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Hello,
Where to begin..being lost for words hasn't always been normal for me but
it's also been a long time since I have been able to cry like I have been,
lately.
I was looking for help finding an old friend when I surfed into your location,
and I still am looking for him, and I keep coming back here for me.
I was a military (AF) brat and th 60's was my formative years, so being at
OP's with my girlfriends when the transports landed at Kelly was a regular
thing..seeing the guys come and go..I never got used to it.
Knowing where most of them would eventually would go made it hard for me to
really
enjoy myself, though the rest of the girls sure seemed like they were enjoying
the flirting.. I couldn't stay.
I grew up in the shadow..like so many others and I mourned alone alot for
those close to me and aquaintances who I will not see again until we are all
together again..not here.
Once again I am reliving the sorrow that I had put up on the shelf and have
come to realize that IT"S OK !!
There are so many of you who we lost in those times...and a lot of you came home.
I couldn't understand my father when I was growing up..WWII, Berlin Airlift,
MidEast
1967...Why was he the way he was ???
He could not talk about it, so we never connected...then. So when many came
home from Vietnam and couldn't talk about it...I felt abandoned..just like I
was a little girl again.
Now since I have found your site I am coming to terms with what we all
experienced
when we should have been home growing up..what so many didn't get a chance to
do.
Finally, after 30 years of screaming into my pillow from sadness and grief for
those
who have been lost...there and here, I am finally realizing how it all
affected me in my life.
This friend that I seek, I could not stand by and see him suffer, it hurt too
badly..
and it has been a loss that I have felt ever since. I left him when he needed
me the most and I lost him...utterly and completely..vanished..dropped totally
out of sight..
I've been looking for 19 years and nothing...emptiness..I abandoned him..and
I'm sorry.
Soooo...
I want to thank you ALL for what you sacrificed for us...your youth and
innocence...
your dignity...and I want to apologize to you all from the rest of us, knowing
even as I do that I supported your every sacrifice, I WAS NOT THERE...and have
no idea the sacrifice that you all made for us...I am sorry that I did not
know how to help you when you did come home.
I hope that you can forgive me...us.. for not being there when you needed us
the most.
And Steve, Thank you for giving us the time and the place to all come together
and I hope and pray that a lot of healing comes to us all.
Thanks again.
Kat
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Steve
Just a note to let you know how very much you have touched my heart. I
have never seen anything that brought back so much so fast. I had to
explain to my grandaughter the tears that were rolling down my face .She
has never seen her Grandpa cry. Its been over 30 years and you have
brought the memories of people and places I had not thought of in as
many years . You are a gifted person. God bless you and your wife.
MstGySgt J.O.Davlin Ret
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Steve,
Re; PFC Randy Lee Taylor, 196th LIB
You were kind enough to respond to my posting 2 weeks back.
I was desparately trying to locate some brothers who may have served with
mine in Vietnam. My posting brought me in touch with Joe "Doc" Kralich in
San Antonio who served with the 196th. He put me in touch with Tony May of
the 196th Locate-A-Brother and within 24 hours I was speaking with Joe
Santiago, the squad sargeant who incidentally was my brother's best friend.
Your page has made an incredible difference in our lives. Joe needed to
speak with me more than I needed to speak with him. Thirty years is too long
a time to agonize over the "what ifs?"
Your page has afforded me the honor of meeting more brothers. I cannot begin
to tell you how much healing has finally begun. Bless you!
In Honor of my brothers
In love of Randy,
A sister to all...Jennifer Taylor Nichols
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Dear Steve,
I am a woman in my mid-forties, and was in college during the height of the war. I have been thinking a lot about those days with sorrow and guilt...and...with appreciation for all of you who served. You see, I was one of the protesters; one of the marchers against the war as were many thousands. Although I did not take part in the terrible 'welcome home' that was given to our Vets, it is unbearable to think in any way my actions or thoughts might have been responsible for men who didn't come home, or men who came home in less than perfect condition. We thought we were doing right, at the time. We wanted the war to end and we wanted our boys to come home. Perhaps we didn't separate policy from support for the boys, or lack thereof. You know as well as I do the terrible state our country was in; torn apart domestically because of this hideous war. Time has a way of giving us new perspective and new appreciation.
This was a very difficult decision, for me to write to you. I did not want to hurt you by trying to purge my guilt. I decided to do a little web surfing on this Memorial Day, before going to my friend's home for a pool party and barbecue; an event that most of us take for granted on this holiday and we don't realize enough that men like you helped to preserve these events for us. I came across your wonderful web site and spent considerable time reading it. My flag is outside waving high on my patio. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to you and all our Vietnam Vets for sacrificing body and soul for us. I love America and always have. I will always appreciate what you did for us. I appreciate all our military personnel, past and present.....
Thank you again,
Joan Saltsberg
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Hi,
This is lisa. I love your page. I have been here (there) since
about 10. it is truly fascinating. also, you have brought to me a new
meaning for the song "Golden Slumbers". It has always been one of my
favorite Beatles songs (along with every other one), but now it is
completely different. I really like the music. It goes perfectly with
the pages.
I just wish I had taken notes when I was looking so I could
tell you all of the things I thought about. and also my dad looked at
it with me so I got the chance to talk about it with him. I think my
favorite segment, or the one that sticks out in my brain, is the
"Agent Orange" sign with the picture below it. where is that picture
from?
Well, it's getting late and tomorrow is a school day! I really
enjoyed your page and will definately go back and check out changes.
...lisa
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Steve,
Lisa and I had a good time tonite looking at your site. Must have
looked for close to 2 hours. I enjoyed it. She was genuinely moved by all
of it. It's just so complete. I mean it covers every aspect and she
absorbed that. I couldn't sit with my other 2 like I did with Lisa. Don't
really know why. She's different for some reason. I think sensitive in
the kind of way I am, I guess. Any way, I enjoyed taking the tour with her.
Talk later.....ae
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Steve
Been on the site now for about 2 hours and since I'm not one for words
I'll just say "Thanks from deep inside my soul where only I dare to go"
Dennis
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Steve,
I am a nurse working with Veterans with PTSD and many of which are on
total disability pensions with not much to do. As I aave an interest in the
Internet and have seen how well the U.S. Veterans have done on the Internet,
I am trying to institute it here.
The guys I'm working with have little or no experience with the Internet
which I am hoping to change in the near future. I have begun a site for them
to contribute to and hope to get them onto IRC as they have expressed an
interest in communicating with other veterans all over the world.
If you have any suggestions or can point me towards a good Vietnam Vet IRC
channel, it would be greatly appreciated. My web site is called MindQuake and
is situated at http://smople.thehub.com.au/~jasper/ or you can contact me
through Email on jasper@thehub.com.au. Thanks for listening, and I love your site - great graphics!!!
Jon Hassall (Australia)
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VietVet,
I just wanted to say, this is the most fantastic work I have seen. You
should be very proud. I am sending your url to my brother who has been
dealing with his own ghost trying to build his VN page into his
homepage. He has worked hard but would love to see this. He will be
making his 2nd trip back in Jan. for the Tet holiday. I really think
going back helped him. Maybe if he gets some pictures you could use
them. Thanks for the page. I am now and always have been proud of the
men that served thier country.
(Sherry Beebe)
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Steve Quigley,
I just visited your homepage. It is beautiful and very informative. In
fact, I bookmarked your homepage. I see your picture and your wife's.
In my project, I have two academic advisors: Dr. Ferrell from the
History Department and Dr. Roy Smith from the Psychology Department. I
often see Dr. Smith to discuss different factors which impact Vietnam
veterans. One of them is PTSD which I will devote a section of my
project on.
I will need all the infornation in your homepage. Thanks again for your answer to my survey and thanks for creating such beautiful and useful homepage.
H/R BA
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Steve:
I am relatively new to surfing the web, however I
stumbled onto your site tonight. From what I have seen
so far, I think I have only scratched the scratch of the scratch. I
AM IMPRESSED!!!! I will definitely return as time permits to view
more of your work. I can only ask, how many hundred (thousand) hours
do you estimate you have involved in creating what you have here??
Best of luck and keep up the good work!!!!!
Lt. Bill Hampton,Tsee Highway Patrol (Now) 572nd Transportation Company Vietnam (Then) Long Binh Apr 69-Jan 71 Quang Tri Jan 71-Apr 71 (Opn Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719) DaNang Apr 71-Jun 71 (Red Beach) Jun 71-Now HOME IN THE WORLD!!!!
Bill Hampton
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Hi Steve,
My name is Ronald W. Kelly and I served in vietnam with the
44th Medical Brigade, 3rd Field Hospital 1969-1970, I retired from the
Army 1 Jan 90. I was just surfing the net and found your home page and I
thing you have done a great job, keep up the good work.Welcome home brother,
Ronald W. Kelly Picayune, MS
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Quig,
I was with 1st Bat, 5th Marines. Wrapped up at Phou Bai. Came home in a
body cast. The body healed...my mind, my soul and my spirit didn't for a
long time. Thank you for your wonderful efforts. We can never forget...We must never forget! God Bless you and keep you.
Mick, Newport, RI
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Steve,
I just wanted you to know that I think you have one fantastic web
page. Can't get thru it all in just one sitting. I have it bookmarked
and I can assure you I will be back!
Thanks Mike. PhuBai/DaNang '72-73.
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Steve,
This is a damn good sight, one of the best i've seen. I am the editor
of a VVA vietnam veterans newspaper (not-for-prifit), circulation of
10,000. Can I list this sight in the newspaper? How can I get
permission to use some photos, stories and info? Please keep up the
fantastic work.
Bay State Vietnam Veteran
Massachusetts State Council
Bob Pizzano USMC Ret.
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Quigley:
Thanks for the great job, I really like to see a Vet in all his creative
glory. Welcome Home!
LT Newbs,67-68.
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Steve,
Thank you for all the work you have done to make this information available.
My name is Jeanette Chervony, daughter of Sgt. Eddie Chervony, USA who was
killed on 05May68, 3 days before his 21st birthday...
I belong to an organization called Sons and Daughters In Touch, we are a
group of children whose fathers either died or remain missing due to the
Vietnam War. I am presently the Southern California Chapter President. I
recently made a Web Page for our chapter and am presently working on one for
our National office. If you could please add us to your Web Site, we would
surely appreciate it...http://members.aol/sditsocal/index.html.
We are planning our 3rd Nat'l gathering in Washington D.C., Father's Day
weekend. At our 1st and 2nd gathering we had about 400 in attendance from
children from all over the U.S....We are trying to spread out the word..and
anything you can do, we would greatly appreciate it...we are also open to any
suggestions that you may have...
Thank You...Keep "In Touch"
Jeanette
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Steve,
I have never spent so much time in ANY website, as I have yours
tonite. I am so impressed by what you have done....and it makes me proud to
know that we served together, in that same horrible place. You have truly
memorialized and paid a tremendous tribute to all vets here. God, it brings
tears to my eyes...It brings back memories, some good and some not so
good....but it FEELS good.
I was a Radioman (USN) with NMCB-58 stationed at Red Beach (Camp Haskins) out
of Danang. We then got moved south to Hoi An to build a base for the
ROK's...thats where most stuff happened. I did not have to beat the bush
like you and so many of our comrades, but I feel so deeply for all those who
did. My daughter just got out of the Navy last year....I am very proud of
her, and thankful that we were at peace. I want to bring her to your room
and share it with her. Thank you so very much for all your work and
dedication, to make such a wonderful place available.
God bless you and yours,
Tom Traill, RM3, USN
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Steve,
A visit to the past...fortunately I can now look at it as that...the
past. I visited my brothers at the wall and there I unloaded, I cried,
I healed. I am, and always will be, saddened by our loss. I have, at
all times, with me one of the names on the wall. I don't know his name.
One evening we were going through a dried up rice paddie the first round
to hit us was a b-40. It landed to my left and as I was hitting the
ground, I saw the man, on my left, take the rocket, on his left. I
believe, if he had not been there I would not be here.
Once he was just another of my nightmares. For a long time now I have considered him my guardian angel. He protected me once, and I feel safe, knowing he will protect me, should I need it again. Thanks brother, whoever you are. You will be near and dear to me until the day i die.
Eldon Hicks
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Steve,
You have no idea the emotions this page made me run through!! My
brother (Bruce C. Hill, SF DaNang), my sister (Cindy Kelly) and I have
been running a search for several years to find people who may have
known our brother..CWO2 Robert O. Hill Jr, who was killed in Phu Bai, in
Quang Tri Province on Sept. 27, 1970. He was with the 237th Medical
Detachment, 67th Medical Corps. I will add this search to YOUR list..on
the page, but had to let you know..Our search, which began again
strongly about 3 days ago, has provided us with many leads to
information and people who have known him. When I saw the bottom of your
front page..that you were in Quang Tri during 69-70, I had to write to
you.
The way you have the music embedded on your page is amazing! So
appropriate and I think that is what is making me cry! I associate most
events of my life with music...so it has a profound effect!
Is there any way I can get a copy of some of the .mid files that you
use? I would like to add a bit of sound..and Eric Clapton's song would
be perfect for the part of my site dedicated to my brother.
Thanks for the page and another possibility of finding some folks..I
will link to your page when I am done that part of my web page. The
address is listed below in my sig. Oh, and I do web pages for a part
time home biz, and have to tell you that this page is a webdesigner's
dream!! :D
Welcome Home friend!!!
Miriam L. Knight (Mindy)
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Steve,
Thank you for your time and trouble to make this site possible,
and the priveledge to write you a small note of appreciation. I was a
medic in Nam for the whole year of '67.
I read your "golden letters" and I wish I were as for along as the ones
that have been able to visit the wall. I haven't been able to as yet.
Please give your wife my most solemn regards on the loss of her brother.
Thank you for the chance to write you and express my thoughts.
Lewis S. O'Neal