Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You two need a time-out.

[Ali G. 37]

I apologize to the good members here for lowering myself to Booyahs level. This thread is about those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Man are you loony or what? Every day you rant the same horseshit and now say you 'lowered yourself'. Newsflash bud, it's not my problem you have an issue with my views. There is an ignore feature for a reason you know.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Booyah

[spookyturtle 9,466]

You two need a time-out.

I apologized to the legitimate posters in this thread.

[Ali G. 37]

I apologized to the legitimate posters in this thread.

Use the ignore feature and be done with it.

Don't blame me you pussied out of Vietnam though..

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Use the ignore feature and be done with it.

Don't blame me you pussied out of Vietnam though..

[Ali G. 37]

This fixation is not healthy bud. Let it go and use the ignore feature.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

This fixation is not healthy bud. Let it go and use the ignore feature.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Have any of you seen the wall?

[scandal 951]

I apologize to the good members here for lowering myself to Booyahs level. This thread is about those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I'm glad you edited your post spooks, and rephrased yourself. That was a good thing to do.

I think it's a shame that this thread descended the way it has.

I know who's responsible for initiating that descent, and it was not you.

Those who simply can't step back for a moment and honor the ultimate sacrifice without yet another round of ####### for tat insults should truly be deeply ashamed of themselves. Try hard to stay above that level Spooks - you're a better man than that. Even if you fail to see the greatness of Peyton Manning, you're still a better man than that.

For the fallen, those who paid with all they had.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I'm glad you edited your post spooks, and rephrased yourself. That was a good thing to do.

I think it's a shame that this thread descended the way it has.

I know who's responsible for initiating that descent, and it was not you.

Those who simply can't step back for a moment and honor the ultimate sacrifice without yet another round of ####### for tat insults should truly be deeply ashamed of themselves. Try hard to stay above that level Spooks - you're a better man than that. Even if you fail to see the greatness of Peyton Manning, you're still a better man than that.

For the fallen, those who paid with all they had.

I did lower myself to his level, but I realized that enough was enough. We all know someone who lost a loved one in that war and I wanted to share the site with those who are interested. There always has to be one bad apple in the barrel. I am a better man than that.

[Ali G. 37]

Have any of you seen the wall?

Yes.

I did lower myself to his level, but I realized that enough was enough.... I am a better man than that.

As can clearly be seen by your signature..

[scandal 951]

I did lower myself to his level, but I realized that enough was enough. We all know someone who lost a loved one in that war and I wanted to share the site with those who are interested. There always has to be one bad apple in the barrel. I am a better man than that.

The Vietnam War did not achieve any meaningful long term (or even short term) benefits to America, or to Vietnam for that matter. So much was lost, and for a cause that really did not justify the loss. It was not a war of necessity, it was not a vital interest of America, it was not a clear and present danger.

Granted, at the time some of the fears seemed reasonable to many. The fear of a Communist takeover, the fear of a Domino effect throughout Southeast Asia and beyond (India, Indoneisa, Malaysia..). Australia in particular was concerned due to the strong Communist insurgency against Suharto in Indonesia. The fear was that a Communist victory in Vietnam would lead inevitably to Communism a mere few hundred miles from Australia - their very own version of Cuba, as it were.

In the end, Vietnam did fall to the Communists. This epic "hot" struggle of the Cold War did not ultimately play out as the Domino threat so many had feared. It took another 20 years until the Fall of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the Reagan era, and the rise of the market economy in China, to make it clear that Communism as a global threat is really now a spent force.

Having said that, those who answered their country's call to service were, and will always be, heroes. They gave everything they had. Yes, there were atrocities (My Lai). Yes, US servicemen attacked civilians and burned villages and rice fields. US strategists intentionally used Agent Orange and napalm and acted illegally in neighboring states - Cambodia and Laos to attempt to cut off supply lines of the Viet Cong.

There is much for the US to answer for in why they went to war, what they fought for, how they fought, and what they achieved (or failed to achieve). Those hard questions are for Lyndon Johnson and his cabinet, Robert Macnamara, Gen Westmoreland, etc.

They are not for the grunts on the ground and flying the Hueys and in the gunboats. They were and will always be heroes.

They were not always recognized as such back at the time. America was going through convulsions due to the Civil Rights protests, the tumult of the 1968 campaign and the assassinations of MLK and RFK. Many in America blamed the soldiers for the war itself. That was wrong.

Today, we see that was wrong and we honor Americans who answered their nation's call to duty.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Nice try. Have you won any war since WWII?

desert storm/shield comes to mind. your turn - have you won any war since ww2?

Edited March 11, 2010 by charles!

[Ali G. 37]

The Vietnam War did not achieve any meaningful long term (or even short term) benefits to America, or to Vietnam for that matter. So much was lost, and for a cause that really did not justify the loss.

Which tends to happen when you withdraw prematurely and basically allow the enemy to take over..

desert storm/shield comes to mind. your turn - have you won any war since ww2?

Desert storm was hardly a war.

How about Korea? Vietnam was obviously an Epic fail.

PS We don't generally starts wars with the world, hence why we are wealthy and the world likes us.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Booyah

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Charles, can you close this thread? Or do I have to PM a mod? This was supposed to be for a good reason and it is not being used in the spirit of it's intent.