A Community of Vietnam Veterans, Their Families & Friends. Share With Those Who Care.
"Sharing can be a way of healing. Grief and loss can isolate,
anger even alienate. Shared with others, emotions unite
as we see we aren't alone. We realize others weep with us."
~Susan Wittig Albert
Through our writing, we walk out of the darkness into the light together, one small step at a time, recording history, educating America, and we are healing. ~CJ/Todd Dierdorff
She stands tall and proud for all to see, from town squares to banks to schools to post offices. In smaller form, she lines residential streets and decorates flower beds. No matter what Old Glory's size or placement, she is resplendent in her stars and stripes and color.
Today, Flag Day, is her day. She beckons Americans to celebrate her. She invites Americans everywhere to pause, as they pass one of the many American flags displayed around towns and cities across the country, to reflect and consider all that she signifies: Freedom, Devotion, Unity, Patriotism, Brotherhood.
Veterans hold her dear to their hearts. Civilians feel her warmth. Children handle her with care and eye her with excitement. People from other lands who have made the United States their home view her with gratitude.
She's a star-spangled banner -- a real beauty -- and she means so much to so many. May she always be as respected and treasured as she deserves. And may she forever wave her welcome to all.
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Do you have an opinion, or a comment, you would like to share about this post? Click on the comment button.
Each December on what is usually a cold Saturday night in Doylestown PA at the south end of the courthouse, people gather from as far away as Easton, PA -- not to occupy or protest, but to honor.
Family, friends, and residents gather as they have for the past 21+ years to honor, remember, and reflect on those whose names are on the Bucks County Vietnam War Veterans Memorial – “The Wall”.
The idea to erect a tree and decorate it with ornaments bearing the names of the fallen was the idea of Neil and Sherry Wolfe. Neil was a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran who wanted to honor those who could never again celebrate Christmas with their families.
The ceremony includes decorating the tree with the ornaments that are handed to each attendee as the names are recited. This continues until all the names have been placed on the tree. The Vietnam Veterans who have passed since the construction of the wall are honored, as well. The ceremony ends with a prayer and the singing of “Silent Night”.
After the 2010 ceremony, one of the attendees, Jim McComb, went home with an empty feeling. He felt there should be something much more.
The names were being recited, but there was no face, no story, attached to the names. So, Jim told a few of his Vietnam Veteran friends that he would like to research those on the wall who gave their lives by creating something that would give them a face, rather than just a name.
After several weeks of research, Jim and a few of his friends decided that this effort should be put into a book that everyone could access.
For the next year, Jim painstakingly spent several hours each week researching the names of the 136 Bucks County residents who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, or who were missing in action. Some research provided a lot of information, some did not.
Many online sites were searched and, in some cases, families contacted -- something Jim ceased to do, after he found that it was painful for some to speak of their loss. It is noteworthy to mention that during his research, Jim discovered there was a Medal of Honor recipient on the wall.
Finally, Jim’s goal of publishing the book so it would be available for the 2011 ceremony was realized with “More Than Names on a Wall”.
In his introduction to the book, he writes, "It is said that a man has not died as long as he is remembered." With this book, Jim has ensured that these men will never be forgotten.
There are also contributions by other Vietnam Veterans in the Foreword, who share their thoughts about the Memorial publication.
ALL proceeds from the book are deposited into a fund that is used exclusively to assist Veterans.
“As a Bucks County resident and Veteran of the Vietnam war,
I visit the Memorial frequently. I can say that it was to me a wall of names
without a face. This book has put a face to all of those names on that wall and
has brought to light that our community is honored to have a Congressional
Medal of Honor recipient as one of the heroes on that wall.
Thanks to Jim
McComb for his efforts in compiling this work and for putting a face on those
who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Vietnam.”by Bobstar48
“There's a lot of sadness in the strong research Jim McComb provides in this book about Bucks County KIAs in Vietnam. I am relying on this
book, Jim, to honor Pennsbury High alums who died in Vietnam.
As we grow older, the memories grow stronger for veterans of all wars. Now more
than ever, this is an important book for war historians to place on their
shelves.” by Terry Nau
James McComb
About James McComb
Jim McComb is a native of Philadelphia, but has been a Bucks
County resident for over fifteen years.
He is a former US Marine and a
past Commander of VFW Post 175. He is a member of the Marine Corps
League, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 210 and the American Legion Post
210.
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Do you have an opinion, or a comment, you would like to share about this post? Click on the comment button.
#10. I vote Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my German Shepherd.
#9. I vote Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon at 15% isn't.
#8. I vote Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
#7. I vote Democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.
#6. I vote Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves. I am also thankful that we have a 911 service that gets police to your home in order to identify your body after a home invasion.
#5. I vote Democrat because I'm not concerned about millions of babies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive and comfy.
#4. I vote Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits, and we should take away Social Security from those who paid into it.
#3. I vote Democrat because I believe that businesses should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the Democrat Party sees fit.
#2. I vote Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.
… And, the #1 reason I vote Democrat is because I think it's better to pay $billions$ for oil to people who hate us, but not drill our own because it might upset some endangered beetle, gopher, or fish here in America. We don't care about the beetles, gophers, or fish in those other countries.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." ~ Albert Einstein
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
"More Than a Name on a Wall" is a song written
by Jimmy Fortune and John Rimel, and recorded by
American country music group The Statler Brothers. It was released in April
1989 as the third single from their Greatest Hits album.
The song is about a mother visiting The Vietnam Wall to see her son's name. It peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Do you have an opinion, or a comment, you would like to share about this post? Click on the comment button.
“On November 8th, 1965, the 173rd Airborne Brigade on Operation Hump, War Zone D in Vietnam, were ambushed by over 1200 V.C.
The result of the battle was heavy losses on both sides. Forty-eight American soldiers lost their lives that day, many more wounded, and 403 dead PLAF troops.
Severely wounded and risking his own life, Lawrence Joll, a medic, was the first living black man since the Spanish-American War to receive the United States Medal of Honor for saving so many lives in the midst of battle on that day.
Nialls Harris, retired 25 years, United States Army, the guy who gave Big Kenny his top hat, was one of the wounded who lived. In 2006, the country music duo, Big & Rich came out with a new musical video called, "8th of November". This song is his story.
Caught in the action of kill or be killed, greater love hath no man to lay down his life for a friend.”
Allen J. Folk
My Part of The Story
By Allen J. Folk
In May, 1968, I and a few other engineers were sent to the Fire Base Cam-Lo. It was located at the foothills of Con-Thien.
During the day, we were taking a lot of incoming from Cam-Lo up to Con-Thien. At one point, we heard a cry for help, and saw a chopper trying to land.
I gave the order and I and four other marines ran out of our bunker without regard for our own safety to help save the life of a seriously wounded Marine sergeant.
Despite being shelled, we ran through enemy gunfire to put him on the chopper. I don't know what happened to the wounded marine after that. All I know is, if we hadn't gotten him out of there, he would have bled to death.
What we didn't know was, there was a war correspondent filming all of this from the chopper.
In June of 2006, I was watching CMT on TV and I saw that Big & Rich, the country duo, had come out with a new musical video called, “8th of November”, to honor one of the survivors, Nialls Harris.
To my surprise, while watching the video, I found myself and the four other marines right there in the video. I called CMT and spoke with a man named Kevin Lane. I told him that I saw myself on the video. He told me that he would send me a copy of the video. He asked me to write down what happened on that day and send it to him and I did.
Rescuing a Wounded Marine - Allen Folk (at the rear)
Two weeks later on CMT, they had Big & Rich on and they were talking about the new video.
Big Kenny told CMT that Kevin Lane gave them a letter from a Marine who was on the video with his men and they could be seen in the act of saving a Marine’s life.
Well, that was MY letter.
Later on, I found out that our act of bravery was used in other documentaries, as well: Time Life’s "BATTLEFIELD VIETNAM: COUNTDOWN TO TET”; OLIVER NORTH'S WAR STORIES: “LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND”, PART 1: “THE BATTLE OF CON-THIEN” which was on Mike Wallace’s CBS News; and “8th of November Documentary”, and lastly, “The 8th of November”.
We were in no way heroes that day. We did this as an act of compassion, because in no way were we gonna let a United States Marine lay in the mud to bleed to death.
At the top of this blog post is a picture of the scene of the documentary we are in. I am the marine that is running in the rear of the cot we placed this marine on.
In July of 2010, our local newspaper, The Reading Eagle, was asking veterans to submit their story, so I gave them mine. It was the one about the time we were caught on film saving a Marines life under fire.
My Story - Allen J. Folk
In November 2010, the book was published. They put my picture on the cover and my story is on page 152.
Big & Rich – 8th Of November Official Video
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Paperback and Kindle Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing 152 Pages
About the Book
This is the memoir of Gunnery Sergeant Roger A. Sanchez Sr., United States Marine Corps retired.
It is written from a personal journal that he began in 1971, after he returned home from Vietnam.
Black Dragon Red Sun takes us on a journey, beginning with memories of the ghetto streets of the south side of Chicago, to the Marine Corps, from boot camp, to Vietnam in 1970, while serving as 1st Squad Leader with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 3rd Platoon.
It is not written as an historical account of the Vietnam War, but as a personal and emotional observation about the war, from the author’s point of view.
5 Star Review:
“Short but
interesting. Written in everyday terms. Easily read. Written by someone that really ‘did their
time’ over there. I recommend it. --”Skeeter”
R. Sanchez is my author name. I find it easier to use than
my full name, Roger A. Sanchez Sr. I live in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, which is
a small rural town of nine thousand souls in Eastern Oklahoma. I was born in
Wisconsin in 1952, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois.
I served in the United States Marine Corps from February 1969 until
September 1991, and retired as a Gunnery Sergeant. I served as an infantry
squad leader during the Vietnam War, with the First Marine Division during 1970 and 1971. I returned from the war after being wounded for the second
time, and spent the remainder of my tour on Okinawa Japan.
The first books I have written have to do with my memoirs of
the Vietnam War. My other works come from my sometimes silly imagination, and
from my memories of growing up in Chicago.
I started late in life
as a writer. I was fifty-nine. I enjoy delving into not only my
memory of true life experiences, but also creating new characters and places within
the realm of my imagination.
I am an avid reader, and fascinated with the
number of fictional stories that continue to be created by so many talented
writers. My hope is to continue writing. I want to leave behind a legacy for some future
family member to follow.
To all who write, I wish you a great journey; to all who
read, I wish you great enjoyment. --R. Sanchez
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Do you have an opinion, or a comment, you would like to share about this post? Click on the comment button.
