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Back in ‘65 when the Vietnam War got started Posted by greenman on March 9, 2026, 9:57 am ..a folkie named ‘Country Joe’ McDonald penned a catchy little number about the war. It’s been reported that he’s dead of complications of Parkinson’s at 84, I’m sorry to say. More relevant than ever, sadly…(adult opening cheer) SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!

1-2-3 there's still 3 sides with more Posted by jacque on March 12, 2026, 2:39 am, in reply to "Back in ‘65 when the Vietnam War got started" Valued Poster It's the Bible, Torah, and Quran 🎶 The Woodstock Album was stacked on the turntable regularly. 2 copies stacked so no flipping required. My dad liked Country Joe's fixin to die rag. Sometimes the needle dropped on a repeat or two. He enlisted to be med-evac with the Navy. He befriended many who saw the worst in different capacities. I was just a young kid but I remember they all were very skilled and successful professionally afterward but I could tell they had their 'demons' and 'nightmares'. Their was no braggadocio in an arrogant or callous reminiscence of events only that they served in their best. Some very violently. I almost got caught up in Desert Storm era but that is a story for another day. The gist is like my dad I wanted to be proactive in supporting those on the front-lines if I had to be a part of a questionable 'war'. My dad had a soft spot for vets of all kinds. I miss him a terribly right now. We did a lot for DAV charities and VA hospital donations etc. in his last couple years. I worry for those serving now. I have great respect for all who serve in any capacity. Anyway I'll stop rambling. Thanks for the Country Joe earworm. B-)_~ A Jack of all trades is master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. ... And many thanks for the masters in skill for setting our standard of work to instill.

Parkinson’s, Diabetes, and the Vietnam War Posted by Christopher Blackwell on March 9, 2026, 10:36 pm, in reply to "Back in ‘65 when the Vietnam War got started" I rather note deaths from either or a combination of both. I am receiving treatment for both. Diabetes since 1965, Parkinson's in the last couple of years or so. Meanwhile, as to the war starting in 1965, we had troops allegedly training South Vietnamese troops in the 1950s. I rather suspect some of them were actually leading some of the same troops. Not sure how early we had troops there. I suspect shortly after we stopped fighting in Korea. The first American to die in Vietnam, in the late 1940s, was a freight airplane pilot working for a company that would later be called Air America and run by the CIA. ChristopherBlackwell

Agreed, we definitely had people there earlier Posted by greenman on March 10, 2026, 1:56 pm, in reply to "Parkinson’s, Diabetes, and the Vietnam War" Valued Poster Kennedy certainly had people there training S. Vietnamese soldiers, and maybe more than that.There’s been talk that Kennedy was thinking about getting out, but the Cold War was at a high point. Would he have? I don’t know. The big surge came after the Tonkin Gulf fakery, as I’m sure you know, but we were taking over from France (who wisely got out) long before. Funny that Ho Chi Minh was our ally against the Japanese, but he somehow didn’t deserve to run the country. Our intervention made everything SO much worse. SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!

I thought the same about when we got in. The ramping up of soldiers was during LBJ's terms Posted by Sia on March 10, 2026, 6:07 am, in reply to "Parkinson’s, Diabetes, and the Vietnam War" 1964 -----> When were you there? Im surprised that you'd have been sent there as a diabetic? Sorry to hear about having Parkinson's too. Big ouch there with its insidious theft of body control. I hope it's not advanced?

Drafted during the 1965 Draft Posted by Christopher Blackwell on March 10, 2026, 5:52 pm, in reply to "I thought the same about when we got in. The ramping up of soldiers was during LBJ's terms" I served in the Marines Jan. 4,1966 to Jan.4,1968,Vietnam Fall of 1966 to Fall of 1967. I was healthy then except for a minor heart murmur. I did not get Type II Diabetes until 1995, after the year of Pancreatitis in 1994. I have had a fair number of other health issues since, including sight and hearing decreasing since. I have a 32-inch monitor on my computer, but it is getting more difficult to read, as is the keyboard. My hearing is bad enough to need closed captioning on my movie DVDs. Some higher pitched voices I can not understand at all, same on the telephone. All part of being 80 years old. ChristopherBlackwell

Oh, when you said you'd been dealing with diabetes since '65 in earlier post you must have intended Posted by Sia on March 11, 2026, 12:31 am, in reply to "Drafted during the 1965 Draft" to type '95. That explains my confusion about being drafted with diabetes. Im sorry to hear that your hearing is faulty on top of your vision issues. Truth be told, I always use closed captions. Just easier for me. I have hearing and sight deficits too. But from broken eardrums that didn't heal good as new and a torn & detached retina back in 2013. Just happened spontaneously while having dinner at a restaurant for my brother's birthday. So I get it what you're talking about.

One year I had retina detachement twice and macular degeneration Posted by Christopher Blackwell on March 11, 2026, 5:53 pm, in reply to "Oh, when you said you'd been dealing with diabetes since '65 in earlier post you must have intended" so three emergency operations that year, each the next morning after noticing the problem the day before. Now I have a letter saying they are not going to let me use the same hospital that I have used for over twenty years. Now I am afraid for all the other medical specialties that I have done at the same hospital. The idea of using a mix of medical services at different towns and in and out of the VA scares me as far as what quality care that I will get. Not to mention how many different bus schedules I will have to learn, or if they will still pay for lodging in those various towns. So I will now have to figure out how to fight this. Not something I am going to enjoy as I have never learned how to do it. ChristopherBlackwell

Get your doctors to help you fight it. They know what to say and how to write it effectively. Posted by Sia on March 11, 2026, 6:32 pm, in reply to "One year I had retina detachement twice and macular degeneration" ADMIN Is this all VA nonsense or Medicare crap?

Re: Get your doctors to help you fight it. They know what to say and how to write it effectively. Posted by Christopher Blackwell on March 11, 2026, 8:27 pm, in reply to "Get your doctors to help you fight it. They know what to say and how to write it effectively. " Unfortunately this is a sudden move by the VA. ChristopherBlackwell

Christopher Posted by Skye on March 12, 2026, 10:21 am, in reply to "Re: Get your doctors to help you fight it. They know what to say and how to write it effectively. " Valued Poster I don't know where you are, but is there a veteran's organization or home nearby that could help you out? I know we have one in MO that is really quite nice, and it is located in a more rural town that's not too far from the KC VA hospital. I'm sure they have transportation for their residents. There is also another VA hospital in Columbia MO where my dad had treatment. Do you have or know anyone who can help you find nearby resources? I know the VA is cutting back right now... even civilian hospitals are cutting back now, and it is infuriating to me, but surely there are other channels that your doctors can refer you to? Who do you have who can fight for you? Sometimes it takes more than one voice. Maybe even get someone to help you write a letter to your Representative... or contact a local news station?

What a damn mess! Posted by Pikes Peak 14115 on March 11, 2026, 10:37 pm, in reply to "Re: Get your doctors to help you fight it. They know what to say and how to write it effectively. " ADMIN Only comfort I can offer is to assure you, you aren't alone. Hang in there and fight for every inch. Don't let the bastards win! You can look away from a painting, but you can't listen away from a symphony

Oh, and request help from a Fisher House near the VA to see if they will put you up. Posted by Sia on March 11, 2026, 6:34 pm, in reply to "Get your doctors to help you fight it. They know what to say and how to write it effectively. " It is normally for families of Vets in hospitals, but there are often open rooms so maybe you could use one if you make arrangements in advance?

Age is difficult Posted by greenman on March 10, 2026, 5:55 pm, in reply to "Drafted during the 1965 Draft" Valued Poster My best wishes for improved health, man. SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!

As they say Posted by Christopher Blackwell on March 10, 2026, 9:02 pm, in reply to "Age is difficult" Aging is not for sissies. At the same time, the process is interesting to study as it happens. Especially the part of how the body keeps trying to function in spite of some lesser functioning of some parts of the body. There are limits to what it can do in continuing to function. Then there is death. My doctors have been informed not to resurrect me if I die. Death has it place, just like birth. The hardest part in dying, is to adjust to knowing things will not get better. Woe is me, is not useful to continued functioning in your remaining life. ChristopherBlackwell

Very good attitude there dude! Posted by Sia on March 11, 2026, 12:35 am, in reply to "As they say" ADMIN

Re: Very good attitude there dude! Posted by Christopher Blackwell on March 11, 2026, 6:18 pm, in reply to "Very good attitude there dude! " Sometimes hard to do. ChristopherBlackwell

Oh, absolutely! Posted by Sia on March 11, 2026, 6:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Very good attitude there dude! " ADMIN

Agreed Posted by greenman on March 11, 2026, 10:29 am, in reply to "Very good attitude there dude! " Valued Poster SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!

Heh, I almost wrote "good tood there dood" but didn't wanna be misunderstood. LOL Posted by Sia on March 11, 2026, 6:37 pm, in reply to "Agreed" ADMIN

I like it! Posted by greenman on March 12, 2026, 10:30 am, in reply to "Heh, I almost wrote "good tood there dood" but didn't wanna be misunderstood. LOL" Valued Poster Sounds like something the kids would post.. SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!

LOL or someone like me. Posted by Sia on March 12, 2026, 10:47 am, in reply to "I like it!" ADMIN

R.I.P. Country Joe! I remember that song! Posted by Sia on March 9, 2026, 11:13 am, in reply to "Back in ‘65 when the Vietnam War got started" ADMIN He sounds a bit resentful in the video that follows your video on YouTube. He was being interviewed as an old man and told him story of how he wound up on the Woodstock stage doing that set. He explained how his opening F-U-C-K cheer broke the taboos and how his anti-war song was so different because it didnt blame soldiers when it was added to the Woodstock film later on. Others ran with that broken taboo and made fortunes later on with adding the word to music and movies, while he was paid relatively little for breaking the taboo.

I’ll admit Posted by greenman on March 9, 2026, 1:35 pm, in reply to "R.I.P. Country Joe! I remember that song! " Valued Poster ..that I didn’t watch the end. But he was certainly a Navy veteran who resented the way soldiers were treated, and dumb wars which solve nothing. I remember the broadcast ‘clean’ version which used the Fish (his band) cheer..’Gimme an F, gimme an I, gimme an S, gimme an H!’ Which worked fine. But us kids liked the dirty version.. SAY ‘NO’ TO WAR! RESIST!

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