tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post5719177849842324980..comments2024-03-29T09:25:08.645-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: California Week #2—Chicago's few, the proud, storm California beachesNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-53102957518243088752016-02-11T12:12:13.181-06:002016-02-11T12:12:13.181-06:00Yes, the French could have told us all about Dien ...Yes, the French could have told us all about Dien Bien Phu.Privatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10757585399827295128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-76346512251665164052016-02-11T08:35:33.225-06:002016-02-11T08:35:33.225-06:00Yeah. the dominoes didn't fall after all. Eise...Yeah. the dominoes didn't fall after all. Eisenhower advised against involvement, but fear of the red menace trumped caution. The late unlamented Robert McNamara put it well: "Everybody was for it until everybody was against it." I once heard a talk by the French journalist Bernard Fall, who probably knew more about Vietnam and its colonial history than anybody. He predicted the outcome accurately but his remarks were met with skepticism, and some hostility, by the audience of military officers bound for attaché assignments and Foreign Service officials.<br /><br />TETomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-70041186813900692632016-02-10T16:51:51.854-06:002016-02-10T16:51:51.854-06:00Thank you, Woodman2, but I soon came to believe th...Thank you, Woodman2, but I soon came to believe that we shouldn't have been in Vietnam, even though I didn't see any carnage. It was enough to witness the way we demeaned our allies in their own country.<br /><br />Johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-73899605347853495652016-02-10T16:31:58.680-06:002016-02-10T16:31:58.680-06:00I tip my cap to you John for being a Vietnam Vet.I tip my cap to you John for being a Vietnam Vet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-88948640901398893892016-02-10T16:28:12.090-06:002016-02-10T16:28:12.090-06:00I was briefly stationed there in Coronado in 1965 ...I was briefly stationed there in Coronado in 1965 before flying to Danang as part of an LCU crew. Combat pay for hauling beer from ship to shore (and bombs to Hue, but the beer runs were more frequent).<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-78479855151807012632016-02-10T16:06:31.954-06:002016-02-10T16:06:31.954-06:00I participated in an AAV landing exercise some yea...I participated in an AAV landing exercise some years ago at the Naval Amphibious Warfare base in Coronado. The Chief of the Boat told us that they rarely sank. Then he said he said that in the two instances he knew of nobody survived. Funny!<br /><br />Brings to mind crawling around in a WW II Lancaster bomber on display at RAF Duxford, near Cambridge, the aviation wing of the Imperial War museum. It carried a huge bomb load (more that the U.S. B-17), made possible by very cramped quarters for the crew. The museum guide pointed out that, as initially designed, the escape hatch was too narrow to accommodate a man wearing a parachute.<br /><br />War is still Hell, but more attention is paid to creature comforts these days. <br /><br />Tom Evans Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-24198367258508493672016-02-10T09:30:03.831-06:002016-02-10T09:30:03.831-06:00Very entertaining description successfully diverti...Very entertaining description successfully diverting our attention from the fact that we're freezing our asses off here in Chicago while you're lollygagging there under the California sun. A point to ponder: in the exercises preparing for the invasion of Normandy, 800 men lost their lives. I trust you weren't aware of that in '98 -- probably better not to know certain things.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-47329639960440105102016-02-10T08:47:44.389-06:002016-02-10T08:47:44.389-06:00Good to know that the Sun-Times management certain...Good to know that the Sun-Times management certainly does not shortchange you on vacation time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com