Welcome to Jake's Vietnam Veteran Tribute Page and
Project Welcome Home!
Project Welcome home is my Brain Child on this
site.. what is it? I believe that no other veteran in the nation's history was mistreated and under-acknowledged
for his sacrifices during a time of war, such as the Vietnam Veteran. The nation as a whole was in great denial,
as also was our government which refused to declare the war more than a "Police Action".
Many of our young men, upon returning to the "World", found themselves, instead
of appreciated, declared as "baby killers" and spat upon and treated like the enemy instead of decorated
war heroes, which I feel they were and are. Many couldn't find decent work, if they found any at all. Many languished
this way for years after the end of the struggle in 1976. And still more continue to languish in mental institutions,
prisons, VA Hospitals, or are recluses living in far away places, hiding from the world; places like the Philippines,
Thailand, Alaska, Mexico, etc. Such treatment by society, caused many of us to go into a denial of sorts, by hiding our veteran status, and trying to blend into society.. which we found out later, just didn't work. Where we should have
felt pride in our service, we actually felt shame: We found ourselves a group of men and women, bearing collective
guilt, instead of decorated veterans and heroes, as were the past WWII veterans.
This self-inflicted guilt and denial on our part, caused us many years of what has come to
be known as Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD), because, instead of talking out our problems and experiences in that
unpopular war, we were forced to keep it inside, which only magnified and exacerbated the emotional trauma.
Project Welcome Home is my way of telling all who visit
my Tribute Site and Homepage, the next time they encounter a Vietnam Veteran, to give him a hearty and heart-felt
'Welcome Home' and thank him or her for their service
to our country in Vietnam.
The Vietnam Veteran is, in many ways, a Veteran of his or her own type.. no other veterans
in the history of the United States compares to them. Before I go on, let
me say to you all, who are members of this 'Exclusive Club', a hearty...
WELCOME HOME!
We are sad to report that Hugh J. Campbell's Tribute Site to
the TGYC has gone down
If anyone knows of Hugh's location or another Link for this Site, please let the Yeoman know.
Meanwhile visit the only TGYC Website still operating on their own steam - click the Logo.
Continuing, please permit me to borrow a statement made by Chief Hugh J. Campbell, Caretaker,
and Chief 'Yeoman' of the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club website:
"It was the late 1960's. William Jefferson Clinton was in England coordinating anti-war
demonstrations. Jane Fonda was astride a Chinese built anti-aircraft gun in Hanoi while husband, Tom Hayden and
Ho Chi Minh cheered her on. All of this while the Hanoi Hilton was home to some of the best and bravest that America
had to offer.
"Meanwhile, some 500,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen were writing a new page
in the history of military warfare in South Vietnam. Special Forces, Navy Seabee's, B52 crews, United States Marines,
Air Calvary, PBR Sailors and Navy Seals, just to mention a few, were engaged in some of the toughest battles in
modern warfare. Unlike the average GI in the South Pacific during World War II who saw about 40 days of combat
in four years, the average GI in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in just one year.
"There has been much written about these special groups of hero's. However, some how
history has overlooked the men of the Carrier Task Groups and their support ships in the Tonkin Gulf. Our guys
on "Yankee Station," often referred to as members of an elite group known as the "Tonkin Gulf Yacht
Club." Our sole purpose was to support the Carrier based attack aircraft pilots charged with the most dangerous
missions of the war. These were the best we had to offer; men of iron, with nerves of steel. Statistically, one
out of three would not complete a deployment. Instead, they were destined to serve out the remainder of the war
as a POW or worse yet, become a MIA or KIA.
"The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club is a not a new idea. It has been around, unofficially, since
the mid 1960's. It is my belief that the time has come to formalize the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club (TGYC), and use
it as a vehicle to recognize who we were, and what we did. Those of us who returned have a special obligation to
tell the story, and never let America forget those we left behind."
Hugh J. Campbell, RMC
United States Navy, Ret.
Commodore, Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club
Thiese Pages are also a Tribute to our Allies who fought
beside us. Never let it be forgotten that they were our Brothers-in-Arms and that they struggled alongside us and
that their sacrifices were for the common good of all.
~ Jake
The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall
Page
How to add this link
to your homepage
Vietnam Service Ribbon takes you to the Vietnam Veterans Homepage
SiteRing by Bravenet.com
One Backward Glance
The above ribbons were won by Charles Sumner Walsh, KIA- Visit his tribute Site by
clicking on the Ribbon
'CANAVARRO'
This Picture can be obtained as a Print from the Online Store at the
Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Jake's Virtual Wall Memorial - A tribute to the Fallen
View Bill Gunzelman's striking art, Bill Gunzelman's Wall Salute. Bill
is using the sale of this striking Photo and others of his offerings to aid the Homeless Veterans. For more information
on Bill's Project, go to Prints
William R. Gunzelman (GUNZ)
photographer/vet
phone: 301-469-7445
email: gunz@cqi.com
Suicide Wall Home Page (Our other Casualties)
If you came here from the Virtual Wall Memorial, then...
Continue on to the Virtual Wall Memorial
We won't rest till we've brought them all Home!
The
Operation Just Cause Switchboard
The POW/MIA
Ring Homepage
Jake's MIA
The Hancock Air Group MIA Page
Vietnam War Statistics Page
