwlUaIPRMG3boL2rP2buM30sSr7l7Xybo2cKW4e-QXi4ck-0WitbbqEe7_vdHeE53d_sXAPrNXD_0mcEpBBBg1-x1uOHpaeo/s1600/IMG_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lDIQFsjHYuIcRzc6DD3Ask4tMxkw-Ic256L0n8hFzMQIwlUaIPRMG3boL2rP2buM30sSr7l7Xybo2cKW4e-QXi4ck-0WitbbqEe7_vdHeE53d_sXAPrNXD_0mcEpBBBg1-x1uOHpaeo/s400/IMG_0084.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monks along the riverfront in Phnom Penh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 30-year prime minister of
Cambodia, Hun Sen, has been the subject of much criticism because of alleged
human-right violations and other anti-democratic actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Members of his family hold positions of power
in the government and in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His son Hun Manet was a 1999 graduate of the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever
the truth of the accusations against Hun Sen, it must be said that great
progress has been made in Cambodia since the Vietnamese-led overthrow of the
Khmer Rouge in January 1979.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though the ruins at Angkor Wat
outside the town of Seam Reap in northwestern Cambodia remain the country’s
most famous tourist attraction, Phnom Penh is a bustling tourist town of its
own, and rightly so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It boasts a
strikingly beautiful park along the Tonle Sap River, and that area of the city
is loaded with hotels, bars and restaurants catering to the international
tourist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the traditional
government buildings and museums can be found in this vicinity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Tuol Sleng prison, a former high
school, was the site of the infamous Khmer Rouge S-21 torture center in mid
Phnom Penh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This site, along with the
Killing Field museum on the outskirts of the city, are must-sees for most
tourists who come to Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between 1
million and 2 million Cambodians lost their lives during the Khmer Rouge reign.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Pt1Hhp4wj1vNnz6J5YWyfrcioI6h-kDw_XU9SKkqEi0WfaLW0pA72zJUmaYkz55Ijb7twfnZA-DCmDNuTmfXAu1kdCwAS9MBxI6hgoMHrr4xFOZXmDcysgzlKIc2xvnoU6vfHb10-Xc/s1600/IMG_0123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Pt1Hhp4wj1vNnz6J5YWyfrcioI6h-kDw_XU9SKkqEi0WfaLW0pA72zJUmaYkz55Ijb7twfnZA-DCmDNuTmfXAu1kdCwAS9MBxI6hgoMHrr4xFOZXmDcysgzlKIc2xvnoU6vfHb10-Xc/s400/IMG_0123.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tourists at the Killing Fields where 17,000 victims of S-21 were finished off.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">C-Kong, the Tuk-Tuk driver, has had
a hard life, as do most of the Cambodian working class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too young to remember the liberation of his
country by the Vietnamese, he nonetheless carries the traditional resentment of
Cambodians toward his neighboring country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“They control most of the big
businesses,” said C-Kong, “and more than a million Vietnamese have moved to
this country for the good jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the
same time, more than a million Cambodians have moved to Thailand for employment
there."</span></div>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinIhAeVX2ZDgRedjqspFN4JmN-QL3vI4zb1W5q54s6NinsrAOxljv_zFggQHPO7PPQnE5lojRK2VI5XkbqM3HJiLICBsMIloZj8Pe7FDS_W0ad0sXKwxgeBBc6uKzpPmEo5f2FzMGX0jw/s1600/IMG_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinIhAeVX2ZDgRedjqspFN4JmN-QL3vI4zb1W5q54s6NinsrAOxljv_zFggQHPO7PPQnE5lojRK2VI5XkbqM3HJiLICBsMIloZj8Pe7FDS_W0ad0sXKwxgeBBc6uKzpPmEo5f2FzMGX0jw/s400/IMG_0150.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph Conroy (left) and C-Kong (right) on the streets of Phnom Pehn..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Hung Meas family made it to
France after escaping to Vietnam during the border fighting between the two
countries that led to the Vietnamese invasion beginning Christmas Day 1978.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phnom Penh was liberated from Khmer Rouge
control on Jan. 7, 1979.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Daniel lives in Ho Chi Minh City these
days with his wife and daughter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two
children from an earlier marriage are being educated in Paris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He recently turned down a part in a French
movie playing ‘"Duch," the warden of Tuol Sleng prison. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He feared being recognized as the convicted
war criminal and having revenge taken on him by a victim’s family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He played the Vietcong agent that
killed “The Quiet American” in the 2002 film of that name, which starred
Michael Caine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A former photographer for
Agence French-Presse, Daniel still makes his living with a camera.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7BNX8g_bUTM47DkI7aYSiD5vrEXRcfiDLOM0C_w-wF4BiBvXg5RnFArchhGxP9wNQFN5wgKPyT1zVdxCMNXHFaMa_uT4CogmlsZRGYdRIXhFhA0DYSr2ZAQT4ShQFtAdP9TcIiXT7LQ/s1600/IMG_6076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7BNX8g_bUTM47DkI7aYSiD5vrEXRcfiDLOM0C_w-wF4BiBvXg5RnFArchhGxP9wNQFN5wgKPyT1zVdxCMNXHFaMa_uT4CogmlsZRGYdRIXhFhA0DYSr2ZAQT4ShQFtAdP9TcIiXT7LQ/s400/IMG_6076.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel Hung Meas as he would look playing Duch in the French movie.</td></tr>
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<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*A version of this article appeared
in the <a href="http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/phnom-penh-years-after-the-fall/article_e4ba0e1a-190f-5cd7-82b7-73a4cc123e91.html">Press Republican</a> on May 24, 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0United States35.746512259918504 -64.687510.224477759918503 -105.996094 61.268546759918507 -23.378906tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-41978153125185158372015-05-04T01:17:00.000-04:002016-05-20T06:38:29.075-04:00Saigon, 40 years after the Fall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">HO CHI MINH CITY:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s midday here in Ho Chi Minh City on the
30<sup>th</sup> of April, 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Forty years and one day ago, almost
to the minute, the voice of Bing Crosby came over the airwaves of Armed Forces
Radio Vietnam, singing the classic Irving Berlin song "White
Christmas."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those in the know -
the remaining American civilians and military personnel here - this song
signaled the beginning of the final evacuation of Saigon. They had all been assigned a point to arrive at where they'd be picked up by a helicopter or bus to begin the journey to U.S. Navy Ships offshore in the South China Sea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The celebration of the 40th
anniversary of that event, Liberation Day, as it’s known to the present
population, is being led by officials from Hanoi. Anyone in attendance
has a formal invitation from the government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioG4Qqn2PleAJ0KIps_paXMYh_ODcrxXOvn0rTYbyhbuKa2s9Ga_fK8iqPWeQ72cT7pwo6xLPhFwZXcozj3GZ2d6oSeG2Jc8-IRcKGFTydjzMfnpyG52mepVQDTfpmEgqltgTo7nJ3qw0/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioG4Qqn2PleAJ0KIps_paXMYh_ODcrxXOvn0rTYbyhbuKa2s9Ga_fK8iqPWeQ72cT7pwo6xLPhFwZXcozj3GZ2d6oSeG2Jc8-IRcKGFTydjzMfnpyG52mepVQDTfpmEgqltgTo7nJ3qw0/s400/IMG_0045.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old soldiers, war heroes from the North, who were guests of honor at the Liberation Day celebrations.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There is tight police and military security throughout Ho Chi Minh City.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All streets leading to the parade route
have been cordoned off and are manned by armed police or military personnel. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’ve been told to watch it on
television,” said the clerk at the hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That appears to be what most of the residents here are doing, though
there is much activity on the streets. When the high officials have left,
the parade grounds will be opened to the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The government has released nearly 8,000
prisoners, some of whom are political detainees, for an anniversary
amnesty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only foreign dignitary of
note appears to be Raul Castro of Cuba. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
brother Fidel was the leader of that island nation when that country provided
strong backing to Ho Chi Minh and his cause from the early 1960s on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagzWhjEvnuboaoAIaOMPN2iXBgTS3ScQXXaruxIAsWxX5SNA43OzL56gxIfbJMJLXZhfw-NIL7A70vI2T4PMxuFpnlZpwIVqfilKvS5QZwnAQg6zCOvJYwFETfTQOR4CGitGonD-UtMY/s1600/IMG_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagzWhjEvnuboaoAIaOMPN2iXBgTS3ScQXXaruxIAsWxX5SNA43OzL56gxIfbJMJLXZhfw-NIL7A70vI2T4PMxuFpnlZpwIVqfilKvS5QZwnAQg6zCOvJYwFETfTQOR4CGitGonD-UtMY/s400/IMG_0058.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Independence Palace in the aftermath of the Liberation Day Parade.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This being Vietnam, there are rumors
which appear to be just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One is
that right-wing Vietnamese from the U.S. will be trying to cause a disturbance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even more preposterous is the rumor that some
old U.S. GIs will be up to something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Actually, a large number of U.S.
Vietnam veterans do live in the Vietnam of today. Many are on VA disability
for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most say they are happy and well received
here and can live well on this economy, whereas in the U.S., they barely get
by.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I pay $400 a month for a corner
apartment in a state-owned high rise,” said Greg Kleven, who was a U.S. Marine
based in Chu Lai in 1966 and '67.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has
lived in Ho Chi Minh City for nearly 25 years and is a participant in
the soon-to-be-released documentary, tentatively titled “Echoes of War,”
by filmmaker Kaley Clements.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHA8AU-yJvC6eewIoQDqax6oktpv8G_bYrcgjoSM7UBt_goFQd3-8bH4LO92LZnVBMgAh06vEH3rWVwRY2xA5glufj0hcS9bUQk9xBYtJq-6ngEaS-o8RIg6PEtJ7kExzPTxI-qbzI7UA/s1600/IMG_6063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHA8AU-yJvC6eewIoQDqax6oktpv8G_bYrcgjoSM7UBt_goFQd3-8bH4LO92LZnVBMgAh06vEH3rWVwRY2xA5glufj0hcS9bUQk9xBYtJq-6ngEaS-o8RIg6PEtJ7kExzPTxI-qbzI7UA/s400/IMG_6063.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vietnam veteran Ralph Conroy (left), former U.S. Marine Greg Kleven (center), and Kaley Clements (right) at a Ho Chi Minh City noodle shop discussing Mr. Clements' new film. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The "Saigon" of today
bears little resemblance to the city that fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975;
however, it’s been a long struggle to get here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The first 10 years were spent coping
with a destroyed country with no economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was run by jungle fighters who had no experience running a modern
country - or, in this case, building a modern country. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strictly regimented communist economic
system certainly didn’t help; neither did the fact that it was isolated from
the world community of nations by the U.S.-led trade embargo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor did it help that little-to-no aid was
offered from other countries to rebuild.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was no Marshall Plan for Vietnam, carrying the lesson, apparently:
Never win a war over the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The decisions by the Vietnamese
government in 1987 to open up its economy to the free market and by the U.S. to
end the embargo, in the early 1990s, led to the surge of growth and development
that knows no end.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">South of Ho Chi Minh City, in what
was once rice paddy, is now "Saigon South," a completely new, modern
city full of high rises, four-lane highways, parks, universities,
economic-development zones, a modern container port and everything else that’s
required for a metropolis. This level of development has spread throughout
old Saigon and all of its suburbs - in fact, throughout the country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZMTabSgTuRsnASiS62V4q4bxtN1yKkRETjMUU6nSeC0DOGEgRe0f5kjKIYb1PGnQC_ox_trQXpCHvrjkXUeO0GRxEvYnX60MjdP7mV9XCBy-3VPqQSkTXuxzhs5eKg3sAi69fXMtIbM/s1600/IMG_6066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZMTabSgTuRsnASiS62V4q4bxtN1yKkRETjMUU6nSeC0DOGEgRe0f5kjKIYb1PGnQC_ox_trQXpCHvrjkXUeO0GRxEvYnX60MjdP7mV9XCBy-3VPqQSkTXuxzhs5eKg3sAi69fXMtIbM/s400/IMG_6066.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still undeveloped canal and cargo boat in the new city, Saigon South.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Presently, the per capita income in
Ho Chi Minh City is $5,131 (U.S.). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
1976, it was $360.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The city accounted
for 20 percent of the country’s GDP and 30 percent of the government revenues
this past year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With nearly 1,500
schools, it has been able to offer universal secondary education. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The health-care system is vastly improved,
with 105 hospitals in use, totaling 34,000 beds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Forty years ago, this country was on
its back with more than 30 million bomb craters, the result of the heaviest
bombing in history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of the country
was poisoned by the infamous chemical spray "Agent Orange." <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ninety percent of the houses in the
countryside had been burned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The war
dead numbered between 4 million and 5 million in a combined population of 30
million.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">From that carnage and destruction,
Vietnam today is rapidly becoming a first-world country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">War correspondents from the Vietnam
War days would not recognize their old haunt, the bar on top of the Caravelle
Hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entertainment hails from
Cuba, and it’s the best show in Saigon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
hottest, most musical female singing trio this city has seen has been drawing
crowds for three years now in this venue, and no end seems in sight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*A version of this article appeared in the <a href="http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/years-since-saigon-evacuation/article_e5d0523b-da9a-59b8-9cbb-f0a907cdde27.html">Press Republican</a> on May 7, 2015.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
</div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-35393009237645278422015-04-29T04:32:00.000-04:002015-05-28T12:01:08.381-04:00Da Nang: 40 years since the Fall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">DA
NANG, VIET NAM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been 40 years since
that Easter Sunday in 1975 when two Russian deuce and a half trucks filled with
troops, men, and women of the Vietnamese National Liberation Front (VC), rolled
into Da Nang city from the countryside of Central Viet Nam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">This
second largest city of that war-torn country had been abandoned by its
leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soldiers from the Army of South
Vietnam (ARVN) had shed their uniforms and melted into the remaining
population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many from that population
had fled by sea or air in the preceding days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The few Americans who remained in Da Nang until the end were personnel
from the U.S. Consulate located on the Han River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had flown out on helicopters the
preceding day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The U.S. Marines who
administered Military Region I (I Corps), the area from Chu Lai to the DMZ for
the duration of the war, had long gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The world’s largest military was heading towards its most ignominious
military defeat.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Ho
Thi Nhi, a former employee of the World Bank here in Da Nang, was ten years old
at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“My father was employed by
the ARVN,” he recounted, “and we lived in a military area where most of the
high ranking officers and their families lived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They had all left for Saigon with their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no one left to lead the ARVN.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The streets were full of abandoned military
uniforms and weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so scared.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Shortly
after the arrival of the trucks came the tanks of the conquering army of North
Viet Nam, the NVA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following them came
columns of infantry, the ‘bo doi’, the foot soldiers from the North who had
survived the grueling ten year war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eventually locals, refugees, and former ARVN alike lined the streets
smiling and waving the flag of the National Liberation Front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Da Nang had fallen into the hands of the NVA
without a shot being fired.</span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Until
20 years ago, Da Nang had not changed a great deal from the days of the
American War here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remnants of that
conflict were evidenced all over the airport grounds and the large U.S. Marine
base in the vicinity of China Beach and Marble Mountain.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Le
Thi Tam operates a small pub, motorbike rental, military tours, and a surf
board rental service a few blocks in from the old China Beach, one of the U.S.
Military’s many R&R (rest and recuperation) centers during the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The surf boards were a gift from a customer a
few years back, Jimmy Buffet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a
picture of the film director Oliver Stone, the local expats, and Tam on the
wall from 1998.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_C-DbM8l1HHDT_nxYl-uoqA2FPp8vOpNEZVHA8DFSBVKGrazyx57nUMRZ9eeGr8Vdq_lGSQzH73C8E-I6QkR3Q2w__Dov_FmiGkgr8KhxmSL_dT8RAuJ5UG5bDwMLpgzkVJQDSYzqzQ/s1600/IMG_6091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_C-DbM8l1HHDT_nxYl-uoqA2FPp8vOpNEZVHA8DFSBVKGrazyx57nUMRZ9eeGr8Vdq_lGSQzH73C8E-I6QkR3Q2w__Dov_FmiGkgr8KhxmSL_dT8RAuJ5UG5bDwMLpgzkVJQDSYzqzQ/s400/IMG_6091.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Conroy (left) and Le Thi Tam (right) at Tam's Pub, near the old Marine base on China Beach.</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">“I
grew up with the Marines,” said Tam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“They were my family from when I was a little girl selling them cokes, ‘til
later on when I was a waitress in various military clubs here in Da Nang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then when I was 19 in 1975, all gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Word came that Hue had fallen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the refugees streaming south over Hi Van
Pass poured into Da Nang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Utter
Chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The helicopters fly away, the
last planes leave from the airports in Da Nang and Monkey Mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All style of boats leaving from the Han River
and My Khe Beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bodies
everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family with myself leave
for the mountains.”</span>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Tam
and her family eventually returned, and survived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been a struggle for her though, over
these past forty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps in part
because of her affiliation with the U.S. Marines so many years ago.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">American
veterans today would never recognize the China Beach playground from their time
in Viet Nam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of it today looks more like
Miami Beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ten kilometer stretch
from Monkey Mountain down past Marble Mountain is lined with high-end
resorts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is one luxurious
Casino.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point, most of the
customers are from Hanoi, which has nothing like the beaches here, and other
Asian nations led by Korea and Japan.</span>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_vJbaayLiZ4nAPHqDOCfKFK2O9DLawCyK0tbNgmJ6CsIMaU0qbfGpTa0ArHsSKSRh5WzsKwk9cJ-9qlsHU1m2eUrHwoC9TX2BbK6zcTnb3veDG_zgBK6ZgIsAuLhB51nvTuDgkPkrCw/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_vJbaayLiZ4nAPHqDOCfKFK2O9DLawCyK0tbNgmJ6CsIMaU0qbfGpTa0ArHsSKSRh5WzsKwk9cJ-9qlsHU1m2eUrHwoC9TX2BbK6zcTnb3veDG_zgBK6ZgIsAuLhB51nvTuDgkPkrCw/s400/IMG_0011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Present day My Khe Beach on the Da Nang shoreline, the location of the U.S. Marines China Beach R&R center on the then China Beach.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Monkey Mountain, the Son Tra peninsula, is the site of the "InterContinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula Resort," the most luxurious 5 star resort in this part of SE Asia. Long gone are the days when U.S. Marines patrolled the steep, forested banks and cliffs of Monkey Mountain, where a headquarters of the National Liberation Front, the VC, remained throughout the war. The world's rich and powerful now relax on the shores where sampans once delivered supplies to the native troops. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;">The
ramp at Da Nang International Airport was recently lined with corporate jets when
many of the world’s elite arrived for a conference at the InterContinental, and
replaced the U.S. Marines and the Viet Cong in the jungles of the Son Tra, on
the shores of the South China Sea where so many from both sides had met their
death.</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPo53RiRhlg5SIwkLWJxKY6WsPq_YGsP8aFtuxERfqzaUoaavJFtFrQNZRtIvDSgVCrOy1S2qzG4lby2UDuXBRPcgRQcMYv1q9tOdlWAzhyphenhyphen-9RGT0y62Lb1zJYvHd_ANqoEDyC2h4axXA/s1600/IMG_6104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPo53RiRhlg5SIwkLWJxKY6WsPq_YGsP8aFtuxERfqzaUoaavJFtFrQNZRtIvDSgVCrOy1S2qzG4lby2UDuXBRPcgRQcMYv1q9tOdlWAzhyphenhyphen-9RGT0y62Lb1zJYvHd_ANqoEDyC2h4axXA/s400/IMG_6104.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing boats of the shore of Monkey Mountain, Son Tra peninsula.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYP3YPjVy_Q0Gac6nUrO0S8m2pgKXdyheNFXwS-7jvZyul8s6OREb1VvcIE3NWE_1Ya0GCen33ewlSXEV0_HBnEgakbnn8lECLlPdZIhO9ENYUXghz3avQbHo67iG_jqV2ZLxxLQOxF4/s1600/IMG_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYP3YPjVy_Q0Gac6nUrO0S8m2pgKXdyheNFXwS-7jvZyul8s6OREb1VvcIE3NWE_1Ya0GCen33ewlSXEV0_HBnEgakbnn8lECLlPdZIhO9ENYUXghz3avQbHo67iG_jqV2ZLxxLQOxF4/s400/IMG_0022.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph Conroy, Drew Brown, and Mark Conroy (L to R) at a Da Nang beach cafe. Drew Brown is a former reporter for Stars and Stripes in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is on an R&R of three years so far in Viet Nam.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along present day My Khe Beach.</td></tr>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-1285527433485961072015-04-04T09:38:00.000-04:002015-12-08T10:54:59.866-05:00ISIS and the Sunni Awakening<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</style><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The current crisis in Iraq bears comparison with the situation there in 2007, when the terrorist group AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq) held sway over much of the Sunni population.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As of this
writing, those areas of Iraq are now in danger of falling under the control by
ISIS (The Islamic State).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, as
then, that population has welcomed the backing of these extremist groups
because they offered them support against the ruling government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President Nouri al-Maliki, in office in
2007, ran the government along Shia sectarian lines, as does the present Prime
Minister Haider al-Abadi. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Increasingly,
Sunni citizens have been coming under attack by Shia militias supposedly linked
to the government.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In 2007, I was
embedded with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division,
headquartered at Camp Stryker SE of BIAP (Baghdad International Airport).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This unit’s AO (area of operations) was
the 350 sq. mile “triangle of death” located southeast of Baghdad and southwest
of the Euphrates River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Main
population centers were Mahmadiyah and Yousifiyah, and Col. Michael Kershaw was
their Commanding Officer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This was the
year of the “Sunni Awakening”, the name applied to the movement of Sunni tribes
that were convinced to drop AQI and to begin co-operating with the legal
government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This came about
primarily through the hard work and dogged patience of soldiers from the 10th Mountain
Division of the US Army. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that
time, Sunni resistance units organized in the 10<sup>th</sup> Mountain’s AO
were called Iraqi Provincial Volunteers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I think it
might have been a good thing that we weren’t able to get in here for eleven
months,” Capt. Ryan Liebhaber of the 10<sup>th</sup> Mountain Division told me
at that time, “because their methods are what turned off the locals who were
supporting them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people are
secular basically, not of the fanatical Muslim extreme at all, and when it
became common to cut off fingers for smoking a cigarette, well, that was
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Smoking is about the only vice
they have left that isn’t a sin.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Capt. Liebhaber smiled, and then continued, “They also weren’t above
killing and raping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time we
and the local leaders got together, they were as eager to talk and work with
us, as we were with them.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That
statement shows how desperate the Sunni population must have become for them to
turn back to the ISIS, formerly AQI, for support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reports from the field indicate that they had no
choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A truck is stopped along the highway in 2007 in Iraq; the man in the back and another person were digging at the spot. They were suspected of setting mines along this route between Tikrit and Kirkuk.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Information
from various sources in Iraq in January of this year tells of a Sunni massacre
in the town of Barwanah by Shia Militias in the presence of government forces. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seventy-two Sunni men and boys were
taken from their houses and shot in the head in a nearby field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Survivors in this village will be hard
pressed to support the government and their Shia militias in the future. Many
could become supporters of ISIS out of desperation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Phone
conversations with public affair officers from Combined Joint Task Force
Inherent Resolve, located in Kuwait, have been inconclusive regarding the influence
of ISIS in these areas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A more
recent email from Maj. Kim Michelsen, public-affairs officer with Operation
Inherent Resolve, indicated that, presently, Mahmadiyah, Yousifiyah, Zaidon and
points north towards Tikrit are free of ISIS control, however, the loyalty of
their Sunni population remains questionable.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Many of the
inhabitants had been soldiers in the Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein, or Baath
Party members who were civil servants in the former government. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people were all relieved of their
jobs by the Coalition Provisional Authority led by H. Paul Bremmer, a U.S.
government appointee. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aside from
there being huge resentment from being fired and the fact that, in the case of
the military, 100,000 angry, armed men were turned loose on the countryside,
none of these people had any other way to make a living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were ripe for opposition to the
new government being formed by the U.S.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These men were formerly fighters with al Qaeda in Iraq and decided to switch sides after working with troops from the 10th Mountain Division. Many of these men have gone over to ISIS after being left out of the current Shia dominated government.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">According to
Col. Kershaw, the Iraqi Army was the most solid, social organization in
Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its traditions went back to
German instructors during the days of the Ottoman Empire leading up to World
War I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the war, officers of
the British Army held sway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soldiers
of the Iraqi Army were loyal to their country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Iraqi Republican Guard was loyal to Saddam Hussein. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tradition of community self-defense
organizations in opposition to the British occupation during that earlier time
was known as “The Honourable Resistance” and is the forerunner of the Sunni
Awakening.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Former
soldiers from the old army that I’ve met have told me that they couldn’t
believe it was happening,” said Col. Kershaw at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They thought they’d be called back in
for a reorganization in a matter of days.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That didn’t
happen, and today most of the Sunni opposition under the direction of ISIS is
made up of former Iraqi Army personnel and Ba’ath Party civil servants of the
old government who were also were relieved of their jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people feel that their only
realistic choice is ISIS.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Sunni
People of Iraq need an alternative to ISIS.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In 2007, U.S.
soldiers were able to convince large segments of the Sunni population to turn
against AQI and to work with them to eventually form a working relationship
with the al-Maliki government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
current Iraqi government, which is still being led by Shia politicians, hasn’t
been able to resurrect the Sunni Awakening or anything resembling it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The eventual solution might well be
within borders of an Islamic State, minus the present leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Presently,
Tikrit appears to be liberated from ISIS forces by the Iraqi Army, aided by
Shia militias led by Iranian military personnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>News that the primarily Sunni population of Tikrit welcomes
this development has not been forthcoming.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One should
bear in mind that the Sunni population of Iraq, which numbers in the millions, are
the same people who joined the government and worked with US forces in 2007. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bombing them will accomplish nothing but
to stiffen resistance to the present government and drive them further into the
arms of ISIS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As Col.
Michael Kershaw said in 2007:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Whoever
in the end can provide security and justice for the ordinary people of Iraq,
they will be the winner in this conflict.”</span></div>
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<i>*A version of this article was published by the <a href="http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/isis-and-the-sunni-awakening/article_7be6ad4d-34d9-596b-b05a-68f2fca0a3ff.html">Press Republican</a> on April 14, 2015. </i></div>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-80305626376614777632014-04-16T15:58:00.000-04:002015-09-30T16:00:46.708-04:00In the 'Ville' with Le Ly Hayslip<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">DANANG: Le Ly Hayslip has taken on the French and
American armies as a child in Ky La a small farming village where she was born
outside of Da Nang in Central Viet Nam.
She made it in America after her husband died. She had moved there after marrying an American
contractor during the Viet Nam War. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">She
conquered the publishing world with her best seller “When Heaven and Earth
changed Places” and she worked with Oliver Stone on the movie based on that
book, “Heaven and Earth”. She has
survived the bureaucratic intricacies of founding and operating in the NGO
(Non-governmental Organization) world in the United States and Viet Nam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">However with
the expansion and development going on today in Viet Nam, local land owners like
herself are in the position of being pushed aside for the so called ’larger
good’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The ex GIs
from Plattsburgh, Corky Reinhart, Neil Tallon, Pete Conroy along with Mark
Conroy from Danang are accompanying Le Ly for a visit to her ancestral home. Ms. Hayslip has just recently returned from
the US where she was awarded the Ryan C Crocker Global Citizen of the Year award.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam Conroy, Mark Conroy, Neil Tallon, Hai Ngai & Le Ly<br />Hayslip at the family home in Ky La village.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“They’ve
already pushed a large highway through the rice fields in back of my village
and now they’re trying to take my front yard for a road expansion at our home
farm here,” says Le Ly to her
companions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Looks just
like the Northway when it pushed through our farm in Beekmantown,” says Pete
Conroy. “Looks just like they did to the
‘Creek’ during the early Urban Renewal on North Margaret Street in
Plattsburgh,” says Neil Tallon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The trail
from Le Ly’s house leading to the rice fields out back has been a major
infiltration route in to the village for the opposition in both the French and
the American war. Both armies used her
family’s small house as an outpost for small detachments of troops during their
respective wars. It was rebuilt after
the French burned it when they left in 1954.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> “Every morning when we got up we didn’t know
if we’d survive the day. Every night
when we went to bed we didn’t know if we’d wake up in the morning” said Le
Ly. “It was terrible. We were caught in the middle”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All of these
village houses had their own bunker to hide in when troops came or there was
bombing in the area. They were defensive
in nature but could be construed as offensive by GIs whose main mission was to
stay alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1gbehePZ38u340kcAUeDNfZrXHiemCM4pgmH1lHrnGDOoWA8hlR6s580fVocoOKWEmY3hkGAoqtQiak-jItIJwvjsDjY9KoLmkBsd9jcWpI4bHcOM7ourzWdX_ldI7uCYmGk9aKRnPQ/s1600/IMG_5891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1gbehePZ38u340kcAUeDNfZrXHiemCM4pgmH1lHrnGDOoWA8hlR6s580fVocoOKWEmY3hkGAoqtQiak-jItIJwvjsDjY9KoLmkBsd9jcWpI4bHcOM7ourzWdX_ldI7uCYmGk9aKRnPQ/s320/IMG_5891.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Le Ly Hsyslip, Corky Reinhart & Pete Conroy on the path where<br />American GIs shot a (VC) Viet Cong soldier when based<br /> in Le Ly.s family home.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.12px;">Le Ly Hayslip, Corky Reinhart & Pete Conroy on the path where American GIs shot a VC (Viet Cong) soldier when based in Le Ly’s family home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“We weren’t
told anything about them officially”, said 1<sup>st</sup> Cav. Veteran Pete
Conroy. “Our previous knowledge was from
soldiers who were here earlier in the war and they said to be suspicious of
everything. It might be a spider hole
with a sniper waiting inside.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This did not
bode well for the villagers. Le Ly
recalls getting on well with the soldiers during wash ups at the well and at
cookouts on campfires in the back yard. But when the soldiers went out back on patrol
and stepped on mines suffering severe casualties, the mood changed
rapidly. Medivacs flew out the dead and
wounded, but then gunships and fresh troops arrived with guns blazing. VC insurgents were killed, but so were many
innocent villagers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I can’t
imagine living here for all those years under those conditions”, mused Corky
Reinhart the retired professor who has taught Viet Nam War history at various colleges
and universities. “These poor people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Le Ly left
her village for Saigon, along with her mother in 1964 because both the US
troops and the VC wanted to shoot her.
She was 14 years old at the time.
Her older sister Hai Ngai who today is 92, has lived in this house
throughout both wars, and still does.
She suffers mental trauma to this day from the experiences of those
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">*<i>A version of this article appeared in the Press Republican on April 16, 2014.</i> </span></div>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-35700094387331044892014-04-06T16:17:00.000-04:002015-09-30T16:19:21.530-04:00Looking for Camp Evans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">DANANG: In 1968 US Army’s legendary 1<sup>st</sup>
Cavalry Division’s main base of operations in South Vietnam was Camp
Evans. Located a few miles north of Hue
City just west of Highway #1 according to old maps it proved increasingly
difficult to locate. Not much remains of
1968 and the only current information comes from various shops along Route #1. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This time
along with US Army Veterans Neil Tallon, Pete Conroy and Corky Reinhart are Le
Ly Hayslip and Mark Conroy. Le Ly is the
founder of The East Meets West Foundation (EMWF) a major Vietnam charity. Mark
Conroy was the EMWF country director for twenty years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The massive
development of Viet Nam over the last few years makes it difficult to locate
places that looked quite different nearly fifty years ago. The roads have changed here along with most
of the buildings and all the vegetation. Pete Conroy was stationed at Camp Evans in
1968 but nothing looks familiar. Oliver
Stone was stationed at Camp Evans around the same time. His movie ‘Heaven and Earth’ was based on Ms.
Hayslip’s book “When Heaven and Earth Changed Places.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Le Ly and
myself along with Oliver and his son Sean were up here in Hue at least fifteen
years ago”, said Mark Conroy. “We spent
a day showing them around the old Hue Citadel that was nearly </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2D1iD32FaXRSK1oYPwq-VsuzzGd59yebgFCwrqv6Rja6FaNC9aBVhxgJBaVjzibueJSfyDHr47qaBBKMErcBLd8njiKhxOQGy5gKM34Z_-aKLDqypHQNmlrvYP7sYY9ajufhGlVVdY_w/s1600/IMG_5906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2D1iD32FaXRSK1oYPwq-VsuzzGd59yebgFCwrqv6Rja6FaNC9aBVhxgJBaVjzibueJSfyDHr47qaBBKMErcBLd8njiKhxOQGy5gKM34Z_-aKLDqypHQNmlrvYP7sYY9ajufhGlVVdY_w/s320/IMG_5906.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy, Le Ly Hayslip, Mark Conroy &<br /> Neil Tallon on Camp Eavns</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.12px;">Pete Conroy, Le Ly Hayslip, Mark Conroy and Neil Tallon on Camp Evans</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">destroyed during
the siege of 1968, and talked of trying to find the remnants of that 1<sup>st</sup>
Cav. Base camp then. We never got around
to it but hopefully will this trip.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The railroad
tracks and rivers a few miles above Hue begin to be recognizable on the old
maps in an area that was a hotbed for opposition forces during both the French
and American wars. The stretch of
Highway #1 above Hue to Quang Tri acquired the name “Street Without Joy” during
the French war in Indo China and is the name of the famous book by Bernard
Fall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After a
number of inquires among shops in this area it was determined by Ms. Hayslip
that the next left turn towards higher country would be the correct route. It appears that a number of ex GI’s or others
interested in the historical aspects of the Viet Nam War have been through here
over the years. A mile or two up this
one lane road ex Sgt. Pete Conroy signals a stop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“The lay of
the land here looks familiar along with the mountain ridges in the distance but
as you can see there is no physical evidence,” says Pete. “This must be it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“It reminds
me of driving up to Long Binh in 1989” said Neil Tallon. “Nothing was left but a few pieces of tarmac
and concrete and to think that during the late sixties this place was the
largest base camp in the world”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFz1aqT-tfNT75DNrThDYLWnh2DD87LRNgalRWRt40oOau5mQqqHgvi05oDGTJB7NpeGMAxcVWeD6UqSctvUCjWtBp89LRQa0Vx36cYkhKrvvUBi90wDrmNqGrwkoS8p2pXD_l8II3jU/s1600/IMG_5909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFz1aqT-tfNT75DNrThDYLWnh2DD87LRNgalRWRt40oOau5mQqqHgvi05oDGTJB7NpeGMAxcVWeD6UqSctvUCjWtBp89LRQa0Vx36cYkhKrvvUBi90wDrmNqGrwkoS8p2pXD_l8II3jU/s320/IMG_5909.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy on the site of the old 1st Cav. base, Camp Evans.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Camp Evans
was the supply depot for all 1<sup>st</sup> Cav. Operations in this
sector. The Au Shau valley which runs
north and south along the Laotian boarder 30 miles south of Khe Sanh was a
major logistics center for the NVA as well as being a branch of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail. The 1<sup>st</sup> Cav. Division
was a major player in ‘Operation Delaware’ which took place during parts of
April and May in 1968. Its task was to
clear the valley of NVA troops and destroy all weapons and supplies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Again Pete
Conroy remembers: “We were dropped in by
helicopter on the ridge line and before getting dug in a Chinook was downed. At least two Hueys were shot down along side
of us before we were able to land. While walking patrols the next few days
helicopters were left hanging in the trees as well as down on the jungle floor.” A C-130, two fighters and over twenty
helicopters were downed during this operation.
There were 86 killed, 47 missing and 530 wounded, among those, Pete
Conroy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“We were
patrolling up a slope when the soldier in front of me triggered an
explosion. I was taken down by the
shrapnel. Soon after a chopper picked me
up and flew to an aid station, then on to a hospital ship off the coast”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Three weeks
later Pete was dropped off at the navy port in Da Nang and returned to Camp
Evans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>*A version of this article appeared in the Press Republican on April 14, 2014.</i></span></div>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-67133073278466899082014-04-01T15:14:00.000-04:002015-09-30T15:38:55.956-04:00Khe Sanh Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">DA NANG: For five months and 18 days in the in the
first half of 1968 the world watched as US forces held and defended the US
Marine Base at Khe Sanh in northwestern South Viet Nam. US Commanding General William Westmoreland’s
strategy at the time was to draw enemy forces into that area and destroy
them. The plan from the Vietnamese side
was to distract the American military at Khe Sanh so they could pull off the
Tet Offensive of 1968, the largest battle of the Viet Nam War. While large numbers of US forces were
occupied at Khe Sanh the Vietnamese were able to more easily attack every major
city in the South from Quang Tri to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta, including the
major southern city Saigon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Plattsburgh US
Army veterans Neil Tallon, Corky Reinhart and Pete Conroy, accompanied by the
well known writer and humanitarian Le Ly Hayslip , have traveled since morning
from Hue to Quang Tri and from there on the major Vietnamese route into the
mountains towards Laos. The site of the
old US Marine base at Khe Sanh is along this route, eight miles from the
Laotian border.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIg-NxfkE8TP-ErKgOmM47H0VW_AHwsCCxnSmfIaBAnG1YomnYcZJrqnx8TUHv2YZj7rkOMXiaEsEc1HsoYQE9ULg7T55YrRWqVi463LTf6zblXpBTEzCXYxmD-m637COEK9YCxWXkayE/s1600/IMG_5927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIg-NxfkE8TP-ErKgOmM47H0VW_AHwsCCxnSmfIaBAnG1YomnYcZJrqnx8TUHv2YZj7rkOMXiaEsEc1HsoYQE9ULg7T55YrRWqVi463LTf6zblXpBTEzCXYxmD-m637COEK9YCxWXkayE/s320/IMG_5927.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil Tallon, Pete Conroy, Corky Reinhart, David Hansen in Khe Sanh.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Corky Reinhart,
retired professor and army veteran of Germany during the Vietnam era has not
been in this part of Viet Nam before. “I’ve
never seen such beautiful country” says Corky, “but I’d not want to be marching
up and over these mountains with a rifle and a full pack. No way”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6acdcuzzCx_W-JB-Xz0750s2TVUXITwuwuIdMTEz2j1cr5l3AIcV44VLWUhziWJk4K_iX9Bcc8bxh2bkSFX0L6713mKWUj38SBH__BrhqhLXAhawFnKQINFRvab-5w9sixlOhmH0mI8/s1600/IMG_5932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6acdcuzzCx_W-JB-Xz0750s2TVUXITwuwuIdMTEz2j1cr5l3AIcV44VLWUhziWJk4K_iX9Bcc8bxh2bkSFX0L6713mKWUj38SBH__BrhqhLXAhawFnKQINFRvab-5w9sixlOhmH0mI8/s320/IMG_5932.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil Tallon and Pete Conroy being interviewed by a VN<br />Television news team.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-saBtSNcwlcyVAMIv1i2U1qGTZI7gNDcgGWYcUp6BTg6JFJvbbd3af6Xi8g1KYMptvTUEDeYMZob2k9L6B77oKie3frOae5Qd65ORZ1FIF0m7CxUJ9ghsb3c825UWEfAp4ftRz3S5HUc/s1600/IMG_5952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-saBtSNcwlcyVAMIv1i2U1qGTZI7gNDcgGWYcUp6BTg6JFJvbbd3af6Xi8g1KYMptvTUEDeYMZob2k9L6B77oKie3frOae5Qd65ORZ1FIF0m7CxUJ9ghsb3c825UWEfAp4ftRz3S5HUc/s320/IMG_5952.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy, Le Ly Hayslip, Neil Tallon and Mark Conroy.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Pete Conroy was
a soldier in the US Army 1<sup>st</sup> Cav. Div. during the Khe Sanh siege and
part of ‘Operation Pegasus’. The mission
was to clear the area around Khe Sanh opf enemy sodiers, especially the
neighboring Au Shau Valley, the largest NVA (North Vietnamese Army) sanctuary
in South Vietnam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">”Well Corky,”
replies Pete, “I was going up and down mountains like these between Khe San and
the Au Shau , hacking my way through jungle all the way and getting shot at to
boot. It wasn’t any fun”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A small but
thorough military museum sits near the location of the old airstrip on the Khe
Son site. Not much remains from that
earlier time other than a row a revetments where helicopters and other aircraft
were parked. A well preserved US Army Huey and Chinook helicopter are parked
where the ramp once was along with a US Air Force C-130. An adequate system of trenches, tunnels and
bunkers have been reconstructed to show how the site looked in 1968. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The small
museum building nearby houses a collection of military artifacts and photos
from the siege. Captions on the photos
do not favor the US forces but do appear fairly accurate technically. A television crew filming on site requests an
interview with Pete Conroy the only veteran available who fought in this area
during the siege in 1968. They conducted
a long interview for broadcast on their network.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">American forces
closed down and withdrew from Khe Sanh in early July 1968. During the siege US aircraft dropped over
100,000 tons of bombs in the surrounding area, five tons for each of the twenty
thousand NVA soldiers who fought there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGpJwYx7VUWBVLWx0FHaLh9FDt0BSEa6cot2Yd2yO7ZJXDlr7vCGxjiL594K-v21oWNDKp-0ufd46K1IMjBRuVAjUXZuDjUdT0i4LbH0GPl6VXXAua2qkFOFuSYrK7-seClLvawLt-qE/s1600/IMG_5941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGpJwYx7VUWBVLWx0FHaLh9FDt0BSEa6cot2Yd2yO7ZJXDlr7vCGxjiL594K-v21oWNDKp-0ufd46K1IMjBRuVAjUXZuDjUdT0i4LbH0GPl6VXXAua2qkFOFuSYrK7-seClLvawLt-qE/s320/IMG_5941.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy looking over the Press Republican while<br />waiting for that last chopper out of Khe Sanh.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Le Ly Hayslip
lived in Viet Nam during much of the war, and commented “when you drop bombs on
people, nobody like you”. A rather
sensible conclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">On July 9 the
National Liberation Front flag flew over the Khe Sanh airfield.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Not forever
however, for a less known function of the Khe Sanh base and airstrip was it
being the support base for Operation Lam Son 719, the invasion of Laos, in
February and March 1971. Because the US Forces were forbidden by law from
entering Laos they provided air support, artillery and logistics and the ARVN (Army
Republic Viet Nam) provided the ground troops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">David Hansen, a
US veteran of the Lan Som 719 Operation was at the Khe Sanh site having a
coffee. “I was a dust off (medical
evacuation) pilot during that operation” he said. “There was a medical unit set up here at Khe
Sanh and we flew from here and back where ever calls for help were received
from. We were flying all the time so
many choppers went down”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In that
operation the US had 168 destroyed and 618 damaged helicopters. The re-organized Khe Sanh was abandoned once
again on April 6, 1971.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">David Hansen
made a recent trip to Khe Sanh with some veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars. “they were interested in coming
here”, he said “to see how we dealt with our ‘after the fighting’ and how it
might help them understanding their plight”.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>*A version of this article appeared in the Press Republican on April 1, 2014.</i></div>
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John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-36246994296207016242014-03-28T13:55:00.000-04:002015-09-30T14:05:53.559-04:00Journey to the Black Virgin Mountain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">HO CHI MINH
CITY: Nearly fifty years ago when the US
Marines landed on Red Beach in central Viet Nam, Saigon was a small city. Today
renamed Ho Chi Minh City, with a population of 8 million, it extends nearly 20
miles to the northwest to the town of Cu Chi.
This town is best known for the tunnel system that extended from the
Cambodian border to beneath the Presidential Palace in Saigon during the Viet
Nam War. It was the base camp the US
Army’s 25<sup>th</sup> Division. Nothing remains today except the tunnels which
are a main tourist attraction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Traveling
along this highway towards Tay Ninh from Cu Chi are army veterans from the
Plattsburg, NY area. Corky Reinhart,
Neil Tallon and Pete Conroy guided by Omar Bui a former interpreter for the US
forces are driving towards the Black Virgin Mountain in Tay Ninh province. The stretch of highway passing through the
small town of Trang Bang is the site of one of the most iconic photos of the
Viet Nam war. Shot by AP photographer
Nick Ut ‘The Girl in the Picture’ Kim Phuc was fleeing from military action
when her group of children were mistaken for enemy forces and napalmed by
aircraft from the South Vietnamese Air Force.
Her family runs a small coffee shop and roadside memorial in that town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxuxaYS_f1Nr5na0sdqpdO1xIjA31lz21a86jHdTrKHX3PdlS6Pe4YXpzkcRFEAF0wU7WXTQ3LL53A97JeEP5Fcp0UuP7E6NKz28M1bkKxUb-q0kUYVAFWyymUW0Ost_mBvttY1tvpg4/s1600/IMG_5832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxuxaYS_f1Nr5na0sdqpdO1xIjA31lz21a86jHdTrKHX3PdlS6Pe4YXpzkcRFEAF0wU7WXTQ3LL53A97JeEP5Fcp0UuP7E6NKz28M1bkKxUb-q0kUYVAFWyymUW0Ost_mBvttY1tvpg4/s320/IMG_5832.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corky Reinhart, Omar Bui, Pete Conroy & Neil Tallon on<br />
the highway where Kim Phuc was struck by napalm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“You wonder
sometimes”, said Neil Tallon, two time candidate for US Congress, “how the US
could have used such a horrible weapon through-out this country….and why? And yet today we’re got the drones bombing in
Afghanistan”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Looming over
three thousand feet in the distance shortly past Tay Ninh is ‘Nui Ba Den’, The
Black Virgin Mountain, an extinct volcano centered on a plain. Pete Conroy, a
soldier with the US Army’s 1<sup>st</sup> Cavalry Division was involved in
operations in this area during the fall of 1968.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“The word
was then,” he said, “that we controlled the top of the mountain, but the VC
(National Liberation Front Soldiers) always held the bottom and surrounding
plain. We flew on helicopters many times
through this vicinity”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“There is a
theme park and a gondola system that takes people to the top these days” said
Omar. “This is the main tourist
attraction here besides the Cao Dai temple in Tay Ninh”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVuRRoIdKDzlEKbPKV81vK_wjQhMG2IUWNtmNCRMCW0En5nlAlIRiCc7UqygpC34GaOA_UdRXZ4EpSwYL_f6MjP9P6p6Wuqwsu41h7DJnkfCU9rAVPoFC6Rk-FTeRduETg_KwWnru-x8/s1600/IMG_5836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVuRRoIdKDzlEKbPKV81vK_wjQhMG2IUWNtmNCRMCW0En5nlAlIRiCc7UqygpC34GaOA_UdRXZ4EpSwYL_f6MjP9P6p6Wuqwsu41h7DJnkfCU9rAVPoFC6Rk-FTeRduETg_KwWnru-x8/s320/IMG_5836.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corky Reinhart, Pete Conroy, Omar Bui & Neil Tallon with<br />
the Black Virgin Mountain in the background..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From Tay
Ninh the highway winds back easterly towards the 31,000 acre Michelin Rubber
Plantation which was the scene of many battles during the Viet Nam War. The historic record indicates that while this
plantation was a staging area for VC and NVA (North Vietnamese Army) operations
they were paid off by Michelin so the company could keep the rubber operation
running. The US government paid the
Michelin Company for any damages incurred by US military action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“The orderly
plantings of these rubber trees brings to mind the end of the French Colonial
Empire”, said retired college professor Corky Reinhart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I was a
photo interpreter in Saigon during the war” said Neil Tallon, “and many times
I’ve viewed this area looking for evidence of VC or NVA activity from the
perspective of an aircraft flying at 10,000 feet. Whole battalions could operate under this
canopy with no one being the wiser when viewed from above”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke6kmis8saa8SMBxph9f_sXewFBTmcSA8_u-A9QpFJkw9M-jyjuBC5jrEDewoU3AlABQ7yDjkGPD6P7_pF634_J1MSjj8zVU2-3qGhuBIYX_3tvSehisu8IRhP1r_tbmftBxnp-5Q8sE/s1600/IMG_5844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgke6kmis8saa8SMBxph9f_sXewFBTmcSA8_u-A9QpFJkw9M-jyjuBC5jrEDewoU3AlABQ7yDjkGPD6P7_pF634_J1MSjj8zVU2-3qGhuBIYX_3tvSehisu8IRhP1r_tbmftBxnp-5Q8sE/s320/IMG_5844.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pete Conroy and Corky Reinhart in the Michlin Rubber Plantation.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Along the
outskirts of Cu Chi is a large military cemetery for the sons and daughters of
this community who died during the conflict.
The entrance monument, a large concrete mosaic somewhat resembling
Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ shows men, woman and children with guns and hand tools
toiling away for their cause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“This
cemetery’s precisely ordered gravestones reminds me of our own Europe and
Asia,” said Neil Tallon. “These people
were their heroes who died driving out the foreign invader. A little like Iraq and Afghanistan; or for
that matter the War of 1812 in our area.
It all depends on the perspective.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“What
impressed me, said Pete Conroy, “was the spread in ages on the
gravestones. From young teenagers to the
sixties. Most of our dead were of
draftee age, 18 to 22”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This
secondary route back to Ho Chi Minh City eventually opens up on the new skyline
of a modern city. It no way resembles
the Saigon of the Sixties where the Caravelle Hotel at ten stories was the
tallest structure in town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
*<i>A version of this article appeared in the Press Republican on March 28, 2014.</i></div>
</div>
John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-24259951324784929062011-11-06T08:15:00.012-05:002011-11-07T22:01:18.315-05:00High and Dry on FOB Sharana<style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">FOB SHARANA, AFGHANISTAN:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The 172 Infantry Brigade is headquartered on Forward Operating Base Sharana, SE of Kabul on the Pakistan border in Paktika Province. The 172<sup>nd</sup> Infantry is turning over the southern portion of Pakitika to the Afghan National Security Forces and the Nov. 3rd transfer of Combat Outpost Waza Kwha to the 2<sup>nd</sup> Kondak, 7<sup>th</sup> Zone Afghan Border Police officially made that happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In terms of battle space this is the largest transfer thus far to the Afghan Security Forces.</p> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:12.0pt">In spite of skepticism from most of the news media, violence has been steadily dropping along this area of the Afghan-Pakistan border for the last two years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“For so long the war effort here has been shuffling along with no clear strategy,” said Maj. Joe Bucccino, the brigade public affairs officer (PAO).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“On Nov. 3<sup>rd</sup> in south Pakitika province, the forces of the Afghan Border Police along with the 172<sup>nd</sup> Infantry demonstrated our exit strategy.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt;">FOB Sharana will remain the source of supply and repair for Pakitika as well as security for the portion not turned over to the Afghan National Security Forces.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzgpeKk68CFB2eYKEY2f6I5BmowPGHxw9s8jHWPXB1K6ujXTUVjhaiMBldUwNy-i1da45fgpO6wWMNKpCYXS6em1X9JEL3qAw2P7ycZYeIyqZmKOWF7s73Er56Y7b7WEn32FMbdQ9LAk/s1600/IMG_5284.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzgpeKk68CFB2eYKEY2f6I5BmowPGHxw9s8jHWPXB1K6ujXTUVjhaiMBldUwNy-i1da45fgpO6wWMNKpCYXS6em1X9JEL3qAw2P7ycZYeIyqZmKOWF7s73Er56Y7b7WEn32FMbdQ9LAk/s200/IMG_5284.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672451171897937170" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman" style="margin-top: 12pt; font-style: italic; "> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-family:times new roman;"><span style=" Times New Roman";font-size:100%;" >PRT team stopped up along highway under construction for a possible IED.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt;"><br /><span style=" Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lt. Ryan DeCamp who hails from Plattsburgh is the public affairs officer (PAO) for the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) for Patikita.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In his briefing for today’s mission, mention is made that the team is still recovering from the loss of two team members to an IED near the end of October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Later today the team did once again find themselves held up for a potential IED. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The scout dog found something suspicious which prevented the team from completing its road inspection mission, leaving little time for the meetings in Sharan at the new government center and women's health training center.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Our goal is to do the best that we can, for the time we are here,” said Lt. DeCamp.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lt. Jason Brown of A, Co. 172 Support Battalion runs the Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ) which ships people and supplies throughout their sector and connects with other military locations throughout Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Much of the equipment and supply effort is carried out by slings under the larger helicopters like the Chinook.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbiUV08YyjT-bG6wten2z3yYoRooU7mwX-fsqR_XhgaAe1lzM-p90PU7XlI5aWR9EvfcqdIZ13kPb9iWHlfKBYkdRKeLi_NxgOGRXlR33ZCJt4AQAXMEvZBdPo96CFX81S_15mATBzM0/s1600/IMG_5279.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbiUV08YyjT-bG6wten2z3yYoRooU7mwX-fsqR_XhgaAe1lzM-p90PU7XlI5aWR9EvfcqdIZ13kPb9iWHlfKBYkdRKeLi_NxgOGRXlR33ZCJt4AQAXMEvZBdPo96CFX81S_15mATBzM0/s200/IMG_5279.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672451794030085506" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Lt. Jason Brown with a Russian built MI-8 on the HLZ , FOB Sharana</span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">“We sling loads from Sikorsky’s owned by Presidential Airways and Russian MI-17s contracted from a Colombian company,” said Lt. Brown, “and some of the pilots are from the old USSR and have actually flown here during the Russian-Afghan war in the l980s.”<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This means that these same pilots who fought the Taliban for Russia now fight many of the same forces for the Americans. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkN7WNIdCvC5ZNQMXr9g6v-v97JIJehmp7jevbR6T8gMkRTfjQKaw5xXJhGb9ZyLcKmbqPM39SgFe9IycdVyKcCiGNd4CZRq-Irq4UXbRyqAjkBI-b4kRI5OhKo9q03X_BueNQYWrV40/s1600/IMG_5299.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLkN7WNIdCvC5ZNQMXr9g6v-v97JIJehmp7jevbR6T8gMkRTfjQKaw5xXJhGb9ZyLcKmbqPM39SgFe9IycdVyKcCiGNd4CZRq-Irq4UXbRyqAjkBI-b4kRI5OhKo9q03X_BueNQYWrV40/s200/IMG_5299.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672452270586301810" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">Warrant Officer Scott –center- with his crew working on an older 155mm cannon.</p> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwJmCfZpJk0zJwZnr9jFNdw0xEYJNUY4Ih7NIRB7ElMPliESrl94Z6ztc2epBx2nvyX_O_dJ3vG0Ehb4-8hPD4wzjxucUtFgrssgbXJbronGmX1Sv9IlTs9Z8g11MBgKSgYnY3Jg7_fw/s1600/IMG_5302.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwJmCfZpJk0zJwZnr9jFNdw0xEYJNUY4Ih7NIRB7ElMPliESrl94Z6ztc2epBx2nvyX_O_dJ3vG0Ehb4-8hPD4wzjxucUtFgrssgbXJbronGmX1Sv9IlTs9Z8g11MBgKSgYnY3Jg7_fw/s200/IMG_5302.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672452517896217170" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <span style=" Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-USfont-family:";font-size:100%;" >Sgt Charles Ennin looking over a home made cannon captured previously from the insurgents.</span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">172nd Support Battalion Armaments Section repairs large guns, mortars, handguns etc. Warrant Officer One, Scott Towne has a crew working on the older 155MM cannons from the Viet Nam era which are being fazed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are replaced by the M-777 medium towed howitzer which fires a 155MM. GPS guided ‘smart shell’.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“These 777s are much lighter so consequently much easier to maneuver than the old guns, and are digitally controlled,” he said.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkgfUbmjGRmRpnLJFGJKCkuhB_Tm6Avdva8-Ba0zV31E_kRTSw08TucAOLj8xKtm0F5lOpKPuHdVWKfEpprWfPGZ3eiHet0C8GCA8QvgSFi0Bo_asQrCwauNjUay9alp6t67pC078aj0/s1600/DSC_0351.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkgfUbmjGRmRpnLJFGJKCkuhB_Tm6Avdva8-Ba0zV31E_kRTSw08TucAOLj8xKtm0F5lOpKPuHdVWKfEpprWfPGZ3eiHet0C8GCA8QvgSFi0Bo_asQrCwauNjUay9alp6t67pC078aj0/s320/DSC_0351.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672453410165196738" border="0" /></a><br /> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;">Air Force 1st Lt. Ryan DeCamp, Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktika Public Affairs Officer, records video during a mission to meet with members of an Afghan Local Police outpost in the Sarobi District of Paktika Province, southeastern Afghanistan, Nov. 7th. The PRT’s mission is to link the province’s citizens with its government so they don’t turn to groups like the Taliban for economic development or conflict resolution. DeCamp, a Seton Catholic graduate, is stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona. </span> (Photo Provided)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-62006965076060125512011-11-04T09:00:00.003-04:002011-11-07T21:20:47.059-05:00The First Infantry Division at Pasab<style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN: Major General William Mayville, commanding officer of the 1<sup>st</sup> Infantry Division, is in Afghanistan to look in on his soldiers stationed in country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The 4-4 Cavalry (RSTA) and the 2-34 Armor battalions from the 1<sup>st</sup> Infantry Division headquartered in Fort Riley, Kansas are both attached to the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade CT, 10<sup>th</sup> Mountain Division here in Kandahar Province. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today’s convoy traveled from Pasab to Combat Outpost (CP) Kolk and Strongpoint Ghariban, which are both manned by soldiers from the 1<sup>st</sup> Infantry Division. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are located between FOB Pasab and the Arghandhab River. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Both of these sites are jointly occupied by soldiers from the US Army and the Afghanistan National Army. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>General Mayville is looking into the security of his soldiers, how they have been relating with the local Afghan people and how they are dealing with the ever present IEDs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In this area the main crops are opium and pomegranates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The harvest is in for both this time of the year.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkEn7JA_LcpeKjasHfOAG139Rdz1MGJkkfrKtASd-esZVPolXgSu-CMHDex6i2DW0ExbKYpea5iGPRnOQzF8Go4CNnDBZ0Kxdv6vIAnrdBG-VsSGTDrX-dOFrUBY_-Ty_R9MU1Z0VOlM/s1600/IMG_5158.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkEn7JA_LcpeKjasHfOAG139Rdz1MGJkkfrKtASd-esZVPolXgSu-CMHDex6i2DW0ExbKYpea5iGPRnOQzF8Go4CNnDBZ0Kxdv6vIAnrdBG-VsSGTDrX-dOFrUBY_-Ty_R9MU1Z0VOlM/s200/IMG_5158.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672441357559091714" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <span style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;font-family:";font-size:100%;" >L to R:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>General William Mayville, LT. Col. Michael Katona and Col Patrick Frank at the briefing at COP Kolk.</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><br /> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">A fairly in depth briefing encapsulating the mission of these 1<sup>st</sup> Infantry units was held for General Maybille, at CP Kolk along with Lt. Colonel Michael Katona of the 1<sup>st</sup> Inf. Div. and Colonel Patrick Frank, commanding officer of the 3<sup>rd</sup> BCT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A number of junior officers and senior NCO’s looked on.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">After the briefing the General inspected the troops as well as awarding medals to a number of these soldiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>More than a few Purple Hearts were pinned to the chest of soldiers who had been wounded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He wound up this ceremony with a heart felt speech to his troops.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqPqpRjJhNheOPlWCTMX7yNVKNDcynMwsov8G4jjvvaPyeLMfxQDaNxu_qVhK8sDxki6yAtSE6rhkVBRLJTBO1CusT5lBhelspUros5ElY86b1kRjKbh4IiPC9VFdS4QQh-hswyYXg1c/s1600/IMG_5180.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqPqpRjJhNheOPlWCTMX7yNVKNDcynMwsov8G4jjvvaPyeLMfxQDaNxu_qVhK8sDxki6yAtSE6rhkVBRLJTBO1CusT5lBhelspUros5ElY86b1kRjKbh4IiPC9VFdS4QQh-hswyYXg1c/s200/IMG_5180.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672441844926432482" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> </p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">General Mayville awarding medals to 1<sup>st</sup> Infantry troops at COP Kolk.</p><br /> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPqtWRYj9O2_EN7YdRtOgrHX8krVwNXoen2UPUN9e0zmIR-0-DGqnsddqzPL5IM5ZzAMc3RrH3S4ZM54JSQNbBFO6AnJStdznsinvtaob6whI4gyIY2l751nCsRTfwCoqDuxpjTGKTl8/s1600/IMG_5211.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPqtWRYj9O2_EN7YdRtOgrHX8krVwNXoen2UPUN9e0zmIR-0-DGqnsddqzPL5IM5ZzAMc3RrH3S4ZM54JSQNbBFO6AnJStdznsinvtaob6whI4gyIY2l751nCsRTfwCoqDuxpjTGKTl8/s200/IMG_5211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672442318374096994" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <span style="font-style: italic; font-family: times new roman;font-family:";font-size:100%;" >General Mayville awarding a medal to the 1<sup>st</sup> Sgt of the Afghan Army Unit stationed at Strongpoint Ghariban.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The convoy passed through Strongpoint Ghariban where the General visited troops of the 1<sup>st</sup> Infantry stationed there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He inspected a selection of home made IEDs that the unit had captured and posted on a display board.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">When finished, General Mayville and the contingent boarded helicopters for a more distant outpost out of range of today’s convoy from Pasab.</p> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-14493641505133408992011-11-03T09:21:00.008-04:002011-11-07T21:37:48.572-05:003rd Brigade CT Companies at FOB Pasab<style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN: Members of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade CT s 710<sup>th</sup> Brigade Support Battalion have been working along the Argandhab River to improve a local road that runs along the shore in the dry season and to build a 1500meter long concrete wall seven feet high along that road to keep local insurgents from coming back home to continue the fight against the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade CT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The main crop here is opium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s after the harvest season but there are piles of dried poppy plants ready to burn.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPw3p0lGzrHXannor3kLQ7fwg918l-TdF8UqvWvu4ceUAFGzRGAkEW6G0Oy-W4_q4y67NTUmBsPqzS-Wf_BxzPHJDcYAu5hRyuST5e_xen1MVgKbDGStIRIeBGp7-BLKAM8-_o6OUhkg/s1600/IMG_5084.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPw3p0lGzrHXannor3kLQ7fwg918l-TdF8UqvWvu4ceUAFGzRGAkEW6G0Oy-W4_q4y67NTUmBsPqzS-Wf_BxzPHJDcYAu5hRyuST5e_xen1MVgKbDGStIRIeBGp7-BLKAM8-_o6OUhkg/s200/IMG_5084.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672445317389556930" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> <style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;">Stacks of dried poppy plants ready for burning, the opium having been harvested much earlier in the season.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueCLBgP1kePi9Z3niMJkKkxBthWEIZ2OBUypCwlpLeEGrBGoRCc4H4rCkw_MiIwVrgmZ7elZiakm8haBzZef9qvlvqPdk7IOb97qQeFUUHKEKc4sg96vag_BPMs3KUfbQOSp5jt5zutc/s1600/IMG_5099.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueCLBgP1kePi9Z3niMJkKkxBthWEIZ2OBUypCwlpLeEGrBGoRCc4H4rCkw_MiIwVrgmZ7elZiakm8haBzZef9qvlvqPdk7IOb97qQeFUUHKEKc4sg96vag_BPMs3KUfbQOSp5jt5zutc/s200/IMG_5099.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672445517806884210" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic;">L to R: 2<sup>nd</sup> Lt. Eric Berg, Capt. Dour Morrison and SSgt John Rock of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade DT checking the progress of the wall and road along the Argandhab River.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sick Call here on FOB Pasab is handled by B Company of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade CT .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Their full service health center, using the Medical Campus Concept, can take care of most any health problem that does not require hospitalization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This includes full dental, mental health, physical therapy, combat stress control and recently a concussion recovery center. Their return to duty rate is in the high 90 percentile.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zXMhcfR99-7cNLaB3uyqnUte5MGXtAcIhwy-nKJGGrgKu8-mBrGx17l_NhvJEZpE7acXGWKxEwb4T7Nb5csti8SB0hYNR2l0TKkmggkkjHc0H2HQoXcOt2pBcGaMv_1s_FB5XQfUG0c/s1600/IMG_5077.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zXMhcfR99-7cNLaB3uyqnUte5MGXtAcIhwy-nKJGGrgKu8-mBrGx17l_NhvJEZpE7acXGWKxEwb4T7Nb5csti8SB0hYNR2l0TKkmggkkjHc0H2HQoXcOt2pBcGaMv_1s_FB5XQfUG0c/s200/IMG_5077.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672445817895932770" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"><br /></p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;">The dental team in action.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHIcS98UJom8yyjwBzHfahbYsHU0K4Rs815SQFoNIgopjzpdhf7KAYIvjgHr8sr5wLzVW7mxT8Y4E-34GJFTmf1oqfWr1eFYNWHP_F7AK6wRGjBjfD4-_qIouxaTEc_tOqDDHXoB2vnw/s1600/IMG_5076.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHIcS98UJom8yyjwBzHfahbYsHU0K4Rs815SQFoNIgopjzpdhf7KAYIvjgHr8sr5wLzVW7mxT8Y4E-34GJFTmf1oqfWr1eFYNWHP_F7AK6wRGjBjfD4-_qIouxaTEc_tOqDDHXoB2vnw/s200/IMG_5076.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672446228517381970" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"> </p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic;">L to R: Capt Peter Kirkendall, B Company commanding officer, with 1<sup>st</sup> Lt. Heather Woodruff, the company executive officer.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqCTBKQcC4oTSUN3cgElaBKWt8RdCWKtzt3CQ3axPXlZVpVqAPOnDtEipT9Mo04wEYdcpIAelNIKAxR_8eeHd1wDOt2Noe89heo34otRC-Hz8WEuDj5Unp_3voB6HP1QZRWRELUz2y8s/s1600/IMG_5081.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqCTBKQcC4oTSUN3cgElaBKWt8RdCWKtzt3CQ3axPXlZVpVqAPOnDtEipT9Mo04wEYdcpIAelNIKAxR_8eeHd1wDOt2Noe89heo34otRC-Hz8WEuDj5Unp_3voB6HP1QZRWRELUz2y8s/s200/IMG_5081.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672446411952849634" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic;">L to R:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Capt. Kirkendall and Capt. Amanda Chamberlin, Veterinarian from Iowa State who handles the lab and provides vet services <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>for the nearly 50 dogs from the K-9 Corps under the command of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade CT.</p> <p></p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-79615219761033949752011-10-29T08:00:00.010-04:002011-10-31T15:53:44.648-04:00The Flying Afghans of Kandahar<style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal">KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN:<span style=""> </span>Over the last year the Afghan Air Force detachment here at Kandahar Air Field has doubled in size and greatly improved.<span style=""> </span>With the addition of C-130s and C-27s, a fixed wing group has been added.<span style=""> </span>The C -27s are similar to the C-123s from the Korean and Vietnam eras but with Turbo prop engines.<span style=""> </span>There are six MI-17 Russian built helicopters permanently stationed here as well.<span style=""> </span>This morning’s flight will be in one of these basic but rather extraordinary aircraft.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61jywlkpBDQ2cgU25PD8SzzvZyfRSguIvYNXQVVyOSBSmpMEQ6MgKV9encc6UrBwe_t9QiB8PXnFDRk5HJAsP-yaJl8ww82J7wMeXL2b5Vi7Vs7_1TPaw0p2nEvsKH4e8bI0UCBX0gIs/s1600/IMG_5260.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61jywlkpBDQ2cgU25PD8SzzvZyfRSguIvYNXQVVyOSBSmpMEQ6MgKV9encc6UrBwe_t9QiB8PXnFDRk5HJAsP-yaJl8ww82J7wMeXL2b5Vi7Vs7_1TPaw0p2nEvsKH4e8bI0UCBX0gIs/s320/IMG_5260.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669741138667856338" border="0" /></a></p> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">Afghan Helicopter MI-17 after landing in the mountains near the Redgistan Desert</p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">“I’m a Huey pilot these days,” said Lt. Col. Fred Koegler.<span style=""> </span>“These aircraft are the Russian version of a Huey, just much larger.”<span style=""> </span>The Lt. Col. will be the chief pilot on today’s training mission which will take place southwest of Kandahar over portions of the Redgistan Desert, and the mountains that run along its western border.<span style=""> </span>This vast span of red sand covers 10,000 square miles.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The weather is 81 degrees F., visibility is good, the winds light, 05 is the active runway as Lt. Col. Koegler taxis the Afghan chopper along the taxiway parallel the active runway.<span style=""> </span>The aircraft speeds up and climbs out quickly in the direction of the Red Desert.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Col. Michael Outlaw is the co-pilot and Tech. Sgt. Jason Stitt the instructor gunner round out today’s crew.<span style=""> </span>Col. Outlaw is in the right seat in order to make the required flight hour requirements to remain current in the MI-17.<span style=""> </span>There would ordinarily be an Afghan co-pilot.<span style=""> </span>Also on board are Flight Engineer Sher Gan, two trainee crew chiefs, Faiz Mohammad and Powlat Khan and Shari the interpreter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Within a few miles from the Khandhar area, there are no roads, power lines, vehicles or any evidence of a modern society.<span style=""> </span>From an altitude of a thousand meters all that’s visible is Bedouin shepherds, their tents, and their goats and camels….a scene from another age.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The MI-17 makes a number of landings in the desert with the crew chiefs looking out both sides as the aircraft nears the ground, to look out for sand bursts that might blind the pilot before his final touchdown.<span style=""> </span>Other landings are made in the high peaks in tight places where level landing zones are difficult to find.<span style=""> </span>These mountains must be accessible to helicopters both for armed attacks against insurgents and for rescue of American or Afghan GIs who could be injured in operations there.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3zFQd_7K8R3RFYo_ukypip1Ykdaivbty_j9SAuXkPP0QEYUVSJUbbBFs0vvU9JOXAoacSpGMq3xzk_xXWmf1LURqB_IsLLRybYo5FjF6bNuhREPK5L41gnX1V6i5SNOYDH1sKmuMvuI/s1600/IMG_5268.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3zFQd_7K8R3RFYo_ukypip1Ykdaivbty_j9SAuXkPP0QEYUVSJUbbBFs0vvU9JOXAoacSpGMq3xzk_xXWmf1LURqB_IsLLRybYo5FjF6bNuhREPK5L41gnX1V6i5SNOYDH1sKmuMvuI/s320/IMG_5268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669742666832778370" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />L to R: Col. Michael Outlaw and Lt. Col, Fred Koegler departing aircraft after training flight</span></span> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">After returning to the field and landing, Lt. Col. Koegler again stresses the importance of the crew chiefs carefully watching both sides of the helicopter as it comes in for a landing.<span style=""> </span>“The rotor on a MI-17 is 63 ft in diameter,” he said.<span style=""> </span>“We land in tight spots on the many FOBs (forward operating bases) and COPs (combat outposts) that are supplied daily by helicopters.<span style=""> </span>Every kind of obstacle is to be expected and obviously avoided.<span style=""> </span>You all saw how tight it was on that small LZ (landing zone) in those mountains.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwz90JbLVI1gqEWqk-1oPT5_48ceIYWsAWfb8PeGVOmt7BUGh6yIwVtAE8nKmNxVtPm8Vuog43zv6Cy3pCBX6ntrqOhxZ4MMIKpoXG76XZJkOzkaz24uU-HFl-7MXbec1CJjHQnptl3-s/s1600/IMG_5263.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwz90JbLVI1gqEWqk-1oPT5_48ceIYWsAWfb8PeGVOmt7BUGh6yIwVtAE8nKmNxVtPm8Vuog43zv6Cy3pCBX6ntrqOhxZ4MMIKpoXG76XZJkOzkaz24uU-HFl-7MXbec1CJjHQnptl3-s/s320/IMG_5263.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669741540551293362" border="0" /></a></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1;</style><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">Afghan Air Force ground crew securing aircraft after landing</p> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Sec</style><br /> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Sec</style><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <span style="font-size:12pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Sec</style></p><p class="MsoNormal">A thorough de-briefing was held in the Afghan compound conference room after the flight.<span style=""> </span>The Afghan Air force flight crews are capable, serious students but if they are to take over the mission now preformed by the US Air Force here in Afghanistan, they have a long road ahead.<span style=""> </span>The US Command does not allow Americans as passengers aboard an aircraft with an all Afghan flight crew.</p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-88604249073238260862011-10-28T13:00:00.007-04:002011-10-29T13:53:17.960-04:00Flight of the Drones<style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal">FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN:<span style=""> </span>The high pitched roar of the ‘Shadow’ can be heard every morning before dawn here at Pasab, the command post of the 10<sup>th</sup> Mountain Division’s 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade Combat Team here in southern Afghanistan. <span style=""> </span>It departs from a 1500 ft paved strip on the back side of the brigade motor pool.<span style=""> </span>This TUAS (Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System) uses the strip just for the landing phase of the operation.</p> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoTayMV3U5RDDxCXbdZYsaI4mjZZ7e2NM580Jp_YyHQAvMtCcx_HdgVbN1JbQjrNK_Sen3Zgts8fskFzCbnIZco_JCFC-5OeTxM93HhpgrWj2jInLk48JPaOHrejZG6-uLoeGFoGNaPU/s1600/IMG_5127.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoTayMV3U5RDDxCXbdZYsaI4mjZZ7e2NM580Jp_YyHQAvMtCcx_HdgVbN1JbQjrNK_Sen3Zgts8fskFzCbnIZco_JCFC-5OeTxM93HhpgrWj2jInLk48JPaOHrejZG6-uLoeGFoGNaPU/s320/IMG_5127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668972141246888226" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Shadow drone coming in for a computerized GPS landing at FOB Pasab, Afghanistan.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal">“We launch this aircraft using a pressurized launcher system, a catapult that’s attached to a trailer and can be towed by the truck that also carries four disassembled aircraft,” said Warrant Officer One, Marilyn Payano, the chief TUAS technician. <span style=""> </span>“As you can see, this system which is less than thirty feet in length, can have this drone airborne from zero to 70 knots in .07 seconds.”<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This complete system can be packed up and on the road with an infantry outfit in three hours.<span style=""> </span>Here at Pasab its main function is to provide nearly continuous coverage of the AO (area of operations).<span style=""> </span>This provides the brigade commander at the TOC (tactical command center) aerial coverage throughout his command.<span style=""> </span>The TOC has 16 screens, one of which is provided with live video from the TUAS Shadow platoon.<span style=""> </span>This platoon can focus on and provide an overhead view of any insurgent activity happening in the AO, including any US troop movements that are pertinent.<span style=""> </span>The primary focus of this system presently in the Kandahar area is to provide information to convoys.<span style=""> </span>The Shadow drone can scan the routes ahead of time and pick any insurgent activity, especially the laying of IEDs along the highway which is the largest cause of injury and death to US troops here.<span style=""> </span>The infrared camera on board provides coverage for night time raids.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“You see,” said Warrant Officer Payano, “the maneuver battalion commander on the ground has the ability to view the same live feed video through the OSRVT (One System Remote Video Terminal) which is just a laptop; and furthermore both the unit on the ground and the commander in the TOC are in direct radio communication with each other.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Warrant Officer Payano hesitates for a moment.<span style=""> </span>“I might add also,” she said, “that this live video feed from airborne Shadow aircraft here in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan can also be beamed live to the Pentagon.<span style=""> </span>There have been instances in Afghanistan where officers in Washington, DC have actually directed firefights at the platoon level here on the ground in this country.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSL_02tSPIdCI94JGlMFjO9d2nNb4eElmLAojlOGlbr9b4EjJWAJB-pe2P2APLkLYa2OyzY3oM-oevhbIDsQxihlLayiLAs4EHfNWkIR7oXB-yZdyC8__EFKqLpdSZNrWAbiUpxVPPhXY/s1600/IMG_5137.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSL_02tSPIdCI94JGlMFjO9d2nNb4eElmLAojlOGlbr9b4EjJWAJB-pe2P2APLkLYa2OyzY3oM-oevhbIDsQxihlLayiLAs4EHfNWkIR7oXB-yZdyC8__EFKqLpdSZNrWAbiUpxVPPhXY/s320/IMG_5137.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668972629320571794" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">L to R: PFC Clinton Gardiner and Warrant Officer Marilyn Payano preflighting a Shadow drone for a mission from FOB Pasab, Afghanistan.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The ground crew is running a Shadow drone through a preflight to take off before the one now airborne lands.<span style=""> </span>PFC Clinton Gardiner who hails from central New York State where he grew up on a dairy farm is going through the checklist.<span style=""> </span>He had formerly worked as a mechanic at the Hamilton Airport and joined the army aviation program because he’s always loved airplanes.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“This is basically not a complicated aircraft,” he said.<span style=""> </span>“It’s powered by a 37 hp 100 octane gasoline engine similar to those used to power civilian ultra light aircraft.<span style=""> </span>It stalls at 70 knots and cruises at 80 knots.<span style=""> </span>The high cost of $1.5 million is in part due to the camera pod which cost $0.5 million itself.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">After launch the Shadow is piloted by soldiers in a two station van which houses display screens and controls.<span style=""> </span>It is flown by computer prompts, not conventional stick and rudder controls.<span style=""> </span>When its 5 or 6 hours of flight is finished it is programmed to return to its take off point and lands automatically through a GPS computerized landing system.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“This aircraft has a parachute recovery system,” said Warrant Officer Payano.<span style=""> </span>“If it runs out of fuel or malfunctions for any reason it turns upside down, to protect the camera pod, and floats to the ground.<span style=""> </span>We don’t use that system here though since we’d not want to chance recovery by an insurgent group.<span style=""> </span>It will crash and burn.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thus far the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade Combat Team of the 10<sup>th</sup> Mountain Division has not lost any of their Shadow aircraft.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-71951203508914940332011-10-27T10:00:00.018-04:002011-10-29T14:36:18.180-04:00The Nowruzi Bridge<style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal">FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN:<span style=""> </span>It’s mid morning here at this dusty US Army post in southern Afghanistan.<span style=""> </span>Soldiers of the Third Brigade Combat Team, 10<sup>th</sup> Mountain Division who man this Forward Operating Base are preparing to drive East on Highway #1. <span style=""> </span>Their mission for the day is to participate in a ceremony marking the opening of the Nowruzi Bridge.<span style=""> </span>This is a secondary crossing of the Arghandab River which forms the border between Kandahar and Zahari provinces, and is half a mile upriver from the main Route #1 crossing over Baghepul Bridge.</p> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The convoy is made up of a dozen or so heavily armed MRAPS, and other types of mine clearing vehicles.<span style=""> </span>There were at least as many four-man pickup truckloads of Afghan Army Troops who will attend the ceremony and provide security throughout the surrounding area while the US Army and local dignitaries participate in the ribbon cutting.<span style=""> </span>Col. Patrick D. Frank commanding officer of the 3<sup>rd</sup> Brigade Combat Team will be in attendance.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEY6mbNq44xEvYFOngPsuoVfquts9yiHRLZyLlNuvZZlTdJNiZiKs5ZnUKo0wz-kj1qC5YYahyNMqmPkdHzju0aHtdVv7QvG6gWJSD5C4tTQikLeRZKom-OBIkLMftDskrSQL8uYPbdKU/s1600/IMG_5044.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEY6mbNq44xEvYFOngPsuoVfquts9yiHRLZyLlNuvZZlTdJNiZiKs5ZnUKo0wz-kj1qC5YYahyNMqmPkdHzju0aHtdVv7QvG6gWJSD5C4tTQikLeRZKom-OBIkLMftDskrSQL8uYPbdKU/s320/IMG_5044.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668953929226192050" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">Col. Patrick D. Frank watching bridge ceremony with Haji Toragan</p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“My men fabricated this pedestrian passageway over a collapsed span on the old bridge which was built by the Russians” said Lt. Col. Jered Helwig, commander of the 710<sup>th</sup> Brigade Support Battalion.<span style=""> </span>“It had been down for nearly 30 years and the school children have been walking an extra mile around the highway bridge twice a day just to make it to and from school.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">While work was ongoing during this project the safety of the soldiers from the engineering company had been an issue, hence the caution being taken during the lead up to this ceremony.<span style=""> </span>The MRAPS mine clearing vehicle sweeps forward on the dirt road which runs from the main highway to the older river crossing. <span style=""> </span>There is no evidence of incoming fire or mortar activity. <span style=""> </span>A large crowd of local residents, Afghan army and police are in attendance while the local dignitaries line the bridge railings.<span style=""> </span>The main local celebrity here is power broker and tribal leader Haji Toragan.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawhlkoE1rO0f_oSluw1Y0S9tViuSmrwDneHKx3hr_7DHpqXhsC82_PovxIRVRWcLtblvvrbQLxWfQG5t81CbORTEeRh3jvBcD_ec_fpV6s1eLJ_EmCi4jQLwsw9trKbLOKpwgI6F9QTI/s1600/IMG_5071.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawhlkoE1rO0f_oSluw1Y0S9tViuSmrwDneHKx3hr_7DHpqXhsC82_PovxIRVRWcLtblvvrbQLxWfQG5t81CbORTEeRh3jvBcD_ec_fpV6s1eLJ_EmCi4jQLwsw9trKbLOKpwgI6F9QTI/s320/IMG_5071.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668954391336525458" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">L to R: SSG David Gibbons, Lt. Michael Scutier, Capt. Adam Phearsdorf, Haji Toragan and Col. Patrick D. Frank</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“We call Haji Toragan the Keith Richards of Afghanistan,” says Lt Col Helwig.<span style=""> </span>“His red hair and flamboyant clothing stand out among the locals but this guy is a very forward thinking leader.”<span style=""> </span>In the past Haji Toragan has fought with the Russian army, with the Mujahudeen and now he supports the Americans.<span style=""> </span>These varying allegiances seem to be in the background of most men in Afghanistan in their struggle for survival.</p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It turns out that Haji Toragan has built the local school that’s visible across the Arghandab River from the new bridge site. <span style=""> </span>He insists that both boys and girls attend.<span style=""> </span>He himself is illiterate but he means to see that this younger generation be educated so that they can enter and compete in the modern world.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5T1lnP0WWFWLZeEdQ56-O10Dr9nprdJH16mYQWu19VjruOBRvUrPgm0ouVy6eTKQdiUV5Z4XE8Z_1LNvYX5ZDuEBC6I_JwrhnuXgoIx_Y_dtBB-hrHauWNe7eiBjTAMwOZw54ET9MMY/s1600/IMG_5015.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5T1lnP0WWFWLZeEdQ56-O10Dr9nprdJH16mYQWu19VjruOBRvUrPgm0ouVy6eTKQdiUV5Z4XE8Z_1LNvYX5ZDuEBC6I_JwrhnuXgoIx_Y_dtBB-hrHauWNe7eiBjTAMwOZw54ET9MMY/s320/IMG_5015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668960909425222610" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">School Teacher for the Nawruai bridge district school</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Col. Frank has arrived along with the district governor, assorted local politicians and tribal chiefs.<span style=""> </span>The children from the neighborhood school look on with their book bags and lunches.<span style=""> </span>Well equipped local press and TV media are set up to cover the event that begins with a Muslim prayer sung by one of the Afghan Army soldiers.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_VSgCxMhSUCxrVXTTRuYsZEAbKxxDt8Oezn76baXOXYbiT7Ib8dyJn7RZEu0ykEWfnCKn43CkpU0dXrAcQApOMVHlys7EN_emHqbgdY3sK2TrQOXNRYYQk1fm81BrhZg9BFeDDwHDCQ/s1600/IMG_5013.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_VSgCxMhSUCxrVXTTRuYsZEAbKxxDt8Oezn76baXOXYbiT7Ib8dyJn7RZEu0ykEWfnCKn43CkpU0dXrAcQApOMVHlys7EN_emHqbgdY3sK2TrQOXNRYYQk1fm81BrhZg9BFeDDwHDCQ/s320/IMG_5013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668953243719695458" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">Afghan school children waiting to cross over the new bridge to attend school</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">With the speeches concluded and the ribbon cut, the children along with the dignitaries cross over the new span.<span style=""> </span>The soldiers from the 710<sup>th</sup> who actually cut and welded the steel span together look on approvingly, proud of their work and justly so.<span style=""> </span>This is the type of project that might, as has been predicted for so many years, win a small space in the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Brigade Commander Col. Patrick D. Frank is a firm believer in the ‘Shona-ba-Shona’ program which means simply standing shoulder to shoulder with our Afghan security and governance partners.<span style=""> </span>He will condone nothing in the way of collateral damage or simple rudeness toward the Afghan people.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rhXgHgn1TzXB9ChUankY5LsaKtRaHAJucYBxSxoDM1LkvqMpukQI1Cgn8X4swESRJ6OMgvI1qFaxMXe7kqFyIn1f6r2tNRh-yALahcqTJ69kEe9Wrm5UFND5H68_DU0i6AgzQjAGNTw/s1600/IMG_5060.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rhXgHgn1TzXB9ChUankY5LsaKtRaHAJucYBxSxoDM1LkvqMpukQI1Cgn8X4swESRJ6OMgvI1qFaxMXe7kqFyIn1f6r2tNRh-yALahcqTJ69kEe9Wrm5UFND5H68_DU0i6AgzQjAGNTw/s320/IMG_5060.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668953627331970194" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <style>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> </p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">L to R: Col. Patrick D. Frank and Lt. Col. Jered Helwig on the Nowruzi Bridge</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><p></p>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5039290760114799728.post-9831481434448776862010-10-30T09:59:00.004-04:002011-09-23T11:50:10.769-04:00Kabul - After the Surge<div>KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: The US influx of soldiers is complete but this war torn and weary capital city is viewed quite differently depending on one’s position. US Army General David Petraeus, commander of all NATO forces here in Afghanistan stated recently on a local television show that, “Kabul is obviously much safer and more secure now than it has been in the last few years. Look for yourself. There is hardly a presence of ISAF (International Security Assistant Force) or US military vehicles on the streets.”<br /><div><div><br /><div>He does have a point. Two years ago ISAF soldiers were everywhere. Uniformed personnel appear to be either Afghan police or recruits of the Afghan National Army. They man numerous check points through out the city and their vehicles are omnipresent. It’s worth noting that no employees of the US government, no UN employees and none of the numerous civilians here that draw their incomes from the US taxpayer live outside the wire. They reside in well guarded compounds and normally are allowed to leave only under armed guard.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAIb3GH3qU95JtcsKRd6cdlm_OQT3HkZhWMWI4v04FeawXz-VrjBI75XkaLHYkEQr189mZeC41YMI3kiK_EAfvN402D8YHkDzIfTrkN8VXIvTSpUzpukzASu9-ZjysVZg-T-dA4z7E2A/s1600/pic1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px; float: left; height: 150px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610284458033112402" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAIb3GH3qU95JtcsKRd6cdlm_OQT3HkZhWMWI4v04FeawXz-VrjBI75XkaLHYkEQr189mZeC41YMI3kiK_EAfvN402D8YHkDzIfTrkN8VXIvTSpUzpukzASu9-ZjysVZg-T-dA4z7E2A/s200/pic1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One of the main streets in Kabul whose buildings still show the scars of the artillery barrage from the Russian war.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />“You might say that Kabul very much resembles North Africa when ‘Rick’s bar, of Casablanca fame, was operating at the beginning of WWII. It’s a city of great intrigue, rumors of every variety; and at times quite great fun.” This opinion comes from Ben Farmer, correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph who has lived on the local economy in Kabul for the last two years. Mr. Farmer finds surviving this way is economically feasible, and quite safe within the city limits. Most of the foreign residents of Kabul proper are journalists or NGO workers.<br /><br />“We’re about the only people working here, excluding the GIs, that aren’t making six-figure money” he said. On closer inspection it appears that there is quite an ex-pat scene here in Kabul that much resembles Saigon and Phnom Penh of the 1990’s. Alcohol is available for foreigners and non Muslims. Witness the crowds at the ‘Gandamack Lodge’, ‘l’Atmosphere’, or ‘Boccacio’. Rumours of hashish use and illicit affairs run rampart among their own crowd.<br /><br />It’s been reported that the largest CIA station and the largest British MI 6 are located in this very secretive city. The same goes for the Pakistani ISI, the Iranians, the Chinese, the Russians and the Indians all have a presence here. The Russian residents have good connections made during their ill fated military adventure here in the 1980's. They were able to live in Kabul with their families while forming relationships that still bind. The word is big money is everywhere, its source being US funded programs run amuck, as well as the vast influx of military supplies brought in by civilian contractors. Kabul is rated by the UN as the second most corrupt country in the world after Sudan.<br /><br />Razda, a local taxi and fixer has agreed to drive out from Kabul during daylight on all three main roads as far as they are safe after darkness falls. That’s when the Taliban set up their check points where it’s not uncommon for them to pull out any foreigner or local who they believe is working for the US and shoot them on the spot.<br /><br />“If you like” said Razda, “I can drive you as far as Jalalabad during the daylight hours, but you’d have to wear Afghan dress. The Taliban have snipers positioned along the main highway who have on occasion ‘taken out’ passengers in western garb. Of course travel at night is impossible, even for me. Transport in any other direction from Kabul seemed to be out of the question, day or night.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndwrTB6FDpiuLOQbLnDVsHNV4K9uDSHYxujWczzjAtku0lC-PQcBekp3B_9KuD28VsXW7zSQBM6i0vyDs8wtxdXsHcJyR_uZQckSprLfhqUQ5cE2JSIxCHoI651aZ7JCq1sEhkgQ0EO8/s1600/pic3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px; float: left; height: 150px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610284972340588786" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndwrTB6FDpiuLOQbLnDVsHNV4K9uDSHYxujWczzjAtku0lC-PQcBekp3B_9KuD28VsXW7zSQBM6i0vyDs8wtxdXsHcJyR_uZQckSprLfhqUQ5cE2JSIxCHoI651aZ7JCq1sEhkgQ0EO8/s200/pic3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Afgthan taxi driver, Radza showing where the Taliban set up road blocks every night just a few kilometers outside of Kabul on the route to Jalalabad.</span><br /><br /><br />Two years ago it was possible to take a cab from Kabul to Jalalabad, at least during daytime hours, without jeopardizing personal safety. The same held true for the route between Kabul and Bagram, and Kabul and Kandahar. None of these routes are passable by foreigners today and would seem to contradict recent pronouncements from US authorities here on advancements in security.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOUI3Xu0E9jtsg8fB_XXrhCWk1GT5iHD73rw_GSBeVnqxRTcrOEDHL18U6kAg2w93xYbPRGdd7t-UMAz2YUWa8lOkG_Tjd7SFrE5GyBURKsdteBo4z7au93Ceyfx2wRgcNqW0gw7Dzr4/s1600/pic2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px; float: left; height: 150px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610284780970096530" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOUI3Xu0E9jtsg8fB_XXrhCWk1GT5iHD73rw_GSBeVnqxRTcrOEDHL18U6kAg2w93xYbPRGdd7t-UMAz2YUWa8lOkG_Tjd7SFrE5GyBURKsdteBo4z7au93Ceyfx2wRgcNqW0gw7Dzr4/s200/pic2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Afghan tribesman watching the traffic along the highway from Kabul to Mazar e Sharif.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />David Greenway, a columnist for the International Herald Tribune is staying at the Gandamack Lodge, a favorite of journalists in Kabul, while gathering information for an article. Mr. Greenway covered the Viet Nam war for Time magazine from 1968 until 1975 when Saigon fell to the North.<br /><br />“This situation here in Kabul rather reminds me of Phnom Penh during the end of the war in Cambodia,” he reminisced. “The city was completely surrounded by Khmer Rouge fighters who fired in occasional rockets, but life continued as usual in town. It to, was almost entirely re-supplied by US aircraft.” He continued along that line. “Who could have guessed then, that the US would be embroiled in another war in Asia thirty five years later?”<br /><br />There was an earlier battle in Afghanistan. British forces were retreating from Kabul to Jalalabad in January, 1842. They were attacked midway near the town of Gandamack by tribesmen from the surrounding mountains. Out of a force of 16,500 British officers, colonial soldiers and assorted camp followers, one survivor reached Jalalabad. Dr. William Brydon had been allowed to pass safely from Gandamack, to bear witness to the massacre of the entire British force.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*A version of this article was published by the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x1024522136/Kabul-after-the-surge/">Press Republican</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> on January 5, 2011.</span><br /></div><div></div><div></div><br /></div></div></div>John W. Conroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11385719129598056134noreply@blogger.com0