Introduction I went on an Honor Flight in May of this year, and it was a tremendous experience. (Ref blog June 5th, 2023) My friend, fellow Vietnam War Veteran and writer Tom Keating, recently attended his Honor Flight. Tom has shared his experience with us, please enjoy it. […]
Category: War and Military Stories
Donald A. Ranard’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, New World Writing Quarterly, The Washington Post, Gargoyle, Litro, The Best Travel Writing, 100 Word Story, and elsewhere. His one-act play about a wounded war veteran, ELBOW. APPLE. CARPET. SADDLE. BUBBLE., placed second in Veteran Repertory’s 2021 playwriting competition and was recently performed at Vet […]
In war, everyone loses. Participants sacrifice their lives, limbs and sanity; perpetrators their morality. ∼Joe Campolo Jr War is the unfortunate endeavor which mankind seems intent on carrying out on a never-ending basis. Maybe we’re just too damn good at it. And one of the most unfortunate aspects of that unfortunate […]
Raul Herrera is a U.S. Navy Vietnam War veteran. Raul served time on Swift Boats and has written an intriguing book about his experience. Raul has provided us some details about his book, which is available on Amazon and other on-line book sellers.                                          *** CAPTURING SKUNK ALPHA ∼Raul Herrera […]
Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran does not have that problem. –Ronald Reagan In January of 1971, I flew into Seattle, Washington after having served a one year tour of duty in Vietnam. It was […]
In this article guest writer Dave Wagenblatt recalls his arrival for duty in Vietnam, and his first few weeks there. Dave served in the United States Air Force in the later stages of the war, and though assigned to base supply, Dave was also tasked with various other duties at Phu Cat Airbase, […]
George Dooley and I became friends back in the early 1970’s. I was still in the U.S. Air Force stationed at March Air Force Base near Riverside, California, while George had gotten out of the Air Force after having served four years. George was living in Southern California and we met through a […]
Jimmy Fox, a U.S. Army Vietnam War Veteran and I became acquainted at a Veteran’s event some years ago, and I am proud to count him among my friends. Jimmy has penned several writings on the war. He appeared earlier as a guest writer on my blog, featuring his excellent essay No Peace.  How […]
The French “tricolor” flew over Vietnam for many years When the French colonized Vietnam in the eighteen hundreds, they created discord that would trouble the small nation into the nineteen hundreds and beyond. This discord created divisiveness in several interrelated areas, or factors. Those being: *Economic *Religious *Social *Ethnic *Nationalism *Political And all […]
Donald Ranard was an English teacher in Laos from 1973 to 1975 under the Fulbright program. One of Donald’s published works is a telling of his experience during the communist takeover of Laos, which occurred not long after the communist takeover of Vietnam. Donald’s story is compelling, and well written, please enjoy it.   […]