Thanks for the 'memories' of your trips to Vietnam. I was in the Army
from 1960 to 1981. I got to take a trip to 'Nam from '67 to '68, and
was one of the 'lucky' guys who didn't spend my tour on the front
lines. Computers were basically coming into existence, and I was a
repairman. That was back in the days when computers were mainly
mechanical, and had vacuum tubes and such. When I first got there,
I was at the HQs of the 9th Infantry Division, the 196th Light Infantry
Brigade, and a couple others before going to Saigon and Long Bin.
I did my share of 'night ambush patrols' and guard duties. Since my
job required me to be in HQs with computers for repair requirements,
I got bounced around since most of them had none. Even when I got
back to the US, computer repair jobs were not one I desired, since
we had to be available 24/7, while others in the units got weekends
off, etc. So, I got out of that line of work, eventually ending up in
the Intelligence(?) field which was interesting, to say the least.

Anyway, I today have family members and friends who tend to look
at the military as 'just another job' that someone can apply for, and
they don't look at military recognition holidays with much, if any,
regard. That was sadly pointed out to me by one of my kids, when
I casually commented after Veterans Day about not getting a card
or anything from anyone. And so, Memorial Day weekend came and
went by with no picnicking or whatever - - just another reason for
them all to get a paid day off from work.

Thanks for this posting. 99% of it is quite touchingly true.
I'm 79, and grew up(?) with seven sisters and two brothers.
I hope you don't mind, but I would like to pass it along to a
big family and friends who I think will feel likewise.

All of this sure brought back a few memories to me, too. Sorry, but my 'rememberizer' doesn't work too well these days; but back in my early days in the Army, I repaired IBM and UNIVAC computers(?) - 'card processors'. I did so during my trip to Vietnam in '67 - '68, then at Ft Hood for a few years. Being in the repair field, we also had to know the jobs of 'programmers' and 'operators', so we could point out that they often were doing something wrong as opposed to there being a mechanical problem with the machines. I left that field of work when the chance came along, and I didn't regret it.

Me, too!
That was basically what came to my mind,
along with a few good memories of the past.

And, I'm happy for that original posting which
I will now forward to a couple siblings I have left.

And, I'm sorry, but I don't understand why those delivery persons don't 'hit' the doorbell
button so the recipient might know to check that someone / something is there.
Oh, I know it might add a second more time to their schedule, but . . .

I really agree with this comment concerning both the photography and the sad subject matter.

I totally agree with all the others in that those are beautifully relaxing pictures.
I feel they belong in a magazine or whatever for all to see.

My first schooling in the Army, way back in '61, was the repair of such mechanical
'computers' - key punches, verifiers, sorters, card processors, printers, etc. After
a while, we referred to them as 'card processors' rather than computers. I did that
type of repair work for a number of years, including bouncing from unit to unit in
Vietnam from '67-'68.

If I remember, the cost of a hamburger at our first nearby
MacDonalds in Kankakee, IL was twelve cents in the late
1950s. I can't imagine what those burgers will they cost
when their minimum wage goes to fifteen dollars per hour.
(Sorry, but I can't say what they cost now. I haven't had
any in a while.)

A very welcome inward laugh that most of us need in these times . . .

I can pretty well relate (I think...)
That's what helps me thru most of the TV reruns any more . . .

I feel I will get some mixed comments on this, and I certainly understand.

I was talking with an older friend not too long ago, and the subject of movies
came up. Our moms would give us a quarter on Saturday afternoons, and
since the movie cost only 12 cents, that gave us a 13-cent fortune to spend
on refreshments. (Oh! Those good ol' days' . . .)

Anyway, the subject came up about a movie that we feel must have been
quickly ripped out of presentation. It was about an older couple who wanted
to both 'leave life' together, rather than one at a time. Their daughter, as we
recalled, was obviously shaken by that idea, and that was what the movie
might have hinged around. The movie ended with the daughter going to her
parents' house, and they weren't in the house. As she was walking back to
her car, the daughter heard music (radio) playing in a detached garage. She
also heard a car running in the garage and the garage doors were closed.
She panicked and ran screaming toward the garage; but she stopped, turned
around, and sadly/slowly walked back toward her car to allow her parents'
their sad desires. That was how we thought the movie ended...

Do any of you recall that movie and/or maybe know its title? Sorry . . .

Hi. I retired from the Army in 1981 following my final stateside assignment at MacDill Air Force Base there in Tampa. We had a house in Brandon, just east of Tampa. Sold it and moved to SC in 2006, to be closer to family members farther north. I took a few pictures along Bayshore Blvd, which had reportedly the longest continuous sidewalk in the world.

I finished my Army career at MacDill Air Force Base and
lived in Brandon - just east of Tampa - for thirty years
before going into full retirement and moving here to SC.
Ybor City was a place to have a camera in hand most of
the time. I don't recall that truck, however. It sure is
different.....

That is 'Oh, so true...' in my case.
Along that same line is to see myself in group photos from
a family get together or whatever. I at least made others
in that picture feel good about themselves.