The Battle of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam (January - March, 1968)...

I am writing this from memory, as well as from articles and videos that I have seen and read over the years regarding the siege of the Marine combat base at Khe Sanh, located in the northern sector of I Corps, South Vietnam.

(South Vietnam was divided, for military purposes, into four "corps": I (eye) Corps, II Corps, III Corps, and IV Corps.)

I served in the northern sector of II Corps, at two strategic air bases that supported our troops in the field with uncountable sorties (strikes) from our fighter-bombers located at Tuy Hoa and Cam Ranh Bay.

What became known as the Siege of Khe Sanh, lasted for nearly 77 days, that is, just before, during and after the major 1968 Tet Offensive that I saw unfold right before my eyes from an observation tower that was given the designation: Oscar Six.  It was manned by a "short-timer," in other words, by an Air Force Security Police Buck Sergeant with 27 days to go in-country.  I was assigned to stand watch with him that night.  I had a mere 10 1/2 months to go before I could return to "the world" -- the U.S...

Oscar Six overlooked the entire valley to our south and west.  The tower was equipped with an enormous "star-light" scope that could see the light from a cigarette miles away in the bitch blackness of a moonless night.  

Years later (2010), I would write and publish a story entitled: The Battle For Oscar Six (available on Amazon).

As Tet unfolded, we were informed of a major battle taking place at the Khe Sanh Marine base.  It turned out that those Marines were in a world of hurt!  They were surrounded by an estimated 20,000+ force of North Vietnamese Regular army troops as well as numerous Viet Cong forces determined to overrun and take the Marine base.

But the Marines were just as determined to defend their base and destroy the enemy forces that wanted to destroy them!  

From the videos that I have seen of the Khe Sanh battle, it is a miracle that those Marines survived to tell about it, notwithstanding the substantial KIA and WIA suffered by those valiant grunts.

What is lesser known is that the Air Force played a major role is helping the Marines, not only survive, but also achieve a major victory over the enemy forces.  It is estimated that about 10+ thousand NVA and Viet Cong were destroyed by the artillery as well as the bombing and strafing from our fighters and B-52 heavy bombers.  In fact, some NVA soldiers that either surrendered or were captured, told their interpreters how dazed, devastated and demoralized they were after each massive bombing raid from the B-52s.

The Battle of Khe Sanh was a Marine battle, but the efforts of the other services, mainly the death reigned down from the sky by Air Force fighters and bombers, helped to save the nearly 6,000 Marines from almost certain death.  What is even lesser known, is that Air Force C-130s brought in supplies and took out wounded during the ongoing attack, but with heavy losses to some of the planes and crews.  It is said that those C-130s were "mortar magnets" with some hit while landing or taking off the battered and pot-holed runway.  

The siege of Khe Sanh is filled with many harrowing stories from the Marines that lived to tell about it, but it must also be said that their survival was a multi-branch effort, with Air Force, as well as Army (artillery) that pounded the enemy into submission and eventual defeat.  Sure, I've read accounts from various media that the battle was a draw with both sides claiming victory, but facts and statistics don't lie; the media does, and that is one reason why the American people back home turned against, not only the Vietnam war, but to their shame, also the soldiers that fought in that winnable war.

I think of, and pray for my fellow brothers that didn't make it home, and are now engraved on the Wall in D.C...

Gene DeLalla 

Can a practicing Catholic be a "progressive" (a Liberal)?

To repeat the question: Can a practicing Catholic be a "progressive" (a Liberal)?

First, let's take a look at what is going on in the Democratic party right now...

Most -- not all -- Demonrats are for the killing of the pre-born, and now the born!

Second, most -- not all -- Demonrats are pro-sodomite.

Third, most -- not all -- Demonrats are for the indoctrination of the young children (up to the age of 18 or so) in the public school systems all across this country.

Fourth, most -- not all -- Demonrats are socialists, or worse.

Fifth, most -- not all -- Demonrats outright despise God and His Commandments as is evidenced by their hatred for the Natural Law and paleo-traditionalists.

Sixth, most -- not all -- Demonrats want to restrict free speech AND! free movement -- the ability to travel at will.  If you don't think that the ability to travel is not important, think again...

Seventh, most -- not all -- Demonrats would like nothing better than to restrict or outright ban our ability to defend ourselves, i.e., repeal the Second Amendment.  This is not an exaggeration, but a cold, hard fact.  And without our ability to defend ourselves and our families, we are at the "mercy" of the state.  Why is this important?  Because an UN-armed citizen can more easily be enslaved; hence, what is left of the Republic will disappear right before our eyes.

Eighth, most -- not all -- Demonrats want to absolutely transform this country into their own image; they are, in fact, their own gods.

Ninth, most -- not all -- Demonrats were successful in eliminating prayer from all public schools, and embracing evolution, thus "proving" that mankind crawled out of the pond covered with scum, not made in the image and likeness of the Creator.

Tenth, most -- not all -- Demonrats are in favor of open borders; without a secure border, there is no sovereignty; there is no true security, as is witnessed by the attacks and murders of our fellow countrymen and women by illegal aliens that have poured across our southern border, as well as draining our medical and social services almost to the breaking point.

What does the Church teach regarding the "ten commandments" of the progressive agenda just listed?

Casting aside the abomination of the sexual abuse scandals by the sodomites that have infiltrated the Church through her seminaries, and the mass cover-up by those hierarchs who are sympathetic, or are themselves part of the lavender mafia, the Church's perennial teachings on faith and morals cannot be reconciled with the Progressive/Liberal agenda.

I strongly suggest that those who claim to be "progressive", practicing Catholics, read or re-read the Ten Commandments!

One cannot fulfill the second great Commandment to Love Thy Neighbor and, at the same time, continue the slaughter of the pre-born, and extinguish the most incredible gift given to us by God Himself: to be co-creators with Him in bringing new life and souls into the world.

Without life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is impossible...

If you claim to be a practicing Catholic, you cannot be a "progressive" or a Liberal, period.

Pray for our country.

Gene DeLalla

Mixed-up "transgender" kid believes he's an alien.

This from thebridgehead.ca:

Jareth Nebula might live on earth but he[?] firmly believes he[?] belongs on another planet. The 33-year-old, who was born a woman but transitioned[?] to become a man[?] when he[?] was 29, now believes he[?] doesn’t fit into any human gender and is, in fact, an alien[?].

…Living alone he[?] now just wants people to accept who he[?] is and admits he[?] would rather be called ‘thing’ or ‘it’ rather than he or she.

Jareth, who legally changed his[?} name four years ago, said: “After coming out as transgender and believing I had finally found myself, I realised I was wrong – I wasn’t male or female, or even human. I don’t think or feel like humans. I can’t really explain it to others – I’m simply otherworldly. I didn’t feel comfortable as either gender or even anything in between. I know I’m stuck in a human form and that’s how I’m perceived by others – but to me, I’m an alien with no gender.”

My comment: this poor soul has rejected the Natural Law -- which is an extension of God's law -- and, therefore, has opened up his intellect to the most bizarre influences from those demons who roam the earth, as a roaring lion, seeking all those they can devour (paraphrasing St. Peter).

There are also those who claim that anyone who condemns or even points out that they are sliding toward Gomorrah, are judgmental racists.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, it is a spiritual work of mercy to do so, in addition to being a work of charity (love of neighbor) to bring that lost soul back to the fold as the Prodigal Son returned to his forgiving father...

Who is to blame for this crazy nonsense?  Parents?  Teachers?  The public school system in general?  Lax and anti-life "laws"?  

Rest assured that the devil will be paid his due when the time comes, and it will get ugly.  Many will be dragged to hell, with little recourse and little hope for salvation.  Those who die in their sins will pay the ultimate price.  Those who follow Christ know the answer, and it is not in man-made laws or supreme court decisions, but only in the Savior, and His holy, spotless Bride, the Church!  

Pray for these lost souls and pray for our country.

Gene DeLalla

Can a faithful Catholic serve in the military today?

This is a "bombshell" question!

Why?

Because someone has to do it, yet we see how the military has been corrupted to serve corrupted government leaders leading us into endless and destructive wars, displacing the native populations as well as killing far too many innocents in a half-hearted attempt to destroy the bad guys -- that is, if one can tell just who the bad guys are!

There is traditional-minded priest that I know who continually discourses on the anti-Christ U.S. Constitution, and writes that we should not vote in any election (or serve in the military?).  He is entitled to his opinion, as I am mine.

But being a decent and faithful priest, and me, being -- or attempting to be -- a truthful writer of social and ecclesiastical current events, the fact remains that the Constitution and the military are  "necessary evils" if one looks at it that way...

Let's face it: the job of the military is to kill people and break things -- in war, that is.  Someone has to "win" the conflict, or we have another Korea that has lasted for sixty-six years!  Or Afghanistan, or Iraq, or any of the other misadventures we have entangled ourselves in for far too long.  It's obvious that our first president, Washington, was right...

Yet most of the wars and world-wide conflagrations have not been just wars.  This is one of the elements that a good Catholic as well as others who adhere -- at least -- to the Natural Law must take into consideration as to whether or not join the military service.

But again, the military is necessary if a nation is to survive in this veil of tears -- that's a fact --period.

The problem I have with the attitude of this priest is that he has the freedom to criticize the Constitution or military service, or anything else for that matter, precisely because we have a strong military, and a Constitution that guarantees our freedom of speech protected under the First Amendment to that very same Constitution that he considers to be an anti-Christ document.

To him I would say that this is what we have to work with, so to speak; this is what the country has as its founding document; this is what has lasted longer than any other constitution of any other country in the world.

I also took an oath (twice) to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Our form of government is not perfect, and that, of course, is an understatement.  But the fact remains it is also a form of government that was praised by a previous pope of the Church back in the latter part of the 19th- and early part of the 20th-century, for being a country where the Catholic Church can practice freely without government interference or control.  This very same Pope -- Leo XIII -- did warn Catholics about "Americanism": the watering down of doctrine for the sake of "going along to get along" with our separated brethren.  Truly deadly, as there can be no compromise with doctrine as always and everywhere taught and believed for the last 2,000 years.  To do this, would be treasonous to Christ!

I know that I have mixed several elements in this article, but all are connected in one way or another.
To answer the question: Can a faithful Catholic serve in the military?  I would answer, yes.  Some reasons may be obvious, and some may not be so obvious.

It can be looked at in the sense that it can be a Cross to bear, and, at the same time, a faithful, practicing Catholic can be an example to others, possibly leading some to conversion.  Having said that, it can also be a danger to the Faith, because of the many temptations that are readily available to the serviceman, and now servicewoman.

I served in two branches of the military, and a war, but no one promised me a rose garden when I joined.

Gene DeLalla 

A Vietnam Veteran's Poem...

To My Brothers...

Side by side we stood,

Black or white, it made no difference.

Catholic, Protestant, Jew, or Atheist,

I may not have liked you, but I loved you.



Only God can give and only God can take away,

But Charlie took and never gave.

Why did my bunker-mate die and I live?

To fulfill my dreams but not his?



Yet he is with me always -- in my dreams,

Not wanted there, as I struggle to sleep.

Lord help me to live and not just exist.

Take this burden from my soul.



Have mercy on them that stayed,

Some here, some there.

Arlington is their home now,

As mine will someday be.




Author: Eugene R. DeLalla (former Staff Sergeant of Air Force Security Police, Vietnam, December 16, 1967 -- December 16, 1968)...

Lent, and a message to my Protestant friends, whom I love...

Today, March 6, 2019, is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Lent is a time, not just for "giving up" some starchy or sugary foods in order to lose weight, or to revitalize whatever New Year's resolution that has fallen by the wayside after a half-hearted attempt to implement.

This is also a time which portends the coming of Spring, and a re-birth of Nature's beauty with budding trees, flowers, and a raiment that far surpasses that of Solomon in all his glory!

But, most importantly, it is also a time for self-reflection and some measure of fasting and praying in preparation for the coming of the Passion of Christ, and of His victory over death: the Resurrection. 

Unfortunately, in today's world, over-commercialization, and over-secularization detracts from the reason for the season, rather than focusing on the birth of the Savior at Christmastime, and Christ's Passion and Death at Eastertime...

And those who attach the august handle of Christian to themselves and their lineage, seem to forget that the very book they base their belief system on, the Bible, relies on the authority of the Catholic Church in determining which books were authentically inspired, while eliminating those that were determined to be specious at best.

In all honesty -- and it takes honesty!  And good will! -- to accept that fact.  

If I could make a comparison between the Constitution of the U.S., and the Catholic Church, it would be to show the supreme interpreter of the laws, and the doctrine of both institutions as follows:

If all men/women were able to interpret the Constitution as written, for themselves, without the Supreme Court to interpret those laws passed, for better or worse, then there would be hundreds if not thousands of different governments and interpretations of those very same laws.  

On the ecclesiastical side of the equation, if all were able to interpret the Bible on their own and make judgments on what Scripture means, then we would be faced with what we see today: hundreds, if not thousands of different denominations all with differing interpretations of the same Bible.  

But Christ left us with a Supreme Authority -- His Church -- to interpret the holy Scriptures and give a standard and a stability to those very same teachings in the Bible. 

The idea that one can say what a particular Scripture verse means, and another says it means something different, shows that there is a vital need for that Supreme Authority.

Clearly, it is the Catholic Church that is the Supreme Authority!

To my Protestant friends, whom I love: come home, and be filled with life, and celebrate with us, the Eucharist!  The Bread of Life!  For if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you will not have life in you (St. John, Chapter 6; taken from the King James version of the Protestant Bible)...  

Pray for our country!!

Gene DeLalla

The Invasion of the Monsters from INNER Space!

Folks my age can remember some really "scary" -- and goofy -- sci-fi movies from the 50's and early 60's, that is, before those movies became full of sexual innuendo, or worse, as we see or hear about today.

There are currently some very scary -- but not goofy -- just plain deadly "sci-fi" events happening in our country this very day!

Among those events is the trend for, not just aborting the pre-born, but also for killing those poor little kids that survive the attempt to kill them, i.e., those born alive, but left to die or kill them outright after "consultation" with the "mother" and her "doctors".  (Notice, there is almost no mention of the father in most of the cases we hear about when it comes to killing that baby!)

A.K.A.: murder in the first degree (pre-meditated).

How can this be in the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The answer is almost too simple: many in power -- those that have been elected to represent us -- as well as those hard-hitters of industry and research, are serving another master, not the Master: God almighty.

It is said that when good men do nothing, evil triumphs.  Said in another way, when there is the absence of good, evil will fill the void.  This is something that I have written about many times, but it bears repeating because of the most bizarre news that seems to permeate the media almost on a daily basis.  This includes, but is not limited, to the aforementioned killing of the pre-born (and now born!), but also experimenting with aborted baby parts and introducing those parts into animals in a fanatical attempt to create a Frankenstinian-type thing bordering on a soulless, artificially-formed, what: Human?  Animal?  Robot?

These monsters are racing to a point of no return, not realizing that when the chastisement comes, they will be the first to feel the wrath of their own deeds: as we are told by Who?   Christ!  That our works follow us.

Lord have mercy on these miscreants, but in the meantime, we must fight these Monsters from INNER Space with all our might, lest we succumb to their diabolical agenda to destroy life by destroying the family unit: the building block of society.  And that, my friends, is exactly what the final end is: eliminate the family so the heavy-handed "almighty" government will become the new "god"...

Pray for our country!

Gene DeLalla