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Vietnam War

AFN Patrick Leonard Sajdak (Pat Sajak), U.S. Army (1968-1969)

AFN Patrick Leonard Sajdak (Pat Sajak), U.S. Army (1968-1969)

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Pat Sajak, best known as the longtime host of the “Wheel of Fortune,” has held many jobs. Early in his career, Sajak was a weatherman, talk show host, and DJ. Wheel of Fortune, which debuted in 1975, became the longest-running syndicated game show on American television, turning Sajak and his co-host, Vanna White, into pop-culture icons. But not many know that before his showbiz career began, Sajak served our country in the military during the Vietnam War.  Pat Sajak’s Early Life On October 26, 1946, Patrick Leonard Sajdak, who will one day be known to millions of game-show fans as the Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, was born in Chicago. Patrick would later drop the “d” in his last name for professional reasons and to ease pronunciation. Unfortunately, Pat’s father died when he was still a young boy and the family lost a wage earner in addition to a dad. Sajak found his start in broadcasting through Columbia College Chicago. While attending, an instructor helped him get a job...

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Reflections of Valour by James Elsener

Reflections of Valour by James Elsener

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Reflections of Valour is a tale of untested lovers from different backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda Walker attends an exclusive East Coast women's college and enjoys the trappings of her wealthy suburban environment. John Briggs is from a modest Midwestern working-class family, dedicated to his career as a Marine. Despite their differing worldviews and priorities, their relationship develops and deepens. When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a sense of duty and having to leave behind the woman he loves. When he departs to serve his country overseas, their future is thrown into uncertainty. In Vietnam, Briggs emerges as a leader among the young troops trying to survive combat. The reader experiences the exhilaration, the boredom, the confusion, and the horrors of war. Briggs witnesses many atrocities and tragedies, from the murder of Vietnamese civilians to the death of his brothers-in-arms in a tragic accident. He narrowly escapes...

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Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier by W. Thomas Burns

Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier by W. Thomas Burns

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Like many young men who came of age in the late 1960s, W. Thomas Burns, the author of "Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier", joined the military and found himself in Vietnam. Burns, despite the title of his memoir, was a United States Marine who joined the Corps in 1967. By May of 1968, he was in-country, fighting with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division.   "Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier" isn’t a book about strategy, tactics, or the history of the war. Unlike many books about the Vietnam War, it has no political slant. Bruns wrote a book about what serving in Vietnam was really like. It reads more like a diary, without explicitly being one, but it’s not just a diary of his own experiences. Burns relates the experiences of other troops who fought in Vietnam alongside him.  About the Author of Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier At just 19 years old, Burns was wounded after eight months of slugging it out with the enemy in the jungles and...

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4 Vietnam War Myths Civilians Believe

4 Vietnam War Myths Civilians Believe

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Movies and television have painted a deeply embedded picture of Vietnam veterans in the American collective consciousness. Somehow, despite the numerous books, articles, and documentaries produced about the war and those who fought it, some of them are simply untrue. The false ideas aren't just small myths, either. These misconceptions paint a distorted picture of who fought in Vietnam and the ability of the enemy and shaped how we perceived war for decades after the conflict ended. Here are the most common myths about the Vietnam War that civilians really believe, along with the truth about them. The U.S. Won Every Battle of the Vietnam War But Still Lost the War If anyone told this myth to the veterans who fought at Lang Vei in 1968, Kham Duc later that same year, or Fire Support Base Ripcord in 1970, they'd probably get a sharp, curt history lesson in logistics and math. Movies and television make it seem like the Viet Cong (VC), and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attacked in...

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We’ll All Die As Marines by Colonel Jim Bathurst

We’ll All Die As Marines by Colonel Jim Bathurst

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For seventeen-year-old high school dropout Jim Bathurst, the Marine Corps reputation for making men out of boys was something he desperately needed when he enlisted in March of 1958. What began as a four-year hitch lasted nearly thirty-six years and included an interesting assortment of duty stations and assignments as both enlisted and officer. We'll All Die As Marines narrates a story about a young, free-spirited kid from Dundalk, Maryland, and how the Corps captured his body, mind, and spirit. Slowly, but persistently, the Corps transformed him into someone whose first love would forever be the United States Marine Corps.  We'll All Die As Marines is not only his leadership, service, and training but also regales many tales of his fellow Marines that will have the reader laughing, cheering, and at times crying. In this memoir, Bathurst reveals that for him-a former DI who was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V", Purple Heart, and a combat commission to...

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Hidden Army by Lawrence Rock

Hidden Army by Lawrence Rock

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According to Pentagon records, nearly four million personnel served in and around Vietnam; most in Vietnam, others on flight bases in Thailand and ships in adjacent South China Sea. Of those 3,917,400 million men and women ordered to the Southeast Asia Theater, ninety percent were not sent there to fight. They were there to support the ten percent who were. Support troops included pilots, sailors, medics, nurses, cooks, clerks, drivers, engineers, communications people, military police, and many more. With no front lines or secure roads, many of these support troops found themselves in combat situations. In fact, a Veteran's Administration study found that over seventy percent of support troops were directly or indirectly shot at during their tours, and over half saw someone killed or wounded. This was particularly true during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Hidden Army is the Second of Two Books by Lawrence Rock Hidden Army is the second of two books containing the oral...

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Vietnam War – The Battle of Ia Drang, LZ X-Ray

Vietnam War – The Battle of Ia Drang, LZ X-Ray

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American involvement in Vietnam can stretch back as far as the end of World War II, depending on how you define "involvement," but one thing is for sure; when the U.S. committed its combat troops to defend South Vietnam, things got hot almost immediately. The most stunning example of the ferocity of Vietnam battlegrounds is the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, the first time the U.S. Army fought a major battle against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), North Vietnam's regular forces.  There are actually several notable firsts that occurred in the Battle of Ia Drang. It was the first time the U.S. employed a large-scale helicopter air assault and the first time B-52 Stratofortress bombers were used as tactical support. Both of these historic firsts would have a huge effect on the battle.  The Beginning of Airmobile Assault on November 14 PAVN and Viet Cong guerilla forces controlled much of the South Vietnamese countryside by the end of 1964. Their main military forces...

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Service Reflections of SFC Joseph Wilson, Jr., U.S. Army (1967-1990)

Service Reflections of SFC Joseph Wilson, Jr., U.S. Army (1967-1990)

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My father was a WWII Navy veteran (1945-47). In 1964 – 65 I became a Cadet with the Civil Air Patrol in the Borah Cadet Squadron in Boise, Idaho, and later with the Gowen Field Cadet Squadron also in Boise, Idaho.Despite them being similarly reserved and not the type of men to brag, I could hardly wait to visit them so I could beg them to tell me war stories. The experiences they shared with me made a lasting impression during my early childhood, which further aroused my desire to serve my country.

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