02-17-2009, 07:20 AM
People's recollections of their war experience can be quite creative.
I know one old guy who says he is an Australian Vietnam veteran. He doesn't show on the nominal roll for the war. He also claims to have been a POW while Australia recognizes no POWs in Vietnam. He said he was at "Dean Bean Foo" possibly Dien Bien Phu??? I assume the place, not the battle, which is impossible as it is close to the Chinese border. He even tells people this when he's sober. It's not my job to challenge him.
I was doing a political thing and some old guy asked me what I'd do for veterans. My kind of question as I pretty much know the war history of each battalion. It was quite quickly revealed that he was conscripted and barely made it out of his home province.
My father was in the infantry in WWII and would talk at length with other veterans but would otherwise never mention it.
The wannabe warriors want to talk, the real ones don't.
I know one old guy who says he is an Australian Vietnam veteran. He doesn't show on the nominal roll for the war. He also claims to have been a POW while Australia recognizes no POWs in Vietnam. He said he was at "Dean Bean Foo" possibly Dien Bien Phu??? I assume the place, not the battle, which is impossible as it is close to the Chinese border. He even tells people this when he's sober. It's not my job to challenge him.
I was doing a political thing and some old guy asked me what I'd do for veterans. My kind of question as I pretty much know the war history of each battalion. It was quite quickly revealed that he was conscripted and barely made it out of his home province.
My father was in the infantry in WWII and would talk at length with other veterans but would otherwise never mention it.
The wannabe warriors want to talk, the real ones don't.
