doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: Memorial Day-Rolling Thunder 2018

Rolling Thunder Sunday on the Mall traditionally generates the largest crowd of the Memorial Day weekend in DC. When it started in the late 1980's? the numbers were enormous and eclipsed the following day, Memorial Day proper, turnout. At the VN Memorial ceremonies at least, part of this lack of attendance.I think was Jan Scruggs' doing. He was one of the 12 original members of the VN Memorial committee created in 1978 and became the de facto leader - he tended to invite the most bland of politically correct speakers. So Sunday was the day of real excitement.

This year the crowds and participation were down. We have to face it - it's been 50 years now since the war. Veterans (real veterans, not guys with patches) were few and far between. And so with storms forecast for tomorrow I put up my traditional posters to buddies left on the battlefield today. The poster at my feet - later left in front of his panel on the Wall - was for Dickie Golding, High School classmate. MACVSOG, Killed 23 Nov 1968, I was the last HS classmate to see him on my way out of Vietnam 1 Nov 68. In my HS class there were 162 male graduates in the class of 1962; 148 served in the Military, at least half in Vietnam - this was the Old South.

Thank you for this post
and for serving
Mike

Thanks Argo. My Memorial Day just began with a sincere thanks to God for not only those who had to be carried off the planes, but for those who walked off like yourself. I make it a point to thank Vets whenever possible, with a handshake. If I was there I would extend my hand to you as well. I can, however, use this forum to thank you........... and your brother.

Have a blessed day........... SRH

Thank you.

thank you and glad you made it home safe...

Nice thoughts and tribute Argo. Thanks for your service.

Gene,
There might be some here who don't know of the loss of your father who died in France shortly after D-Day before you and your twin brother were born. I honor and think of him, the countless families with losses and especially my family's losses on this sacred day.

"All gave some;
some gave all."
Forever Young:
SSGT Thomas Henry Laird, "Air Apaches", 500th Bomb Sqdn, 345th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force, MIA/KIA October 16, 1943, Wewak, New Guinea
PFC Robert Hardeman, 2nd Marines, KIA July 2, 1944, Saipan.

Mom's oldest brother; mother-in-law's only brother.
Gil

Many thanks Gill, Stan and you men. The nice thing about this board is you don't have to explain to people what was "D-Day," where was Bastogne, where was Anzio, where was the Frozen Chosen, what was Khe Sanh. In fact, I've written a Cold War Dictionary, 1946-1991 about 80 pages long, because the young don't remember. Every war has its own language; the Cold War had one.

Here is the annual poster to my father. Jack (my twin) and I were 12 days old when he was killed.



Here is Jack's account in a Special Forces Association magazine about the D-Day pathfinders which also goes into the drop of the 508'th Parachute Infantry on 6 June 44, to the west of the Merderet River. Ste. Mere Eglise and the two American beaches Omaha and Utah were east of the river where the Hedgerows were the smallest). The 508th were scattered everywhere.
http://specialforces78.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0417-Sentinel-News.pdf
I walked that battlefield about 10 years ago and you can't believe how difficult essentially flat terrain could be when broken up by 15' walls of the Hedgerows every 30 yards.

Argo, I was so impressed with your pictures. I still have a set of my old OD fatigues in the closet. I was planning to put them on and get Emily to take a picture of me posing to commemorate Memorial Day.

Mine didn't fit as well as yours, so we gave that up...Geo

Thanks so much for serving. Bobby