The XO stated that he did the calculations
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I seem to remember a series of statements inre Junior Officers and when it is time for ‘us’ to run....
Young butterball——It has been my experience....
I tried to find them but couldn’t... oh well
As to your ‘location’, yes, it is believable, I was in SE Asia doing things that we weren’t there to be doing. Took them about 50 years to ‘come clean’.
About the only thing I believed coming from JF’nKerry was when he said he was in Cambodia around Christmas....the ONLY thing I figured was a truthful statement....of course ‘we weren’t there’....
One of the biggest disasters for the USAF in VN was the group that got killed in Laos when we weren’t in Laos.
I was aboard a ship that in 1959 visited Bangkok around the fourth of July. I was on the Henrico (APA-45) and we were accompanied by the Lenawee (APA-195) and James Keyes (DD-787).
It was during Ikes people to people program and around about 2004 or so we got ‘awarded’ an Armed Forces Expedition Medal with a Vietnam notation.
I had enough AFEMs to convert to Vietnam Service Medal. Turns out the reason we were probably there was to assist in the rescue of some US Army ‘teams’ that were trapped in Laos. This was prior to Special Forces/ie Green Berets.
Should be of ‘interest’ to you...
https://www.quora.com/Did-the-United-States-deploy-special-forces-in-Laos-during-the-Vietnam-war
If you google US Army in Laos 1959 you will come up with some ‘shockers’ since for YEARS we were never there.
Got my 2nd VSM in 61 while on the Terrell County (LST-1157) where we inserted some USMC recon and USN frogmen etc. Dropped them off in Gulf of Siam, had to spend a week in Bangkok and went back to pick them up.
Must have been a ‘rough’ exercise as I recognized NONE of the ones we picked up.
I know it was just a ‘training mission’ as we WEREN’T in Vietnam at the time.....(barf)
For my World Goverment Class senior year of HS, we were assigned to write a term paper on a SIGNIFICANT country in the world.
I chose Vietnam. I had had many visits for Dr Griebenow, Resxilius and others who had been in Dalat and the Central Highlands since ‘48. (Got kicked out of Iran so landed there.) All told my paper was based on 10 0r 12 people who lived there, Newspapers in French (which I doubled for my French class) and of course, the American stuff, which was fluff compared to the French stuff.
This was Jan-Jun 1961. My World Government teacher gave me an F. He said I should have chosen Cuba or an emerging country in Africa. Vietnam would not be a significant country on the world stage.
The American and Canadian (Three Hills AB type) missionaries, teachers, nurses in Vietnam in the 1950s and early 60s were very accurate in assessment of what was happening.... as it turned out.