Anyone From The Regiment,or American/aussie Special Forces On Here?

[JDGRUEN]

I can't speak for all VFWs or the one in Pattaya... But when it comes to sharing a drink at the bar - I believe Activity Military and Military Veterans from other countries would be welcome to have a drink and some good conversation with the VFW Members..

Er no...per the rules given by another poster...they are excluded, even your own countrymen are excluded...

In the states - specifically in my area of Texas (despite membership rules) in actual practice when it come to being allowed at the bar for drinks and socializing Active Military and Military Veterans - even from other countries are allowed as invited guests... Being allowed to have a drink and socializing at the bar is a different situation than being a Member... Thus the reason I said I could not speak for all VFWs... but I know what the Bar Rules are for some...

[David48]

Mr Kelly ... you have to bring me up to speed on your military exploits.

In what part of the services did you serve?

Rank?

Time in service?

Any other good bits to know?

It would be really appreciated if you started your story with a 'Since you asked' ... then please continue your story ...

.

[chiangmaikelly]

Not surprising.

And why would that be ?

I did notice at meetings of the VFW there was very little mocking of veterans whatever the branch of service.

however as a matter of fact you exclude other certain other "verterans" "Simply being in the US military is not sufficient. If you are a U.S. citizen who has served honorably in the Armed Forces and has served in an overseas conflict, you are eligible to become a member of the VFW"

so you may not mock them them, you just exclude them

The VFW is open only to American military members of a foreign war. There are other clubs that are open only to members like the, Australian Special Air Service Association or the Special Air Service Regimental Association. I believe both of those organizations are not open to all members of the UK military. In other words simply being a member of the UK military is not sufficient.

[chiangmaikelly]

Mr Kelly ... you have to bring me up to speed on your military exploits.

In what part of the services did you serve?

Rank?

Time in service?

Any other good bits to know?

It would be really appreciated if you started your story with a 'Since you asked' ... then please continue your story ...

.

I was in Army Aviation. My job was aviation safety. Inspections, accident reports. I tried to keep rotary and fixed wing aircraft from crashing. I lived and worked in Vietnam and Thailand from 1968 to 1970. I was an NCO. I was drafted. 99% of the time I was bored stiff and 1% of the time scared stiff. I flew 18 hours a week; mostly in helicopters. I saw two Bob Hope shows. I had a Thai and Vietnamese GF. The Vietnamese GF is now a doctor in Texas we stay in touch. I took two R&R's one in Taiwan and the other in Hawaii. That the kind of stuff you mean? My favorite book while I was in Vietnam was Catch 22. I found it very true to life.

[David48]

Interesting story ...

Rank?

Time in service?

My dad was regular army also ... but saw service in WW11

Sargent in the Transport Corps.

Trying to get stories out of him about the war was like the 'proverbial blood from the stone' analogy.

.

[chiangmaikelly]

Interesting story ...

Rank?

Time in service?

My dad was regular army also ... but saw service in WW11

Sargent in the Transport Corps.

Trying to get stories out of him about the war was like the 'proverbial blood from the stone' analogy.

.

Rank is NCO. Draftees served 2 years. I served a bit less because of my time in Vietnam got an early out.

[Gary A]

I met a guy when we were at a Great Lakes training school. We became best friends. We both got orders to a crash boat crew at the Naval Air Station in Quonset Point R.I.. When our next duty station orders came, he was assigned to a river boat in Vietnam. I was assigned to an icebreaker for Operation Deep Freeze. While our icebreaker was breaking a channel to McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, he was getting shot at and was actually a POW for one day. The Australians rescued him from the prison camp the very next day. He got his choice of duty stations after that and chose Perth, Australia.

He is entitled to be a member of the VFW and I am not. Antarctica was not a war zone.

The amusing part of this story is that he married an Aussie woman. He told me that he would likely have been better off being a POW. The marriage didn't last long.

[krisb]

After winning xlotto I retired from active service.

[phutoie2]

OP in Pattaya there is Tropical Berts on Soi 6 which is the venue for the Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion, I only advise you to attend if you are NOT a walt, otherwise you will be quickly outed.

Edited to add

Unlike what has been posted about VFW all are welcome.

Aye, there are many ex Brit forces scatterred throughout Thailand, from FB I have found 3 ex mates from my old Regiment living here, we plan on meeting up in Bangkok soon. It makes me chuckle when I hear our American cousins talk about 'foreign wars', do they fight any other type of wars? - well apart from their civil war I guess.

[krisb]

Mr Kelly ... you have to bring me up to speed on your military exploits.

In what part of the services did you serve?

Rank?

Time in service?

Any other good bits to know?

It would be really appreciated if you started your story with a 'Since you asked' ... then please continue your story ...

.

I was in Army Aviation. My job was aviation safety. Inspections, accident reports. I tried to keep rotary and fixed wing aircraft from crashing. I lived and worked in Vietnam and Thailand from 1968 to 1970. I was an NCO. I was drafted. 99% of the time I was bored stiff and 1% of the time scared stiff. I flew 18 hours a week; mostly in helicopters. I saw two Bob Hope shows. I had a Thai and Vietnamese GF. The Vietnamese GF is now a doctor in Texas we stay in touch. I took two R&R's one in Taiwan and the other in Hawaii. That the kind of stuff you mean? My favorite book while I was in Vietnam was Catch 22. I found it very true to life.

Ever visit Pattaya for R&R CMK?

[JDGRUEN]

OP in Pattaya there is Tropical Berts on Soi 6 which is the venue for the Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion, I only advise you to attend if you are NOT a walt, otherwise you will be quickly outed.

Edited to add

Unlike what has been posted about VFW all are welcome.

Aye, there are many ex Brit forces scatterred throughout Thailand, from FB I have found 3 ex mates from my old Regiment living here, we plan on meeting up in Bangkok soon. It makes me chuckle when I hear our American cousins talk about 'foreign wars', do they fight any other type of wars? - well apart from their civil war I guess.

I believe you guessed it correctly ...

[chiangmaikelly]

OP in Pattaya there is Tropical Berts on Soi 6 which is the venue for the Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion, I only advise you to attend if you are NOT a walt, otherwise you will be quickly outed.

Edited to add

Unlike what has been posted about VFW all are welcome.

There is an oddphenomenon in the US. There are about 2 million Vietnam Vets left. However 15 million Americans claim to be Vietnam Vets. There is a name for it, called Stolen Valor (a book). The people claim to be Vietnam vets for all sorts of fraudulent reasons like benefits and other things. So it is a sensitive issue for American Vietnam vets. Google Stolen Valor if you have any questions. So there are reasons that Americans are a bit touchy about the fraudulent vets.

[JDGRUEN]

As many of you may be aware, during the Vietnam War there was a huge American Military presence in Thailand from about 1965 through 197/74 or so. There were U.S. Air Force bases at the Royal Thai Air Bases ... Plus a large U.S. Marine Air Base just north of Khon Kaen late in the war, numerous U.S. Army Engineer Camps, And then there was my unit - the 46th. Special Forces Company Airborne - Hq. Lopburi with B Team and A Team camps all over Thailand. So - there are lots of American Military vets who got to stay in LOS for a while...

• Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base, 1961–1970
  

Major USAF Unit: 631st Combat Support Group, 1962-1970

• Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, 1962–1975
  

Major USAF Unit: 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1965-1975

• Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base, 1962–1976
  

Major USAF Unit: 56th Special Operations Wing, 1967-1975

• Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, 1961–1971; 1972–1974
  

Major USAF Unit: 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1965-1971; Rotational units, 1972-1974

• U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, 1965–1976
  

Major USAF Units: 4258th Strategic Wing, 1966-1970; 307th Strategic Wing, 1970-1975

• Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, 1965–1974
  

[chiangmaikelly]

OP in Pattaya there is Tropical Berts on Soi 6 which is the venue for the Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion, I only advise you to attend if you are NOT a walt, otherwise you will be quickly outed.

Edited to add

Unlike what has been posted about VFW all are welcome.

Aye, there are many ex Brit forces scatterred throughout Thailand, from FB I have found 3 ex mates from my old Regiment living here, we plan on meeting up in Bangkok soon. It makes me chuckle when I hear our American cousins talk about 'foreign wars', do they fight any other type of wars? - well apart from their civil war I guess.

There was the revolutionary war 1775 and the war of 1812 before that Americans fought on the British side the French Indian war 1754. The Mexican American war 1846. Texas war of independence 1835. Mexican American border war 1910. There's more but you are probably getting bored.

[geriatrickid]

I have found, based upon my own experience, that the guys that have seen action just don't like to talk about it and what they dislike even more, are the guys that will brag about their exploits.My father said it is because they find it disrespectful to their mates that didn't come back or that there was usually a cost to be paid for the success that they didn't want to be reminded of, or at least that's why he doesn't talk about his active service years. I know one of my great uncles that went on a mission to liberate a Japanese POW camp before the Japanese murdered the POWs would never discuss the subject. After the Japanese surrender, he was assigned to treat the POWs and liberated concentration camp survivors. He received a special citation for dealing with an epidemic and saving lives, but all he would say was that too many people died and that he could have done a better job. Maybe times have changed, but I believe the guys that have pulled off the heroics tend to be humble and play down their activities. Whenever I hear some guy talking of his heroic mission, the warning bells go off.

[chiangmaikelly]

Mr Kelly ... you have to bring me up to speed on your military exploits.

In what part of the services did you serve?

Rank?

Time in service?

Any other good bits to know?

It would be really appreciated if you started your story with a 'Since you asked' ... then please continue your story ...

.

I was in Army Aviation. My job was aviation safety. Inspections, accident reports. I tried to keep rotary and fixed wing aircraft from crashing. I lived and worked in Vietnam and Thailand from 1968 to 1970. I was an NCO. I was drafted. 99% of the time I was bored stiff and 1% of the time scared stiff. I flew 18 hours a week; mostly in helicopters. I saw two Bob Hope shows. I had a Thai and Vietnamese GF. The Vietnamese GF is now a doctor in Texas we stay in touch. I took two R&R's one in Taiwan and the other in Hawaii. That the kind of stuff you mean? My favorite book while I was in Vietnam was Catch 22. I found it very true to life.

Ever visit Pattaya for R&R CMK?

Pattaya was not an R&R site for Vietnam soldiers. Vietnam guys came to Bangkok. Pattaya was more guys who were stationed in Thailand and very small at the time only a couple of bars. Pattaya did not really take off till after 1975 when the Americans were gone. I have little knowledge of the place as my time was spent at Kilo Sip which is still there across the street from U-Tapao airport.

[maturebrit]

Is that Four-Two Commando of The British Royal Marines?Heard you lost 7 guys last year in Afghanistan,very sorry for that.

Hi JDGRUEN,is VFW the name of the bar in Pattaya?I'll have to check it out,cheers for that.

have a good mate in 42 commando K Company.. yes they had a few casualities but didnt know it was recent

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[draftvader]

I am not ex-services, all I have is an Uncle who was RNE and I have a nephew who is serving in Afghanistan (comms on base though, Blandford boy...something tells me that he wants Hereford though!). What occurs to me every time I hear one of these "glory boys" telling people their war stories is how much I would like to have my Uncle or Nephew with me just to hear them out them publicly.

OP, you seem like a straight up guy. Please, whilst you are here, enjoy a moment or two to rib a couple of b**lsh***rs on behalf of us straight up types....just wish I could be there.

[phutoie2]

OP in Pattaya there is Tropical Berts on Soi 6 which is the venue for the Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion, I only advise you to attend if you are NOT a walt, otherwise you will be quickly outed.

Edited to add

Unlike what has been posted about VFW all are welcome.

Aye, there are many ex Brit forces scatterred throughout Thailand, from FB I have found 3 ex mates from my old Regiment living here, we plan on meeting up in Bangkok soon. It makes me chuckle when I hear our American cousins talk about 'foreign wars', do they fight any other type of wars? - well apart from their civil war I guess.

There was the revolutionary war 1775 and the war of 1812 before that Americans fought on the British side the French Indian war 1754. The Mexican American war 1846. Texas war of independence 1835. Mexican American border war 1910. There's more but you are probably getting bored.

Bored - heck no, , I,ve seen all those movies. The 1812 one sticks out, thats where my old mob burnt down the Whitehouse.

Joking aside I met the late Storming Norman in GW1, great guy.

[chiangmaikelly]

I have found, based upon my own experience, that the guys that have seen action just don't like to talk about it and what they dislike even more, are the guys that will brag about their exploits.My father said it is because they find it disrespectful to their mates that didn't come back or that there was usually a cost to be paid for the success that they didn't want to be reminded of, or at least that's why he doesn't talk about his active service years. I know one of my great uncles that went on a mission to liberate a Japanese POW camp before the Japanese murdered the POWs would never discuss the subject. After the Japanese surrender, he was assigned to treat the POWs and liberated concentration camp survivors. He received a special citation for dealing with an epidemic and saving lives, but all he would say was that too many people died and that he could have done a better job. Maybe times have changed, but I believe the guys that have pulled off the heroics tend to be humble and play down their activities. Whenever I hear some guy talking of his heroic mission, the warning bells go off.

Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1924 - May 28, 1971) was one of the most famous and decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. Murphy's 1949 autobiography To Hell and Back became a national bestseller I think he also starred in the movie. The Navy Seal who shot Bin Laden his book "No Easy Day", written under the pseudonym Mark Owen,

[chiangmaikelly]

OP in Pattaya there is Tropical Berts on Soi 6 which is the venue for the Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion, I only advise you to attend if you are NOT a walt, otherwise you will be quickly outed.

Edited to add

Unlike what has been posted about VFW all are welcome.

Aye, there are many ex Brit forces scatterred throughout Thailand, from FB I have found 3 ex mates from my old Regiment living here, we plan on meeting up in Bangkok soon. It makes me chuckle when I hear our American cousins talk about 'foreign wars', do they fight any other type of wars? - well apart from their civil war I guess.

There was the revolutionary war 1775 and the war of 1812 before that Americans fought on the British side the French Indian war 1754. The Mexican American war 1846. Texas war of independence 1835. Mexican American border war 1910. There's more but you are probably getting bored.

Bored - heck no, , I,ve seen all those movies. The 1812 one sticks out, thats where my old mob burnt down the Whitehouse.

Joking aside I met the late Storming Norman in GW1, great guy.

We could all sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRK3DNoa_Q

[macksview]

hope the OP finds some comrades from the special services fraternity, me as a just a simple storeman/communications when serving, rarely had much to do with more elite branches of the services, but the disturbing thing is i have met so many retired ones when in thailand.

must have been recruiting desperately for the special forces at various times,because it seems when in thailand they out number the storemen 10 to 1.

dare i say it "thailand the hub of retired special service members"

[IrishIvan]

I can go so far as to say Ive only ever met special forces personell in SE aisa, Ive never met a normal infantryman or sailor, only commandos, green berets and SAS

[chiangmaikelly]

I can go so far as to say Ive only ever met special forces personell in SE aisa, Ive never met a normal infantryman or sailor, only commandos, green berets and SAS

That is what is nice about the VFW in Thailand. Everybody there has a DD214 which is a complete record of service, what you did, where you did it and your medals and training the whole thing. Everybody tells the truth.

[macksview]

had a bloke in my home town, on ANZAC day,for a number of years, he wore a different regimental beret each year, he went from being a "tankie" to a "grunt" to eventually ending up wearing the beret of the aus SAS, nobody ever said anything, it was small town and everybody knew he was just a bit strange.

the 2 gents who had served in the SAS in vietnam, never complained, or belittled him,all they said was "he did his job as we did"

the strange bloke did serve in the transport regiment, and the only fighting he did was fighting americans over the whores in saigon, so pisstaking the americans, he did us aussies proud.

[chrisinth]

Funny, I have never met a British ex-special forces who would talk about it in public. Ask questions on an internet forum as to the identity of others?

The majority of people who claim to be ex are in fact "special" in a different sort of way, IMHO of course.................

And yes, I used to know lots!

[Furbie]

I have found, based upon my own experience, that the guys that have seen action just don't like to talk about it and what they dislike even more, are the guys that will brag about their exploits.My father said it is because they find it disrespectful to their mates that didn't come back or that there was usually a cost to be paid for the success that they didn't want to be reminded of, or at least that's why he doesn't talk about his active service years. I know one of my great uncles that went on a mission to liberate a Japanese POW camp before the Japanese murdered the POWs would never discuss the subject. After the Japanese surrender, he was assigned to treat the POWs and liberated concentration camp survivors. He received a special citation for dealing with an epidemic and saving lives, but all he would say was that too many people died and that he could have done a better job. Maybe times have changed, but I believe the guys that have pulled off the heroics tend to be humble and play down their activities. Whenever I hear some guy talking of his heroic mission, the warning bells go off.

That’s interesting. My great uncle (now deceased, may he rest in peace), was part of the island hopping campaigns in World War II against the Japanese. I have a love of history, and despite my best efforts, I never got him to tell me one story about the war. Finally, my grandmother said her brother only told her a single story about the war (it was about the loss of almost everyone in his unit). I never asked him again after I heard that story.

[macksview]

I have found, based upon my own experience, that the guys that have seen action just don't like to talk about it and what they dislike even more, are the guys that will brag about their exploits.My father said it is because they find it disrespectful to their mates that didn't come back or that there was usually a cost to be paid for the success that they didn't want to be reminded of, or at least that's why he doesn't talk about his active service years. I know one of my great uncles that went on a mission to liberate a Japanese POW camp before the Japanese murdered the POWs would never discuss the subject. After the Japanese surrender, he was assigned to treat the POWs and liberated concentration camp survivors. He received a special citation for dealing with an epidemic and saving lives, but all he would say was that too many people died and that he could have done a better job. Maybe times have changed, but I believe the guys that have pulled off the heroics tend to be humble and play down their activities. Whenever I hear some guy talking of his heroic mission, the warning bells go off.

That’s interesting. My great uncle (now deceased, may he rest in peace), was part of the island hopping campaigns in World War II against the Japanese. I have a love of history, and despite my best efforts, I never got him to tell me one story about the war. Finally, my grandmother said her brother only told her a single story about the war (it was about the loss of almost everyone in his unit). I never asked him again after I heard that story.

only member of my close family who had a wonderful war,was my uncle, he served as a mechanic in japan,he had great time, as he would tell all,

[simple1]

Both my uncles were infantry in the British Eight Army in WW11. My mother told me they saw action in North Africa and Italy, but would never say a word about their experiences to me.

[JDGRUEN]

hope the OP finds some comrades from the special services fraternity, me as a just a simple storeman/communications when serving, rarely had much to do with more elite branches of the services, but the disturbing thing is i have met so many retired ones when in thailand.

must have been recruiting desperately for the special forces at various times,because it seems when in thailand they out number the storemen 10 to 1.

dare i say it "thailand the hub of retired special service members"

You must have met a lot of entertainers .... Special Services is the entertainment branch of the American military.

• 03B Entertainment Specialist
  
• 03C Physical Activities Specialist
  
• 03D Crafts Specialist
  
• 03Z Recreation Service Senior Sergeant
  

[edit]Famous Special Service soldiers

• Maurice Evans
  
• Howard Morris
  
• Carl Reiner
  
• Werner Klemperer
  
• Burt Lancaster
  
• Sammy Davis Jr.
  
• Dick Van Dyke
  
• Ken Berry
  
• Frank Gorshin
  
• Mitch Ryan
  
• Jack Paar
  
• Philip Ahn