RevWarRifleman

I'm a Vietnam "Era" vet. Air Force '68 - 72. But I had a few encounters with Vietnam vets. The encounters made an indelible impression, in a positive way. I'll share: I was stationed for 2 yrs in Anchorage, Ak. Our base was a refueling stop for Aero Vac flights from Nam going to the states for their medical discharge. These are the guys that got hit badly & they were returning for their medical discharge for they were too banged up for any further service. They always came through night, 9, 10 o'clock Alaska time. I was at the Flight Line cafeteria after a night school class & saw these guys coming through to get some food while their plane was refueling. It was, to me at least pretty bad. Guys coming in with heads bandaged up, arms in braces, legs banged up & walking on crutches,etc,etc. I was barely out of my teens myself and I remember thinking "that these guys' lives are forever changed"! Some of them were probably athletes in high school like me and will never be able to play sports like they did in school. That, and other things like that drifted through my mind as I returned to my room in the barracks. I had a few other times in that cafeteria at before my tour their was up. I never forgot about those guys throughout my life. Would tell my students about them and other times to my students when the were learning about the Vietnam War. I wanted to give them, especially the boys, something to think about concerning war. Over time, and many years now, I still think about those gentleman. I've shed tears for them, They helped me to grown up a bit as I've thought of them back when I was a young man. I hope they all lead happy, healthy lives.

Ahhhh Moulds! Great receiver. There's an awesome image I have of him from a pic several years ago somebody on the message board posted of him. It was when he was in college. He was catching a ball in the end zone, and he jumped so high, his hips were at the height of the heads of the opposing players that were around him. And those players were standing straight up! Where he is with me in ranking the Bills receivers? #3. Why? I put Dubenion at #2. Duby played in an era where a receiver could get mugged by the D- backs during those AFL years and there would be no flag thrown. And that's no fault of Moulds. But I've got to plug our guys from the AFL days. "They must not be forgotten."

Well put, Alpha. I agree with it all, particularly the growing pains part. I too haven't been this excited about the Bills in 20 years. Feels great! Hope this virus doesn't influence things too badly and we can still have a season. But that's another topic.

I understand about the Jets game in week 17 last year. But they lost to the Ravens & the Pats in that final 4 game stretch of the season. And I feel that a certain mind set may have taken place.

Alphadawg, I hope you're right w/ the 12+ wins. But what concerns me is how the Bills finished last year. They went 1 - 3 in the last 4 games of the regular season, and in the playoff game they were up on the Texans 16 - zip mid-way through the 3rd quarter and ended up losing that one. That's part coaching, as well as the players fault. If the Bills want to play with the "Big Dogs", they've got to do better than that. And I hope they do.

GRHater69, GREAT post! That was a great read of the years I specified. Good info, well laid out and explained. Thanks a lot!

To all the people so far that have responded to my post, thank you for sharing your knowledge of the era & your stories of your experiences at the Rock Pile. The stadium stories I never get tired of. Thanks, I now have a better feel for how it must have been during those years watching "our Bills." FWIW, a few comments: Buffalophil1948: Yes, I'am old. I was born in, believe it or not, 1948! Oldmanfan, I glad you mentioned about OJ being used as a decoy. What in ___ ___ __ __ _was the coach THINKING OF using our #1 draft choice as a _ _ _ DECOY?? Chaccof, I agree with you about the 0 for the century years. There is a comparison. More on that later. Also, Chaccof, I live in Chesterfield county. tip of the hat to you. Now for all the losing seasons. I love Ralph & what he did for WNY & bringing a pro football team to Buffalo. But he was not skilled at getting people in to make the Bills a consistent competitive team. No fans should have to wait 8, 10, 12 years and more for a team to be a winner! This was not my intent in making this post. But reading your posts describing what the Bills were like from 68 - 77, and years beyond helped be to reflect a bit. Just sayin. I leave the best for last: I wasn't expecting this when I made this post, but for those that thanked me for serving our country, you're welcome. It was one of the smartest decisions I made in my life. And as one of you noted "Crap, you're old." Yup, I'am old. But when I sit down to watch OUR Bills, I turn into that enthusiastic kid again. Thanks again.

I would like to get input on this era of the Bills. For me, this was a period in my life where I took somewhat of a sabaticle from the Bills. I was in the military & then college and my attention was focused elsewhere. My knowledge of the Bills during this time is rather sketchy and, I didn't want to get my info from wikipedia. I would rather get it from my fellow Bills fans, the people who lived through it, went to the games, saw it first hand, listened to the radio programs, you know, fans who lived it. Basically what i Know is fairly hit and miss: This is basically what I know about that era: In 68 they were pretty bad, Harvey Johnson I guess was their head coach? Or was it Collier still. They drafted Dennis Shaw for their qb? How long did he last? How good was he? When did Lou return to coach the Bills. (Yes, I know about OJ's 2000 yds) How good were the Bills after OJ's 2000? Did we ever make a playoff appearance? How good of a team were we during Lou Part II? When did we draft Cousineau? After Lou II who was the coach? How long did he last & what record overall did the Bills have? Was it about 1978 that Knox came in & started rebuilding the team? Any in put will be welcome, especially personal stories/observations you had at Bills games during this era. I know there were some lean years in there. Thanks everyone.

Sure thing, Smitty. It's been my pleasure. Looking forward to seeing you on the message board this fall when the 2020 season starts. It should be pretty exiting. How cool is this? I'm communicating with a French Bills fan! Awesome!!

Thanks Smitty. Yes, been to Strasbourg twice. Once in 1998 by myself. Then in 2010 with my Alsacian family. In the floor of the Cathedral there, is a stone block that comemorates the soldiers from the US that come over in 1916, before the US formally got in the war (WWI) to help with the allied effort. I didn't know about it. My French cousin, Valentin pointed it out to me when we were there. He already knew about that stone. Brought tears to my eyes! Also while over there in 2010, some more of my French cousins took my wife (who did all the geneology work in finding my French cousins) and I out to a real nice restaurant several miles outside of Bernwiller, where they are from. We passed through a village that had a large mural painted on the side of a building showing the American troops during WWII being transported in trucks with the US flag flying on the truck going through that town! All of this I videoed on my camcorder. Couldn't believe it, that after all of these years, they had that mural up, expressing their gratitude for our effort over there. What a great statement about the French people! Hope I didn't bore you with all this history. Just trying to say how awesome the French people are. Concerning the Bills, I've been a fan for a very long time.

Smitty, I have family in Alsace. Their daughter lives/works in Paris. Good people, my wife & I have visited them a couple of times. Ever go to that wine festival they have in August in Chateau neauf du Pape? It's really a party! Welcome to the Bills! Greatest fans in the NFL.

Off the top of my head, for me it was that first down on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas where Josh picked up a fumble & fought like a warrior to get the first down. Changed the whole complexion of the game, & showed Dallas and the whole nation that this is not the "same old Bills."