Dave Siciliano
Final Approach
Some of you may recall, I served two tours in RVN when a young man that thought he was bullet proof. Was shot at many times, only hit once!
I just wanted to post something here pointing out that we are still accounting for vets lost in previous wars. I was on a mission (my first combat mission) in December 1968 where a small team was inserted behind enemy lines on an intelligence gathering mission. I was to go on two patrols and only observe to gain experience before I could lead a mission. The first patrol I was on was ambushed and we escaped and evaded back to a landing zone where we were picked up and brought back to friendly forces.
On that mission, a young Staff Sergeant code named Bison (which is all I knew about him at the time, was lost--MIA). I've posted on the Virtual Wall to keep his memory alive--a memory of a man I only knew a short time by a code name. I just reveived the following post:
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]UPDATE[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The Defense Department has announced that Master Sergeant Payne's remains were repatriated on 28 Oct 2004, with identification made on 05 Oct 2006.[/FONT]
This was the man. For many folks, what happened in December of 1968 still has an impact on their life. Many of us were able to put this behind us and carry on a normal civian life; many others still carry baggage from this conflict to this day.
I'd like to thank all the vets on here for their service and to thank all the families that supported those vets.
Thanks for putting up with me.
Best,
Dave
I just wanted to post something here pointing out that we are still accounting for vets lost in previous wars. I was on a mission (my first combat mission) in December 1968 where a small team was inserted behind enemy lines on an intelligence gathering mission. I was to go on two patrols and only observe to gain experience before I could lead a mission. The first patrol I was on was ambushed and we escaped and evaded back to a landing zone where we were picked up and brought back to friendly forces.
On that mission, a young Staff Sergeant code named Bison (which is all I knew about him at the time, was lost--MIA). I've posted on the Virtual Wall to keep his memory alive--a memory of a man I only knew a short time by a code name. I just reveived the following post:
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]UPDATE[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The Defense Department has announced that Master Sergeant Payne's remains were repatriated on 28 Oct 2004, with identification made on 05 Oct 2006.[/FONT]
This was the man. For many folks, what happened in December of 1968 still has an impact on their life. Many of us were able to put this behind us and carry on a normal civian life; many others still carry baggage from this conflict to this day.
I'd like to thank all the vets on here for their service and to thank all the families that supported those vets.
Thanks for putting up with me.
Best,
Dave