My Culture Shock: Vietnam...

My Culture Shock: Vietnam

The first of many culture shocks that came with my tour of duty in Vietnam was experienced while still in the States.  

How so, you might ask?   Well, it went like this… I was a Buck Sergeant in charge of the on-the-job-training program for my flight (similar to an Army company in size).  This responsibility was thrust upon me at the tender age of 19 by my flight commander, an old Arkansas Razorback, cigar-chewing type who always seemed to have some drivel down the side of his mouth.  Raunchy!

In any event, this job took me off the flight line (the flight line meant guarding the B-52 heavy bombers and the KC-135 refueling tankers) for the cozy – and warm! – munitions storage facility where I had my files and records for the men I was responsible for training and upgrading.  I was pretty successful at my new position and continued in that job for nearly 18 months.  Not bad for a kid from the Bronx…

So how could this be the first culture shock of my upcoming tour in Vietnam?

When the flight commander picked me for the OJT job, I was no longer guarding the big jets in the rain, snow, cold, lightning and thunder, etc.  But!  There were other airmen that had more rank and time-in-grade than I did, so there was some jealousy on their part because I was chosen for that special job.  It was thought that I snuggled up to the flight commander or some such thing, in order to get that OJT job, but I didn’t, of course.

So here comes that first culture shock of my Vietnam duty: I actually had at least one of the senior airmen wish and hope that I would “get it” in Vietnam.  In other words, that I would get killed!  There were also other threats made, but to no avail.  I simply went about my duties and told them to do what they wanted; in a sense, I really didn’t care about them anyway, though we were still brothers…

December 16, 1967: my departure date for Vietnam…

The second “culture shock” came when I flew over the Pacific on my way to Vietnam. We were scheduled to land for refueling at Wake Island.  Now Wake Island was the scene of a big battle between the Japanese and the Marines back in World War II, in any event, as we approached that tiny dot in that BIG ocean, I said to my seat-mate: are we going to land on that??  He assured me that, yes, we were, in fact going to land on that “dot”!  He was a “veteran” of such travels; I, on the other hand, was not!  We successfully landed on that “dot”; refueled, and continued on our journey…

The third culture shock came when I first landed at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam; not what I expected in the sense of what an air base should be as far as being secure; it wasn’t, at least not from my perspective; I was used to very strict perimeter and facilities security.  I felt these guys were an easy target for the VC (Viet Cong), but I didn’t stay there very long; a quick process in, then boarded a C-130 troop carrier, and off to Tuy Hoa air base in upper (northern) II Corps…

The fourth culture shock hit me like a ton of bricks when that C-130 landed at night at Tuy Hoa… The first thing I saw were the red tracer rounds being fired from the big .50 caliber heavy machine-guns from the Army base to our south.  I could see the tracers bouncing off the rocks of the foothills a couple of thousand yards in the distance.  I thought: Well, I’m really in it now…

The next – fifth – culture shock was the first night on the perimeter; there were no perimeter lights in that section; it was pitch-black; couldn’t see 10 feet in front of us, and the jerk I was assigned with that night to man the machine-gun bunker, kept the M-60 machine-gun wrapped up in the protective covering instead of taking it out and setting it up ready to spit out the 600 rounds-per-minute at the unseen enemy, that is, if he were to attack.  Thank heaven there was no attack that night. That was the first, and last, time I stood watch with that thick-headed brother…

There were many more “culture shocks” I could mention, but one that really caught my attention was an incident that happened on a very quiet night, that is, until about 1:30am… I was on a machine-gun bunker with a black brother; all of a sudden there was the very distinct – and loud – sound of mortar rounds leaving the tube, being fired practically right in front of us, behind the little huts that housed the Vietnamese villagers just off the base.  I quickly called in the attack to headquarters...

We couldn’t see the flash from the mortar, but if we did, I would have opened-up with the M-60 and cut those little huts in half to get at the mortar crew and neutralize their attempt to destroy us and the munitions storage area – their main target. 

As the rounds were coming in, I told my brother to keep an eye on one part of the perimeter, and I would watch another section, as the modus operandi of the enemy was to follow-up a mortar or rocket attack with a ground attack! 

There was no ground attack!!

After the mortar rounds stopped, it was dead quiet again.  Talk about being on pins and needles! 

It was common in a war zone to go from boredom to chaos in seconds.  I was part of many such incidents over my year in Vietnam guarding the perimeter of the two air bases that I was assigned to; the fist six months at Tuy Hoa, and the second six months at Cam Ranh Bay, the base I originally landed when I first arrived in-country…

What is so ironic about my tour in Vietnam, is that the biggest culture shock I experienced was when I came back to the U.S. (we called it the world). 

I was not the same as the year before I went to Vietnam; I had changed; I was different.  It is still with me to this day; it will never leave me; it is always on my mind.  I pray for my brothers every day…

The End?

Gene DeLalla

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day...

A brief history of my association with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr...

No, I didn't know him personally, but I did do my high school term paper on King back in 1963.

Then, during my tour in Vietnam, the terrible news of his assassination reached the base where I was stationed (the air base was located in the northern section of II Corps -- the military had divided the country into four corps: I Corp, II Corp, III Corp and IV Corps).

For some perspective, I Corp included bases, firebases, outposts and patrols that were nearer to the DMZ -- the demilitarized zone -- where things could go from boring to chaos in seconds.  The enemy used the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" to funnel their supplies from the North to their bases and troops in the South.  II Corps was a "little less" active, but still dangerous; I can attest to that...

As I have written in my story -- The Battle For Oscar Six, available on Amazon, and a previous post, there was a memorial service on base.  I had asked my black brother if I could accompany him to the service; he agreed.  When we entered the chapel, I was the only white face in  the entire crowd, save for the clergy.  It was quite an experience; something I will never forget, but I am glad that I was able to pay my respects to the fallen leader, Rev. King.

So, today we celebrate his life and work to bring some measure of equality of rights to his people -- he did that peacefully, unlike what we see happening today when "conservatives" attempt to exercise their rights of free speech and their love for America, come under attack, verbally as well as physically...

This brings me to the March for Life this past Saturday...

The anti-life, hard-Left media barely mentioned it, if at all.  This is especially important because they said it was attended by "thousands" or "tens of thousands".  No, actually, it was attended by one-half, to three-quarters of a MILLION participants.  The so-called "Women's March," though pitifully attended, was covered from one end to the other as if the entire country was behind their bizarre, anti-life, anti-America agenda.

This was just more fake news...

Getting back to the March for Life, I would like to relay an incident that occurred as a group of Catholic high school students were waiting for their buses to arrive to pick them up and start their journey back home.

Those Catholic students, by the way, were from the diocese of Covington, Kentucky.  This is important because of what transpired as they waited to board those buses.  It seems that there were several protests or demonstrations going on just near the students, including some die-hard, and rather strange group of black "Israelites", chanting obscenities and hate for America.  Their malice then turned to those very same Catholic students, increasing their hate and malice for the young Christians...

The students kept their cool.   Add to this mess, was a (supposedly) former Marine and Vietnam veteran Native American doing his own chanting and drum beating.  He approached the students looking for some type of confrontation.  He didn't get what he wanted, but the media twisted what actually happened and blamed the students as being racist and confrontational.  No surprise there...

Sadly, the students and some of their families have now been the object of actual bodily threats, as well as threats to their extended families and businesses.  Where is the Dept. of Justice and their hate crime division?  And why is this considered "normal" these days; something to be expected?

But here's the really incredible part of this disgusting scenario.  As it turns out, the Covington Catholic diocese immediately believed the lying media and condemned their own students!   Keep in mind that these young people were demonstrating for LIFE, and doing it peacefully and honorably.

It has now come to light what really happened, as evidenced by videos and the few non-biased reporters on the scene: the students were the object of the malice, not the instigators.  So, will we see apologies from the media?  Will we see apologies from the pulpit?   Will the bishop of the Covington diocese apologize to those faithful students and their families?   Or will they remain scared of their own shadow and continue to buckle to the radical, anti-Catholic media?

Don't hold your breath, I'm not.

Pray for our country...

Gene DeLalla

Is the final coup attempt against President Trump about to happen?

Circumstantial evidence is quickly mounting that the final deep-state coup attempt against our duly elected President Trump is about to take place, perhaps as soon as this Spring.

Is this pie-in-the-sky hysteria?

No.

Some former "supporters" or those involved in Trump's presidential campaign have now "flipped," meaning, they have now testified -- falsely -- to the demon-in-charge, Robert Mueller, the so-called special counsel, of sometimes, bizarre and completely made-up "facts".

The hard-Left media has jumped all over these lies and conspiracies against Mr. Trump as if these lies were the truth.  But isn't that the modus operandi of the malice-filled Left?  It seems that truth means little so long as the falsities can implicate and condemn President Trump in some manner, with the goal of removing him from office after impeaching him in the House, and convicting him in the Senate.  It has now come to light, that the deep-state Demonrats also want to rid the second-in-command, Vice President Pence.  

Now, if anyone knows the line of succession as put forth in the Constitution, after the president and vice president, the Speaker of the House of Representatives takes over the duties and responsibilities of the office of president!

Think about that for a second.

Who is the current Speaker of the House?

The self-described "devout Catholic," Nancy Pelosi...

That fact should fill the minds and hearts of true Americans, with abject fear and trembling, not to mention our allies of all stripes.

This new development, if it does occur, will immediately transform the United States of America into something unrecognizable with full-blown socialism (or Communism?) the new norm.

But there is more...

Who would "president" Pelosi choose to fill the very important post of vice president?

As unbelievable as it sounds, there is a good chance that the loser of the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton.  If that happens, then what might come next???

This entire scenario is too frightening to imagine, but it is quite possible.  I pray that it doesn't happen, and I would urge all to pray, not only for our country, but also for our precious rights guaranteed, not by the government, but under the Natural Law.  It is enshrined in the Constitution that those very same rights are to be protected from encroachment by the government.  That is why the Founding Fathers created the Bill of Rights in the first place.

In light of the possible scenario I just described, there just may come a time that our right to free speech and freedom of religion (the First Amendment) will be relegated to the dust bin of history, therefore, it is imperative that our First Amendment rights must be backed up and insured by the Second Amendment!

I do hope that I am completely wrong in all of this... But!  What if I'm not??

God help us all...

Gene DeLalla

The Hubert Humphrey Democrats...

Remember Hubert Humphrey?  If not, look him up.

In any event, he was the vice president of the U.S. from 1965, to 1969.

In my opinion, if Hubert Humphrey were alive today (he died in 1978), I don't think he would recognize those that label themselves Democrats these days; just the opposite, I contend.

In fact, I think he would be horrified at what passes for those in the Democratic party: socialists; communists; anarchists, racists, bigots; another endless list.

That is why I use the word Demonrats, instead of Democrats.  It is without doubt that those in the Demonrat party are, in fact, doing the work of Satan.

Isn't that a little too extreme, you might ask?

Not really.  When there are those hard-Left radicals in full support of the killing of the pre-born all the way up to birth!   How's that for premeditated, first-degree murder?

Is that okay with the majority of voters today?  And by the way, our tax monies are still -- STILL! -- fully funding Murder, Inc., aka: "planned parenthood."

I point out one stunning example of such killers: the Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo.  Note, that Cuomo is a "Catholic".  He is also an adulterer, and currently lives with his paramour, and, on top of that, he receives Holy Communion from the hands of his "bishop."  Truly disgusting, but not surprising considering the sad state of the new-order church today.

Gov. Cuomo has also proposed an amendment to the New York State constitution to enshrine in law, the "right" to kill the pre-born, this is over and above the SCOTUS diabolical 1973 Roe v Wade decision.

We have priests, bishops, cardinals (and up) that are not only homosexual and lgbtwxyz friendly, but openly support such heretics as "Fr." James Martin, while at the same time, censoring and condemning traditional Catholics trying their best to get through this veil of tears without losing their immortal souls, and the souls of those entrusted to them, namely, the souls of their families.

So what are faithful Catholics to do in light of this diabolical disorientation?   That's a good question.
The best thing is to continue to be true to the authentic Magisterium; pray for our Church, and always pray for our country, and our president that he may do the right things, or at least try..

Gene DeLalla

The "Good Old Days"...

Remember the "good old days"?

By the way, just when were the "good old days," anyway???

From my perspective, they couldn't have been the 1940s; the conflagration of World War II changed, not only the U.S. of A., but the entire world; it was never the same afterward.

Was it the 1950s?

Maybe.  After all, as far as the Catholic Church was concerned, there were converts by the ton; vocations to the priesthood, as well as religious orders were plentiful.  The sisters and brothers taught in the Catholic schools; the Church was looked upon as a moral and spiritual beacon, not only by Catholics, but by non-Catholics as well.

There was real power in various hierarchy, such as New York's Cardinal Spellman (I remember Cdl. Spellman quite well, as I attended grade school in the early- to late-fifties).  When the good Cardinal approved of a trend or agenda, there was peace and harmony among the general population, but when he DIS-approved, even the secular powers shook in their boots!  Now that's power!

It certainly wasn't the 1960s; that was the spear of the moral and sexual revolution that took the country and the world, in general, by storm.

But how and why did that happen??

A question that has been written about for decades...

Something happened in the mid- to late-sixties (in addition to the Vietnam war; I was directly involved in that war from late 1967, to late 1968).  The then Pope Paul VI, issued an encyclical Humanae Vitae, in which, among other things, condemned artificial contraception.

Unfortunately, when "the pill" came on the market, women of all races and creeds quickly took advantage of this new way to eliminate the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy.  As we now know, it was not always effective; pregnancies did occur.  And when that happened, what was a woman to do?   (The husband or male partner, always seem to be left out of the equation these days when it comes to deciding whether the newly conceived baby is allowed to live or die.)

I just wrote that women of all races and creeds took advantage of the "pill," and that included Catholic women immersed in that same revolution that took the world by storm.

One of the reasons for that, is that some of the hierarchy resisted the constraints of the encyclical; simply stated, they did not support the teaching of Paul VI from the pulpit; there was little condemnation of the use of contraception.  So, in effect, Catholic women did not follow the teachings of the Church, and I would presume, neither did their husbands...

Fast forward to 1973 and the infamous Supreme Court decision legalizing the killing of the pre-born, a right, they said, was found somewhere in the Constitution under the "right of privacy."

Since the disaster of Roe v Wade, it is estimated that 60+ million American babies have been slaughtered in the womb.  I admit that this figure is just a number, as staggering as it is, it doesn't convey the horror of what takes place in such a "procedure"?  

Recent appointments to the SCOTUS give little hope of changing the minds and hearts of those that label themselves "pro-choice," and end the scourge of abortion that has wounded our nation in so many ways: lives lost, and phycological problems galore.

It is my contention that if priests, bishops and cardinals had marched en masse down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capital; demanded to be arrested; went on hunger strikes, by 1974, Roe v Wade would have been a distant nightmare.

But that didn't happen, and the killing continues to this very day with our tax-payer monies.

I also contend that it is the weakness in the human element of the Catholic Church that is vey much part of this ghastly problem.  If Church teaching had been preached from the housetops, we just might have 60+ million more Americans alive in our country.  Who knows what discoveries, scientific advances, and cures for diseases would now be in place, alleviating pain, suffering and misery...

Only God knows the answer to that question.

Pray for our country...

Gene DeLalla

The Brute Force of the Modernist "Catholic" Hierarchy...

Charity is out the window, even though the phonies-in-charge of the "Vatican" virtue signal about "inclusiveness," "mercy" -- but not for traditionalists -- "love."  Truly sickening!

Anyone individual or organization that dares to remain true to their charism comes under constant attack from the "Catholic" hierarchy, whether from a directive from the "Vatican," or pressure applied by the local bishop of a diocese.

These apostates have over-played their collective hands, and the spiritual -- and in some cases, physical -- trauma they have caused will come around as a boomerang returns to its thrower.  They fail to study history; they fail to realize that, eventually, the instigators of revolution, whether to overthrow a duly elected government, or to smash traditionalism in the real Catholic Church, will come back to bite them.  Such happened during the French Revolution, when the founders of that massacre, themselves, became too "conservative" for the new radical element that took over the "duties" of death and mayhem, and lost their respective heads to the bloody guillotine.  The rabid dog had turned on its master...

Those that cause anxiety and anguish among the true faithful, will have a high price to pay when they stand before their Just Judge, that is, if they don't repent and make amends for the suffering, and, in some cases, spiritual death of a formerly innocent soul.

Traditional orders of nuns and brothers have been attacked and disbanded simply because they desire to follow their real Master, Christ, Jesus; good priests keep silent even though they believe that one MUST become a Catholic to be saved.

Many refuse to "modernize" their dress or their constitutions to suit the more liberal, progressive elements in charge -- at least for now -- of the human element of the suffocating Church.

But God will not be mocked!

That fickle pendulum is now beginning to swing BACK in the direction of true charity for souls; true evangelization; true ecumenism -- to bring the Truth to all outside the loving boundaries of the Church, outside of which, there is NO SALVATION FOR ANY HUMAN BEING: NO EXCEPTIONS!!!   Regardless of the watering-down of the perennial doctrine of Christ Himself!

May God Almighty have mercy on these apostates, because I won't.

Pray for our country...

Gene DeLalla  

 

Fake news; lies; virtue signaling; defamation; libel...

Fake news; lies; virtue signaling; defamation; libel, etc...

If these words sound familiar, they should.  Just check out the daily mainstream media attacks against President Trump to confirm those very descriptive yet disheartening words...

In the political realm this is bad enough, but, when it comes to the spiritual realm, those accused have to fight for their very lives -- their reputations --  because of the malicious perceptions created in the minds of those who hear or read such attacks directed at them in the media or in official documents.

What am I talking about here?

Last Sunday at Mass, our priest gave a wonderful, hopeful sermon on the Wise Men that followed the Star that led them to the Babe in the manger.  We all know -- from stories and paintings -- that when the Wise Men (Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior) came upon the manger with the Christ-child, surrounded by His Mother, and His foster-father, the great St. Joseph (the Bible refers to St. Joseph as "JUST"), they not only offered the gifts, but more importantly, they dropped to their knees in adoration.  Not the veneration that we Catholics offer to His most Blessed Mother, Mary -- they knew that they just saw their salvation.  This is similar to Simeon, the great priest in the Temple at the Presentation, who held the Babe in his arms and blessed His parents.  He then exclaimed that God can now dismiss His servant for he has seen his salvation.  All the while, Anna, the Prophetess, began to preach to all who would listen that their Savior was now among His people, Israel.

There are a couple of reasons I re-created this scene for this short article: first, to show that there is hope for all who would listen to the WORD MADE FLESH, but also to show that not all listened.  In other words, not all were saved even though Christ came into the world to redeem His people as well as the Gentiles.  I just mentioned that Anna began to preach, but not all listened to her message.  Some just walked by, attending to their spirituality, whatever that entailed...

Second; later, when Christ started His public ministry, some listened; some didn't; some who did listen, eventually walked no more with Him after hearing some very "hard sayings."   So, what happened to them that walked no more?  Were they lost or saved?  We don't know; I don't know.

Fast forward to the present day...

We Catholics are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to fulfilling the command to preach and baptize...

And if we adhere to the perennial teachings of Holy Mother Church: that which is always and everywhere believed and taught, including those "hard sayings," we can be -- and have been -- attacked by those in charge, just as the Pharisees were in charge and functioned as the religious leaders of their time.

We, who wish to remain true to the dogmas and doctrines of Christ and His Church -- His Mystical Body -- cannot and will not compromise because of some perceived notion that we are being uncharitable.

Quite the contrary: it is uncharitable not to tell the truth; not to practice true ecumenism.  We wish for all to enter the Church -- the ONE ark of salvation for all human creatures.  We cannot and will not water-down those doctrines -- the very reason why Christ died on the Cross for us.

Remember again, it was the "religious" leaders who told their followers to shape up or ship out, so to speak.

We are NOT shipping out, and neither did the early martyrs.

So, if the hierarchs of today threaten us with who knows what for upholding the authentic Magisterium (the teaching arm of the Church), then so be it.

As I just wrote, the pendulum is beginning to swing back in OUR direction and THEY know and fear that!!  

I conclude with this: the FAITH comes first; false obedience is a VICE, not a virtue.   So continue to spread the fake news; LIES; virtue signal; defame and libel us all you want.. God will NOT be mocked.

May God have mercy on your souls, because I won't...

Gene DeLalla