He’s old and frail now, but he still has clear memories of his combat tour in Vietnam, nearly 50 years ago.
When Jerry Thompson returned to the U.S. after fighting in the Vietnam War, he was often criticized and even “spat on” by civilians who had grown weary of the long conflict.
But all of that changed dramatically the other day, when the aging Thompson was transferred from a Dallas VA hospital to hospice care in small-town Forney, Texas, his hometown.
In an outpouring of thanks and admiration, the townsfolk gathered near his home to cheer for the combat vet, with many shouting: “Thank you for your service, Jerry!”
»Posted by Douglas Volk on Oct 21, 2019
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It’s been nearly half a century since the shooting stopped in Vietnam (1973), and the legacy of that tragic conflict continues to inspire some of America’s best writers to create stories that mirror the profound events of 1965-1973.
Among the most provocative of the fiction and non-fiction books that have been written about the great Indochina conflict are Michael Herr’s hugely powerful journalistic descriptions of combat, Dispatches (1977) and Tim O’Brien’s collection of linked short stories, The Things They Carried (1990).
These are modern classics that explore both the horror and the shining courage of military conflict — and there are dozens of other books out there today that chronicle the events of that tumultuous era in American and Asian history.
»Posted by Douglas Volk on Jun 13, 2019
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Horror. Heartbreak. Tragedy.
They’re all on stunning display—through August 18—at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, where an enormous exhibition of art created in response to the 1965-75 Vietnam War has been winning rave reviews since it opened in March.
Described by the nation’s famed art museum as “the most complete exhibition to examine the contemporary impact of the Vietnam war on American Art,” the new show includes nearly 100 works by 58 of the most accomplished artists of the turbulent Vietnam war era.
Among the deeply affecting art works on display are the “Bug-Shaped Bombers” created by acclaimed artist Nancy Spero; the controversial war-related drawings of painter Judith Bernstein, and Peter Saul’s wrenching masterpiece of 1967, “Saigon,” which shows how the war shattered human bodies and human hearts alike during that turbulent age of armed conflict.
To learn more about this deeply disturbing and grief-provoking exhibition, just click on:
https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/vietnam
»Posted by Douglas Volk on May 19, 2019
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The exciting news broke just in time for Memorial Day, in the pages of the nation’s largest magazine devoted to honoring 20 million American veterans.
The May issue of VFW Magazine describes how a Maine-based box company, Volk Packaging Corporation, recently unveiled a magnificent “Heroes Wall” on the front lawn of its company headquarters. The wall was built to honor the veterans of all American wars. In addition, VPC raised more than $20,000 and donated it to a VFW Post in nearby Old Orchard Beach, Maine — which then used the funds to completely renovate its building and purchase a new widescreen television.
The story also tells how recently retired VPC CEO Douglas Volk is donating $1 to Vietnam War veterans from the sale of each copy of his new novel about the heartbreaking struggles of a Boston Vietnam Vet. The book is titled The Morpheus Conspiracy.
»Posted by Douglas Volk on May 12, 2019
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It’s been nearly half a century since the last American combat soldiers left Vietnam in March of 1973.
But the stories of Vietnam War-related heroism and suffering and sacrifice and heartbreak are still surfacing, day after day.
One of those stories just broke recently in Kalamazoo, Michigan — where a woman who’d lost her husband to the war (he died when his helicopter was shot down in 1969) somehow found the courage to travel to Vietnam herself . . . where she managed to locate and then meet the Vietnamese soldiers who killed her former spouse.
To read this incredible story in the Kalamazoo Gazette — which earned high praise for its outstanding coverage — just click on the link below.
»Posted by Douglas Volk on Apr 5, 2019
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Ever found yourself wondering just how much the Vietnam War cost America — in terms of human suffering and financial loss? According to the latest historical research, the nearly 20-year-long war took about 58,000 American lives. Another 150,000 U.S. combat soldiers returned home with permanent wounds or amputations. More than 700,000 were later diagnosed with PTSD. The total cost of the horrendous conflict to U.S. taxpayers, adjusted to 2018 dollars: Nearly $1 Trillion.
One way to picture the financial cost of the war is to imagine that $1 Trillion as a stack of one-dollar bills.
Q. How high would the stack reach?
A. To the moon, and then back to earth again — about two and a half times.
You can read a lot more about the “numbers” that tell the often tragic story of the Vietnam War, simply by clicking on this very interesting website: https://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-veterans/
»Posted by Douglas Volk on Dec 31, 2018
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