| This
page dedicated to my dear Tom |
Thomas R. Stringer past away on Sunday, May
30,1999 (Memorial Day) from complications due to Agent Orange. He was 52.
He served two tours of duty in Vietnam starting in January 1964. He received
numerous commendations and medals, including the Purple Heart with a Star,
Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation with a Star, Good Conduct
Medal, National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic
of Vietnam (RVN) Service Medal with Three Battle Stars, RVN Gallantry Cross
with PALM, RVN Wound Medal, RVN Civil Action Medal-1st Class, and the RVN
Campaign Medal. Anyone wanting to leave condolences, please sign this Guest
Book. It will be printed out at a later date and given to his family.
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Note: The above section was added on
June 1,1999, the below section I wrote last year. As you will see some of
the context is outdated. I will rewrite it when I can find the words. My
sincere apologies _Bay
 Somehow it seems
the Vietnam War of 1964-1972 was so long ago, as you don't hear about it
so much anymore. It will live on in the lives of millions of people forever.
These great men and women cannot be praised enough for their efforts to
fight against communism, most will never find freedom themselves from the
war. It lives on in their families and in their hearts. The effects of this
tragedy will go on forever. Yes life goes on and always will, but the Vietnam
War reminds us how important it is to live in peace and cherish life, how
fortunate we are to know life as we do. I applaud these men and women that
have given me the opportunity to do that.
 I have known two men who fought, one died in Nam and the other well....he
is fighting the biggest battle of his life right now. He has cancer caused
from exposure to Agent Orange. Fresh from high school he enlisted in the
Marines, so very young. I didn't know of him then, didn't know he existed
until 20 years ago. His stories from there will touch my heart forever.
I know the war has caused him great pain over the years and it is with great
courage he fights cancer. I can only stand on the sidelines and pray for
him and I do everyday, he is always in my thoughts... and to you T, I say
"God Bless you, we all love
you and are here for you........"
Bay.
 This former Marine sergeant, served two tours of duty
in Vietnam as a combat infantryman and squad leader. His medals include
a Purple Heart for being wounded in Dung Ha and the Vietnamese Cross of
Gallantry for participation in Operation Hastings. The picture at left was
taken in 1965. I quote him from a local newspaper saying "We didn't know what Agent Orange was back
then. In fact, if we saw spray coming from the air we were tickled to death.
We didn't want to see bullets. You could see that the foliage was dead where
we were. We drank out of streams that looked clear enough, and from rice
paddies when we were pinned down. We didn't have any choice, it's all we
had."
Agent Orange, a code name derived from the orange band that was
used to mark the drums it was stored in was used to deny the enemy cover
and concealment in dense terrain by defoliating trees and shrubbery where
the enemy could hide. Authorities say that ground soldiers like this Sgt.
walked through contaminated dust, drank contaminated water and wore contaminated
clothes for weeks and months at a time. Although the military has denied
the extent of the health hazards to Vietnam veterans over the years, that
position has softened somewhat as evidence continues to mount documenting
the long-term health consequences of exposure to the chemical dioxin.
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 A Few Vietnam War Stats I Found Interesting....
*Average age
of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. (Although 58,169 names are
in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date.
Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were
listed as missing in action)
* The
domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed
free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians
threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's commitment in Vietnam.
Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca
Straits which is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to
the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries who won the
war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media.
The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism
* The fall of Saigon
happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam.
The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. How could
we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? We fought to an agreed stalemate.
The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. It called for
release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of
both sides' forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification.
© 1998 Baycolour all rights reserved
This page 1st published on July 4, 1998 |