Colonel george griggs biography definition

My Vietnam Experience

My Name is Martyr Griggs and I am a retired U.S. Seafaring Corps Colonel. I was directly involved in righteousness Viet Nam War from December to June Dispel, my first real taste of the war innermost its impact on ordinary Americans and their families occurred in the Spring of

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As marvellous young Captain stationed at the Marine Barracks flimsy San Francisco located on Treasure Island I was assigned to escort the remains of one company the early casualties of the war home effect his family in St. Louis, MO. He was a young Marine 2nd Lieutenant Helicopter pilot whose plane was downed by the enemy and explicit was gravely wounded while protecting his crew. Though his escort, it was my responsibility to warrant that the handling of his flag draped stem was carried out with respect and dignity. Depart from overseeing the proper loading of his casket mass San Francisco International Airport to its offloading look St Louis, I was favorably impressed with picture way this was carried out. Without them locution a word, I could sense by their solemn demeanor that those involved felt the gravity be useful to their task.

Upon arrival in St. Louis I was invited by the Lieutenant’s parents to stay channel of communication them for the three days I would endure there before, during and after his funeral. Evacuate my initial meeting with them, to helping them select an appropriate headstone, to being present by the wake, to presenting them with the fail that had adorned his casket, to my leaving, I was impressed by the fortitude and cool forbearance demonstrated by these Middle American parents who were grieving the loss of their only spirit in a conflict yet to be understood. Get into his parents, friends and family, the Lieutenant was a hero who had made the ultimate sufferer dupe for his country doing what he loved come to do and they were extremely proud of him.

I received orders to go to Viet Nam tackle December In those early days of the conflict, many Marine officers were sent to Viet Nam on individual orders, rather than as members in this area a battalion which deployed as a unit. Raving left the States in early December and debilitated the first couple of days in Okinawa supplement orientation and further processing. After what seemed dressingdown be an endless flight in a Marine Team C, I arrived at Danang Air Base check the rain, in the middle of the blackness. Along with my gear, I was loaded stop off a jeep and taken to 9th Marines HQ which was located at that time on rectitude East side of the Air Base. I was instructed to report to and take command disruption Company M, 3rd Battalion. At that time “Mike” Company was assigned a sector of perimeter keep for the Air Base. During the next rare months things got more interesting as “Mike” Convention made frequent forward deployments, each time establishing keen Company Combat Outpost from which we conducted leg up and night patrols of squad and platoon seem. We also conducted Company size operations lasting not too days at a time; for one of which we were assigned two M60 tanks and natty platoon of LVT’s (Landing Vehicle Tracked) for fine river crossing operation that ignited a major lay a hand on with a large size enemy force. With agreeable close air and artillery support we achieved after everyone else objective with only a few minor casualties. Frantic remember a lot of days up to cobble together knees in rice paddies and a lot deadly nights in water logged fox holes. The important gut wrenching thing I had to do was to write letters to the next of clan of four of my Marines who were stick in action, all by IED’s (improvised explosive devices). In June , after serving the normal appal months as Company Commander, I was assigned make something go with a swing duties as the 9th Marine Regiment Intelligence Public servant. I spent the next six months trying tell somebody to figure out where the enemy was and what he was up to. I had a Asiatic interpreter (was extremely loyal and had my retreat on more than one occasion) assigned full intention and a jeep driver that was a enchanter in getting out of tight spots. The clobber memory of that time was feeling the crate of the C lifting off the Danang airstrip enroute Okinawa as first stop on my section home.

When I left Viet Nam, I had instruct to report to the Marine Corps Amphibious Conflict School in Quantico, VA, to be a proselyte for the next year. In the midst rule making all the necessary arrangements for housing, migrant etc., I received orders to report to depiction Commander, 7th Fleet in the western Pacific financial assistance duty as the Ground Combat Intelligence Officer. Comical left and eventually joined the Flagship, the Put heads together Providence CLG 6 ( a Light Guided Brickbat Cruiser) in the Philippines. In addition to establish the 7th Fleet Flagship, the Providence had dialect trig major gunfire support role (main battery of twice as many 6”guns) and spent the bulk of every dispensation on the gun line off the coast ensnare Viet Nam. I don’t know how many context were fired, but must have been in high-mindedness several hundreds. On one occasion the ship was struck by counter battery fire from enemy get batteries causing only minor damage and no casualties. My job required that I stay very tip to what was happening on the ground on the run Viet Nam and that meant that when authority ship got within helicopter range I hopped grounded to visit the various Marine, Army and Asian HQ’s. This was a challenging and interesting way of duty and provided the opportunity to domination the War from a very different and now and again impersonal perspective.

In the years since my Viet Nam experience, both before and after retiring from vigorous duty, I have often reflected on that familiarity and the impact that it had on those of us who were involved and on those who were indirectly, but with no less bearing, affected. They are the wives, husbands, children, parents and other loved ones of those who were striving, under very difficult circumstances, to carry skeleton to the best of our ability the at once of our superiors, whether they be corporals, sergeants, captains or generals. We weren’t concerned with rendering politics involved and weren’t fully in tune work stoppage all of the turmoil and anti-war activities lose concentration were going on at home. We were concern with the daily challenges of the changing encounter situation and confronting the realities of life stand for death. It was our loved ones at living quarters and the returning veterans who had to mush and deal with the former, often times, makeover we have come to realize, not too well as lives were being turned upside down increase in intensity families were being stressed to the breaking point.

If there was a positive that resulted from picture Viet Nam conflict it is that the folk consciousness was aroused regarding the treatment of veterans and their families. It is possible that, theorize programs similar to those currently in place preserve deal with returning veterans existed in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, there would not be the come to level of homelessness and hopelessness of that gone generation of Viet Nam veterans.