Forget Your Sign... What's Your Story?

Thought for the day: Ask people how they're doing, how's life? Everyone has a story, and you may be the one they want to tell it to. [author unknown]

From 1998 to 2004, CBS news had a segment called Everybody Has a Story, based on a visit to a random location within the United States, which was determined by the toss of a dart at a map. Once he arrived at that location, correspondent Steve Hartman would pick out a random name from the telephone directory, and do a story on someone who lived at that address. Much to his surprise, what started out in the beginning as a bit of a lark ended up unearthing terrific stories... some heart-warming, some heart-wrenching, and some downright funny. But always, always interesting.

Last weekend, this lucky gal didn't have to throw a single dart, and didn't have to hop on an airplane or bus to hear somebody's story. All I had to do was go to a flea market with Smarticus, who happened to be wearing a Vietnam vet cap. As often happens, a fellow vet spotted the cap, and he and a buddy approached to shake his hand and welcome him home. We stood chatting for some time, and this former Marine... this complete stranger who, for some reason, immediately felt like a long-time friend... made a point of telling me a story. He had some fun yanking my chain with some pure BS, too, but we had a good laugh over that. But this story... it was true, and like the thought for the day says, I guess I was the one he wanted to tell it to. 

A true man will listen to anyone, no matter how young or old the person. For everyone has a story to tell and a lesson to teach. [Ash Sweeney]

I'm not exactly a true man, but it was a true honor to hear his tale. Now, I'm gonna share it with you. Since he even told me how I could find more information about it online, I have a feeling he'd approve.

Considering what I'm about to tell you, this 1917 recruiting poster seems the perfect accompaniment. Although this true story isn't about a Marine riding a big cat, it IS about a near-deadly encounter with one. A tiger. A BIG 400-pound-plus tiger. In the middle of the night in the dark jungles of Vietnam.

On December 22, 1968, a team of Marines from the 3rd Recon hunkered down for the night, hoping dawn would bring more conducive conditions for extraction by helicopter. A couple of the guys took watch, while the others settled down on the ground and tried to catch some shut-eye.

In the middle of the night, they were awakened by Staff Sergeant Richard Goolden's blood-curdling screams.

To everybody's horror, Goolden's head was held fast in the mouth of an enormous tiger.

When one of the guys tried to beat the cat off of him, the tiger took off, and still holding Goolden in its jaws,  jumped down into a bomb

crater.

Bottom line, the Marines won. The whole team shot down into that crater to kill the cat... which had already killed another Marine the month before... and miraculously, they saved Goolden's life.

 Despite his serious wounds... our flea market friend said Goolden's tongue was nearly severed, his neck severely cut, and his head so torn up, his brain was exposed... the Staff Sergeant survived. Needless to say, he spent a looong time in the hospital, but he is still here to tell about it.

The Army may have had a Special Forces unit called the Tiger Force, but this young Marine, Staff Sergeant Richard Goolden, spent what must have felt like an eternity in the actual jaws of  a tiger.

If you'd like to see more photos, and read an article about this event, written by Sgt. Bob Morris, and published in the Northern Marine magazine in 1968, you can find it here

While doing research for this post, I also came across another really interesting piece, about some of the critters soldiers encountered in Vietnam. You can find that here

I also found out that SSgt Goolden, although initially told he would receive a Purple Heart... never received one. He got all of the other awards he earned, but there were no written orders for the Purple Heart, so he was denied that medal. The most recent article I found was from a few years back, when his daughter was still doing her darnedest to go through the proper channels to get him that medal. Evidently, receiving catastrophic wounds while in a war zone only counts if it happens at the hand of the enemy. Not at the jaws of a tiger.

Good news, though? Goolden, though scarred, both physically and mentally, is still going strong, and our flea market friend still has a beer or two with him every week. Alas, our flea market Marine never told us his name

 Just his story.

Maybe because that's the part he thought was most important.

There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them. [closing line for TV show Naked City, which aired from 1958-'63]

Just curious. Do complete strangers ever tell you their stories? This certainly isn't the first time it's happened to me... and ya know, I certainly hope it isn't the last.

                           Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Welcome Home

Thought for the day: Better late than never.

[morguefile]

Smarticus and I had a new, but welcome, experience on Tuesday night. He was invited to an American Legion hall to receive a Certificate of Appreciation for his service in Vietnam. Never mind that my favorite grunt (i.e. infantryman) came home from there forty-five long years ago; someone finally wanted to welcome him home now. They wanted to say... thanks. For a job well and honorably done.

Plus, they were gonna (ahem)  feed us. So we went.

[morguefile]

At the end of World War II, troops were welcomed home with ticker-tape parades, and with lots of cheering and speechifying, all signifying universal appreciation and respect. The sign over there -----> represents just a smidgen of the appreciation and  support that has been given to soldiers returning from tours in the Gulf War, and from Iraq and Afghanistan. (And that's a good thing. Definitely a good thing.)

But Vietnam vets? None of that. My father-in-law, A WWII vet, made and hung a huge Welcome Home banner across the front of the house for Smarticus, but our country as a whole met our soldiers returning home from Vietnam with silence, and even worse, with disdain. Their sacrifices went largely unappreciated, and were dismissed, or even insulted, by a population that was, for the most part, grossly misinformed.

No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic.  [Richard Nixon]

[morguefile]

Yeah, I know. Nixon said that, so it isn't exactly a recent quote, but that doesn't make it any less true. The fact is, the media got so many things wrong back then, a proliferation of half-truths and myths became accepted by most Americans as facts, and further inflamed raging anti-war sentiments, sentiments which led to the shameful treatment of those who served their country by fighting in it.

I could go on a major tirade here, and tell you about some of the blatantly incorrect and misleading reports and myths from back then, but that isn't the point of this post. The point of this post is that our country is finally trying to set things right.

[morguefile]

It's finally considered appropriate to thank our Vietnam vets. In 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. (Funny, but I didn't hear anything about it. Did you?) The idea was to spur a national effort to recognize the men and women who were denied a proper welcome upon returning home more than forty years ago.

Since then, more and more states have passed similar resolutions and laws, naming either March 29 or 30 as Vietnam Veterans Day. (When U.S. troops left Vietnam in 1973, the date was March 29 in Vietnam, and the 30th here at home, so either date is considered acceptable.) Besides, the date doesn't matter nearly as much as the sentiment.

[morguefile]

Combat troops were first sent to Vietnam in 1965... fifty years ago. That fifty-year milestone is now spurring an increasing number of demonstrations of appreciation around the country for veterans of that conflict. Later this month, Ft. Stewart, in south Georgia, is holding an official welcome home ceremony for Vietnam vets, with lots of pomp and circumstance, just like the ones they've been holding for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Other bases around the country have already held such ceremonies, or will be doing so at various times throughout the year. And some governors, aided by organizations like the American Legion, are even providing certificates and medals. Like in Tuesday night's ceremony, where the state senator presenting the certificates and medallions said, It is never too late to say thank you.

That's Smarticus in the front row, third from the right. It was truly wonderful to see him and these other vets finally get some recognition, and to finally get that thank you and welcome home they all deserved. And as the wife, and sister, of Vietnam vets,  I hope you'll forgive me for saying it, but... It's about damned time.

Little-Known Facts About the Vietnam War

• Although many people think it was a war fought by draftees, a surprising 2/3 of the soldiers serving in Nam were actually volunteers, as opposed to WWII, when 2/3 of the soldiers were draftees.
• Although the average age of the soldier serving in Nam has often been reported as nineteen, it was actually 23.11. The youngest was sixteen, and the oldest, sixty-two. (The average age of those serving in WWII was twenty-six.)
• Thanks to the mobility provided by helicopters, the average infantryman serving in Vietnam saw 240 days of combat in a year. By comparison, a WWII infantryman serving four years in the South Pacific saw an average of forty days of combat. 
• Vietnam vets were the best-educated our nation had ever sent into combat. Seventy-nine percent had a high school education or better. 
• From 1965-1972, 8.7 million Americans served in the military. Approximately one-third of them spent some time in Vietnam. Of those, only about twelve percent were in combat.
• Of the many men and women who lost their lives in Vietnam, 86% were Caucasian, 12.5% were black, and 1.2% of some other race. 

[Sources: General William C. Westmoreland, Lt. Gen Barry R. McCaffrey, and the CACF (Combat Area Casualty File)]

Infantry duty is a rough business, even in peace time. [James Dunnigan]

[morguefile]

So is there someone YOU need to thank? Certainly, we all owe gratitude to our vets, but who else? A spouse? A parent? A sibling or friend? A child? A teacher or minister who encouraged you when you needed it the most? Somebody. Surely, there's somebody. Don't assume that person already knows how grateful you are. You've gotta say it. Or write it. Because, despite what that state senator said, sometimes it is too late, so don't put it off, especially not for fifty years. Say it today. 

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. [William Arthur Ward]

Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart.  [Zig Ziglar]

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.  [Margaret Cousins]

So, all of you... thank you. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, and thank you for your terrific comments. You guys rock.

                                     Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

P.S. For anyone reading this post on the afternoon of the 17th or later, I apologize for the unusual header picture. Because I won't be around tomorrow to change the header pic for Friday's post, I opted to remove the more appropriate picture of a vet leaning against the Vietnam Memorial, and to replace it with a pic that complements Friday's post.