On Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:26:03 -0500, Boater
wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
ry.

And also, after reading further down the thread, Vietnam wasn't lost -
we gave up due to political pressure and dippy hippies who were
'ascared.



Ahhh...we didn't lose in Vietnam...we gave up.

Ah Harry - that's what I like about you - nothing is going to stand in
the way of ideology and "correct" thought.

Here - skip down to the Vietnam War part - although, here's a couple
of excerpts because I know you won't read it as it directly
contradicts your closely held beliefs.

Tet Offensive:

"Although this attempt to spark a general uprising against the
southern government failed militarily, it turned into a significant
political victory by convincing the American politicians and public
that their commitment to South Vietnam could no longer be open-ended."

"By 1974, serious fighting had broken out between PAVN occupation
forces in South Vietnam and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN). The ARVN held its own successfully during this stage of the
fighting."

"South Vietnamese President Nguy?n Van Thi?u appealed to Nixon for
continued financial aid. Nixon was sympathetic but the U.S. Congress
was not, and the move was blocked. At its peak, U.S. aid to South
Vietnam had reached $30 billion a year. By 1974 it had fallen to $1
billion. Starved of funds, Thi?u's government had difficulty even
paying the wages of its army, and desertions became a problem. On the
other side, the PAVN received billions of dollars in new equipment
from the Soviet Union."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%B5...%AAn_Gi%C3%A1p

If it weren't describing such a horrific event, it would be funny.

Nothing about it was funny.

Ok, maybe the part where we watched the 101st Airborne main base at
Bein Hoa engage in a fire fight with one of it's own Forward Artillery
Support Bases was pretty funny as they kept missing each other, but in
general, it wasn't.

Admittedly there was the time a certain group of Marines of my
personal acquaintance swiped a VNA General's jeep and used it to do
donuts and...well, let's just save that story for another time.

--

"An idealist is one who, on noticing that
a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes
that it will also make better soup."

H.L. Mencken