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5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop
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5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 5:01 PM
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Not a very good picture but this shows one of the many South Korean and Filipino bands that were paid by the USO to boost the morale of troops. I only saw 3 such bands during my time there as we only received recovery time about once every 4 months (based on my experience). The first band was at the initial orientation time in Chu Lai just after arriving in country ( the training where they told us to forget all the training we had received in the States). That was the band that played Bad Moon Rising by CCR from a stage on the South China Sea beach just as a full moon was emerging from the horizon behind the band - still gives me chills due to the situation and the lyrics ( don't go out tonight, it's bound to take your life & poor boy you're going to die - or close to that). At the end of that show, a "girl" who had been teasing some guys in the front row yanked off his wig and bikini top to reveal his masculine side. The band pictured here featured actual female singers who could sing pretty well, and they would make eye contact with GI's seated close to the stage ( very close -small room for less than 100 guys). This usually made guys go wild but the singer on the left in this picture looked me in the eyes at the beginning of her solo of "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers and sang that entire song without getting the smallest of smiles from me because it was just after one of my best friends had been killed and the other injured badly. I know she thought I was crazy (or maybe unaffected by females) and it had to feel like a longer than normal rendition of an already long song for her.

Message was edited by: clover65®


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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 5:26 PM

Another great story Clover. The Bad Moon on The Rise performance would definitely seem ominous! You didn’t happen to get these guys did you?

https://youtu.be/iLxyQXCbOKk

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 5:51 PM

No- all the groups I saw looked like the skinny young folks in the picture.

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 5:55 PM

Thank you for your service

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 8:27 PM

I will 2nd that. Thank you so much for your service I’m Vietnam and for fighting communism.

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 5:51 PM

Thanks for sharing your story Clover.

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 6:01 PM

Clover, thank you for these posts. I was a young kid at the height of the Vietnam War, but, as the son of a WWII vet and career naval officer, the war effort was front and center in my house. My dad saw some serious action in the Pacific, and for him, the Vietnam War was more personal than it was for many here in the states. That was accentuated by the fact that my oldest sister's high school classmates were headed off to Southeast Asia. I remember my mom and dad discussing the war at length and how worried they were about our young men going off to fight. I have distinct memories of my mom and her Navy Relief friends baking dozens of lemon pound cakes to be mailed overseas. I guess it was their small way of trying to make you guys feel like you still were loved back home. I cannot smell lemons without thinking about it even to this day. My older sister married a Vietnam Vet and I know that he and my dad had a special bond due to their shared experiences. Even though my brother in law now is in his early 70s, I still think of you guys as the young men in your many posts and photographs. It sounds trite, I know, but thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Thank you for what you did for our country.

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 6:33 PM

Thanks for the story, Clover. And, as always, thank you for your service.

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 7:27 PM

I always feel a little self-conscious breaking in on Clover's threads because they are HIS threads .... not mine. But we have so much in common in our experiences that I feel compelled to add things where I can. There are so many GIs, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors that served over there that have a common bond. There are also those who served either there or the states who claim many of the experiences that Clover had that are either a little exagerrated

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 7:34 PM

....exaggerated or plain made up. It does a disservice to those whose experiences were like Clover's. It takes me about 10 seconds talking to a former service member to know whether they are the real deal or not. I am courteous to them, but not real anxious to continue a conversation based on things that I know are not true. That is in no way to diminish the service of those that were never out in the boonies, or went on patrols, etc., as those that were in supply (logistics), administration, etc. were just as important as we were ..... just different jobs. There is no stigma not having been in a combat position. But guys like Clover are special in my book!

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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 7:49 PM

Thanks again for your stories but Thanks even more for Your service. GO TIGERS!

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I enjoy your comments and hope you don't continue feeling


Dec 4, 2020, 8:29 PM [ in reply to Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop ]

self-conscious about adding to the topic. I try not to exaggerate any experience and select ones that may be new information for those who have limited knowledge of what Vietnam was really like. Even finding out for the first time about Donut Dollies adds to a person's knowledge and lets folks appreciate that there was more to that war than what is commonly available. And your comment about the guys in the rear being important is so true. Our supply sergeant knew every one of us in the field and tried his best to help us out anytime he could. He even met the chopper that brought me off that mountain to see for himself how I was. Keep adding to each post.

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Re: I enjoy your comments and hope you don't continue feeling


Dec 4, 2020, 11:29 PM

Thanks Clover, I just did not want to step on your posts. I really enjoy reading them. We probably saw some of the same Filipino floor shows, maybe even in Chu Lai. I was there from the end of December 1969 until the end of January 1970 when I moved up the road a few miles to Tam Ky. My unit 9th Engineers, supported the Americal Division and we were right across Hwy. 1 from the Army compound and airstrip. Our enlisted guys would go over for floor shows, but almost always ended up in fights with Army guys ...... sadly often related to race. After a while, they didn't even want to go to the shows. As you know, there were a lot of problems regarding race. I was glad to move up to Tam Ky where it was just me, my platoon sergeant, cook, Corpsman, and 26 men.

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That first band on the beach in Chu Lai was in February 1970


Dec 5, 2020, 10:30 AM

So you had moved already - strange that you mentioned Donut Dollies & I was planning to post about them & now you mention race & I have been thinking about a post on the war & social injustice. Stay tuned.


Message was edited by: clover65®


Message was edited by: clover65®


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Re: 5O years ago Vietnam - K-Pop before there was K-Pop


Dec 4, 2020, 11:52 PM

Wow. My gosh man. You have an incredible account of something someone like me will never understand, but truly appreciate.

This was a cool one to read.

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