The Flag
For some of you this might be news, a month ago I returned from Vietnam after doing a building project for Habitat for Humanity. We built four homes for the very poor, with the emphasis on getting Vietnam Veterans involved. Several other people joined the veterans, some brought their sons, some brought their wives, and several men and women joined us with professional backgrounds also. A total of 40 men and women comprised this build team. We even had a few people from Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia join our merry group. They were an amazing and wonderful bunch of people.
The days rolled by as we worked on the houses. I remembered a story about a Vietnamese boy who was 6 years old and was caught up in the 1968 TET offensive. He survived and was able to get to the USA when he was thirteen years old. Most of his family made it to the USA. He was asked to speak at a gathering of veterans and to talk about his experiences. I won't go into the whole story, but I will quote something that he said, "You see America is not just a place on the map, it isn't just a physical location. It is an ideal, a concept. If you are an American, you must understand the concept, you must accept this concept and most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept."
If you were fortunate to have been born in the USA (America), like I was, you have a responsibility to serve, not to be served. There are a million ways to serve this country and your fellow man. Think about it.
(Now about the flag)
Back in August of 2012 I was in Nashville for our Co P 75th Rangers Reunion. While I was there I met some of the men with whom I served and several that had arrived in Vietnam after I left. Several brought their wives and children, and I got to meet two young ladies who lost their father when they were very young. He was one of the twenty we lost at PaPa Co. They came to be there because they wanted to be with men that carried the memory of their father. It was a wonderful experience for me.
In May of this year I was at a reunion of F Co 51st Inf (Long Range Patrol) in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the first unit I was assigned to in Vietnam. It was another wonderful reunion. It was a great time being with the men I served with, meeting wives, children and even grandchildren of these men. As the reunion was winding down I decided that I would host our next reunion in 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Being that I live in Las Vegas and will be the host of that reunion, I was given our company flag that flew over our company compound in Vietnam from September 25, 1967 to February 5, 1969 when we were disbanded. When I took charge of the flag, I knew what I had to do. I was going back to Vietnam in late August, and I was taking this flag with me. I carried this flag in my backpack every day when I went to the site where we were building houses. On the final weekend of the building project I told some of the people on the build that I was going to the tallest building in Saigon to unfurl the flag one more time in Vietnam. Six people went with me to experience this event. But truth be told, they went out of concern for me and the flag. We went to the Bitexco Financial Tower and went to the sky deck (49th floor). But before we went up, some of our group talked a young man who was in charge of the visitors to the sky deck and let him know what we wanted to do. They stated that we did not want to disrespect their flag and he didn't think that it would be a problem. The only stipulation was that the flag that I had been carrying could not be raised higher than theirs. So we went up the elevator and toured the sky deck and looked for a good spot to unfurl the flag. We waited until the area cleared out and out came the flag. We unfurled it, held it up, had some pictures and video taken and we refolded it. While we were doing this a crowd started to form to see what we were doing. We saw lots of smiles!! The flag was put away and we went up to the 50th floor, the helipad where the Vietnam flag was flying. The flag that I had carried was now at the same height as theirs!
The flag is torn and tattered and a little faded, but then aren't we all.
F Co 51st Inf (Long Range Patrol) Airborne operated from September 25, 1967 until about February 5, 1969 when we were disbanded. Several of us were reassigned to make up core units awaiting the arrival of the reactivated 75th Ranger Regiment (Merrill's Marauders of 2nd World War fame).
I was among a group that was transferred to P Co. 75th Rangers and we would be sent north to the DMZ. Co. P of the 75th Ranger Regiment operated from February 1, 1969 until the last team was pulled from the field on about July 23, 1971. From September 25, 1967 until July 23, 1971 these two units conducted missions almost uninterrupted except for a few weeks when the core unit that was sent north to the DMZ would set up to continue pulling missions. These two units lost a combined 32 men. F Co. Fox 51 lost 12 and P Co. Papa Co. of 75th lost 20. The missions we pulled were very difficult and extremely dangerous. Without these missions many more lives would have been lost in Vietnam. When you talk of "elite", these two units transcend ELITE. I had the honor and privilege of serving with both of these units! All gave some, some gave all, let's never forget them.
No one hates war more than those who must fight them, but make no mistake, we will fight.
Now to the women and men who have served the country in any way in the past and those who are now serving, especially those who may be in harm's way, thank you and a grateful nation thanks you.
You will find 5 photographs of this event attached, and can see some of it documented in the video at http://youtu.be/SUKJm2PW69Q
Best regards,
Dick Moyer
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