HeySeuss

Gooooood Moooorning Viiiieeetnaaaaam!

B without a doubt.

Gooooood Moooorning Viiiieeetnaaaaam!

Ho Chi Minh also had good relations with the US, but Roosevelt was more committed to decolonization than Truman was. Truman was persuaded to essentially stay out of it by Churchill and de Gaulle. The Brits did send assistance right after the surrender of the Japanese in the form of a Gurkha unit to help secure Indochina until French Forces could get there...they rearmed Japanese troops to keep Ho Chi Minh from taking over.

At the same time, there was an OSS team on site that advised the Viet Minh and it didn't end well once the hostilities started. Until that point, we were pretty cordial with the Viet Minh.

I've done some extensive reading of sources on that, particularly Bernard Fall's books, which are interesting and instructive. The American war in Vietnam was very much an extension of the French one, particularly as Eisenhower was roped into increasing support for the French Forces in Indochina in return for concessions from the French in Europe (staying in NATO, for example.)

As Darkness Fell - A dark fantasy story

I'll start laundry and start my post.

Gooooood Moooorning Viiiieeetnaaaaam!

That is wonderful, HeySeuss. I am glad that he felt comfortable enough to open up to you. I tried to talk to a WWII veteran, my brother-in-law's father. He served with the 8th Infantry Division in France. He was with an Infantry battalion's Anti-Tank platoon. They used 57mm AT guns, towed by 6x6 trucks or jeeps. He would not say anything to me about it. In fact, he later told my sister to please ask me to not question him about his experiences. It saddened me greatly. He died about three years ago. :(

@Gunther

My grandfather managed to not tell me a thing about his time on the Pusan Perimeter. I had to discover the circumstances of his combat record through meticulous research after he died. I don't think anyone quite understand what he went through. My other grandfather was in WWII serving as a Seabee, which meant that they were attached to Marine units and so his service was also very bloody and he didn't talk about it.

I still really think that relatives don't want to open up to their own families, so yeah, Eddie opening up to me about the siege of Khe Sanh and Hue was unusual, and he disclosed guilty things about how he walled himself off from new replacements and didn't help them and it ground his gears for years afterward-- in particular, one guy was seriously WIA/KIA and he felt like he only told him, 'watch out for the RPG's' instead of screaming at him to get down or pulling him down. Still, he came out better for it once he started opening up to the point of talking to relatives and loved ones.

Now, of course, I am also certified in mental health first aid, but it turns out I was doing it right even when dealing with guys that were coming back early during Iraq and were pretty rattled. In most cases, it's simple. You let them do the talking and don't judge, but the fear of judgment thing is what seems to drive people away from wanting to talk to people, especially close relatives.

Gooooood Moooorning Viiiieeetnaaaaam!

At UMD I interviewed Vietnam vets for their accounts.

People will talk to a stranger. I also got the uncle that fought in Hue to open up. He was relieved that I didn't judge a damn thing. It also equipped me for when friends came back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Someday, it would be interesting to write a book with the gathered vets from certain units for different chapters because the war differs for different units.

Gooooood Moooorning Viiiieeetnaaaaam!

>The moment when your knowledge is completely blown out of the water and your history dick seems really really tiny.

Well shit, you guys should just GM this.

@Lady Selune

We all -liked the idea- and signed on. That means being supportive. If you want, we could have a different GM per scenario? Or you can just run it and we can support you here.

Gooooood Moooorning Viiiieeetnaaaaam!

Watching Full Metal Jacket again. Had an uncle that was in Vietnam was a Marine during late '67-early 1968. He was an M-60 gunner that fought in Hue.

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Back in it.

Soviet Amerika - Red Dawn-Inspired Alternate History

I'm interested! I do love a good "what if" plot line, especially of this caliber. In regards to characters, are we allowed to create two?

@Little Italy

Yeah, sure. Let's see what they are though. Would they be related?

Soviet Amerika - Red Dawn-Inspired Alternate History

So the first scene is this; they are at a construction yard doing a trade for pharmaceuticals because that stuff is necessary for treating casualties. They're also given orders to whack the guy because his network think he's turned.

I flipped the script from previous incarnations.