City of Bloomington, MN City Programs and Events, 28 Jun 2017

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From YouTube: Vietnam Veteran Picnic Coming Up July 8

Description

A Vietnam veteran’s picnic is coming up July 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Moir Park. It’s part of a commemorative partnership between the City and other organizations.

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It's been 50 years since the Vietnam War, but for many veterans the memories are still raw. I was.

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Happy to get out happy to get out alive. That's.

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Michael Dardis he served in the US Army from 1965 to 1971. I was.

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Stationed just south of the city of Pleiku on and about 30 miles from the Cambodian border and a firebase called the playerbase Oasis. We were a heavy artillery unit. We had 8-inch and 175 millimeter guns and we fired support for the army of South Vietnam and various other groups, including Australian troops in the area. Michael.

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Was over there for about a year and was shot when his unit was overrun. One morning many lives were lost, I was.

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In a in our fire Direction center, which was underground and we were hit by hundreds of mortar rounds and rockets and satchel charges were going off and our bunkers are, they wiped their bunkers out and I went out, went out the the hatch, basically the to the to the bunker and I was shot or immediately after that, I was laying out there and I was had a decision to roll left, a roll lot row right and if I rolled the wrong way, but it was a satchel charge.

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Somebody had thrown in the doorway I happen to my mistake: roll that direction roll over and put it out otherwise would have blown up the bunker and would have kill'd pretty much everybody inside while.

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The reality of the war was difficult. The reality reading at home wasn't much better. Nobody.

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Really want to talk about it, and people looked at you with a jaundice I I mean it took me almost a year to get a job. I had to pay for my job. I couldn't even get somebody to hire me. I was a college graduate.

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All my relationships had gone south girlfriend had gone south and it's hard for them to understand how I could volunteer to go there, but the reality is I had no choice either I did that get drafted or I would be put in jail or I had to go to Canada to get away. So you didn't have your basically faced with two bad choices, while.

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Now, happily married for 42 years, recovery wasn't easy. It's.

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Worked out, but it's it was tough. It was tough for a long time and Michael's.

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Found further healing gathering with other veterans who understand the things he went through, it's.

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Very hard to share that with somebody who hasn't been there done that and live with it. A lot of other people are in the same situation, and it's good to know that it's good to know that and to help them as well as help yourself. That's.

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Why the city of Bloomington is partnering with several organizations to put on events for Vietnam vets? The three-year program marks the 50th anniversary of the war I found.

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A great deal of value, even in the last luncheon we had with you, know, 75 other vets, they're just chatting with them talking to them finding people. You know that had been in the same situation. The.

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Next event is July 8th from 11:00 to 1:00 at Moore, Park, all Vietnam veterans and their families are welcome and lunch will be provided. There will be another event later this year for Veterans Day and more gatherings in 2018 I've.

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Always been very proud of this city, and we've lived here for 30 37 years, everything that they do has quality behind it I'm very pleased with this and I'm very pleased to be able to be involved with it as well. A small.

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Way to say thank you for the big sacrifice that was made.