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JOE “RAGMAN” TARNOVSKY: VIETNAM STILL OUR LONGEST WAR
ARE REPORTERS PLAYING WITH STATISTICS TO TAKE ANOTHER CHEAP SWIPE AT VIETNAM VETERANS?
By Joe “Ragman” Tarnovsky for Veterans Today Dear Mr. Stantis (sstantis@tribune.com):
While having coffee and reading the morning newspaper with my wife the other morning, she handed me the newspaper with your political cartoon showing the Vietnam and Afghanistan combat veterans. Being a Vietnam Combat Veteran, Sir, anything anybody publishes about our war piques my interest greatly. I do not have to tell you the history of our war and especially the aftermath of the homecoming experience, and to be quite frank, Mr. Stantis, many of us still have emotional and mental pains even 40 plus years after we finished our combat tours in that Southeast Asian country.
There is one thing about your cartoon that is a very important matter of contention to me and probably will be to many other Vietnam Veterans that see and read your cartoon as well. You have the dates of the Vietnam War listed on the helmet of the Vietnam Veteran caricature as 64-73 which is just not true. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial lists the dates of our war from July 8,1959 to May 7, 1975, with the first United States official death listed as June 8, 1956. By putting the dates of our war from 64-73, Mr. Stantis, you have omitted 544 men that died for their country in Vietnam whose deaths were not in the time-frame for your published political cartoon. What war did these 544 men die in, Sir? These figures and dates that I am presenting to you are from the National Archives and are the officials statistics for our war. I have also heard television news journalist now state that Afghanistan is the longest war that United States has ever been involved in and they, too, are incorrect. I do not understand why people want to revise history and propagate their version of the past to be factual when it simply is not true.
I would respectfully request to you, Sir, please do not try to rewrite history. If the war in Afghanistan lasts longer than Vietnam, Vietnam Veterans will gladly relinquish the title of “longest war” and acquiesce our place in history to the valiant young men and women fighting for all of us in Afghanistan today. For me, I hope Afghanistan will not linger as long as Vietnam for one reason, I do not want to see any more American casualties. I do not want more of our Afghanistan veterans coming home in body bags and others severely disabled physically and mentally that will need help from the Department Of Veterans Affairs because they cannot take care of the veterans using the system now. Vietnam Veterans have never had any reluctance to give proper recognition, respect and thanks to the subsequent generations of veterans that have followed us in service to America, something we did not receive, Mr. Stantis, from most of those that preceded us in uniform. I have heard more than one Afghanistan veteran say, “The first person to thank me for my service and welcome me home after getting off the plane was a Vietnam Veteran.” Over the years Hollywood and journalists have disrespected, demeaned and treated us as the ultimate miscreants of society but that attitude and treatment started to turn around with the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982. Vietnam Veterans have forgiven the less than stellar reception from the people of America, although we will never forget it, because by forgetting the past we might allow that same type of anti-veteran sentiment to happen again to another generation of men and women that choose to serve America in the military. Unfortunately, Mr. Stantis, and I sincerely believe you meant no disrespect, but 544 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were disrespected and forgotten by being omitted, and I am sure probably many more Vietnam Veterans feel the same way, just by the dates you inscribed on your political cartoon.
Although the mental and emotional wounds of Vietnam Veterans have healed, Mr. Stantis, the scar tissue over those wounds is thin. For many of us that served in that war it will probably always be that way until the day they put us in the ground. Those of us that are still here today, we are survivors, survivors with the mission to always make sure those names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are treated with honor, respect and remembered for their ultimate sacrifice. If the war in Afghanistan lasts until 2016, and I pray that it does not, maybe then you can republish your political cartoon and it will be factual at that time. One thing I can guarantee you, Mr. Stantis, if Afghanistan does last that long, those of us that served in Vietnam and are still lucky enough to be on this earth, will be welcoming home and thanking our brothers and sisters from America’s longest war!
Joe ‘Ragman’ Tarnovsky
Vietnam Combat Veteran
In-Country 28 August 68 to 22 Oct 70
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=36850
Posted by Joe "Ragman" Tarnovsky on Jun 20 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Military. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Well said! As a brother Greyhound we need to stand together now more then ever!
Thank you, brother Mad Dog/Greyhound/Kennel Keeper, yes, ALL VETERANS need to stand together as we are a minority in this country and we need to fight to keep what we are ENTITLED to which was guaranteed in writing and often signed in blood by the veteran!
Well, said Patriot Joe!!!
I too get tired of journalists and others with particular agendas who make such profoundly disrespectful “mistakes” of fact.
Godspeed, brother…
Luis
Thank you, Mr. Luis, I, too, get tired of people with their own agendas, especially when it comes to OUR WAR and they did not go through it but yet want to revise history to fit their AGENDA!
When my high school class graduated in 1967, half the guys signed up, and a good number of them headed for Vietnam, voluntarily (most as Marines). But Mike was sent to Korea, and we all thought, “lucky b*****.” But one day in 1968, he was riding in a Jeep near the DMZ when he was shot and killed by a sniper. Based on that, the Korean War was at least 18 years long.
Knew another young man who served in the Gulf “between wars” and still managed to get himself wounded while doing ship boardings. We also flew over Iraq the whole time. If you think combat operations ceased between the wars, you weren’t paying attention. So tack on another dozen years and call it one war, by your definition.
By the way, one of the things I have heard from VN vets is that they wanted to make sure that the veterans of this set of wars were treated better at AmLegion and VFW posts than they were — seems they came home to veterans who played a game of “my war was worse than your war” and didn’t like their long hair and crazy music, either.
So what year did you say it would take before that happens? How many more kids have to die first?
I would certainly agree with you about your buddy, Mike, and I am sorry that he was killed. As far as that goes, the Korean War is still going on today, the only document ever signed was an armistice signed but not by South Korea, so in reality the Korean War is still going on today, 57 years later. I do not make the official statistics, that is what the Department of Defense and the National Archives have done, they, not me. That is what I am going by and men died in the years omitted by the journalist’s cartoon. Vietnam Veterans have made sure the following generations of those in uniform were not treated the way we were by those before us, what is your point? The year is 2016 and I hope it does not go on that long but if it does, my wife and I will be there to welcome home these young men and women like we do today in our military community. What branch of the military did you go into in 1967 and where did you serve?
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Not to take anything away from the ‘Nam War and the vets who fought in it, but when it comes to “longest,” wouldn’t Korea – the Korean War – that is, bear that title? June 25,1950 to the present? In all, 60 years. The July 27, 1953 Truce brought hostilities to a temporary halt, and since no Peace agreement has been reached, we are basically still at war with North Korea. The Army brass will be the first to admit it when you visit. And, when you ride up the (Neutral) corridor to Panmunjom to wave at the North Korean guards, any doubts you may have had, are quickly dispelled as you toe the line, or, as your escorts state – “you’ll start WWIII.”
We have 32,000 troops ready to support South Korean forces if the North attempts to invade. We have been rotating our forces steadily ever since the war began.