Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 5:58:06 PM

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Had I gone into the military, I wanted to be in the Submarine Service.

I know now technically, I would have aced it.

But getting along with everyone else? No.

Voted the best submarine documentary movie (1980's)

Alice in Dairyland 7/18/2022 6:20:02 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 1:  When my husband first enlisted in the Navy, he signed up for sub duty.  Turns out that was a six-year commitment.  Four years was long enough during the Vietnam era.  As it was, he ended up being stationed on a WWII destroyer.  He was a tin can sailor.

Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 6:26:12 PM

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Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 6:30:24 PM

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Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 6:38:10 PM

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Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 6:39:37 PM

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In #2 Alice in Dairyland said: He was a tin can sailor.

Most ship duty ends up on tin cans. I've known some tin can sailors.

Been reading about the Battle of Leyte Gulf - including the Samuel B. Roberts, the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship

Occasional Reader 7/18/2022 6:54:48 PM

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In #2 Alice in Dairyland said: Turns out that was a six-year commitment.  Four years was long enough during the Vietnam era. 

OTOH, if you had to be in combat arms during Vietnam, a sub was a relatively safe place to do it.  It's not like the North Vietnamese were great sub-hunters; and fortunately, the "rules" prevented the Sovs from doing it, either, (although I guess no one knew that for sure at the time). 

Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 7:25:06 PM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 7:

I've been reading a couple of books about helicopter pilots in Vietnam

One is "19 minutes to die" which was the supposed lifetime of a gunship pilot. He lived to write a book

Occasional Reader 7/18/2022 7:27:09 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 8:

I seem to recall that helicopter door gunners had one of the highest fatality rates among US personnel in the war..

Kosh's Shadow 7/18/2022 7:43:36 PM

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In #9 Occasional Reader said: I seem to recall that helicopter door gunners had one of the highest fatality rates among US personnel in the war..

I would not be surprised

Another Nam book I read was "Stupid War Stories" by someone who was a technician for weather equipment, and would have been killed by the junkies looking for narcs if he hadn't fixed the chart recorder so quickly one night. (And I completely understand his description of how the chart recorder broke and how he fixed it)

At least I am safe somewhere in the middle of Massachusetts. Except for my commute.