Ryan went to Washington, DC to meet up with his Grandpa’s war buddies. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, meeting a great group of guys who made a strong impression on him. I asked him to be a guest blogger today. The following is what he emailed to me from the hotel room on his last night there.
“This is the first time I have come to any reunion, of any sort. My first time meeting… all of you- except grandpa over there. I wanna say thank you all, for serving the United States. It’s…. uhh… It’s really important to me. Thank you”
My speech to the Combined Action Marines was definitely a short one, I was undoubtedly ill-prepared, and out-spoken by all those who came before me. But I will never regret giving it.
We came together here for the Marine Corps birthday. I visited museums, houses, and plenty of statues with my grandparents, but that’s where the normal vacation ends. It really started up when the first Marines rolled in.
Bill and Jackie were the first. Then “Loco” Joe Molina, who I could tell from the second I met, was a real special guy, then Fred, who is actually more computer-literate than 17 year old me!
And after a week of Brian’s words of wisdom, Gunny’s mid-hallway hellos, and everyone’s stories of the war, I feel like I’m really one of them. They really did a good job of making sure it felt that way.
Wrapping up my message, I want to dedicate this edition of my mother’s copykat blog to the veterans of the Vietnam war, and specifically the Combined Action Program Marines.
Here’s some history on their unit:
The Combined Action Program that they served with, was an experimental program designed to train Vietnamese villagers to defend themselves against the communist threat. This ideology is used to this day, under a different name, because it works.
Here are some statistics, compliments of the commandant:
Of the approximately 5,000 Marines who went into this program, less than half survived. Of the survivors, it has been estimated that 70% were wounded once, 40% twice, and approximately 70% were awarded for heroism. In 1968, the CAP comprised less than 3% of all the personnel in the corps area, yet they accounted for 43% of the enemy KIAs. This program was the smallest combat unit in Vietnam, but it was also the most highly decorated.
I got the opportunity to see two cake cutting ceremonies, where they take the youngest and the oldest marine present and present cake to both of them. I filmed both of them, and hopefully will post them on youtube soon. It’s a really emotional tradition. I’ll have mom post a link when I get the video up.
Happy Birthday, USMC!
SUN FLARE! This was a really great view I couldn’t pass up…
Thank you, grandpa, for all the doors you’ve opened for me, and the dedication you volunteered to our great nation.
I spent some special time with Joe Molina, a great guy who has a lot of character.
I went to the wall. Out of respect for the upward of 58,000 on that wall, I want everyone who reads this blog to find a
Vietnam veteran today and thank them for everything that they did that went unrecognized for so long.
Thank you,
Ryan Kane
