By the time Vietnam came along I was under training in a Naval Officer Candidate School. After graduation I served on a Carrier that made three cruises to Vietnam, but as a member of the Engineering Dept I can‘t say I ever saw Vietnam.
Even though my husband didn’t serve in a war, I consider him a vet. He started when he was 17 and got out when he was 24. That’s from 1982 to 1989.
A Vietnam Vet told me in a rare moment that it was not uncommon to take two prisoners up, push one out, and then interrogate the other. He's the only one that ever told me about something like that. I wasn't shocked. I assume this kind of thing has always happened in war.
I have no doubt that is true, but the United States is a signatory to the Geneva Convention which clearly prohibits killing POWs.
I agree! Just because I worked 22 years as a civilian for the Army and Navy is no different than if I had worked for IBM
That sounds right, but I am under the impression that those who do the interrogation and torture understand the Geneva Convention as well. And they push the limits. I'm not pointing out what is right and wrong. I was just passing on information.
Deliberately killing POWs is beyond pushing the limits, it’s a clear violation. The motive of the Geneva Convention is not just to prevent our prisoners in enemy hands from being executed. To work the non-killing of prisoners of war has to apply to both sides. When we ignore the rules it’s an invitation to the other side to do the same.
Yes. I get it.
Good theory. Didn't always work out. You had to be there.
The story seems to be, at least one I’ve read, was that a prisoner who was believed to have useful info was third in line. One at a time those in front of him were pushed to a screaming death, and then he was given a choice, talk or join his predecessors. Doesn’t sound like Geneva Convention behavior, or something that the SecNav was willing to own up to.
You bet. Back then, the military called it plausible deniability. There were times when MACV SOG would take a prisoner up in a chopper along with ROK soldiers. They'd come back without the prisoner, and the high command could say with a straight face that we never would do anything like that. However, that wasn't to say that the ROK soldiers played by those rules. See how that works?
As the old saying goes, if you were in the service, you served. Therefore you're a Vet. Just because you were not deployed to a war zone means nothing. You're still a Vet. And I salute every Vet I know or recognize as a Vet, because they served.
Oh stop it, Fuzzy!
We get a lot of discounts from my husband being a retired vet. We got 20% off our ferry boat tickets .
Please thank you husband for me!
I am a Vietnam era veteran. I never left Offutt AFB except for a couple of TDYs. I was in from September 73 to September 79. I did not get shot at. I did however volunteer to go get shot at if that was where I was sent. Where they put you was not under your control. I was in mobility squadron and qualified every year on the M16. I was a terrible shot, and still am. I was very good at electronics however. The important thing is....do you remember where we used to store our fatigue caps when we went inside? Was it a front pocket, or back pocket or what? I simply cannot remember what I was supposed to do with the darn thing.....
I have avoided the VA for lots of reasons, except for one thing -- the VA homeowners loan guarantee. I've done that six times over the past 30+ years and it has been a blessing.
