 |
SwiftVets.com
Service to Country
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
|
 Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 5:56 pm Post subject: "Swift Boat Vets Gather In San Diego" |
 |
|
A short news blurb on the Swiftvet memorial service today...
| Quote: | Swift Boat Vets Gather In San Diego
May 4, 2007
SAN DIEGO -- More than 400 veterans, active duty sailors and their families are expected to attend a memorial ceremony Friday honoring swift boat personnel who died in Vietnam.
The ceremony will take place at 10:45 a.m. at the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument on Coronado's Naval Amphibious Base, where most swift boat sailors were trained during the Vietnam era.
Sailors will host demonstration rides on boats and three restored swift boats will be on display.
NBC San Diego |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
dusty
Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 1264
Location: East Texas
|
| Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 5:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
Did you know who attend? If not I wonder why not. After all, wouldn't he want to be with his 'band of brothers' for such an occasion. Especially since he was a war hero and all and spent Christmas in Cambodia and got all those medals.
Dusty
_________________
Left and Wrong are the opposite of Right! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
streetsweeper95B
PO2
Joined: 25 Nov 2004
Posts: 365
Location: Texas
|
| Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 2:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
bad, bad, bad dusty...........lmao!
_________________
"Proud Member of the Freak Show" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DLI78
PO3
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 273
|
| Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 4:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
Um, I think Lurch knows he isn't welcome around here. Sandy Eggo is the only county in California that was solidly BLUE in the last presidential election.
Some of us think we need to split the state into North California and South California. Camp Pendleton would make a perfect buffer zone between the realists in the south and the Moonbats in LA and parts north. Down here we LIKE the military and support the war.
_________________
DLI 78
Army Linguist
1978-1986 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
|
| Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 9:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
A follow-up story...
| Quote: | Swift-boat veterans hold reunion at Coronado
By: SHANNON WINGARD - For the North County Times
Sunday, May 6, 2007
CORONADO -- Some stood at attention, while others held their hands over their hearts as the names of the Navy's swift-boat sailors who died in Vietnam were read at a Saturday ceremony at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
The remembrance, conducted by the Swift Boat Sailors Association, took place at the base's Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument.
The monument's memorial wall was dedicated in May 2005 in honor of the 2,564 Navy and Coast Guard men who died while serving in Vietnam between 1960 to 1975.
At the ceremony, a bell chimed as the name of each veteran who died was read. Afterward, a Marine Corps honor guard gave a traditional 21-gun salute, and then taps was played.
John Culea, media and communications director for county Supervisor Bill Horn, read a proclamation by the Board of Supervisors that marked Saturday as the county's day to honor the Swift Boat Sailors Association.
Bob Brown of Rancho Bernardo said the association has a reunion every two years and alternates from the East Coast to the West Coast to mid-America.
Brown, who was an officer in charge of Patrol Craft Fast 87 in Vietnam, said about 3,000 men in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973 served on the 50-foot boats that had one officer in charge and five enlisted personnel. They were first used to patrol the coastline of South Vietnam.
Since the groups were small, he said "it was close-knit at the unit level."
"We were all bulletproof, we were all young, and we were all doing what we thought was right," he said.
Brown, a retired Navy commander who is now a contractor, also said the group has worked hard to locate others who served during Vietnam.
"There are a number of them out there who are still hiding out," he said. "We are in constant search of anyone who served in swift boats or who served in support of them."
While the veterans served nearly 40 years ago, he said the lessons they learned are important today. In fact, he said some swift-boat veterans are working closely with those serving in Iraq.
"There is a camaraderie, and it is building all the time," he said. "You want to make sure the things we learned the hard way get passed on to the next generation of young boat crewmen to make sure they do well and survive."
Following the ceremony, attendees had the chance to climb aboard the three "Brown Water Navy boats" that were restored as part of the monument, as well as participate in demonstration boat rides in Glorietta Bay.Ý
Ken McGhee, a retired Navy captain and president of the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument Fund, said the ceremony fittingly took place at the site "built by veterans who had served in the Brown Water Navy," which refers to those who served on the waterways in Vietnam.
McGhee, who was one of five swift-boat division commanders in Vietnam, said Coronado itself is "kind of home" to the veterans since San Diego is where they were trained.
Virg Erwin, chairman of the reunion, said the purpose of the event was to remember the "50 men we lost."
"We trained here, this is where we started, and this is where we started to trust," he said of the Coronado base.Ý
For Erwin, the officer in charge of the swift-boat unit, the reunion was the first he has attended since his service in Vietnam.
"For many of us, it was very difficult to talk about," Erwin said, attributing it to the negative public perception of the Vietnam conflict.
"We weren't heroes when we came home," he said.
He said that's why the reunion events that took place from Thursday through today had one positive theme -- "Welcome Home."
He also said that the swift-boat veterans shared a similar mission as those who are serving in Iraq.
"They are doing today in the rivers of the Euphrates what we did in Vietnam," he said.
As the names were being read, Larry "Mac" McNealy stood at attention with his hat held against his heart and his wife of 40 years by his side.
The resident of Fairfield, described serving in Vietnam as "something that will never leave my heart."
McNealy, who was a radioman third class from 1966 to 1967, said it was his first time he has seen sailors since the conflict ended.
He said he decided to attend the reunion to honor the men who are "still on patrol for us," as well as to find some familiar faces from the past.
Although he had yet to reunite with his friends, he said the reunion broke down a feeling of isolation that he believes many have felt.
"When I came home, I felt I was alone," he said. "When I came here, I realized that a lot of people were there, too. I am not alone."
Just being around men who have shared similar experiences, he said, has illustrated an invaluable truth.
"We are strong together, just like we were 40 years ago," he said.
For information on the Swift Boat Sailors Association, go to http://www.swiftboats.org/.
North County Times |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
|
| Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 12:29 am Post subject: Re: "Swift Boat Vets Gather In San Diego" |
|
|
.
| NBC San Diego wrote: | SAN DIEGO -- More than 400 veterans, active duty sailors and
their families are expected to attend a memorial ceremony on
{Saturday} honoring swift boat personnel who died in Vietnam
|
Some initial images of the activities at Naval Base Coronado on May 5
....  ....
 ........ 
........................ The Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument ........................
 ........ 
........ Old Boat, Old Sailors .................... New Boat, New & Old Sailors
.
Last edited by rbshirley on Wed May 16, 2007 11:55 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
carpro
Admin
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 1176
Location: Texas
|
| Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 9:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Did Kerry, in fact, skip the ceremony?
_________________
"If he believes his 1971 indictment of his country and his fellow veterans was true, then he couldn't possibly be proud of his Vietnam service." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mtboone
Founder
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 470
Location: Kansas City, MO.
|
| Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 1:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
| carpro wrote: | | Did Kerry, in fact, skip the ceremony? |
Kerry did not attend nor did Wade Sanders his lackey and Wade lives in San Diego. To my knowledge, Kerry has only attended the 2003 reunion to try and recruite Swift members on his side in the last election. He failed totally as he has all his life. He does not have the courage to go and hear and live in fear of the comments and disgust he would hear and he knows it. He lasted about three hours in Virginia, he cannot take the rejection. 
_________________
Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
|
| Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 1:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks Bob, and I don't suppose the Navy would mind if we posted these here 
(click photo for hi-res)
 ]
CORONADO, Calif. (May 5, 2007) - Visitors and military personnel get an up close glimpse at one the few remaining Vietnam War riverboats at the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument. Veterans, Sailors and their families attended a remembrance ceremony at the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument put on by the Swift Boat Sailors Association and Naval Coastal Warfare Group One at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Leticia Fritzsche
 ]
CORONADO, Calif. (May 5, 2007) - A Marine honor guard prepares a gun salute in remembrance of the Sailors who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War. Veterans, Sailors and their families attended a remembrance ceremony at the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument put on by the Swift Boat Sailors Association and Naval Coastal Warfare Group One at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Leticia Fritzsche
 ]
CORONADO, Calif. (May 5, 2007) - A chair and table are set out in honor of Vietnam Era Swift Boat POWs and MIAs during a remembrance ceremony at the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument aboard Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Veterans, Sailors and their families attended the event at the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument put on by the Swift Boat Sailors Association and Naval Coastal Warfare Group One. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Leticia Fritzsche |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
|
| Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Me#1You#10 wrote: | | Thanks Bob, and I don't suppose the Navy would mind if we posted these |
Another interesting reunion within a reunion. This from Virg Erwin who was
the coordinator for the 2007 reunion. His son Bret had just returned from
Iraq in 2005 when the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument was dedicated
| Virg Erwin wrote: |
As we briefed the Marine Honor Guard on where to stand for the 21 gun
salute, Bret immediately recognized the Squad Leader - they served in
Falujh together. They had a great reunion - we all did.
|
 .... 
... The back of Bret's squad leader buddy in 2007 ............... Bret, dad and mom at 2005 VUMM dedication ....
. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Stevie
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 25 Aug 2004
Posts: 1451
Location: Queen Creek, Arizona
|
| Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 9:13 am Post subject: |
|
|
awesome! I'm really tired now...but I'll be back to copy out those articles and put in my Swiftboat vet scrapbook !
I'm making one for my gkids...and ggkids etc.
I want them to have a record of what real men and women are about...
real patriotic people...
_________________
Stevie
Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage
morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should
be arrested, exiled or hanged. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Fort Campbell
Vice Admiral
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 896
|
| Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 8:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Thank you to everyone for posting the pictures. I really enjoyed seeing them. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
]
]
]