Vietnam

[Jenne]

My grandfather either.  He sorta hates Vietnam AND Japan...two places he was stationed at during the war.

[Cain]

Westmoreland was possibly the stupidest man to achieve the rank of General in the 20th century - and yes I am including Field Marshal Haig in that assessment.

I'd add DeGaulle to that list.

In order, I think it goes:

1.  Westmoreland
2.  DeGaulle
3.  Mountbatten (or was he an admiral?  Same thing.)
4.  Haig
5.  Kimmel

I dunno, DeGaulle had some good ideas re: armoured warfare, even though he pinched them from Liddell Hart.  At the very least, his suggestions sent the French High Command into spasms of rage.  Later on in life, he wasn't too wonderful, I would agree, but then, French officers never age well, just look at Napoleon.  Mountbatten would've been hung for Dieppe, under older British admiralty laws, and I can't say it would've been entirely unreasonable to do so. 

I'm sure this list is missing someone, though...

Wait.

Kimmel was this century

Oh, I thought you meant Admiral Kimmel.

[Doktor Howl]

Westmoreland was possibly the stupidest man to achieve the rank of General in the 20th century - and yes I am including Field Marshal Haig in that assessment.

I'd add DeGaulle to that list.

In order, I think it goes:

1.  Westmoreland
2.  DeGaulle
3.  Mountbatten (or was he an admiral?  Same thing.)
4.  Haig
5.  Kimmel

I dunno, DeGaulle had some good ideas re: armoured warfare, even though he pinched them from Liddell Hart.  At the very least, his suggestions sent the French High Command into spasms of rage.  Later on in life, he wasn't too wonderful, I would agree, but then, French officers never age well, just look at Napoleon.  Mountbatten would've been hung for Dieppe, under older British admiralty laws, and I can't say it would've been entirely unreasonable to do so. 

I'm sure this list is missing someone, though...

Wait.

Kimmel was this century

Oh, I thought you meant Admiral Kimmel.

Naw.  Brigadier General Kimmel, US Army.  He basically hitched his horse to Rumsfeld's wagon in the same ass-kissing manner as Reagan did to Sen Joe McCarthy. 

He did a lot of harm as a sycophantic liar, tossing his career away in the bargain.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

My dad went to Korea, his brother to Nam.
I've heard a lot about Korea. Nothing of Nam. Nothing, not a damn word.
Mention it and the man goes cold and quiet.

[Jenne]

My dad went to Korea, his brother to Nam.
I've heard a lot about Korea. Nothing of Nam. Nothing, not a damn word.
Mention it and the man goes cold and quiet.

Yup.  My kids can't get anything out of my gf, either.  He changes the subject.

[Suu]

Oh GS's dad once favored us with an unexpected story last year when we were both stoned off of our gourds. I think he did it on purpose.

[Doktor Howl]

My dad went to Korea, his brother to Nam.
I've heard a lot about Korea. Nothing of Nam. Nothing, not a damn word.
Mention it and the man goes cold and quiet.

Yup.  My kids can't get anything out of my gf, either.  He changes the subject.

My great uncles didn't tell me shit til I was in the service, and likewise, I don't tell my kids much.  I'll talk more with my son when he finishes ROTC.

[Nast]

There's a crazy old Vietnamese man at the community garden, who was somehow involved in the war and now can't return because he says that they'll kill him if he ever goes back. He also claims to have 7 life stories that he tells people, 6 of which false, so then again he isn't a reliable source.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

sounds like a dude i'd love to sit down to a bowl of noodles with and just listen to.

i like to hear interesting stories about older peoples lives.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

My father told me a few things as they became declassified. He's got some crazy stories.

[bones]

BUMuthafuckinP

Oh dear, sorry for how totally retarded I am. Will start posting some pics now...

Here are some typical (!) Vietnamese powerlines. Im sure I've got better photes but I've got thousands to whiskey through.


The Holy See of the Cao Dai religion was cool! Unfortunately our tour guide was more of a tourist himself, taking photos and not really understanding our questions.



Having understood little about Cao Dai at the time, it seemed to me to be quite a cool idea that they mixed together their fueding religions (Buddhism, Taoism, even Christianity) to make The One True Religion^tm
Kinda Discordian?

According to Cao Dai, before God existed, there was the Tao, the nameless, formless, unchanging, eternal source referenced in the Tao Te Ching. Then, a Big Bang occurred, out of which God was born (emanationism). The universe could not yet be formed and to do so, God created yin and yang. He took control of yang and shed a part of himself, creating the Goddess to preside over yin. In the presence of yin and yang, the universe was materialized. The Goddess is, literally, the mother of the myriad of things in the Universe. Thus, Caodaiists worship not only God, the father, but also the Goddess, literally referred to as the Mother Buddha. Note that God's importance and role is higher than that of the Mother Buddha. Also, the Mother Buddha, as are all buddhas, is a part of Yang, and therefore, is male. Yin is the female side, and the Mother Buddha only oversees Yin, but is not a part of Yin.

There are 36 levels of heaven and 72 planets harboring intelligent life, with number one being the closest to heaven and 72 nearest to Hell. Earth is number 68. It is said that even the lowest citizen on planet 67 would not trade place with a king on 68 and so forth.

They only have three saints (according to the strictest interpretations) and Victor Hugo is one of them.

Heh.

[Iason Ouabache]

Awesome!

[Shibboleet The Annihilator]

I have been here for the past couple of weeks. This place is fucking awesome. Yesterday I went to the Chu Chi (?) tunnels and saw a bit about how the American War was fought (of course that's what they call it here). Also I got to shoot an AK47. Hell yes!

Also, some time last century they meshed all the known religions together to create 'Cao Dai' which apparently incorporates them all. I just saw a massive golden temple and prayed with them. The main symbol for Cao Dai is an eye, and quite often it is inside a triangle.

Just a few half-constructed updates while I'm still a little nauseaous from food poisoning. I will follow this up with some pics soon, maybe after Thursday when I come back to Australia.

Try to check out the tunnels the Vietminh/Vietcong used during the war. They're all kinds of awesome.

Doh, it's Thursday, isn't it?

[the last yatto]

wow...

[Dysnomia]

My grandfather either.  He sorta hates Vietnam AND Japan...two places he was stationed at during the war.

My Grandma, however, gleefully tells me all about how nice it was in Japan when she and my Grandpa were stationed there.  Apparently they had a Japanese maid, and she and my Grandpa would say horrible things to each other to tease each other and end up chasing each other around the house.