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How Many Vietnam Veterans follow the Bills?


LB48

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Just as a point of information on this Memorial Day.  I served in Vietnam and kept track of the Bills from the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper.  Even in that situation a LOSS was upsetting.

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I'm proud to say my Dad is a combat wounded Vietnam veteran and a Bills fan.  I am sure there are a ton more, maybe just not on message boards.  Thank you for your service and Go Bills!  p.s. I will ask my Dad if kept up on the Bills while over there.

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1 hour ago, Poleshifter said:

I am a Vietnam Era veteran, and I thank God for that word "era".

 

I was drafted in 1970 (50 years ago last week!) and served in Germany.

 

Many here don't even remember the 'DRAFT'.   When your number came up you didn't get a million dollar contract.

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12 minutes ago, LB48 said:

Many here don't even remember the 'DRAFT'.   When your number came up you didn't get a million dollar contract.

In 1969, there was a televised drawing of birthdays and numbers assigned to each birthday.

 

When my birthday came up at #126, my sisters burst into tears.

 

Supposedly, they were only taking numbers up to 100-something. So how does #126 get me drafted in mid-May?

 

My brother came up at #350 or so, but he was already living in Plattsburg, as close to Canada as he could be. He has been living in Canada for the last 50 years or so.

 

Oh, and yes, we have no million-dollar bonus for you. But we will forcibly advance you $25 of your first month's pay, so you can pay for the haircut you must get. 

 

Yes, we had to PAY for the worst friggin buzz cut of our life. Just adding insult to injury, so you will get used to it. Ha!

 

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1 hour ago, Poleshifter said:

In 1969, there was a televised drawing of birthdays and numbers assigned to each birthday.

 

When my birthday came up at #126, my sisters burst into tears.

 

Supposedly, they were only taking numbers up to 100-something. So how does #126 get me drafted in mid-May?

 

My brother came up at #350 or so, but he was already living in Plattsburg, as close to Canada as he could be. He has been living in Canada for the last 50 years or so.

 

Oh, and yes, we have no million-dollar bonus for you. But we will forcibly advance you $25 of your first month's pay, so you can pay for the haircut you must get. 

 

Yes, we had to PAY for the worst friggin buzz cut of our life. Just adding insult to injury, so you will get used to it. Ha!

 

I was in Vietnam by 1969.  Those hair cuts - - I remember them well and they weren't free of charge.  BUT, we did get free green underwear!

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3 hours ago, LB48 said:

I was in Vietnam by 1969.  Those hair cuts - - I remember them well and they weren't free of charge.  BUT, we did get free green underwear!

I had long hair and didn't want those barbers to cut it, so I butchered it myself the night before. Doh, it looked bad.

 

I had a pretty easy run in the Army, all in all. In physical testing at end of boot camp, they miscounted, credited me an extra set of monkey bars, and I got the E-2 stripe. My more athletic buddy did not get the stripe. Then 6 months of radio repair training in Georgia, a short year in Germany, and I was done.

 

I have been very blessed in my life.

 

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7 hours ago, LB48 said:

Many here don't even remember the 'DRAFT'.   When your number came up you didn't get a million dollar contract.

I remember my older brothers anticipation as his draft number was getting nearer, he spent three weeks in Saigon, then was sent to 8th Army headquarters in Soul S Korea. He was never a football fan that I ever saw. 

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I joined the Navy in 69 to avoid the draft. After watching the nightly news and protests made up my mind to error on the side of caution.

 

 I'm too scrawny  to be a ground pounder , they would have made me a tunnel rat for sure . That thought alone scares the heck out of me even today. Being able to follow the Bills win or lose is a real blessing.

Edited by ALF
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Reminder. 
 

Armed Forces Day - Honor Those still wearing the Uniform. 
 

Veterans Day - Honor those that hung their uniform up. 
 

Memorial Day - Honor those that Never got a Chance to take the uniform off. 

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In 1969 i was 8 yrs old and can remember seeing protests on TV most every night i never really understood why Vietnam was going on but i had 2 uncles and 1 very good friend i know that went and praise god came back physically fine .

 

Reading the stories here today i just want to say thank you to each that wrote your stories for giving your time to give us the freedoms that we have, thank you and all God's blessing to each and every one that served !!

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My father in law is a Vietnam era veteran. He’s 85 years old. He served in Greenland, pushing snow around with a bulldozer.  He has a lot of stories about the cold and primitive living conditions. Nobody was shooting at him, but it sounds like it was pretty harsh. He’s more of a Giants fan than a Bills fan, but he follows pro and college sports pretty enthusiastically. He can talk about the Bills pretty knowledgeably.

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Vietnam was before my time, but as a newly minted Naval Aviator in my first squadron on my first carrier cruise, the CO/XO and all four department heads were all flying strikes from carriers during that war.

During the transit to the Western Pacific after you leave Pearl Harbor there are days and nights that flight operations are pretty slow, and it gave us new guys a chance to hear their stories, usually late in the evening in our ready room.

Some of them were really interesting, but how they hated how that war was managed on so many levels.

Such a waste.

 

Very little NFL information during those pre internet days during "blue water" ops when you are very far from land. We'd just get the scores in the Monday morning message traffic.

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14 hours ago, LB48 said:

Just as a point of information on this Memorial Day.  I served in Vietnam and kept track of the Bills from the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper.  Even in that situation a LOSS was upsetting.

Yep,A Bills loss was worst then getting Mortared!

***** Tam,River Assault Group (Rivron 15) 69'-70'

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5 hours ago, cd1 said:

Just to be a stick in the mud...

 

Memorial Day is to honor those who died in war.

 

Veterans Day is to honor all those who served.

Over-officious jerks!  We have grammar and spelling police here, now the holiday police.

 

The question was about who served in Vietnam (era).

 

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Withdrawing in ‘73, it’s now more than 47 years ago (a few years less for the official end of the conflict). That makes the youngest vets 65 now. Their numbers are quickly dwindling as we maxed at 2,709,918 who served in ‘Nam. For reference, we had 16 million troops in WWII. ‘Agent Orange’ has sadly played a significant role in their demise.

 

Personally, I wasn’t too far behind them, having joined up in January of ‘75 on a delayed, 6 month enlistment. Somewhere around April, I received a notification that Vietnam Era GI Bill benefits would expire before my expected start date and I should move my date up immediately to receive the benefits. 

I didn’t participate so I didn’t deserve it and reported on my official date.

 

P.S. Thank you for your Service, OP!

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19 hours ago, LB48 said:

Just as a point of information on this Memorial Day.  I served in Vietnam and kept track of the Bills from the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper.  Even in that situation a LOSS was upsetting.


Thank you for your service. 

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