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Thanks for reading this short excerpt from the paid post! Fancy buying it to read all of it?
Sorry to hear about your cat Harvey shuffling off his mortal coil James. I hope you find a new one to serve as your writing buddy. We’ll be waiting when you feel like getting back to writing again. Hang in there LT. Semper Fi, Pat
The next segment will go up in the morning and possibly readers who know about the passing of Harvey and the
coincidence of my occurrences written about Vietnam might reverberate. I don’t know but it has been a tough
time. Rough path…
Semper fi,
Jim
It appears to me that your website is a good venue for the TRUTH. Just wondering what you and US veterans everywhere think of this youtube.com offering. All veterans should take a look at this and respond with your thoughts. Is it possible our Government could have scammed all veterans… again. Please look at this youtube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6OAzGMV_wQ
Just copy and paste this into your web address bar or Google The Secret Code on Veterans DD214 full, Edwin Crosby 111. Interesting.
Would be more interesting if they published all the supposed codes and then showed vets where to go
to look on their DD214s. I checked my own and found not codes at all…
Semper fi,
Jim
To check your secret code on your DD214 you must first have a “Final” DD214. Realize some veterans were issued a temporary DD 214 (like me, I had a temporary DD214 for the past 40 years and never knew it), the temporary form will not show the secret code section. To get a “Final” DD214 go to your local County Veteran’s Service Officer, fill out the appropriate form and have it sent in for an updated DD 214. Once you have a Final DD214 look it over until you see a section that has either an SPD or SPN prefix to a number, (example of a secret code number SPN 421 or SPD 530). The SPD or SPN is a prefix to the secret code number. Once you have your number go to the website listed below which will give you your secret code description.
Funny two days ago I was on the “List of Spin Codes” to check out what my secret code was. I was able to access and print off the secret code list. I also had a friend do the same thing and we both got access to the secret code (List of Spin Codes) website. Right now, this minute I checked to see if I could access the secret code website(to confirm for you that it is there and works) and now I am blocked. Interesting… note I contacted my US Congressman (a couple days ago) about the code to get his insight (I have not heard from him and now the secret code website is blocked). I also contacted President Trump’s Veteran’s Complaint Hotline and told their rep about the Secret Code and asked for his take. Again, the Secret Code website is apparently blocked. The internet appears to be well monitored by big brother. Your insight?
May I suggest all veterans read Edwin Crosby’s account regarding “The Secret Code on Veterans DD214”, his inquiries have also been blocked for many years. Maybe there is something to this veteran scam.
List of Spin Codes
http://www.landscaper.net/discharg.htm#List of Spin Codes
I don’t know Pop. I checked my DD214, all three of them, and could find nothing. I don’t know if any of them are the ‘final’ one’s you
are talking about. To expect that the government will not move to protect itself in every quarter…I don’t know what to say about that.
They are not stupid.
Semper fi, and thanks for your insight…
Jim
So sorry for your loss Lt. Take your time, we’ll all still be here.
Semper fi
Should be done with next segment today. Thanks a lot for understanding…
Semper fi,
Jim
James it has been over a week, what the fornicate your killing me
My cat died. It has been a big deal so bear with me a bit here….
I know it sounds silly but believe me its not..
Semper fi,
Jim
I had to put my horse down 5 years ago, still miss him all the time. The love for a dear pet is something only the person attached to that pet can understand. Please forgive my previous comment.
That is not an issue Frank, you last correspondence, mean. I know that most people will not understand.
Some people here have said “it’s just a cat,” and I understand. Some people have even referred to Tex
as being an Army officer, as if he was something less than a Marine. I have heard people talk about
the civilians aboard the space shuttle Challenger as having been somehow more valuable in their loss than
the other military crew. Life. People are people and you can’t go through life always looking for or expecting
justice or understanding. Those commodities are rare and to much appreciated when found.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, with the PTSD you have, I have no doubt that going back and recalling and writing this is walking you on the edge of an emotional cliff that the addition of the loss of Harvey has really kicked your psyche butt. Sorry for your loss. I lost so many pets when I was young, I don’t keep any now. The Army and the Marines in I Corp worked closely together. In ’68 the 1st Brigade, 5th Division was under the operational control of the 3rd Marine Division. I recently got to know a Staff Sergeant with the 3rd that did three tours as the platoon sergeant of a weapons platoon. He runs a shooting range in Berryville, AR. When I commented that I went over when the 1/5 went in country, all he said was, “You saved our ass.”, meaning with manpower and material to reinforce them at a critical time. When I finished shooting I went to pay….all he said was, “You can shoot anytime, but you can’t pay.” Everyone bled red. Sorry for the length of this. One of the reasons I have tried to cut back my comments is I have problems keeping them short. Like everyone else, I check daily for the next chapter. Sent your book to my MI partner from there who just had a knee replacement to give him something to do while rehabbing. Joe
Well, now that was a lot of words well worth reading.
Thank you so much.
I can’t expect many to understand
Tex’s loss with Harvey’s throwing me into a state of give-a-shit-itis.
I am coming back and half way through the next chapter.
Somebody wished that Tex was not dead. I wished it too and still do, along with Harvey.
Thanks for caring enough to write and understanding enough to write in detail.
Semper fi,
Jim
I suspect Tex will be alive when you get back, getting suspicious about your gunny
Can’t support the speculation on here, as you know, but thanks for thinking about it and writing on here about what you
think…
Semper fi,
Jim
No reason to think the recovery mission won’t turn to shit like all the rest have..I know you did your best under the impossible mess you were thrown into Lt.
RIP Harvey.
Thanks Sherm. Funny thing to write but meaningful….and appreciated…
Semper fi,
Jim
I’m ready for my weekly fix.
Semper fi
Working away, Luigi…and thanks for the compliment in that statement written here…
Semper fi,
Jim
So sorry to hear of your loss of Harvey. Unless you’re a cat lover I don’t know if you can understand the depth of the attachment or the soothing of the soul those little felines can give to a person. I’ve read this chapter six times now. I’ve hesitated to reply as there are so many changes happening within the ranks from the action that has just occurred. Have my thoughts where this is heading. Will have to wait anxiously to see. As always, over the top nail biter!! I can say it looks like you’re more back in the wire while some may be worried about slipping out.
Thank you Jack, and for the huge compliment of reading the chapter six times.
I will definitely have something out soon because who cannot after someone like you says something like that!
Semper fi,
Jim
Hey Lt. Have to feel a little for Gunny it his episode. Not for how he is reacting to the evidently changing relationship between the troops, but why he is reacting in that way. Have a feeling he may be beginning to doubt himself and his ability to read new situations as they arise. Which, I am sure you know, can be dangerous to all concerned. Take care Lt..
Thanks for the deep analysis and your opinion Wes. I must admit that retrospect is
a lot easier than it was under the conditions and at that age…
Semper fi,
Jim
Liz B Underfoot and I extend condolences on the loss of your cat Lt.
Cats are special people, especially cats who tolerate old warriors.
I wonder how much of the story is involved with the depth of my loss over Harvey.
He was an extraordinary cat, there was no question about that but what about the other guys
in the company? How am I mixing them up and why has one got to do with anything of the other?
I know that there are no good answers to stuff like that but I thought I’d write it anyway.
Thanks for the deep comment and the sincere care, as usual…
Semper fi,
Jim
Hello again Sir , So a few questions if ya don’t mind . Have you ever gone back to the Nam ?If so would you mind explaining the feelings. If you haven’t what are your thoughts about a visit. Do you feel it would be helpful or do ya feel it would be a bad idea? Do you think you might be able to find something you lost there ?, Do ya think you might be able to close the door or would it open an old wound? Thank you Sir
I do not know. I was CIA for many years and was sent to Hanoi for mission purposes.
But when I arrived they took my passport and I had to stay on the plane until it left.
They knew something. So I never made it back. I am not sure what walking the A Shau
would be like, because I’ve seen pictures and it’s all developed now. Built on blood.
I don’t know, Ryan. Not necessary but I don’t have a clue about how I’d fee…
Semper fi,
Jim
I write and delete quite a bit so I’m not sure if I posted this to you before but they are still checking a “naughty or nice list” when you go to vietnam as a tourist. Anyone that was on their shitlist probably still is. My friend had a small bounty placed on his head while in vietnam. Not all that long ago he started going to the reunions and such and was told about the list and that his name was on it. If I had past problems I don’t believe I would chance a visit.
Thanks Hu. I’m not sure how long those old wounds last over there as I have not kept any kind of track
about what’s transpired as the country has recovered from the war. Thanks for the warning thought and it pays to
never forget that some never forget…
Semper fi,
Jim
Fifteenth Day. Third part????
Yes, it is coming but I have been delayed a bit by what seems like minor
deal but my 17 year buddy and writing cat died and I’ve been a bit out of sorts…
I’ll be back. Sorry…
Semper fi,
Jim
Sorry for your loss
I enjoy the read
Thanks Jerry, I also enjoy reading the comments you guys put up!
Semper fi,
Jim
Not a minor deal Jim. My heart goes out to you for your loss. Worse day of my life was when I had to have my 15 year old Beagle put down for liver cancer. Still not over it, like losing a kid.
Take your time, heal a little. We will all be here when the next episode comes.
Thanks a lot Richard. Yes, it has been a much greater blow than I would ever have assumed.
My relationship developed subtly over the years with that animal and I was not totally aware
of the depth or the pervasiveness….
Semper fi, and thanks for understanding…
Jim
I remember when I had to take “Emma the Cat” in to be put to sleep. I would rather it been me. She was so cool. Knew just how long to push it before she became friends again. My friend found her in a snow bank as a kitten on her back about froze. I wanted no part of her until she decided that I would be her friend. Sorry for the loss. Animals are the only ones that can “see us”. Take care, and we will be here when you get back. Take care.
Thanks Mike for the kind and deep words.
Seems like some feel that Harvey going is some kind of excuse for
something like feeling bad for myself.
It would be so nice to feel sorry for myself rather than even darker thoughts.
Harvey went quick and painless but my lot is different and the reflection of that can be painful.
I am taking care and working to rebuild the labyrinth of my own psychology.
Semper fi,
Jim
Hey Jim: Sorry for your loss of the cat,, pets take a piece of you when they pass,, I’ve read the first part of “30 Days has September” and am anxiously awaiting the second part, Thanks for a damn good read,, from a Nam’ Vet,, Tom R.
Thanks a million Tom and for the compliments too…
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow;
Jim, I’m a “survivor of English 101”. Being a “speed reader”, I sometimes overlook typos. Forgive me for not bringing errors to your attention.
It’s a miracle that you can recall Vietnam events that occurred many years ago.
Thanks for your comment, Pete….
Writing a manuscript when arriving home in 1970,
and my wife keeping the daily letters has helped.
Semper fi,
Jim
Please forgive the indelicate question, how many men have been lost to this point? 20+? (I would have to go back to the start and count) 10% of your company? Amazing story, look forward to reading more.
We were losing a ton. Close combat in the jungle, what with the booby traps
and the inability to have good fields of fire cost us dearly down in that valley.
It was damned difficult to take advantage of our huge technological advantages.
As you read….
Thanks for the nice thoughtful comment…
Semper fi,
Jim
In the Ashau, losing men was so common that we soon learned not to remember the other mens’ names. Two close buddies (a combat reduced fire team) and we watched each others’ backs, but no friends, thanks. Hurts too much to see them blown away. My trip down the Valley of Death took 51 days, and we had 51 firefights. Plenty of KIA and WIA, luckily no MIA. Semper Fi!
I Co. 3/9 1969
Yes, Andrew, sometimes hard to get some soldiers and Marines to believe when they served in more
pacified areas or areas adjacent to firebases. Thanks for your forthrightness and writing about it here…
Semper fi,
Jim
Good job LT drama’s always better than bullets right?
Needed the brake ,needed the sleep. LOL
can’t make the 4th VA’s got me tied down till Aug.
Keep us abreast of festivities please.
I will so do, Stephen. Thanks for wanting to go.
And thanks for the kind words written on here too…
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
It’s clear from your written thoughts and dialogue that you are hyper-tuned to the behavior of the two NCOs, watching their every move, not believing that change *could* be happening. Your team is right there with you (a true team!). I am fascinated with the psychology of the whole story and your ability to convey the tension in spades to us folks that have never sniffed a shot in anger. Charlie Mike.
Thanks daddy, it was indeed something else again, especially for a 23 year old to try to
accommodate right after college!
Semper fi,
Jim
So dam good of you guys to go get Tex body for his family mainly, you all were very brave and loyle to your your fellow warriors, impressive to say the least Don
Things happen in that environment. Was I right or was the Gunny right?
Both or neither. I don’t know…
Semper fi,
Jim
No man left behind and that is right!
Trying to build and maintain a sense of the special nature of warriors is
part of the Marine Corps mythology that makes it all work and those of us
who trained and studied came to appreciate the fact that the dead are not
nearly as dead as we might think. Not in our minds. Not in our present and
not in our future.
Semper fi,
Jim
Despite the corrections a magnificent piece of writing. “I followed…”. So true and also in the civilian world. There but for the Grace of God go I or else I would have been a fuzzy face 2LT FO. Got finished at Sill Jan 73 and they weren’t sending anyone over.
Thanks Buster, I much appreciate the comment and the thoughts you laid down here.
Glad you scraped out of that but got Sill…what a school!
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks, my gunner instructor was a Marine 1LT with 3 tours. Devastating steel on target.