jmcquown wrote:
>
> Doubtless you have more military experience than my father who was a 30 year
> Marine and retired a full bird Colonel. Yeah, he really enjoyed writing
> letters of condolence to the folks back home; it was one of his fondest
> duties. He saw enough action, sweetums, since he was shot twice. And
> sadly, those teenagers sent to Nam were nothing but stupid... they didn't
> want to be there (who did?) but they also didn't know how to follow orders.

That is an outrageous and an outrageously stupid thing to say. More
than 59,000 young American men were killed over there, some of them my
very good friends. Some of them for not following orders, I'm sure,
others for following stupid orders, and many others because that's what
happens to young men in war. You should shut the **** up because you
don't know what the **** you're talking about.
>
> Dad rarely talks about 'Nam but when he does he talks about those boys who
> pointedly ignored an order and got their butts killed because of it.

I seriously doubt you understand what your Dad has said about his
experiences. I'd hate to think he was so self-deluded as to think that
those men would be alive if they'd only followed his orders. I was
with the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne, and we thought Marines were
very brave combat soldiers who could have done much better with smarter
leadership. -aem