A Personal Mission
The following article was written by Brenda Bolinger, CMC Communications Department. Veterans Day 2024 was a fitting milestone for Robin Bartlett ’67 to check off a bucket-list item: returning to CMC’s Athenaeum to share his experiences as a Combat Infantry Platoon Leader during the height of the Vietnam War. Bartlett’s captivating account of serving as a 22-year-old […]
A Significant Day
March 29, 1973 was the last day U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam. The day honors the 9 million Americans who served during the Vietnam War era (1955-1975) and the 58,281 who did not return. The day is very significant to Vietnam veterans. It is significant because we were NOT welcomed home. Many returning veterans were […]
Code Words
I challenge you to remember these two code words next time you greet a Vietnam Veteran: Welcome Home! These words are significant to Vietnam Veterans. They are significant because we were NOT welcomed home. We were spat upon at airports, called baby killers on the street, refused to wear our uniforms in public, and hid […]
Gold Star Connection, Part Two
Joe Belardo is my friend. He was an Army Sergeant assigned to the 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery (“Dusters”). His unit was attached to the 3d Marine Division at the height of the Vietnam War and responsible for body recovery under Marine control. This story below is his. When I was young, my Uncle John […]
Gold Star Family Recognition Day, Part One
Joe Belardo is my friend. He was an Army Sergeant assigned to the 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery (“Dusters”). His unit was attached to the 3d Marine Division at the height of the Vietnam War and responsible for body recovery under Marine control. This story below is his. For me, the last Sunday in September […]
Vietnam Combat: Medevac, Jungle Penetrator and Unusual Finds
As a combat infantry platoon leader with A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), I was in country at the height of the Vietnam war from 1968-69. The Air Cav was famous for implementing the airmobile concept, bringing fresh fighting forces to the battlefield by helicopter rather than humping through the […]
FNGs
In Vietnam with the 1st Cav Division, FNGs (F-ing New Guys) received light duty for several weeks. They were jumpy and anxious and could not be relied upon until fully acclimatized and field tested. We assigned an experienced soldier to be the FNG’s buddy and to work with him to get his equipment organized, overcome […]
Honor Flights
I made a presentation on Veterans Day event at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. While there I had the good fortune to talk with two Korean War vets who had recently participated in the Honor Flight program. Both expressed great enthusiasm. One of the men talked about his experience in detail. With tears in […]
Vietnam Combat Podcasts: The Best of the Best
As I wrote Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History I had hoped the experience would help me put many of the horrific experiences behind me. I thought that by writing the stories in detail would be a catharsis and, finally, after 55 years, I would be able to close the chapter on my Vietnam tour. […]
The Luck of Alphabetical Order: How I Survived My Vietnam Tour
I arrived in Vietnam in May 1968. It was the height of the war. There were more American soldiers in Vietnam in ‘68-’69 than at any other time. I was on orders to join the 101st Airborne Division. My previous assignment had been with the 82d, and the army attempted to keep airborne officers within […]