Bearcat, RVN

Tom's Journal. http://tomschuckmanjournal.blogspot.com/

tschuckman@aol.com

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Hello Friends,
      Perhaps there is a fear of dying sooner than later, and I just want to get a few last things off my chest or just some nostalgia, but I feel the want and desire to talk about my 2nd/ last tour in Vietnam: 68-70 and a place called Bearcat where my old aviation company was stationed.  I didn't realize that our small post was so close to Bien Hoa airbase where I spent part of my 1st tour in 'Nam with a helicopter support company [also Cu Chi and Ph Loi] with USARV and we lived in tents there.  At camp Bearcat we lived in wooden barracks but that still didn't stop any rockets or mortars.
    First let me say that an Aviation company where people fly every day, and in our case... the 240th AHC, we flew in our Hueys 7 days a week, "forever," we had to be fully alert all the time!  The discipline had to be top-notch so there would be no 'Tomfoolery' to prevent accidents from happening to cause death and injury.  After all, flying is a dangerous enterprise just as it is!  And what goes up -- must come down -- gravity.  
    I made a dear friend at Bearcat, in Walter E. Weber, also a helicopter door gunner, but after many years I kind of lost track of working and surviving in my own private life back in Wisconsin, until out of the blue, he sent me a special picture in the mail of me and 2 other guys at the local Bearcat EM club, relaxing after a hard days' work.  I went to Washington D.C. several times and also met Walter and his fine wife, Mary, to enjoy the national sites, museums and top-notch restaurants, etc.  We had a ball!  We stayed in contact ever since that time and shared many great times until he passed away, too young.  That was a horrible time for me to endure.  He and his wife moved to their dream house in Virginia.
     There were also many other guys that I liked but time and distance separated us, also dealing with our own 'demons,' nightmares and personal lives of survival back in the USA, after the war in Vietnam.  I bet that we all wish we could still stay in contact with other Vietnam Veterans that we met in combat and other places, but we seem to die too young, from Agent Orange sprayed on the Vietnamese vegetation to kill it -- also poisoned the local farmers and U.S. Soldiers, too!  Our own Gov't denied it for a long time and screwed many Soldiers and their families out of vital help, medical assistance, etc., while bending over backwards to help/ aid Illegal Aliens who sneak across the Southern border with food, shelter, money, free housing and education!  What's wrong with this picture... duh?  Go ask the Dems- Socialists in America.  It seems to me after the Socialist educational system here failed to teach our kids basic history and the Constitutional Gov't functions and Patriotism --they are woefully IGNORANT of anything more than how to smoke noxious chemicals and drugs to further dull their lower I.Q. brains instead of how to earn an honest, fruitful, productive living!  But, dear friends, that's just my personal opinion, and everyone has one... LOL.  I hope and pray that I am not a bitter old man, but I have lived long enough to understand History, and also the KJV Bible, a few trade skills that helped me earn a good living, and thank God, happily married now to a great lady who cares for me.  
    We are blessed to live in a Northern climate of the Central U.S. area, Upper Michigan, where it is nice, peaceful and not too expensive, but there is also a trade-off in that most of my good friends and relatives don't live near me.  And lately, there has been too much death and passing in my family, including my dear brother Albert, half a year ago, only 2-- years younger than I.   There was a  lot of sibling rivalry between us growing up, but I never hated him nor wished him evil!  Albert, who always had more money than me was a very hard worker all his life and a State certified, a skilled welder who worked in Northern Il.   So you can imagine how I feel, being obese with sleep apnea, combat PTSD, with many prior injuries and fractured bones, etc., from a super active life.  In 2-- months I shall be age 71, and that is considered OLD for a Schuckman, IMHO.  

As for my experience in the Army, Germany and Vietnam, here are some interesting facts below that I was surprised to dig up today.  Just Google:  Bearcat, RVN [the Republic of Vietnam].  

As I mentioned before, I suffer from Sleep Apnea, and also a constant stuffed up nose that prevents me from breathing properly at night and day so that I just don't get the quality sleep that I need each and every night.  I have already tried many remedies to help flush out my nose and sinuses daily, but some nasal sprays actually make my situation worse in that they make the nose close more so!!  It's no wonder why I feel that I am not going to live much longer, no matter how much I pray nor work to find productive ways to improve my life and sleep.  If there is anyone in the world that might have good, constructive advice for me, please contact me.  May God bless you for your prayers and efforts!  Thanks.  ---Tommy Schuckman      --My Email:  tschuckman@aol.com    --- I am also on Face Book.  
       Whatever God's wish for me is,  I want to just relax and endure.  I study the KJV Bible daily to learn more, but at this point in my life, I want to meet more Veterans to help them with whatever challenges they may have and perhaps help them, too.  "there is wisdom in a multitude of counsellors."   

We are scheduled to get more snow and ice on Monday, tomorrow, and then the air temps will also fall.

Warm Regards,
Thomas G Schuckman

  

1. Vietnam Helicopter insignia and artifacts - 240th Assault ...

   museum.vhpa.org/companies/240ahc/240ahc.shtml

   Flight Line Bearcat RVN 1970 ... Huey "Slick" crew chiefs and door gunners of White Flight, 240th AHC "Wild Willy's Warhounds," Bearcat, Vietnam 1971. Not all survived. Wayne Mutza is fourth from right. ... VC skull mounted atop 240th AHC "Mad Dog" Gun Platoon's flightline shack at Camp Bearcat in 1971 advertised the unit's skill at their business.

2. A Doorgunner's Diary - 50megs

   240thahcfl.www1.50megs.com/diary.html

   A Doorgunner's Diary SP4 Walt Weber 240th Assault Helicopter Company Greyhounds, Blue Flight Bearcat, South Vietnam 1969-1970 3/18/1969 ~ Inducted into army 9/27/1969 ~ Arrived at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam 9/30/1969 ~ In transit, arriving at Bien Hoa, RVN