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Vietnam vets betrayed again: Pentagon bureaucrat wants to abridge 50th-anniversary ceremonies
The Washington Times ^ | November 11, 2010 | Jim Robbins

Posted on 11/10/2010 8:39:35 PM PST by Abakumov

The 50th-anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War should be a time of reflection and redemption, when a grateful country pays a long-standing debt to veterans who nobly fought in the conflict but came home to scorn and spit. But if a Pentagon bureaucrat has his way, the Viet vets will be denied their rightful honors once again....

The proposed budget for the commemorations was $100 million, which was less than the amount spent on the World War II and Korean War commemoration efforts. For example, the 1984 commemoration of the Normandy landings alone cost $38 million....

Enter Michael L. Rhodes, director of administration and management at the Pentagon.... According to an August action memo prepared by Mr. Rhodes for Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and obtained by The Washington Times, he urged Mr. Gates to reject the proposed commemoration program and adopt instead a "targeted" $30 million program. The memo describes the new approach as "a dignified and meaningful DoD Program of national recognition [that] need not be tied to the full timeframe of U.S. military involvement" and that will "provide nation-wide participation, while utilizing the resources involved in the most effective manner."

Mr. Rhodes' plan cuts the time frame of the commemoration down to 2015-18 and inexplicably features a kickoff in his former home of Honolulu, which is not exactly a resource-effective location. Hawaii is inaccessible for most veterans and is in a time zone where most Americans could not watch the event live on television.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: veteransday; vietnam; vietvets
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To: POWERSBOOTHEFAN
G-d Bless you and thank you for your service.

I don't mean to be rude, but your thanks just don't mean anything to me. I was too badly screwed as the result of Kerry-Fonda and the lies they told. Sorry.

61 posted on 11/11/2010 9:34:09 PM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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To: 444Flyer
Thank you for your service, Sir.

I don't mean to be rude, but your thanks just don't mean anything to me. I was too badly screwed as the result of Kerry-Fonda and the lies they told. Sorry.

62 posted on 11/11/2010 9:35:30 PM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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To: afnamvet
It don’t mean nuthin’.

You're right. Most people have no concept of what "Veteran's Day" is about.

I see that you were Air Force. I was Navy. I got so badly screwed by the likes of John Kerry and Jane Fonda and Walter Cronkite and the lies they told, I just keep trying to forget all of this stuff. I'm not ashamed about my service, but, after enough Kerry-Fonda, I was made to feel that way.

I was in Cam Ranh Bay (the country club of Vietnam), where were you?

63 posted on 11/11/2010 9:42:44 PM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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To: DustyMoment
No apology needed.


64 posted on 11/11/2010 10:19:03 PM PST by 444Flyer ("The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."-S. Johnson)
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To: DustyMoment

Tuy Hoa Air Base 31st Fighter wing. Aircrew on AC119G gunship as we volunteered to be the radio op. My day job was in the COMM/NAV shop or on the flightline. I was there 68-69.


65 posted on 11/12/2010 3:02:38 AM PST by afnamvet (Patriots Rising)
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To: onedoug
Vietnam is a beautiful country and the people in the South still love Americans.
My son has spent almost five years teaching in Shanghai and has traveled extensively throughout all of Asia.
Without question he says VN is his favorite country ... nicest people, great scenery and the best food.
Ironically, his train passed within 50 feet of the bridge I blew up in '67 that crossed the Ben Hai River separating North and South VN.

66 posted on 11/12/2010 6:59:36 AM PST by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: jivin gene

Well said.


67 posted on 11/12/2010 11:44:47 AM PST by Levante
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To: jivin gene

Well said.


68 posted on 11/12/2010 11:44:55 AM PST by Levante
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To: DustyMoment

I’m sorry.....


69 posted on 11/12/2010 12:19:22 PM PST by POWERSBOOTHEFAN (The road to hell is paved with good intentions)
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To: Abakumov

Well, it figures, cut the pay of the ones that can’t quit and go some place for a “Decent Job”. This makes me sick!

http://www.military.com/news/article/presidential-panel-freeze-military-pay.html?ESRC=eb.nl

http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/retired-pay/retired-cola


70 posted on 11/12/2010 2:23:51 PM PST by diji (IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !)
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To: Abakumov

“The proposed budget for the commemorations was $100 million,”

The Turd-in-Chiefs apology tour to India costs more than that. Way, way more.


71 posted on 11/12/2010 4:02:46 PM PST by chessplayer
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To: 444Flyer

I don’t have the words to adequately describe it, but that Vietnam Memorial picture is very touching and also sobering. Thanks for posting it.


72 posted on 11/12/2010 5:29:59 PM PST by MichaelCorleone
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To: afnamvet

Wow, we have something in common - I was the radio operator on a Navy P-3. We ran shipping patrols off the coast in 69.


73 posted on 11/12/2010 10:36:50 PM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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To: 444Flyer

I appreciate your understanding.


74 posted on 11/12/2010 10:37:38 PM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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To: DustyMoment

CH-53 helo avionics, HMH-462, Phu Bai, 1969.


75 posted on 11/15/2010 4:04:59 PM PST by dcwusmc (A FREE People have no sovereign save Almighty GOD!!! III OK We are EVERYWHERE)
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To: dcwusmc

God bless you, Marine. I’m glad you made it home alive.


76 posted on 11/15/2010 9:13:49 PM PST by DustyMoment (Go green - recycle Congress in 2012!!)
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