Dunn High School Friends Alumni Presentation Of Lee Books
The above is a photograph of Dunn High School Friends(DHSF) Alumni Association chairperson Manly Johnson's presentation of two General William C. Lee hardcover books to Dunn Public Library Director Mike Williams.
Airborne Press thanks all DHSF board members, with special thanks to Manly Johnson and Mary L. Blalock, for all their efforts in promoting the legacy of their hometown hero, General William C. Lee. Dunn High School Friends(DHSF) Alumni Association is a great organization that provides fellowship for former graduates of Dunn High School and scholarships to graduates of the new Triton High.
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| Why We Need Special Forces In Iraq by Kelly Thomas
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| _____What We Learned From The Vietnam War
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REUTERS/Larry Downing
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At one point in Vietnam, it became obvious to anyone with any moxie that we could not outlast Ho and North Vietnam. They were patient and knew how impatient Americans were. The fact that we had hung around as long as we had astounded many. And, there was some evidence that they were rethinking the idea of waiting us out.
There was Jane Fonda, the 68' TET offensive, and a wide perception that Nam was a war without end. But, most of all, we had peopled our war effort with conventional soldiers-a draftee Army of mostly kids from "run of the mill" American towns. They performed admirably but the chinks in the armor were many, mainly that Americans were dying and people were beginning to ask the whys and what fors.
In hindsight now, we realize that we should have waited the North Vietnamese out, but we couldn't do it with conventional soldiers: Not with the infantry, the ground pounders of the roughly 8-10 Divisions in Vietnam, and all the support troops of the Air Force and Navy. We could have done it with the Special Forces and now it appears that finally the Pentagon is coming out of the ether to beef up Special Forces in Iraq.
The idea is to put a force of elite troops skilled in fighting terrorists and insurgents and working with foreign forces as part of a decades long plan to expand. Smart, and we have to hope that we've learned from Vietnam. If we had deployed enough Special Forces, we could have easily outlasted North Vietnam.
Sending Delta Force operatives, Rangers, Navy SEALS or
the commonly called Green Berets( made highly visible by John Wayne in the early days of the Vietnam war) is the right move.
We all remember Barry Sadler's soulful pick me up, The Ballads Of Green Berets . Green Berets are older, more experienced, trained in languages, and good at navigating foreign cultures. The Green Berets operate in 12-member "A teams." The increase in Special Forces teams, trained specifically to work with foreign militaries, is one way to gain an ongoing presence and military influence in regions lacking elite troops.
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Now Available: Newly revised paperback General Lee:Father of the Airborne.