Remember when "Rambo" in the first movie said of his old comrade "he died in 'Nam and didn't even know it?" You probably know of Vietnam veterans who died before their time, and not just from cancer. Cancer can be tied to the "orange stuff," as the mother of Rambo's deceased comrade put it. Yes, agent orange.
The U.S. employed chemical weapons in a war we couldn't even win.
Remember when weekly news magazines were a "thing?" A few years ago, as I recall, Newsweek had a cover story wondering how the U.S. might have "won" in Vietnam. My generation is generally not interested in any such thoughts. Forget the arguments.
What would "winning" look like in Vietnam? Fact is, our military became non-functional because of rebellion in the ranks. "We had to get out of Vietnam when we did," I recall a C-Span panelist saying, "because we were killing our own colonels." I have since learned that this revelation has gained more currency. The term "fragging" grew largely out of Vietnam.
Think of the most depressing Vietnam war movie you have ever seen. Maybe it's "The Deer Hunter." The movie may have been revealing but why pay to see a movie like that? As pure fiction or fantasy it could pass itself off as gratuitous violence or misery for folks who consume that stuff.
Granted, we need to learn lessons from history. The misadventure of Vietnam should have been so obvious, the post-war reckoning didn't need to be so up-front. People munching on popcorn in a theater audience. To watch Russian roulette and people put in cages in a river. Or falling from a helicopter into a shallow river and having your body torn apart by rocks.
Some war veterans have psychological scars that result in suicide or violence. The premise of "First Blood" featuring "Rambo" was: here's this disillusioned, psychologically scarred young man literally wandering, a master in the military craft but unable now to hold a job at a car wash.
I remember a notorious person from Stevens County's past whose misbehavior was explained by some, like some sympathetic friends, as the after-effects of the Vietnam experience. Who am I to question that? How can we question "unless you've been me or been there," Rambo said at movie's completion to his old commander. So I can only try to understand in the abstract.
Obviously the solution is that the U.S. should have avoided its misadventure in Vietnam.
One tiny nugget of wisdom from our current president is his vow to "get out of endless Mideast wars." The nugget is offset by a mountain of liabilities that put Trump in a position where he has to be defeated. His comment about wars went against the grain of presidents building jingoism toward conflict. Saddam didn't have weapons of mass destruction. We proclaimed that if he used chemical weapons one iota, he and his regime would be obliterated. But it seems to me, the U.S. used chemical weapons in Vietnam. And we lost. Remember the fall of Saigon?
I remember a mail carrier in Stevens County, nice guy, who was a Vietnam veteran. Word was, he was dogged by medical issues in a seeming atypical way, then he died. I remember a popular car salesman locally who had been in the war. He died rather suddenly at middle age, not of cancer, and of course such situations might not have any connection to being in Vietnam and the "orange stuff." People my age have suspicions and we always have the theory cross our mind.
Life is delicate by nature. We think of the war dead succumbing to bullets, but vets would tell you the risks ran much deeper. They could get sick and hurt in so many ways. Getting shot was no guarantee "you're dead." Put aside the movies. Many soldiers die but it's in a range of manners, not necessarily a quick bullet strike. The psychological issues can be enormous. The sheer disillusionment seemed to cripple "Rambo." The toll of PTSD can be penetrating, can preclude employment. The chemicals of Vietnam were a vivid, dark dimension.
I remember dining with the late Rick Lucken and joking about how I felt I had to set my toast on the table, to just organize. I hoped he considered it proper. We laughed and he noted that after his gritty time in the Vietnam war, how could he care about such a thing?
My family had a friend in Brainerd killed by friendly fire in Vietnam in 1966. He was the son of the sister of my mother's best high school friend. A communication from him toward the end was skeptical about his chances for survival, as I recall. He had some command authority. Was it mutiny or "fragging?" It was not literally fragging because a fragmentation hand grenade was not used. So unpleasant to even have to discuss such things.
I am reflecting on this matter because of Trump's recent statement about the U.S. military dead and injured being "losers." It is unconscionable but it doesn't seem to matter with this president. A headline I saw this morning wondered if Trump might be "the new Jim Jones." It's that bad. But he has a shot at re-election. Maybe "herd immunity" with the virus is like Jones' followers taking the cyanide.
Norman Ohlson, RIP
I am remembering today a cousin of mine who died in 2012. It was way before his time. It was sudden. He served in Vietnam. His name was Norman Ohlson, son of my uncle Edwin, Mom's brother, resident of California. Edwin's wife Doris is extant, nice to say. We have been separated by geography but we write at Christmas.
The Ohlsons were/are California people. Norman and his brother Allan were identical twins. I really only had contact with the two when I was a young child. Mom told me the twins taught me how to play poker - I don't remember. They were "California guys" and passed on some surfing magazines to me!
Doris told me not long ago that the twins contrasted sharply, with Norman the outgoing and gregarious one, popular with all, and Allan a "loner." Allan is a caregiver for his mom now. Guess I can relate.
Norman was 64 years old when he suffered a major heart attack and passed away on May 18, 2012. He and Allan were on their way to go camping and hiking in the Mono Lake/Lone Pine area. The obituary is no longer online but thankfully I printed off a copy.
Please, I invite you to read this portion and to remember Norman:
Norm was born on June 24, 1947, in San Diego. He lived in Nevada County since 1994. Norman was a decorated veteran and served in the Army with the Co. D, 65th Eng Bn, 25th Inf. Div., during the Vietnam war. He received the Bronze Star Medal of Heroism in 1968 for saving many lives of fellow wounded soldiers following an attack on the company.
He was a man with many skills and talents. Construction of log homes in the region was his specialty, and fine finishing work was what he loved the most. He approached every aspect with an artistic eye and attention to detail.
Norman also enjoyed painting, camping, paddling, hiking and rock and fossil collecting, and he loved his Jeep.
Nobody is perfect. Norman was not a master of the institution of marriage. The obit did not cite a current wife but it cited three former wives: Sue Krueger of Healdsburg, Leslie Lowell of Arkansas and Martha Turner of Nevada City. Sue is the mother of Norman's only child, son Holland.
The guy had adaptive skills! I should be so fortunate.
"In addition, he is survived by many friends, as everyone he ever met was a friend."
Addendum: While "First Blood" suggested anti-war, what with Rambo's distressed and resigned state, the series of movies really had the fallacious counter theme. We hear Rambo lament how certain people/leaders "wouldn't let us win." Did soldiers get consumed by wanting to "win" or were they focused on survival? Rhetorical question. Stevens County had a young man die by disease in 'Nam, and he is memorialized by the touching story: On his person when he died was a St. Mary's School assignment. The assignment asked the kids to write positive things about each other. The story has become famous.
My podcast for snowy Oct. 21
A white blanket is all around. My "Morris Mojo" podcast episode for today comments on the push in California to get an airport re-named. The airport in Orange County is now named for John Wayne. The airport was in the news recently with Trump's arrival there. Wayne could be infamous. Please click on permalink:
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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