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Thanks To Our Veterans For Your Service


Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329

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We enjoy our freedoms because of fine folks like you.
Thank You!

--Dakota Skipper and the Dawg 

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Wishing all living combat Vets a very good day for having survived. They are more important than we Vets who served in a support position. I know all of the parts must work well together for the whole to function well, but I disdain the now one-word "thankyouforyourservice" robotic saying, especially by politicians who never got closer to the military than 1 mile from the nearest local Armed Forces recruiting station. In 1971 my Nixon-drawn draft lottery number was 037 (out of 366: leap years were not omitted) so I enlisted in the USAF rather than go to the Nam as an Army "grunt" (and that term is not one of disrespect, but rather admiration).

I salute all of those who put their lives on the line, willingly or not.

Sincerely,

James Padberg
USAF 1971-1974 Sgt. E-4 AFSC 54550 Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Specialist Honorable Discharge

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Thank you all :FlagAm:

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In 1974, I joined the Navy to see the world. I saw San Diego, Oakland, Millington (TN), and Oak Harbor (WA). At the end of my four years, the chief gave me the re-enlistment talk, and I said, "Chief, the Navy has sent me to San Diego, Memphis, Moffett Field, and here. Other than a few hours in Tijuana, I've never left the states, and never even laid eyes on a ship, let alone board one. I'm done, and I'm going home."
A classic case of "This isn't what I signed up for". :lol:
It's a bit contradictory to say it was a good experience, and yet say I was disappointed with it, but that's exactly how I felt. In hindsight, I was already 20% of the way to an early retirement, and it's a pretty safe bet I wouldn't have spent my entire career stateside. Oh well. Water under the bridge now. :mellow:

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2 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

I joined the Navy to see the world. I saw San Diego, Oakland, Millington (TN), and Oak Harbor (WA). At the end of my four years, the chief gave me the re-enlistment talk, and I said, "Chief, the Navy has sent me to San Diego, Memphis, Moffett Field, and here. Other than a few hours in Tijuana, I've never left the states, and never even laid eyes on a ship, let alone board one. I'm done, and I'm going home."
It's contradictory to say it was a good experience, and yet say I was disappointed with it, but that's exactly how I felt. In hindsight, I was already 20% of the way to an early retirement, and it's a pretty safe bet I wouldn't have spent my entire career stateside. Oh well. Water under the bridge now. :mellow:

 

What was your rating?

 

I was an AT and by luck of the draw I retired after 20 years with my sea duty counter at 0000. During that time I  spent 3 years at Rota Spain, 1 month at NAS Missawa, 1 month in Crete, 3 months in Okinawa and 6 months in Bahrain.  Some of the destinations I was was deployed to include; NAS Marimar, NAS Puerto Rico, Hawaii twice, Elmandorf AFB in January, an Hour on Wake Island, and 2 hours at Lajas in the Azores, NAS Patuxant River. Waco Tx, and a few others i don't recall.

Stateside I was at stationd at NTTC Millington twice, NAS Oceana, NAS Key West, NAS Pt Mugu, NAS Lemoore, NAS Fallon, NAS Whidbey Is, NAC Indanipolis In, and NAWC China Lake.

Learned the most about how the world worked as a 20 year old kid stationed at NAS Rota with VQ-2. I was with VF-171 in key West when it was decomissioned. The detailer gave me two options AMID Key West or VQ-2 Rota Spain.  I asked for an hour to think about it. When I told my Leading Chief what my choices were he smiled and said that he would lookinto it. 30 minutes later he came into the shop and said congratulations you are going to Spain.  I was terrified at the thought of living in a foreign country. Turned out that it was the best thing that could have happened to me.   

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Thanks. I joined the USCG in 1979 knowing sometime in the future that Lowes would give me a 10% discount all year long and I could eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner free one day a year. Four years later, after suffering countless hours of being seasick I realized it would have been easier just to buy my own meals for that day.

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ill ad mine - thank you all , 

its actually a less happy event for me as that is the day [in 2000] when my father passed away , he was a vet , he was the one that inspired me to be here in a round-a-bout way by inspiring my interest in shooting and collecting long before it was fashionable and long before the internet - he never really knew of what we have here , he would have loved it ,

interesting enough he always called it armistice day - thats how i grew up in spite of the changes over the years , its how he grew up , life changes but we do hold dear the things we grew up with ,

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I was Drafted, I didn't want to go to the Army so I joined the Marines. 

When I rotated back to the States I still had 1 1/2 yrs to serve. Was told not to wear my uniform off base.

There was some bad feelings between Military and Civilians back then.

I am happy that people are treating the Military better now.

The older I get the More my time in the Corps mean more to me.

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Hello Sourdoughjim.  I suppose your thinly veiled attitude also would preclude those support troops who were Killed, Seriousl Injured and Maimed in Rocket Attacks, Mortar Attacks, Terrorist Bombings, Restaurant Shootings and such because of where they were serving in a support role as opposed to front line combat.

 

I personally think you should take your sorry attitude with you when you go away.

 

Oh, forgot.  Have a Nice Day  :ph34r:

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All Marines are riflemen. Lots of us weren't 0311s.  :-)  Heck, I was a 2572 but I had an 8654 too. I really am not a fan of jungles!!! My son was a Suppo of 5th Marines back and forth in Iraq and has a CAR.,  I was a creator of an MCL detachment whose commandant was a percussionist in the 2nd Div band. Often, the band deploys long before their instruments.

 

During my time, we had cooks and bakers get CARS.

 

Semper Fidelis!!!!   :-)

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On 11/11/2019 at 4:33 PM, sourdoughjim said:

Wishing all living combat Vets a very good day for having survived. They are more important than we Vets who served in a support position. I know all of the parts must work well together for the whole to function well, but I disdain the now one-word "thankyouforyourservice" robotic saying, especially by politicians who never got closer to the military than 1 mile from the nearest local Armed Forces recruiting station. In 1971 my Nixon-drawn draft lottery number was 037 (out of 366: leap years were not omitted) so I enlisted in the USAF rather than go to the Nam as an Army "grunt" (and that term is not one of disrespect, but rather admiration).

I salute all of those who put their lives on the line, willingly or not.

Sincerely,

James Padberg
USAF 1971-1974 Sgt. E-4 AFSC 54550 Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Specialist Honorable Discharge

In 1969 my draft number was 45... and while I like to camp, hunt, & sometimes fish... I like to pick where I camp, under what conditions, and much prefer hunting game that I can eat.  So I joined the Navy... Served three times in and in the waters of VN... Got shot at more'n once... even tho' I was a "supply type", I spent a fair amount of time totin' a long & short gun... I don't care where you served, nor in what capacity... you signed the same blank check as everyone else.  You gave up control of your life for the duration of that enlistment... and any that may have followed.  While I don't need the "thanks-for-your-service" I hear so often nowadays, (sometimes it rings a little hollow).  I never heard when it would have meant more to me as a young man that wondered if my fellow man, if not the whole country looked on me as just another "baby killer."  It took 20 YEARS for someone other than a family member to welcome me home.  I clearly remember the day it took place...  it was far more than a simple "thank you"... It was some 25 years ago, I no longer remember the exact words that were spoken, but the context and emotion with which it was said made it one of the few times I've been moved to leak from the eyes.  And I wasn't the only one of more than a 100 vets standing in the church that were so moved.

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Griff,

Thanks for posting a well worded comment.

 

I also joined the Navy in 69.  I never saw combat.  But my service connected disability

is because my work in the Navy costed me my hearing.....nearly ALL of it in both ears.

 

On a side note, a close friend of mine served in the Navy on a ship in the vicinity of Nam.

He was in the 'wind drift' areas of where 'Agent Orange' was used.

At an early retirement age, he was diagnosed with cancer that was attributed to

Agent Orange.  He passed away within a couple years thereafter.

 

As you stated, every one signed that blank check.

 

..........Widder

 

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I am the Idaho State Commander of the National Association of Atomic Veterans.  I was originally a spook and never got a CAR because we had to shoot back to qualify and I was not about to do that. I don't know about the others on the wire but I went and did what the Commandant ordered me to do!!!

 

I had two band members in my MCL detachment with CARs. They sure as H--- weren't 0311 grunts.

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