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Merry Christmas All and God Bless.
Hi Gill…..I sent a second email…..I guess something is screwed up. My email address is…….wconnell@nycap.rr.com …….See if you can send to that address.
Chuck.
Outstanding!
Wow Chuck, thanks for sharing. Yes it pulled out a few tears, real men do cry. Brought back some memories. Merry Christmas everyone and good wishes for a great new year. Hope to see everybody soon.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY C/2/1 BROTHERS. YOU GUYS WERE MY LIFE IN VIETNAM AND NOW YOU STILL ARE! GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES! RIP TO ALL WHO WILL NOT JOIN US IN THIS CELEBRATION IN BODY BUT FOR SURE IN SPIRIT!
Merry Christmas to you all. Check this out. It might just pull a tear out of your eyes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sUGOjNsE4aY&feature=player_embedded
God rest ye merry gentlemen…Let nothing you dismay….Remember Christ Our Savior was born on Christmas Day!…. Happy Holiday Season to all ….Gill…. I sent you an email yesterday. It seemed to go through. Let me know if it did not.
Hi man , I didn’t see it but I will look again , thanks ,
Catch you later.
I’ll let you know if I got it,thx.
Gill
Hi again man , no mail , it might this monster I have here , try again
Thx gill
Merry Christmas to all of Charlie Company past and present living and those gone on. Memories are gold so square up the ranks shoulder length and salute.
I want to wish all of my Grunt Brothers, your families and the families of our brothers that didn’t return home, a Merry Christmas, and a very happy, prosperous New Year.
Thanks and. And the same to you . I still miss the missing. I think of them often.
Bill Connell
Can you contact me at , rifleman4u@aol.com
Thanks
Gill
Mark,
My Uncle had bi-pass in 1977 & died in Oct, 2014 at 93. Told him my goal was to live 1 day longer than him. Had mine in Nov, 1998 so my goal is to make 90. Hit 69 last Saturday. 21 more years t o beat him.
I’m pretty happy with the 50%/ Based on family history, I’m pretty sure I’d be in the same shape no matter what I did fro 69-70. I even feel a wee bit guilty getting the 50%. As far as ptsd, I believe in it, but I feel that for me personally, I don’t have it. Flinching at loud noises and a few flashbacks that shook me up dozens of years ago. Compared to what some guys have, I kind of don’t think that counts. I suppose there may be a little of that “survivor guilt” though I know that makes no sense.
Fella’s, sorry to here of your heart problems. Here’s some inspiration: My mom had a quad bypass, and part of her heart removed [ it was damaged] She now is unstoppable at 87
years old. I just got upgraded from 60 to70%. My next step is to go for 100% using increased compensation based on unemployability. Don’t give up !! Be as much of a pain in the ass as you can. A friend of mine was an MP at Cam Ron Bay. The closest he got to combat was wiping the dust off his 1911. It took him 4 years, but he is now 100%
And do not hesitate to add PTSD to that paperwork! My counselor was pissed when they came back with 30%, he felt there was not a CIB recipient alive that should be rated less than 40%. Infantry, I appealed their decision 5 times, they want you to accept the 1st offer, we didn’t give up over there, don’t quit here!
Me too. I had five bypasses in 1997 and now diagnosed wit diabetes. Went to the VA about two years ago and now my disability went from 10% (which it was since 1970 for hearing loss, shrapnel wound, intestinal infections and some minor stuff) up to 50% now. I was advised to use DAV. A bunch of old guys (even older than us!) who love volunteering to help us and fill out paperwork. There was a lot of it. Request for this and that, power of attorney, ways of doing stuff so it does not get lost. They did good for me. I would have been bounced back and forth and maybe never gotten anything without their help.
IMPORTANT!!!!. Get the ball rolling. If you get a claim, it starts on the day you file. If you file today and it takes two or three years (as mine did) you get paid RETROACTIVE to that date. I got a lump sum payment of about $8,000.00 (for that backdated stuff) and now receive $822 per month.
Also, at that level (and I think the purple heart may be part of the formula) all VA care is free-no copay whatsoever. No medication cost. They even reimbursed me for the $8.00 copays that I had paid for the past year or two.
As I understand it, if you were a grunt (boots on the ground as they say these days) in our area, there was Agent Orange and you are eligible. Whether it is the cause or not, it is considered a contributing factor for ischemic heart disease and diabetes. So, while you’re recuperating get this thing going. You could have a lot of money coming to you. I believe they asked all kinds of questions about family history, which I answered honestly; mine is full of heart disease but it did not stop anything. I get the benefits.
Good luck. Go for it. And, take care of yourself. Diet & exercise. I’m 17+ years with no other symptoms. 45 minutes cardio every day and more pushups than I did in basic. I want to live a long time. And I want to live healthy and I hope for the same for all of you guys.
Lawrernce,
I had the same experience as Carl. Go for it.
Lawrence, Is your problem called ischemic artery or heart disease? If it is, it is AO connected. Get your cardiologist and pc doctor to write a letter to the VA on your behalf and file a claim. You will receive at least 30% and many get 60%. I had 4 bypasses in 2009 and receive 30% from the VA.
WISHING EACH AND E-1 A MERRY CHRISTMAS–BEEN OFF DUE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS WHICH ENDED IN A TRIPEL BY-PASS LAST MONDAY..
Thanks for the Snagglepuss link. Now tha I saw and listened I see why Bill named him that. He really did talk like that and probably still does!
Hey Clay,
I wasn’t much into ham and eggs until my Kit Carson Scout showed me how to heat them. He took a church key and opened holes all the way around top and bottom so the things actually heated through and you didn’t hit a cold middle as often. Anyone who threw peaches away should have gotten the old section 8.
There was a new 90mm guy that Bill Young nicknamed “Snagglepuss” because he sounded like the cartoon character. I don’t remember the cartoon but the 90 guy with me was a funny sounding guy. He was in the field about a week and we were eating around our log (lagger?) and we see him toss something orange from his C-rats into the woods. Me and Bill freaked out. He was throwing away peaches because he didn’t want them. He’s lucky we didn’t shoot him! Bill and I were teamed up for a little while and he is one of my favorite memories.
See if this will refresh your memory. đŸ˜‰
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4qFxTTi8q0
Jim:
Tom Pemberton was Snagglepuss. As I remember it this was a cartoon character cat. I think Tom got to the company in January, 1970.
I learned to love ham and eggs before it was over, but I never got hungry enough to eat ham and MF’s. Even when we went a week or 10 days with no resupply and ran completely out of rations, I didn’t eat the damn things.
I really like chocolate and at first John Wayne bars, while not good, were tolerable. That changed after I got the really good (LOL) stuff from the C-ration cans.
It is funny how tastes change. When I first got there I could barely stand to look at C-rat ham & eggs. Five months later I was so tired of the same old C’s that I was eating them just for variety. Beans & weenies were always good though. Even today.
Chuck, you must be on one helluva diet to be craving a John Wayne bar!
Boy what I wouldn’t give for a “John Wayne Bar”.
Chuck you always did like them ,
On R&R!!!!!
Radio silence again! After a series of very somber entries, how about some light hearted memories or something to pick our spirits up before Christmas!
Yeah , really crappy. I knew Capt. Smith’s story was bad but timing and situation was even worse than i realized. Sorry to hear about Marty. Feel like I just went to two wakes that shouldnt have happened.
Yeah Tuch. If I remember right, that was a stretch where the whole company between casualties and sickness went from like 140 to about 80 in about three weeks. Something like 32 killed & wounded and the rest from disentery or whatever and they pulled us out of the field early. Most of the casualties were booby traps as I recall.
This kind of story makes me hurt. His LAST day in the field and gets killed. What a terrible story especially with new born twins that he had never seen. Thanks for filling us in on Cpt Smith.
I was Cpt Smiths RTO then and he was 3rd platoon leader. He had a set of twins that he had not seen, he was to go back to the rear that day but we were on patrol that day and found a bunch of rice and had to wait to get rice out so he missed his ride back to Hawk Hill