Thread: Post your MPC or War Notes in Honor of Soldiers Remains coming home !!

God bless those that served, fought, were wounded and even died for our freedom.



I am also proud to live in a country where soldiers lost in wars so long ago are not forgotten, and they are still being found and identified and brought home where they belong.

Many thanks for sharing the the story of a hero having his remains returned home. Good on you!

For those of us who were infantry Grunts in Vietnam, the helicopter DoorGunners were our heroes. They kept us supplied with desperately needed ammo, C-rations and life-sustaining potable water to quench our parched throats. No matter how exhausted and grimy with rice paddy mud we were, the sound of in-coming chopper blades and the sight of a DoorGunner waving to us, gave us the extra we needed to keep on keeping on.

Even when the bullets were flying, being Grunts, we could crouch down next to a rice paddy dike. Not the DoorGunner, they had nowhere to go. They had to remain fully exposed, in a slowly settling aircraft, to the automatic weapons-fire being thrown at them. They courageously faced the impossible in order that we ground-pounders were kept supplied. Respected them then! Continue to admire them now!

Unffortunately, the loss of America's finest continues. However, a new twist has been added ... the presence of a spouse. Recently lost [KIA 25JUN11, Kunar Province, Afghanistan] an exceptionally courageous young warrior brother. He died being a hero, with the handset of his radio in his hand as he called for fire support to save his pinned-down platoon. Both he and his Army wife were West Pointers, they took airborne training and jumped out of airplanes together, he graduated from the Army's Ranger School and they both were assigned to the 25th Infantry Division [Tropical Lightning], Schofield Barracks, HI. They deployed to A-stan together. She was assigned to Forward Operating Base [FOB] Fenty, the location of the 3rd Brigade Headquarters. Being an infantry Grunt, he was assigned to FOB Joyce, in the more distant boonies.

When his unit became involved in a firefight, his wife was in the Brigade's Tactical Operations Center [TOC] listening to the radio transmissions. She heard enough to know that her husband's unit was in deep trouble and had taken casualties. Her worst fears were confirmed when her unit commander and Chaplain approached her wearing solemn expressions. She is now a young, beautiful, 24-year old widow, having lost the one and only love of her life. This is an American tragedy, one that most of us are not aware of. It turns out that the most dedicated among us sacrifice the most to preserve our way of life.

Sharing helps. Thanks!

Wow, Honolulu, reading your post stirred up some old memories from when I was a young kid and all this was going on.

OK,SM, appreciate your comment. Appreciate even more your impressive collection of MPCs. That Series 692 fiver with the magnificent stags is a real charmer.

Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Honolulu Dick

OK,SM, appreciate your comment. Appreciate even more your impressive collection of MPCs. That Series 692 fiver with the magnificent stags is a real charmer.

Thanks for sharing.

My dad was over there in the AF until early '72 - remember when he came home, off of the C-141 Starlifter with a bunch of guys that were on stretchers and crutches. As a young kid that made a pretty strong impression on me. His leftover notes from a C-Day that he missed because he was out in the field were the nucleus of my paper money collection, along with a handful of Viet notes. He literally brought me back a whole sack of Vietnamese, Japanese and Australian coins from all his tours. Still have them too.

As always, wonderful stories from you Honolulu Dick. It's great to hear from someone who was really there, in the mud and all. Wow.

Dave

PS: Two folks I haven't heard from in a while - MPCUSA and Krispy.... you guys still around? Hope everything's ok with you both.

Thanks, DM, for the positive comment. Most of the time I don't know when enough is enough and I wind-up making a royal pain of myself. Vietnam is a distant memory to some and not on the radar screen for others. We old vets tend to forget that, and babble on mindlessly. Even so, we have our pride ... it's called honor.

If I may borrow from and/or add to your PS, I keep looking for Lettow and Sunflower to chime in. I have an understanding that both collect or are interested in MPC. Our good Kansas Sunflower lady is a collector for certain. Lettow is a walking book of knowledge.

Take good care - - - - -

My father never says much, but then he was working with the hooded viper over there. He has recounted some interesting tales of snakes, like the one he photographed after they ran over it - and then strung it up from a telephone pole to demonstrate how flipping long the thing was - at least 25 feet.

Yes for a long time the war was not talked about. I remember the Gulf War and subsequent wars veterans have been treated much better than the vets from 'Nam. It is a positive thing, you don't have to support the war anymore, but always always support and salute people who serve our country. It is one of those things that has changed for the better - rare in these days.

Here,s a few i would like to contribute, a couple of my favorites from the Series 661 and 681
I have had these for awhile and both have a pop of 1! with none higher

Here,s a couple of more from the Series 681

Originally Posted by Dave M

As always, wonderful stories from you Honolulu Dick. It's great to hear from someone who was really there, in the mud and all. Wow.

Dave

PS: Two folks I haven't heard from in a while - MPCUSA and Krispy.... you guys still around? Hope everything's ok with you both.

Sorry about my absence of late, i,am just now finishing up my move from the east coast
To sunny Southern California i will be back to my normal self here in about a week posting
Everyday

I think Krispy is in Japan still i,am sure he will be checking in soon

Sounds like a long move. Glad to hear that you made it okay Rusty!